Virus TI not compatible with MacOS Catalina / Big Sur

  • I think it would be honest - if someone from the access support informed us - will there be a plugin development for the Catalina or not?


    See Marc's Post from October 2019


    Externer Inhalt youtu.be
    Inhalte von externen Seiten werden ohne Ihre Zustimmung nicht automatisch geladen und angezeigt.
    Durch die Aktivierung der externen Inhalte erklären Sie sich damit einverstanden, dass personenbezogene Daten an Drittplattformen übermittelt werden. Mehr Informationen dazu haben wir in unserer Datenschutzerklärung zur Verfügung gestellt.

    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+

  • The audio outs on my Snow have an annoying buzz. I've read others have the same issue. I haven't updated to Catalina yet and don't plan to for a long while, but when I do my unit will essentially become a useless brick. Access has broken my heart from day one. TI was always a headache. I doubt the company has much interest in this aging product anymore. Too busy selling guitar amp profilers.

    assuming you have a decent audioface with balanced inputs, use pseudo balanced cables. Problem solved, buzz gone.

    You can buy them from soundonsound ready to go, i have all my synths connected with them (unless the synth has balanced outs, then of course I use normal balanced cables).

  • Doesn't then have PDC applied. Unless anyone knows of a way to get the system to delay compensate, when using the analogue (or SPDIF) outputs?

    Again incorrect. Your audio interface should tell the DAW how much latency the driver and A/D have. Some interfaces have inaccurate drives, but then you use the recording offset in the DAW which all DAWs have. Do a loopback test to find out if the interface is reporting incorrect latency.

    If you have a MOTU interface it definitely will be, their drivers are way off.

  • So you are saying even with the physical outputs, the plugin can't play back midi in the DAW?

    Oh well then, there goes my idea for Catalina (outlined in another thread).


    Is this still the case with 10.15.3?


    I guess the other option now is a third party editor and using the standard midi ports. I don't understand why the usb midi would be broken, I mean, that should even work in a class compliant fashion :(

    Real bummer, as I really want a mac pro.

  • Someone said the sysex information is available from support. I figured indeed it is, so thanks Access Music!


    Here are some alternatives for those willing to try:


    These folks have their own product, minus the audio though, but the UI looks polished and similar to VC. They are also working on Catalina compatibility though.

    https://www.mysteryislands-mus…editor-librarian-plug-in/


    Then there is Ctrlr if you don’t mind the quirks and the „hackiness“:

    https://ctrlr.org/access-virus-ti-snow/


    And there is this nice iPad app called Touch Virus:

    https://www.maartenlierop.nl



    I am now going to try and write the Virus Librarian tool I’ve always wanted.

    LLAP and don’t troll this thread too much.

    Virus TI2 (5.1.7), Macbook Pro 16“ (2019), macOS 10.15.3, Logic Pro X

  • Again incorrect. Your audio interface should tell the DAW how much latency the driver and A/D have. Some interfaces have inaccurate drives, but then you use the recording offset in the DAW which all DAWs have. Do a loopback test to find out if the interface is reporting incorrect latency.

    If you have a MOTU interface it definitely will be, their drivers are way off.

    I don't think you're understanding the issue. My audio interfaces (RME Multifaces) work fine and I use multiple external synths - very low latency and spot-on timing.

    When the Virus TI plug-in is running, PDC applies and there's latency, which is compensated for by PDC.

    When the plug-in is running, you can't send MIDI direct to the Virus, it can only go through the plug-in.

  • For info, I've now moved to Catalina. VirusTi plug-in is obviously not working, but I'm going to continue with the Mystery Islands editor until and unless Access get things going.

    If Access want me to try new drivers, just let me know.

    Since I tested on a separate partition, I had a fair bit of confidence that all of my software and hardware otherwise works OK. Obviously, the 32 bit software is broken, but I have Parallels running Mojave and Windows 10 for most of that.

  • For info, I've now moved to Catalina. VirusTi plug-in is obviously not working, but I'm going to continue with the Mystery Islands editor until and unless Access get things going.


    According to several posts by Marc, MIDI should work fine, which means you'd only have to get Audio back in via your RME Interface.


    There's another thread where sombody asked whether that would work. It would be nice if you could try and post back.

    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+

  • According to several posts by Marc, MIDI should work fine, which means you'd only have to get Audio back in via your RME Interface.


    There's another thread where sombody asked whether that would work. It would be nice if you could try and post back.

    MIDI works without the plug-in. ...but if you’re using the plugin, then the DAW tries to apply PDC to the round-trip of MIDI event to incoming audio. That can mostly be removed by hitting the Live button on the plug-in GUI, but I still can’t get it right going that route.


    I don’t think it’s possible to send MIDI to Virus “Synth”, whilst running the plug-in. If I’m wrong, please someone let me know!


    I’ve already commented on one other post, do you have a link? I might have missed it.

  • Update: I've actually got reasonable-ish results in Cubase 10.5.11, using the external outputs, but timing isn't completely consistent and there's a fair bit of timing jitter.

    Here's what I'm having to do:

    Plug-in set up with analogue outputs, into one of my RME Mulitfaces.

    Live mode on the plug-in checked. This is the crucial bit! ...and you'll need to check it every session, since it doesn't get remembered.

    Virus set up as an External Instrument in Cubase (you'll have to check the guides on how to do that).

    MIDI channel sending to plug-in (e.g. 01. Virus TI - Midi In).

    To test, I have a group channel, with the External Instrument instance routed into it. Then an audio channel, with input as the group channel. I then record the audio on that channel and check the start timing. I'm using an Init patch, with Osc Phase Init set to 1.

    It's not straight-forward, but it's kind-of useable. Hope that helps!

  • That guy refuses to answer me, even to just say "no, never", as to why there is no AAX.. so.. I will never support someone who ignores a potential customer. I also asked about blue cat patchwork as a workaround and heard nothing. Forget it. It looks nice but I have a solution.. Midi quest, as ugly as it is, has a full virus TI2 editor and native aax plugin.. If it doesn't work with the USB for midi, I will just use one of my motu midi ports for it and the stereo audio out, or maybe I'll even use 4 outputs for better multi timbral control. I have so many hardware and every single one I own is covered by midi quest 12, so I have been saving for it for a while. Just to add one more thing though.. the reason I like the virus is because it has the needed step effects on board as well as formant filters which not many of my hardware has (if any others at all have them actually), but it's becoming a bit of a HF already. I just realised, I can upgrade to Catalina tomorrow, no more worries like there was a few months back, and ALL my 350 plugins are 100% compatible, as well as ALL my other hardware. Roland already released an integra update within weeks for example. Yamaha a motif. The ONLY thing in my entire studio that doesn't work in Catalina is the virus.. so is it *really* worth going through so much hell for ONE synth, with this sort of disgraceful support? It's like it's telling me to give it up ASAP and just move on. I don't like the idea of being a slave to anyone, especially access. I think before long it will pass and I will be over it.. i will buy some other awesome EDM hardware synth :)

  • I don't think you're understanding the issue. My audio interfaces (RME Multifaces) work fine and I use multiple external synths - very low latency and spot-on timing.

    When the Virus TI plug-in is running, PDC applies and there's latency, which is compensated for by PDC.

    When the plug-in is running, you can't send MIDI direct to the Virus, it can only go through the plug-in.

    well you need to learn to explain your problem more clear in the future.

    What are you saying, that the plugin sending midi to the virus and then the audio coming out of the D/A instead of USB, is not compensated correctly? Do you realise how microscopic that latency is? You are being ridiculous. EVERY hardware synth has output latency, even real analogs (although they are in the microseconds, not milliseconds). There is no real world scenario where any recording could be negatively affected by recording the virus audio outs rather than USB.. and if you really believe there is, then maybe a robot should be making your music and have zero room for anything other than perfect zero humanised doof doof sound. I have played with mine today from the analog outs using the plugin, and it feels like 1MS. literally. I mean, you are being pedantic in a way I never experienced before. The USB audio thing actually always sucked, that was the worst feature.. You had to set specific DAW buffers, and it always felt awful and laggy to play.. Now, it's like any other synth and that's just FINE. However, some are saying Catalina breaks midi from the plugin to the audio outputs even, so... it's a moot point isn't it, especially in future. It's up to Access to fix this, and I guarantee you they never will. They have zero interest in the virus anymore other than getting whatever they can for remaining stock. Do you really think they care even 0.00001% about us? I don't.

  • well you need to learn to explain your problem more clear in the future.

    What are you saying, that the plugin sending midi to the virus and then the audio coming out of the D/A instead of USB, is not compensated correctly? Do you realise how microscopic that latency is? You are being ridiculous. EVERY hardware synth has output latency,

    You appear to be trolling now. I’ve been working with synths and recording kit for more than 30 years now. I’m also a software engineer, working in embedded multimedia systems. I know a fair bit on what I’m talking about.


    I’m not obliged to help people like yourself mate. Good luck with finding solutions to your problems. I’m no longer responding to your posts.

  • TNM - “you buy other awesome EDM hardware synth” , well then what hurts you using the virus ti as a standard hardware synth then.... your the one being ridiculous about it , or Atleast apparently so because your acting like it’s totally unusable when it’s actually not...


    much more therapeutic programming it from the panel anyways I find

  • Ploytec still haven't released their Catalina UAB Audio driver yet... I'm assuming that's also what Access are waiting on as well. - https://www.usb-audio.com/support/

    If Elektron are using it for Overbridge (which is what we’ve been told), then they might have a version they’re releasing to partners, but not one they’re yet happy to publicise. Conjecture of course.


    ...or they might just be terrible at keeping their web-site up-to-date. ?

  • If Elektron are using it for Overbridge


    Again, Overbridge 2.0 is an (eternal) Beta. Thus Elektron are probably free and happy to use an unreleased version of any third party component.

    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+