Logic: Problem recognising Virus and problems syncing to host

Are you able to connect the Saffire using firewire? That would be a bit better than usb.

Is your Saffire software up to date?

Also you should check your buffer sizes, in the Saffire as well as Logic, it's labelled firewire driver latency in the Saffire.
Lastly make sure that plug-in delay compensation is set to all.

EDIT: I've just had a look on the Focusrite website, you can't connect the Saffire pro 24 DSP via usb

http://c0000390.cdn3.cloudfile…saffire_pro_24_dsp248.jpg

are you facing the same issues when using either the Virus' or the Mac's sound card?
best, marc

Zitat von DrHeywood

Hello,

I'm hoping that you can help me as I love using the Virus but seem to be plagued with problems operating it.

The first of these is that Logic randomly decides not to recognise the Virus (even though I get the USB link established message on the unit itself).

The second is that when it does sync with the host, the recorded MIDI sometimes plays back in time with the rest of the arrangement, other times it plays back slightly after when it should and other times it plays back quicker than it should.

I'm running Logic 9.1.3 on a 27" iMac with an Elektron MachineDrum and Monomachine connected in series through the elektron MIDI interface (using 1 USB socket in total) and a focusrite saffire 24 DSP audio interface (using 1 other USB socket).

I would really appreciate it if you could help out with this as I've been trying to fix it for weeks and it's really frustrating when I sit down to write some music and instead have to fix my setup.

If you require any further information then please let me know.

Thanks

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I too am trying to use my TI2 with Logic (v9.1.4) on a 27" iMac. I have a MOTU 828 mk3 interface connected via Firewire. I am experiencing the same EXTREMELY frustrating issues:

• Logic randomly won't recognize the Virus (no sound or MIDI can be sent/received from the unit) and I will have to unplug then plug back in the USB cable from the Virus to get it to work (even though the Virus itself says that it has a USB connection).
• The MIDI timing is all over the map. Arpeggios and LFO's will sometimes sync, sometimes play before the beat and other times play behind the beat. I keep having to turn the Virus "Live" mode on and off to get the Virus to play back in sync. It will work for a while and then start getting out of sync again (apparently after I make even minor edits on other Logic tracks). I have tried turning off Logic's latency compensation but this doesn't seem to make a difference.

I am also experiencing additional problems/issues:

• I finally just gave up trying to use the USB audio and now route analog audio from the Virus into my MOTU interface. This way I don't get garbled audio and weird audio glitches all the time.
• After every 5 minutes or so of playback within Logic, the Virus will just freak out and start playing back a jumble of notes as if some MIDI buffer has been overloaded. It's crazy and beyond annoying. This seems to be much worse when running Logic in 64-bit mode.

It's gotten to the point where I think I'm just going to sell the TI and keep my Virus kB (which I haven't sold yet). I have setup everything as Access recommends in their manual and nothing works properly - not MIDI, not Audio, and not even the recall of patches (which sometimes change within my multi for no apparent reason).

Note to Access: After 5 years of trying to get this to work, just drop the USB integration (which is horribly buggy and still doesn't work after all this time) and just use MIDI to communicate with the Virus Control software. I used my Virus kB for the better part of 10 years without any problems. The TI, on the other hand, has been a complete nightmare since day one.

Zitat von MusicMaven

I too am trying to use my TI2 with Logic (v9.1.4) on a 27" iMac. I have a MOTU 828 mk3 interface connected via Firewire. I am experiencing the same EXTREMELY frustrating issues:
Logic randomly won't recognize the Virus (no sound or MIDI can be sent/received from the unit) and I will have to unplug then plug back in the USB cable from the Virus to get it to work (even though the Virus itself says that it has a USB connection).
The MIDI timing is all over the map. Arpeggios and LFO's will sometimes sync, sometimes play before the beat and other times play behind the beat. I keep having to turn the Virus "Live" mode on and off to get the Virus to play back in sync. It will work for a while and then start getting out of sync again (apparently after I make even minor edits on other Logic tracks). I have tried turning off Logic's latency compensation but this doesn't seem to make a difference.

first of all: i'm pretty sure that we can help you in this case. did you work on all that with support?

best, marc

Ditto. I've got the previous generation iMac, ironically I wanted more USB ports than were on my MacBook Pro but with these internal hubs it seems it's never going to work. Just trying the beta software now, then it'll be on to eBay sadly.

i don't think you will have much success without a high speed USB2 in between the virus and the i3/i5/i7 mac. who's using a hub right now?
marc

Zitat von Marc

who's using a hub right now?

I use a hub for everything other than the Virus, which is the only thing connected directly to the iMac.

I don't have a hub other than the 2 that the 4 ports on my iMac share with all the internal components. My Virus is plugged directly into my iMac and when I go to About This Mac -> More Info, and down to USB it shows me

USB High-Speed Bus:
--Hub:
----Virus TI
----Built-in iSight:
----IR Receiver:

USB High-Speed Bus:
--Hub:
----Keyboard Hub:
----Bluetooth USB Host Controller
----Internal Memory Card Reader

FWIW things seem somewhat better on 4.5.0.16 beta. A few glitches but at least it's connecting now. Will investigate more tomorrow.

Yes I have a few other bugs that you guys are experiencing regarding the virus not being recognized by logic or Ableton and i have to reset the unit. Also when creating kick drums after 10-20 minutes a strange distortion happens in the sound and this can be captured when i record the sound. It doesnt stay consistent. At first i thought it was my virus going belly up on me since i bought the TI when it first came out but this isn't the case.

I want to let the virus team know i appreciate the wonderful sounds and great interface of the unit. Also the hard work Marc has done on this forum to help us and facilitate our frustrations. However, I think all TI users will agree that we DO NOT need anymore updates to make us happy, just a stable product to use in our craft. Something that will not be a technical barrier. I will be more than happy to video and point out each issue i have experienced to help your developers, i am in full support of your product and want to see it succeed in the future, however with software getting so much better and so much more stable the value of the TI will drop considerably if we can not come together to resolve these serious issues. The TI has been around for several years and still has issues that frustrate us to the point of putting our units on Ebay or in the closet while we use soft Synths that are reliable. This frustrates me to see an amazing product hampered by these issues. I know we have a talented team working on this, but please, we must do something than add features, even if this requries the addition of other talented programmers to help squash these bugs.

If your team would like me to post up videos of the reproducible bugs i will, but i also think its important to share this information with our users so they do not feel frustrated or in the dark, so i ask that once i upload them we create a sticky on the top of the forums to quickly help those in need.

Thank you.

so far it seems that nobody is using a hub - guys, give me a personal favor and try it at least. from what we see,

you will not be happy on an intel i5/i7 based motherboard based computer (which includes all new imacs, macbook pro and loads of newer PCs among other) without a hub in between the virus and your computer.

you need to use a USB2 high speed hub, only those get the translation right. put the hub in between the USB port and the Virus. put nothing else on the hub for now. i know this is different to what we suggested years ago but the situation has changed in some regards. let me know how it works for you.
marc

Hi Marc,

I dont have a new IMac I5/I7. Should i still be using a hub?

Thanks.

Zitat von mclifton

Hi Marc,

I dont have a new IMac I5/I7. Should i still be using a hub?

Thanks.

what do you have?

marc

Zitat von Marc

i don't think you will have much success without a high speed USB2 in between the virus and the i3/i5/i7 mac. who's using a hub right now?
marc

Hi Marc,

I ordered a current model Belkin 4-port USB 2.0 hub to insert between my TI and my iMac Core i7, However, when I open the Virus Control plug-in in Logic, all the VC tabs are grayed out and there is a message within the diagnostic window that says to remove the USB hub. Basically, I can't use the Virus Control plug-in when I have the TI connected to the hub.

I'm confused, I thought the recommendation was to place a hub between the iMac and the TI.

Please advise.

Thanks,
MM

Zitat von Marc

so far it seems that nobody is using a hub - guys, give me a personal favor and try it at least. from what we see,

Hi Marc

I've tried the Virus connected through a USB hub, the Virus Control Centre recognises it but when I tried to open VC in Logic I got an error message stating:

"USB hub detected

There is an active USB hub detected in the connection between Virus COntrol & the Virus TI device. Remove the hub & choose a different USB port."

I'm using an i3 iMac, I'm going to go back to my other configuration where everything else goes through the hub & the Virus is the only thing connected directly to the Mac.

Ruari

Zitat von Ruari

Hi Marc

I'm using an i3 iMac, I'm going to go back to my other configuration where everything else goes through the hub & the Virus is the only thing connected directly to the Mac.

Ruari

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Hi Ruari,

Does your setup actually work reliably? That is, does running everything else through a hub fix all of these problems (sync/timing errors, garbled audio, lost communication, etc.)?

If this doesn't work, that's pretty much the last straw for me. I'm throwing in the towel and selling the TI. It's not worth the aggravation. There are a lot of other great-sounding synths and plug-ins out there.

Thanks,
MM

Zitat von MusicMaven

Hi Ruari,

Does your setup actually work reliably? That is, does running everything else through a hub fix all of these problems (sync/timing errors, garbled audio, lost communication, etc.)?

Hey MusicMaven

I'm pleased to say that my system does work 99% as expected when I connect everything through the hub, the Virus is connected to USB port#1 (the closest one to the edge) then my computer keyboard & my MIDI interface are connected to the hub which is connected to port#4 (the one next to the Firewire port)

I do have a USB drive that I use for Time Machine which I have to disconnect when I'm using the Virus otherwise I do run into issues.

The 1% which doesn't run right is the Virus Arpeggiator. I've managed to show that it will run about 400 samples early after the initial trigger which Jorg has been able to replicate himself & has said the engineers will work on to try & correct. This is not a massive problem for me as after creating a pattern I like in VC I then turn the Arp off & brush up on my piano roll quick note entry skills.

On the rare occasion I get stuck notes (it really is a rare occasion) the panic buttons sort it out straight away & I'm good to go again, the last time I had a communication issue was when I forgot to disconnect my Time Machine drive but as soon as that was gone everything played happily together again.

I did have initial teething problems with the Virus, like a lot of people seem to, but after speaking with another member on here I spent a day trying to work out the best port for the Virus (it's not necessarily the same one from Mac to Mac others have found port#3 to be the best for them) then how I was going to connect everything else. It really was worth taking that time out as the Virus quickly elevated itself to my go to piece of kit once my system was running smoothly.

Anyway, I sound a bit like a Virus fanboy here & I guess that I am in a way, but once you get your Virus properly integrated with the rest of your gear you might feel a similar way.

In case of TLDR, the condensed version is:

It is possible to make it work 99% the way you would expect, it sometimes takes a little bit of time to get it right. The 1% isn't a huge problem if you can enter notes in the piano roll quickly.

I hope this helps

Ruari

Zitat von Ruari

Hey MusicMaven

I'm pleased to say that my system does work 99% as expected when I connect everything through the hub, the Virus is connected to USB port#1 (the closest one to the edge) then my computer keyboard & my MIDI interface are connected to the hub which is connected to port#4 (the one next to the Firewire port).

It is possible to make it work 99% the way you would expect, it sometimes takes a little bit of time to get it right. The 1% isn't a huge problem if you can enter notes in the piano roll quickly.

I hope this helps

Ruari

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Hi Ruari,

Thanks for your help and suggestions. This is encouraging. When I get home this evening I'll try connecting all my other USB devices via the 7-port Belkin USB 2 hub I recently purchased. I'll let you know how it goes.

Best,
MM

Well, I tried plugging the TI directly into USB port 1 of my iMac Core i7 and all my other USB devices into a Belkin USB 2 hub connected to USB port 4 on the iMac.

While this seemed to improve the situation a little bit, I still kept having major timing issues and sync problems (where the buffer, or whatever, would overflow resulting in the TI spitting out a crazy jumble of notes).

After weeks of trying to get this to work, my conclusion is:

"Total Integration" is a total JOKE.

When it does work (for maybe 10 minutes,) it's great. But I just can't deal with the frustration and annoyance of waiting for it to crap out any minute.

So now I have to decide if I'm going to sell the TI or keep it and run it as just another hardware synth. I really wish Access would create a standalone editor/librarian version of the Virus Control software that operates over MIDI (even MIDI over USB). It wouldn't be quite as convenient as the plug in. But I wouldn't mind having to separately save a TI multi along with each of my song files. That would be a lot better than trying to do everything from the front panel of the synth as I am now forced to since the Virus Control software/host integration is junk.