Want a new synth- is a Virus for me?

    At the moment, I am in the market for a new synth.


    My current setup is just a Korg R3 for whenever I feel like working on my patching skills, and an X50 as a preset machine. I also have Logic, but I'm not a huge fan of softsynths (IDK why) and I'm too lazy to learn Logic's synths interface ;P


    Anyways, with my current setup there's pretty much nothing I find specifically lacking, except maybe the poly count on my R3. Regardless, I'm mainly looking for a different synth to find something with its own unique voice; something with it's own little variations in waveform characteristics and types, filter sound, effects, etc. You know, the way when you hear a sound you can tell a korg from a moog from a roland from a yamaha.


    So I've been looking into the TIs again. There aren't nearly as many demos of the TIs on the series of tubes as I would like, but we've I've seen so far is pleasing.


    My main concerns from watching demos are that it'll be too delay dependent and too clean. What I mean is that it seems like every single patch I've heard from the virus seems to be drowned in reverb and delay, which is perfect for genres like trance; but while I enjoy the generic trance/rave/dance genres they are not my personal type of music; they aren't what I create- I'm more into making genres that are more structure based, ranging from synthpop to generic dancepop to dubstep; genres that are meant for listening to more than dancing at a club. I'm afraid that patches not drowned in delays and reverb may sound terrible, considering how I have yet to hear patches not drowned in them.


    My second fear is the too clean bit. I've listened to some supposedly 'dirty' patches, but to me, they all sound like they're being passed through a bit of high pass or negative EQ below the 1000z line. They've certainly got the scratchy, gritty high-end; it's the lack of growls and purring from the low end that bothers me.


    What are your thoughts on these two things?


    Should I decide a Virus is for me, I'm mainly considering between a Polar and a Snow. There are a few reasons why I'm afraid of the snow; I'm afraid the lack of knobs will tie me too much to using the 'softsynth' computer interface, I'm iffy about synths with no keybed of their own, and I'm afraid once I get it I'll want to upgrade to a better TI. This was my main mistake with my R3- a used Radias would've been definitely worth the extra $200-400. However, with the Polar and Snow it's much bigger numbers at play; a good $1k.


    Anyways, thanks for any of your thoughts! ^^

    There are alot of options out there, it really depends on what you need. Access Virus is a great analog modeling synth hands down. Other people prefer Clavia Nord leads or even real analog Dave Smith instruments. Prices will obviously vary. I'm guessing since you posted this question back in March you've probably figured something out by now but one of the best ways to determine if a particular product is for you is to check it out in person at your local dealer, if available. I think you can make a virus sound as clean or as filthy dirty as you want it too, but you will have to get your hands dirty and dive into spending the time to learn all of it's capabilities. There are a lot, it is an amazing machine. I chose an Access synth over a Moog just because there are so many possibilities and it comes close to replicating the Moogy sound as well.The price was also a helpful factor. Good luck and happy hunting.

    Yes, it is probably too late to assist the original poster, but I cannot resist chipping in. A concern was raised about reverb and delay in preset patches. An excellent feature of the Virus TI is that it is possible at a global level to disable reverb, delay, arpegiator and EQ on all patches. When I play my usual genre of music, free improvisation, I don't want delay at all. So I disable delay globally. This allows me to play many preset patches that would otherwise be completely useless for me.


    Dance music has become the mainstream, especially for synths. That is why synth makers put so much effort into creating patches that are designed with dance in mind. It is also why most of the Virus and other synth samples on ye olde tube are dance music. I don't think there's any free improv Virus on ye olde tube. There probably won't be till some of my own Virus playing finds its way onto it. I bought a Virus TI because I knew it would be versatile. I have not been disappointed.


    Simon

    Virus TI2 Polar | TIOS 4.5.3.00 | Cubase Pro 9.5 | Windows 10 Professional