Virus TI not compatible with MacOS Catalina / Big Sur

  • OMG, I just bought macbook pro 16 were Catalina can only be installed, I installed all software and then realized Virus Ti Snow doesn't work. Almost all of my tracks include Virus sound. Can we expect something soon? It is really impossible for me to deal with this since a lot of my tracks are unfinished. Please do something!

  • OMG, I just bought macbook pro 16 were Catalina can only be installed, I installed all software and then realized Virus Ti Snow doesn't work. Almost all of my tracks include Virus sound. Can we expect something soon? It is really impossible for me to deal with this since a lot of my tracks are unfinished. Please do something!

    Same situation here. It's been a year now. I don't we can expect an update anymore. I've been in contact with Access support a lot and when asked about the update they've changed their tone from ''we don't have an update at this very moment, to recommending to use the TI as a midi instrument instead.'' This shows me they've given up and are not willing to invest into the TI anymore. On Catalina you can still use the Analog Outs though, although the midi timing is very messy compared to audio via USB. Moving on to MacOS Big Sur, the Virus TI plugin completely ceased working. You can still use the Virus as an actual midi instrument, but this actually causes the hypersaws (one of the major reasons I bought a TI) to sound a lot worse.

  • Same situation as all of you here as well, it’s almost making me want to get rid of my TI Desktop that I’ve had since 2005, really disappointed with Access with all of this.
    I’ve seen the likes of Audio Damage etc on his twitter saying that he’s already re-written their plugins for ARM in hours so surely if they can do such a thing in such little time I just can’t help but wonder. :(


    On another note though, I’ve just come across this, have any of you tried it?


    https://sonicstate.com/news/20…/touch-for-virus-updated/


    I’m thinking (and I do that a lot and am wrong a lot of the time lol) but, when Apple do switch to ARM which again, my MacBook is on its last legs now too so another dilemma for me. But you’ll be able to run IPad apps straight on your MaacBook from what I’ve been reading. So this ‘Touch for Virus’ app could well be something to look into. Again don’t take my word for it but hey at least someone’s trying to do something aye.


    Be interested to hear if any of you have tried it though, I’m very tempted. But I’d need a newer iPad than the one I have now unfortunately.

    Hope you’re all keeping safe in these times!! 8):thumbup:

  • On another note though, I’ve just come across this, have any of you tried it?


    https://sonicstate.com/news/20…/touch-for-virus-updated/

    I've looked into this and it looks awesome, for toying around it could be fun... but the problem is that you'd need the midi in + out ports of your Virus to connect this to your iPad. Because of this you can't connect your Virus to your DAW at the same time, so you can't use it for actual production/songwriting.

    Loading patches would be awfully slow too since it uses Midi..

  • I've looked into this and it looks awesome, for toying around it could be fun... but the problem is that you'd need the midi in + out ports of your Virus to connect this to your iPad. Because of this you can't connect your Virus to your DAW at the same time, so you can't use it for actual production/songwriting.

    Loading patches would be awfully slow too since it uses Midi..

    Yeah didn’t seem like the whole works but could be fun nether the less. Even the Mystery Island Catalina version is going to be too late now as well, it’s all madness. Right now I think I’d just be happy being able to simply manage all of the patches I’ve made over the years and get them into the virus easily from my MacBook where they all now reside, the whole midi dump way seems like a right pain in the ass. If anyone’s got any tips on that please do let me know :) I’ll also be keen to give them all away to you guys on here, some seriously cool stuff that I’ve used on a lot of my own releases ?

  • I've got my first Access Virus TI on 2008, now I have a TI2 and at the beginning of this year I changed to a macbook pro 16, because my last laptop crashed. It's July now and I am still not able to use Virus Control functions with my laptop... Anyway, where is that Total Integration part of the Virus TI ?

  • Dear All,


    I think it's about time to move on ... very soon I will have a new Mac with a new macOS which will not be supported by Access. I will then include the Virus TI2 in my setup like all the historical stuff here around (DX-7, JD990, ..). I mean, I will connect the six audio outputs to an dedicated interface (e.g. Behringer UMC1820; 200€), which will provide as well the necessary MIDI In and Out for hardwiring the Virus MIDI. In addition, I will use a VST-module (e.g. the Access VirusHC module from Mystery Islands) to control the Virus TI2.


    I there anyone out there doing exactly this (hardwiring Audio and MIDI and controlling the Virus through a third-party VST module) ?

    Would you be willing to share your setup and experience (what is good, what could be better) ?


    My intention is to find the next-best alternative to Access' "Total Integration", which I consider being gone for Catalina and all future versions of macOS. I am as well disappointed about Access' attitude and ignorance, but complaining for months and months does not get us any further. Let's find an appropriate workaround, even though it might require some additional investment in an audio interface, a VST module and some cables.


    Thank you very much,


    Stefan

  • I gave up on total integration and instead I am using 2 pieces of hardware:


    1. USBC to midi interface. Local control "off" on the device so triggering a midi will go to the computer then back to the Virus to get a sound. This seems to work ok with little to no latency - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B087TX6N6R/

    2. A USB-enabled mixer. I run the 1/4" outputs from the virus TI to this mixer, then a USB connection from the mixer to the computer. Currently using an old Allen & Heath ZedFX. Super old USB2 interface with only 44.1k fidelity, but it works ok enough for my purposes. I haven't tried it, but I believe since virus itself works as a sound card (without installing any software) you might be able to use that as an "INPUT" sound card and bypass the mixer, but I use the mixer because I have other synths I run through it. In all cases, I use the onboard headphone jack of the computer as my audio output monitor since this has the lowest latency to use the mixer as an input device and the onboard Mac sound card as output. I am using a maxed out MacBook Pro 16" fyi


    This solution is adequate for me. I just do one track at a time, but I'd imagine you can setup "multi" setups with each channel on a different voice and do it that way, though it's going to be more manual than the old way, it seems to work ok with me. Of course Total Integration would be better but I'm not holding my breath. At this point ,Virus is like any other vintage synth to me... at least it has MIDI.


    What I miss most is being able to audition new sounds from online libraries. I guess I would have to use SYSEX manager now, which sucks. I haven't dealt with that yet.

  • I bought my Virus TI 2 Keyboard in January 2019. Since it was (and still is) advertised with total integration, I think this is a warranty issue.

    From a legal perspective this is actually a warranty issue for you. EU consumer law states that a product should at least work as advertised for 2 years. (And in some countries such as NL it's actually as long as reasonable.) You actually have every right to claim your money back. Maybe more people (that are within warranty) should. Should give Access an extra kick in the ass. ;)

  • I own a TI snow. Is usually use it for 1 sound at a time (render/bounce when I am happy with the result). I haven’t moved to Catalina yet, but am planning to do so when I get a new MBP.


    For the time being, I am investigating the possibilities to keep using it. Which ends up with treating the Snow as a classic analog synth.


    I use the input on my Apollo Twin to receive audio and send MIDI from my NI Maschine. All in combination with VirusHC.


    It sucks, but software isn’t forever. So perhaps I will sell the Snow and get myself a Virus C so I will have the most controls on the unit itself.

  • I've asked this before but is access closing its doors because why have products available for purchase if they're not going to have an important feature update for new users?


    Also, (keep in mind I know nothing of software/hardware engineering) but how hard is it really to update the current drivers so that the virus can work with whatever the latest Mac OS is? I mean they've done it before right? What makes putting out this update so difficult? Someone please enlighten me.

  • The wait is getting ridiculous. It shouldn't take years to update a plugin. If they stop supporting it, then they should release an official statement.

    If they release an official statement, it will be difficult for them to continue selling the unit at full price. As more people upgrade their computers, they are going to get hounded by more complaints.

    I hope they at least release some sort of patch manager if they can't figure out how to get the plugin working with the new OS's and yeah some sort of official communication would be nice.

  • Also, (keep in mind I know nothing of software/hardware engineering) but how hard is it really to update the current drivers so that the virus can work with whatever the latest Mac OS is? I mean they've done it before right? What makes putting out this update so difficult?

    IMHO, the two main factors are:

    1. Apple completely replaced the foundation for audio plugins, thus the drivers must be re-written from scratch, that in turn may mean some functionality of the plugin is not possible anymore or has also to be re-written from scratch.
    2. Access Music has not developed the drivers themselves and does
      currently not have any in-house development resources available for the task.

    Keep in mind that the VC Plugin is not like just any audio plugin: It is controlling an external hardware, and streaming the hardware's audio and MIDI data over USB. And, if you look at other similar hardware/plugin integration offerings, not many of them acheive the same depth "total integration" like you have with the Virus TI. So, it seems to be not as easy as we all might think.

    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+

  • IMHO, the two main factors are:

    1. Apple completely replaced the foundation for audio plugins, thus the drivers must be re-written from scratch, that in turn may mean some functionality of the plugin is not possible anymore or has also to be re-written from scratch.
    2. Access Music has not developed the drivers themselves and does
      currently not have any in-house development resources available for the task.

    Keep in mind that the VC Plugin is not like just any audio plugin: It is controlling an external hardware, and streaming the hardware's audio and MIDI data over USB. And, if you look at other similar hardware/plugin integration offerings, not many of them acheive the same depth "total integration" like you have with the Virus TI. So, it seems to be not as easy as we all might think.

    Bullshit ...


    https://www.virus.info/page/re…do/Job_Opportunities.html

  • 1. Access schreibt "Zur Verstärkung unseres Entwicklungsteams suchen wir". Das heißt, sie besitzen ein Entwicklerteam.

    2. Die Kommunikation ist unter aller Sau. Das heißt, die versuchen das einfach auszusitzen.

    3. Total Integration ist eigentlich schon irreführende Werbung, da es ja seit einem Jahr keine Integration in OSX gibt.

    4. Die haben nicht einmal die Händler über das Problem informiert.


    Als Kunde fühlt man sich über den Tisch gezogen !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


  • Das hat alles überhaupt nichts mit meinem Post zu tun.

    Hast Du den nicht gelesen, oder einfach nur nicht verstanden?

    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+