Virus B external in question

[rozmo]

Hi,

I'm thinking of purchasing a Virus B. I usually associated it with trance music, not my cup of tea, but recently I discovered it's just a very solid VA capable of so much more.

At the moment I'm building a rack, which will be controlled by a Korg M50. I also have a Nord Rack 2x in my setup, which has no effects. A dedicated effects unit would be an option, but I read the Virus B has very good effects. I was wondering if it was possible of using the Virus B as an effects unit for the Nord as well using the external input. And more importantly, is it possible to setup the Virus B multitimbrally and have a synth patch from the Virus going on (with or without effects, e.g. reverb) and at the same time using it as an effects unit for the Nord (separate effect from the Virus synth patch, e.g. delay)?


Thanks in advance!

[TweakHead]

It's possible to use Virus's internal effects with any external source. Not sure if you can do that while using internal sounds at the same time. But you can certainly make use of several combinations between the two, and even send the same midi and have them play in unisson.

[rozmo]

Thank you, so you think i'm better off using a dedicated effects unit for the Nord Rack if i'm planning on using the internal sounds of the Nord and the Virus at the same time?

[Timo]

Hi there, the Virus is not necessarily a trance machine, even though it can do those sounds well.

It's an extremely capable synth, and tends to have a darker, smooth, lush sound to it. Anything from epic/atmospheric film stuff, special effects, ambient, distorted/distressed, plucky, LFO/arpeggiated, evolving paddy goodness.

The effects are pretty good, very smooth, and you can use these, as well as using the internal Virus filters, to process incoming external audio (a stereo audio input, accessing the filters and effects, would use just 2 voices). And this structure is all available per part.

Effects wise you have chorus, phaser, distortion, and a little so-called analogue boost, which you can use all at the same time, and on the Virus B you additionally have reverb or delay (you can't use reverb and delay at the same time, although you can fake it to a degree).

And, yes, in MultiMode you can use the Virus sounds with effects on one 'part', while routing an external input to process with other effects on another part. You can have up to 16 parts, but obviously due to polyphony (24 voices on Virus B engine) you can't hit anywhere near that figure in practice.

The difference between the Virus B and C is that the C has additional Moog emulated filters (with selectable 1-6 poles), so if you wished to also use the Virus for its filters it may be an aspect you want to take into account. The effects are the same, other than the C has a 3-band EQ with parametric mid, per part. The Virus C also has 32 voices of polyphony.

[rozmo]

Hi Timo,

That's great news! Thus the Virus eliminates the need for a dedicated FX processor for the Nord. I only need some basic effects (like reverb, delay, chorus..) to color the sound of the Nord a bit, because it sounds IMHO great on its own (maybe sometimes a darker, warmer filter would be nice though) but maybe a little dry.

The Virus C is a bit too expensive for me at the moment. Polyphony is not an issue for me. And as far as I can tell (only tested the Virus for about an hour) the filter of the Virus B sounds pretty warm, less 'sizzle' compared to the Nord's (low pass) filter, so for me the extra filter mode ain't that imporant. On top of that I also read the Virus C sounds thinner than the B, is that really true?

[rozmo]

By the way, the used Virus B I might buy has pretty wobbly/loose filter and resonance knobs, the rest of the knobs feel solid. At startup the LCD was flickering a bit (the virus wasn't used in a long time) and I had the impression the value up/down buttons weren't very responsive. The price was allright I guess (300 euros). Should I take this one or skip it?

It was also missing rackears but I'm able to make those myself. Used prices for the official rackears, essentially a piece of metal, are way too high!

[TweakHead]

Originally Posted by rozmo

. On top of that I also read the Virus C sounds thinner than the B, is that really true?

Nope, the only change in sound is due to the implementation of new and better converters. I own a C and it sounds huge. The Moog inspired filters are a big part of it, for me, self oscillating delights with selectable poles - sounds very warm and when you push the resonance to scream territory, it feels like an analogue machine.

You'll go nuts with the Virus reverb. Very clean! And you're thinking "fx unit", but once you get your hands on it: you'll soon find out you have a nice combo of machines with very different character that complement each other wonderfully - and you'll be using the Virus for its sound a lot to.

[rozmo]

Are the Virus filters unable to selfoscillate then?
Ofcourse I'm planning on using the Virus as a synth, not only as an FX unit. I really dig the pads I was able to create on the Virus and some other sounds that are nearly impossible to recreate on the Nord due to the simplicity of the latter. I also have use a DSI MEK and although it's possible to create 'single-note-pads', obviously it's kinda limited because it's monophonic..

[TweakHead]

Would love to get my hands on the MEK, actually.

Only the analogue filters on the Virus self oscillate. So that's only available from the C onwards. The classic filters do sound very good, though, and they get nasty enough when resonance is way up. But no self oscillation.

[rozmo]

The MEK is an awesome synth with an awesome interface. Sometimes it's hard to believe it's monophonic, because with 4 oscs, 3 filters, 3 envelopes, 4 lfo's, 3 independent delays and the 16x4 step sequencer there's sometimes you can create some really complex patches.

Really looking forward to the virus now .. How many fx can be used simultaneous?
I must admit I haven't read the manual yet .