What Sets the Virus Apart

[ehunter]

I would like to know what you think sets the virus apart from all the other VA synths

[Doc Jones]

the sound of the synth. Every synth has its own sound, which is neither better nor worse than other VA synths. The sound of the virus fits well with my style of music.

[marc]

Originally Posted by Doc Jones

the sound of the synth. Every synth has its own sound, which is neither better nor worse than other VA synths. The sound of the virus fits well with my style of music.

i couldn't agree more. the other day i though, infected.org is a weird forum. there is so much talk about the technical aspects of the virus but hardly anything related to how it sounds and not much about how to make it sound good. i always bought synths which inspired me, never paid so much attention on the specs.

best, marc

[Timo]

For me, it's its slightly darker character, and the velvet-like quality of the sound engine.

Also:

* Alias free synthesizing when using the knobs, it's completely zipper free.
* I love the quality of the EGs. The pitch/filter curves sound fantastic, not lifeless like many other VAs. If you actually try and emulate patches from the Virus on other VAs, they just fall flat on their faces when you try to emulate the Virus EGs. I think this is one of the most important aspects in why the Virus sounds so good.
* A very versatile filter section.
* The effects are quality. Nice sounding phaser, and the quality of the reverb/delays blows most other "built-in" synthesiser insert effects out of the water. I'm not so fond of the Distortion effect, however, but I still use it. That said, those lucky enough to own TI OS v3 have slightly greater control over the distortion, and also have new algorithms to add to the classic distortions.
* The detune parameter is slightly curved (logarithmic). You can obtain really fine (subtle) detune adjustments near to 0.
* The fact that the LFOs can be put into single-shot EGs is great. The available LFO waveshapes and overall LFO control are versatile too.
* The mod matrix is extremely well specified. You have control over almost everything.
* Unison mode is great and you have decent control over the parameters.
* Microtuning option.
* PCM waveshapes for a greater sound palette.
* A limited but nice FM implementation, that has made home to some oft-used classic Virus sounds.

.... and so many little things too many to mention that make up the whole experience.

And it's often hard to make it sound crap.

[tricky]

i always bought synths which inspired me, never paid so much attention on the specs.

best, marc[/quote]

Yer same here it does'nt mater how good the specs are i'ts the sound that's important, let your ears decide

[teethofgold]

I like the fact that it's an interesting *digital synth*... and not just VA.

[marc]

Originally Posted by Timo

And it's often hard to make it sound crap.

we are working on that . the new distortion/rate reducer/bit reducer algorithms should help.

marc

[Splat!]

What exactly is this 'Dark Character' of the Virus, that everyone talks about? I love the sound, but in no way does it instantly sound all evil unless I'm hitting some minor diminished chord.
It sounds all happy on a Gmajor.

But, seriously, I don't get the dark vibe that people talk about when relating to the Virus. Maybe I'm just deaf
________
vapir no2 vaporizer

[ehunter]

I think the name has allot to do with it....its a very dark name and people tend to sterotype it to the type of music being played with it

[luddy]

Originally Posted by Splat!

What exactly is this 'Dark Character' of the Virus, that everyone talks about? I love the sound, but in no way does it instantly sound all evil unless I'm hitting some minor diminished chord.
It sounds all happy on a Gmajor.

But, seriously, I don't get the dark vibe that people talk about when relating to the Virus. Maybe I'm just deaf

This is very subjective, of course. But I really like what I would describe as the "dark" quality of the Virus. A lot of VA synths I hear have a very flat, bright, in-your-face edge to them. It translates to my ears as "no refinement", a kind of low-class, cheap sound. The Virus makes it easy to design sounds that sound refined and classy. It seems to me that this comes at a certain expense in edginess, hence the darkness.

That's completely subjective of course, I can well imagine that others might hear things very differently...

Originally Posted by marc

infected.org is a weird forum. there is so much talk about the technical aspects of the virus but hardly anything related to how it sounds and not much about how to make it sound good.

Well, a lot of us (like me) go running to an internet forum when we're having some technical problem. I usually don't come to forums for help with music per se or even sound design. It's a lot harder to talk about the subjective qualities of sound on a user forum than it is to ask how to do a hard reset or burn a ROM bank.

-Luddy
------------------------
http://jomomusic.com
http://dongmusic.com/album/id/album/19