Please implement this simple solution to help with Virus TI sync issues!

After testing two virus tis (one polar and one snow) with two macbook pros, an imac and a hackintosh, sending probably close to 100 emails back and forth with access technical support and buying extra leads and hubs on their recommendation I still have sync issues which i consider to be unacceptable when using synced lfos and arps. Jorg who works on access tech support has outlined the limitations of the virus ti as follows: (direct quote from his email)

"the Virus TI is a hardware synth integrated into a software environment and we actually recommend to start the playback even a bar ahead of the first note triggering the TI. I know this is mostly not practical during actual song-writing, but moving a playhead around quickly and especially not to specific bars can cause the USB not to be able to catch up quick enough."

he even admits that the limitations are not practical during actual song writing! Having to start the virus a bar early is not acceptable. The viruses i have used also normally loose sync roughly every 1 in 30 starts of the playhead, then suddenly catch up with themselves change the sound drastically which is very annoying.

The reason the sound changes when the virus goes out of sync is because the lfos and arp are following midi timecode data that gets sent along the usb to the virus. sometimes this data gets delayed/confused for some reason, even on a perfectly setup system. it is important to note that midi note on/off data, cc data and audio sent along the usb very rarely get delayed, its only the midi timecode that is the issue.

-- Solution --

Add the option of setting the virus LFOs and Arps to a bpm counter in the virus rather than having them follow the midi timecode sent over the usb. This way even if the midi time code arrives late it doesnt matter, as the virus has its own rock solid bpm to guide the speed of the lfos and arps. This would allow users to drop the playhead wherever they liked without fear of the sound they are making suddenly changing due to poorly synced midi timecode.

Its a simple solution to a huge problem that i know alot of people suffer from, many people end up opting to use the midi port and audio outs on the virus instead of putting up with the poorly syncing usb which is a real shame!

After a huge amount of time and effort on my part trying to get Virus Control working properly, Access have stated they are not interested in applying my suggested fix as it does not fix the underlying problem of the timecode going out of sync. personally i dont care about the underlying problem so long as the synth performs properly. which for alot of people it would seem, it doesnt. If Access have a better solution i would also be happy for them to implement that but until then, why not just let users set their own lfo/arp bpm and free us from the sync issues.

If you use Virus Control with Logic and make complex sounds with the lfos and arps then im pretty sure you understand the issues i am talking about. please comment this thread and help me persuade access to implement this idea so that i can get on with making some tunes!!

best
Al.

flabberbob for my solution to work the phase of the lfo or arp would always have to start at the start of a midi note, it would then be restarted on each new midi note start. there is actually already a lfo phase option on the virus which i normally set to 1 to get the most consistent sound from virus lfos.

thanks for the input flabberbob, Im not sure that i am trying to achieve anything too similar to what you described above, i simply want the lfos and arps to follow a solid tempo inside the virus so that when the midi timecode gets delayed and goes out of sync like it often does the lfos and arps wont be affected.

although the arp does trigger from a midi note on currently it still syncs to the midi timecode that is being sent along the usb. when this goes out of time the arp does as well. my proposal would solve this problem by making the arp follow a solid tempo set the same as the DAW bpm. I use arp > matrix all the time to modulate things and its so annyoing when it all drifts off!

best
Al.

thanks again flabberbob, in your case we would need to ask access to make it so this new bpm can be set to non integers as well although for most people whole numbers are fine.

the whole point of this feature request is so that i can use VC reliably so that suggestion doesnt help sorry.

edit: for my idea the fact that the two bpms may drift slightly wouldn't matter as the arp or lfo is started again at the start of each note on, so you would have to have a very very long midi note before you stared to notice the virus clock drifting away from the project clock.

best
Al.

pnavaja: it is very frustrating. if you follow the advice access tech support give you it is possible to get the virus to sync pretty well so long as you start the playhead a bar before the first note played on the virus and put up with it being out of sync every 1 in 30 times roughly. at this moment this is as good as it gets. my request would improve anyones system that is running as well as it can but it would not fix major sync issues like it sounds like you are having. have you tried everything tech support have said to do? its a royal PITA i admit.

best
Al.

Good news DJKeys, nice work with some effort you can get it to the point where it works pretty well. my suggestion would just make everything that little bit more stable

agreed jrob, same here.

virus team:

if you cant implement my idea at least come up with a standalone version of the VC so that we can use it that way. the standalone would still need a way to pipe automation and midi mote data to the virus. just do away with the timecode that is sent down the usb as this is where the problem lies!

edit: my original idea would be alot simpler to implement

Al.