Reaper & Virus TI2

  • Just thought i would share this info with people struggling with a DAW that works with Virus.


    I have only had my Virus about 8 weeks, and struggled getting VC and my DAW to work together as they should.


    I use Sony ACID Pro 7 (latest version) and sometimes Cubase LE4 but prefer Acid for its DXi plugin support... however, i could not get either to communicate properly via USB without timing problems, glitches, etc.. and sometimes voices would sound on the virus channels, sometimes not... the usual things people complaining about. So... i decided to look at other DAW alternatives, i tried Sonar X1 (trial version) with no luck! wouldnt even see my sound card (Edirol UA-1000) inputs!.. strange as its a Roland product lol... anyway, i loved the GUI on Sonar, but no use if it doesnt work for me...


    So.. i read some forums, surfed around and found a DAW called "Reaper" very cheap and user customisable interface too..£40 for a license, and their developers have a fresh approach to music software development, i thought hmmmm... interesting.. free download of trial version, no restrictions, etc... so downloaded it, and within 1 hour was creating 16 track midi song on Reaper. It works well and is the first DAW that i have ever managed to get working with Virus Control Plugin to a degree im satisfied with.


    I did alot of searching for how to set up Virus and Reaper and came accross this thread on Reapers web site....


    http://forum.cockos.com/showthread.php?t=23866


    ...And here is the template to load into Reaper For Virus Setup...


    http://forum.cockos.com/attach…hmentid=8312&d=1277071484


    The guy who posted this saved me a lot of time and hassle (Thanks by the way).. and it just works!... (all credit to him)


    For your information, i use my Virus TI2 Keyboard And Reaper with the following...


    Virus Control is set for Analogue Output on all channels (worked on USB ASIO too)


    Select "Live mode" in VC (bottom left of plugin)


    If you set up reaper as per the above link, and record each assigned midi channel with midi monitoring on each channel enabled (tis turns local on/off on the Virus i believe)... then it works great!... :P


    I wish Access would officialy support Reaper, as it is a great DAW and does everything and more that other DAWs do... Its almost the same as ACID to me and very intuitive and quick to learn, support is great, price is fantastic, i think i will be purchasing a license if all goes well after my trial period.


    Hope this helps anyone who was struggling like me.... Happy Recording now i can get creative at last! :thumbup:


    By the way... i am running the latest Public Beta Realease Firmware for Virus...

  • Marc, i know its not supported... i do not have any host that does support Virus Control... i have been using ACID & Cubase for years before i bought my Virus TI2 and am very farmiliar with ACID since version 1!... i did download Sonar X1 (Trial) and had nothing but problems! even more than ACID Pro 7 (which i would have expected more) im not a newbie to computer software but am no expert either... but am i right in assuming its how the USB interface versus Virus Control is used in a particular DAW?... weather your software works or not?... I just dont like being told what software to use because Access dont support it, that is not healthy for customer relations surely?? hmmm.. yes i know you develop "your software" around certain manufacturers software, but all things are not equal, and some people prefer other routes as to what suits their needs, so i was simply stating (and im not alone) that Reaper works with Virus Control better than either ACID Pro 7, Cubase LE4, Sonar X1, or probably any other DAW Access do not "support" I do not want another DAW im not happy with just to drive my virus.... especially to spend more of my hard earned money on... I would just use it as a stand alone hardware synth like my others. so as long as a third party comes up with a solution that suits my needs, im happy! :thumbup: Virus is a great sounding synth, but its implementation with DAWs is another issue that lots of people are not happy with, i have had mine for 8 weeks and still struggle with timing issues etc... like lots of people on this forum. Hope it gets sorted soon. "total integration" is not quite there yet...


    Oops! forgot... it is a "Tip" use Reaper if you cant find a host that will work (as i did) also as i suggested in my original post... :thumbup: .

  • I just dont like being told what software to use because Access dont support it, that is not healthy for customer relations surely??


    you can use whatever software you like. nobody tells you to do anything. but please don't complain if it does not work. we maintain a compatibility list for a good reason. you know, sometimes i'm really shaking my head (now, for instance). healthy customer relationship? i was always under the impression that it is in the customer's interest to know what does not 100% work. especially when he has issues anyway (" however, i could not get either to communicate properly via USB [...]").


    marc

  • Hi Marc,


    I never complained about Virus not working with ACID or Cubase at all in 8 weeks of having my Virus, i know they are not supported hosts, thats why i never complained. I know its a "hit and miss" situation that some software works with virus and some doesnt, and some maybe works... such as Reaper works for me... its just frustrating when i spend all my time trying to get a £1800 keyboard to work with my DAW i have been using for years... but my point is that Access will only "approve" a compatible host that it seems fit? i may be wrong, im no expert... but Reaper is gathering a huge following now and will only get more popular, so why cant Access support it? it works!... ?(


    Anyway... theres worse things in life... just making my point :love: peace!...

  • i don't get why you think it works. you put virus control to "live" mode which will make the timing jitter in playback. and you use the analog outs which, in this configuration, will make the virus being to early in comparison to the rest of your arrangement. and this only would be true if reaper has successfully implemented plug-in delay compensation. the last time i've checked, they didn't have this feature but to be fair, i didn't look into it further - i just saw that it is a part of the feature set now. i just saw they got some new features.
    i'm happy for you to have a working setup but this is nothing i personally would qualify for timing sensitive sequences. so enjoy making music and peace, no hard feelings.
    marc
    ps. even though it is not a supported host we did work with them to improve some things. it is not always that black and white.