Virus TI not compatible with MacOS Catalina / Big Sur

  • Zitat

    Am I? Have you seen my other posts regarding Access wanting to drop support for the VC application?


    I just like to offer a bit of a perspective, and show that pretty much every (event the largest) audio companies have problems getting everything back to work on macos 10.15, especially with legacy hardware that was designed more than ten years ago. Also, consier that being an early adopter and upgrading your audio workstation whenever a new macos is released has been a bad idea for... decades (!).


    Anyway, I really really hope that Ploytec can figure out a way to get the USB drivers working on macos 10.15, and also that there will be a new app available which takes over the VC functionality for firmware upgrades and backups.

    The problem is more that Access continues to promote TI. There is no hint in the technical description that TI do not work anymore on Catalina.

    On Macintosh: Logic 9 or above, not more. If I buy a new TI2 and notice that it doesn't work with Catalina, I have the right to fix this or return the hardware. At least in Germany. And Access is a German Company. This could be interpreted as consumer deception in Germany in the worst case as fraud.

    Because Access is promoting an essential function that no longer works properly


    Und das müssten die Herrschaften von Access wissen!

  • This could be interpreted as consumer deception in Germany in the worst case as fraud.

    That's exactly what it is! Since they continue to sell the product to this day you simply can't tell people to not update! A product that's sold today (and 3 years after), should work as advertised! If it doesn't, it's deceiving consumers!

  • That's exactly what it is! Since they continue to sell the product to this day you simply can't tell people to not update! A product that's sold today (and 3 years after), should work as advertised! If it doesn't, it's deceiving consumers!

    Have you read the new on the Access Virus website?

    Bass Player and Synthesist.
    Virus TI2 Darkstar | Virus TI2 Desktop | Sub 37 | Voyager RME | Machinedrum | Analog Four | Digitone | MPC Live | NI Maschine+
    Mac OS 13.5.1 (Ventura) | Cubase Pro 11.0 | Ableton Live 9.6 | Logic 10.4 | MainStage 3.4 | NI Komplete Ultimate 13 | RME Fireface UFX+

  • yes, there is something strange. we have to dig i deeper (which is a problem because we're missing compatible DAWs). as for the audio output itself, we had 10.15 beta testers who confirmed that it _was_ working and we still need to investigate what the issue behind the release version is - for now, you need to use the analog outs.


    i personally will stay away from catalina for the next month for my music mac, i've already received a ton of warning emails and as far as I can see, audio interface manufacturers also haven't issued any statement that indicates that things are working smooth.


    hope that helps, marc

    Today I did some experimenting with a cheap secondhand audioface I got.

    Using the Virus's Analog outs does work when playing midi by hand, but it doesn't play back the actual midi notes in your DAW.

    For that you'd need to setup the Virus as an external midi instrument, which means you can't use the plugin.

    So not only audio via usb is broken, the plugin functionality is broken too. You can only use the plugin for programming patches rightnow, nothing else.


    I really hope you guys at Access could give us some updates soon!

    Even if that means bringing the bad news.. (no more updates for MacOS 10.15 and later) at least we won't be kept in the dark anymore..

  • Looks like Access hasn't even employed the person that'll be responsible for the update yet..


    From their jobs section:


    ''Zur Verstärkung unseres Entwicklungsteams suchen wir einen/eine


    Software-Entwickler/-in


    Zu Ihren Aufgaben gehört die Weiterentwicklung und Pflege unseres plattformunabhängigen Software-Frameworks und der Embedded- und Desktop-Applikationen für unsere Produkte.

    Ihr Profil:

    • • Sie sprechen fließend C/C++
    • • Sie haben Erfahrung mit größeren Softwareprojekten
    • • Sie haben gute Kenntnisse mindestens einer der folgenden Plattformen: Windows, Mac OS X, iOS
    • • Sie sind teamfähig und haben idealerweise einen musikalischen Hintergrund

    Wir bieten eine spannende Tätigkeit in der Musikindustrie, ein freundliches und kreatives Arbeitsumfeld, sowie die Möglichkeit, eigene Ideen einzubringen und den gesamten Produktentwicklungsprozess aktiv mitzugestalten.

    Wenn Sie Teil unseres Teams werden wollen, schicken Sie uns Ihre aussagekräftige Kurzbewerbung über unser''

  • Marc


    Hey Marc,


    Could you provide an update as to where we are with this please. I'm sure a number of users are anxious to know what's happening after the nearly 3 months of silence. I for one have 2 virus units that are solely interfaced with my studio by TI usb and are currently rendered obsolete by this incompatibility. An answer one way or the other would put me in a position to know what I should do with these units.


    Thanks

  • My Macbook Pro upgrade now exclusively depends on when I will be able to use my Virus properly again. Hoping for some good news soon, as we all are.

    I actually upgraded to the 16 inch MBP last month and I can confirm there's no way to get the TI to work. Mojave does not work on that machine.

    I realize I'm probably one of the few at this moment but I still don't think it's fair to tell people to not upgrade their OS. First of all: a product that's today being sold as new should simply work as advertised! And second of all: in the future there will be more and more people of whom their Macs simply don't support Apple's older operating systems.


    And third: even though Access may be working on a Virus TI3 rightnow, I think they're shooting themselves in the foot by not first fixing this. I for one am definitely not throwing my money again at a company that has a trackrecord of having such disappointing software support..


    Marc I think I'm speaking for everyone here.. We'd really appreciate it if you at-least could give us some indications on what to expect and when.

  • And third: even though Access may be working on a Virus TI3 rightnow, I think they're shooting themselves in the foot by not first fixing this. I for one am definitely not throwing my money again at a company that has a trackrecord of having such disappointing software support..

    I don’t think anyone thinks for a moment that Access are actually working on a Virus TI3. (On the contrary, I have been hard at work on a fully operational prototype in my mind, and it’s amazing!)


    A recent job listing indicated that Access are trying to hire a coder to update the TI software to current OS requirements (we think).


    To me the job listing represents hope. They have at least indicated they want to bring OS support up to date on the Virus TI series. As far as feature development, I don’t know that things are hopeful there but I wouldn’t say there is an extreme need for that. As long as drivers and plugins function again, Virus users will continue to enjoy what is one of the world’s greatest digital synths to its full potential.


    But I think it’s completely unfair to say that the company “has a track record of having such disappointing software support” because as a Virus user for many, many years I can say this is simply not true. The software development and feature additions that happened over the course of several years to support the TI series has been fantastic. Their TI approach was a breakthrough in the industry, but this put them in a unique position to be battling pure soft synthplugins vs their Hardware/TI Software combo. You have to imagine that Kemper and the other minds behind the Virus have spent a significant part of a career creating this amazing tool that has been adopted by musicians, producers, creators, hobbyists, worldwide. It’s enjoyed a long term survival in a constantly innovating marketplace where most other synths are born, live, and die within a couple years because they are not so unique, powerful or have the impact of the Virus. Looking at the product’s lifetime, I think it’s been a great and long lasting success.


    Is the Virus “dead”? ... no, I don’t think so. In fact my Polar still enjoys the “honored position” sitting right next to my DAW rig, closer than any of the newest, latest, greatest, or oldest, vintage, classics in my collection. The favorite child, so to speak.


    It’s only been 3 months since Mac OS X Catalina launched. That is seriously not a long time in the world of software development, and while I wish that Access updated the Virus TI software by now, I don’t think it’s very unusual that they haven’t. Yes, this has kept me from updating my iMac’s OS to the “latest and greatest” but the thing is, it’s working just fine. I learned many years ago that it was a bad idea to update software right away. Too many unknown bugs with peripherals that can’t be squashed until found. Not even the best public beta program can guarantee this.


    From the consumer perspective, it seems Kemper is very, very, very focused on the Kemper profiler series and it’s been a massive success in the guitar market. Perhaps they will devote some of those resources and energy to re-birth the Access Virus brand. I don’t see this as a problem, I see it as a potential great benefit to the future of the Virus. Others might say “booo, Kemper doesn’t care about the Virus, it’s all about the Profiler”. Honestly, I bet Kemper loves the Virus even more than me, you, and the rest of this board combined. I know if I created something like this I’d be super proud of it until my final day. I would want it to thrive and benefit everyone involved, from those who made it, support it, use it, and ultimately turn it’s sounds into art. What an amazing legacy.


    Having a new project see just as much if not more success, like the Profiler? Wow, this is brilliant. Not resting on your laurels, continuing to innovate and create the best of the best... there is something going very right with Kemper. And next week is the NAMM 2020 show where they will be showing off this success (and maybe even unveiling more). I hope they have the most successful presence yet. I hope they sell a ton of gear. I hope they make a load of cash. Then I hope they dump a little extra back towards Access and we might very well start hearing rumors of the Virus TI3. But in the very least after the dust settles from NAMM, I’m sure that we’ll get an updated TI driver/software within the next few months. That might seem like a long time to you or me, but it’s not that big of deal in the grand scheme of things. This isn’t the driver for a life-saving brain surgery robot arm, it’s a sound thingy.


    I like that we’re talking about it, well maybe I’m just rambling into the void. I like that the Virus is still that important to us. We are not alone. There have been thousands of views of this thread because so many active Virus users are looking for the update. Heck, I bet there is enough interested we could crowdfund the hiring of a developer to fix the issue if Access would give them... access (pun intended). I have been paying attention to a few forums lately and I can’t count how many times I hear the Virus praised. Yeah, I’ve fallen for needing the latest/greatest. Picked up a Hydrasynth and Argon8 recently. Really liking them, but I always come back home to the Virus. And guess what? They all work just fine without my computer even being turned on, so there’s always that.


    :love:

    Virus TI2 Desktop Whiteout Limited Edition

    MacOS 14 • Ableton Live 11 • Logic Pro

  • ''But I think it’s completely unfair to say that the company “has a track record of having such disappointing software support” because as a Virus user for many, many years I can say this is simply not true.''


    ''It’s only been 3 months since Mac OS X Catalina launched.''

    Yes it has. You don't remember El Capitan? You had to manually disable the system's SIP for it to work. Not to even start about the 4.x updates back in the days.


    And only 3 months? That's 3 months they've been selling a product as brand new with NO MENTION of it not working on Mac! That is: modern Macs!

  • I don’t think anyone thinks for a moment that Access are actually working on a Virus TI3. (On the contrary, I have been hard at work on a fully operational prototype in my mind, and it’s amazing!)

    Laughed out loud at the egotistical ambiance of unwarranted self importance in this statement and skipped the rest of your post.


    Yes it has. You don't remember El Capitan? You had to manually disable the system's SIP for it to work. Not to even start about the 4.x updates back in the days.


    And only 3 months? That's 3 months they've been selling a product as brand new with NO MENTION of it not working on Mac! That is: modern Macs!


    I bought my first Virus (TI2 Keyboard) a week before this happened. Its a huge bummer, but saber-rattling, accusing forum members of being shills for Access, and making overtures about legal implication will probably (or at least should) get you banned from this forum. We get it, you are pissed. Everyone is. If you wanna make it a legal issue this is not a good way to go about it.


    My own thoughts:


    Thank you to those who did the legwork and discovered that the issue is with the Ploytec HAL driver. Pretty much the only useful thing in this thread.


    Honestly I'm more fed up with Apple than I am Access. Wanton fundamental design changes breaking compatibility at every turn. It is clear that their target market is no longer the creative professional.


    I've looked into several options including rolling a custom Arch Linux configuration for audio production and switching to Bitwig.


    At the end of the day when the macbook dies I'll be switching to Windows 10. OSX/MacOS is (was?) great but at this point its not worth the apple tax or the hassle to remain using it. There are utilities out there that are quite good at removing bloat from Win10 and streamlining it. Some are even open source.


    IMHO it's well past due time to move on from Mac. I hope Access/Kemper is able to fix this for those that choose to stay.


    My 0,02

  • Quote from phishroom

    I don’t think anyone thinks for a moment that Access are actually working on a Virus TI3. (On the contrary, I have been hard at work on a fully operational prototype in my mind, and it’s amazing!)


    Laughed out loud at the egotistical ambiance of unwarranted self importance in this statement and skipped the rest of your post.

    Oh my. Sorry, as that was not my intent. It was merely an attempt at humor.


    When I said, “I have been hard at work on a fully operational prototype in my mind, and it’s amazing!”


    ...I only meant that I regularly fantasize about a Virus TI3. I’m no synth engineer. My mental “prototype” has a sparkly finish made from unicorn snot, all the LEDs are blindingly ultraviolet, there is a goggles-free 3D touchable holographic interface for waveshaping. So basically I have it all figured out and am just waiting for Access to cut me a check for design services.


    I guess when threads get deep into the abyss of driver problems and failure to deliver timely updates, sometimes we get a little fired up. I’m still a little miffed about that, but I’m only here because I love the Virus more than I hate software problems.

    Virus TI2 Desktop Whiteout Limited Edition

    MacOS 14 • Ableton Live 11 • Logic Pro