Posts by LfmC

If there's one thing I've learned, it's that companies NEVER admit they're closing until they're closed. And the fact that Marc is still here (Hey there Marc ) doesn't prove a thing, I'm afraid.
Personally, I find it pretty obvious that Access is going out of the hardware synth business. No news or new products for years makes this pretty clear. Sure, they'll keep selling the Ti until demand subsides, but that's already happening.
What I wonder, though, is if there's something else cooking over at Access..
What worries me is that Access for all it's greatness in making the Virus is, ultimately, a one trick pony... so to speak. The only synth they ever made was the Virus series. So it's really impossible to predict their success with a new product based on that.

Whatever it is, I hope it comes soon, as Access is slowly starting to become forgotten and, frankly, irrelevant in today's music production climate.

Still love my Ti, though

So I use the virus ti in a cubase 7.5 template, and after loading the template and the virus VC loads completely (the loading circle completes) I get this:

Problem signature:
Problem Event Name: APPCRASH
Application Name: Cubase7.5.exe
Application Version: 7.5.0.114
Application Timestamp: 528cfb3d
Fault Module Name: VirusUpdater_x64.dll
Fault Module Version: 5.0.3.0
Fault Module Timestamp: 50f3f852
Exception Code: c0000005
Exception Offset: 000000000000b4ac
OS Version: 6.1.7601.2.1.0.256.1
Locale ID: 1050
Additional Information 1: 1b85
Additional Information 2: 1b85307abcb78e740dc6263b5b483332
Additional Information 3: 53f0
Additional Information 4: 53f00d7489c5b7deff24e8c2606c294c

AFAIK Access has stated that they will make this problem go away in this thread: http://www.virus.info/forum/in…&threadID=4057&highlight=

However, it's been months and still nothing, so I'm starting to wonder just how difficulty it is to add a checkbox.

Quote from PascalVB

Just a couple of thoughts:
- The e-Licenser technology of Steinberg has not been cracked and will probably never be cracked. So there's a way to avoid piracy.

It has been cracked multiple times now, which means it probably will be cracked again. Only a matter of time. And unlike cubase, which is continually updated making the older versions obsolete, the virus needs to be cracked only once.

Quote

But suppose a VSTi version of the Virus B would be available, that would not jeopardize TI sales and would even be something TI owners may purchase, because of the easier workflow, multiple instances, etc. The Virus B still costs somewhere around 350-400 euro on the second hand market, so a Virus B plugin for let's say 200-250 euro would definitely be an interesting product for a lot of people and would generate sales for Access in a big market that they would otherwise have no customers in.
Just my thoughts though...

Virus B is the heart and soul of the virus, containing most if not all the core features and more importantly the "sound" of the virus. And while the Ti series has the new, experimental, oscillators types, one might argue that a VST version of the virus B would be more practical than a hardware version of the Ti, because having an "endless" supply of multiple instances would make it extremely powerful.

And finally, looking for ways to justify the selfish need one might have for a VSTi version by trying to rationalize and make it look like it's in Access best interest... I'm sorry but it's kind of lame. No offense intended, but if this decision really is in the company's best interest, I'm sure Access would have considered it by now...

Can't we just enjoy the only hardware synth that works as a VSTi without trying to turn it into yet another VSTi software synth that everybody and their mother owns?

Same issue here, also zero problems with my audio interface. Very irritating half-solution by Access. I've already opened a thread about this here:
http://virus.info/forum/index.php?page=Thread&threadID=3528

Is a simple "don't show this message again" check-box really so hard to implement?

Thanks for the info, Marc.

Quote from JimmiG

I think any news are better than no news

This.

It's much easier to wait for something you have a ETA on.

Quote from Djones

The problem is, once you announce something, I'm distracted and I can't fully function until it's been released
It definitely is annoying, a few weeks until release is doable, but months and months and months isn't very fun anymore.

Agreed. Especially with such a huge update such as this. And yes, it could be that we're just impatient, but personally this is the 1st time since I bought the virus (OS v2.x) that I've actually been slightly annoyed by the amount of time since announcement to release. And I'm pretty sure Access wasn't planning on it taking this long either, as they've missed the "ideal release time" (promotion wise) by a mile now...
On the other hand, it's a free update, one of many, so we can't really complain... I just hope we see the new OS before the next NAMM

I've been wondering this myself... being patient is one thing, but AFAIK it usually take about 1-2 months max. from the announcement to release. Something is obviously wrong...

Quote from AtonyB

I've read a lot of incorrect information in this thread LfmC seems to be very anti FLStudio.

And your answer:

Quote from Marc

image line has stated that the fundamental flaws in FL latency compensation will not be addressed any time soon. we are aware of the situation but there is nothing we can do to address the problem, de-listing FL studio as a recommended host aside.
marc

EDIT: And no, I'm not against FL. If you read my posts you'd know I'm actually a huge fan and a long time expert user (from v2). What I am against is Image Line's vision of keeping FLstudio a program for amateurs and hobbyists, as I would like to see it grow to a professional standard like cubase/logic. But this will not happen until Image line decides to remake some if FL's shortcomings, one of the biggest being a fully working PDC.

Quote from AtonyB

...But it works fine! ...Or am I in a unique position?

1st of all, you might wanna check the date before replying to a thread...

As far as FL PDC, it does partially work, but it's far from perfect, as you would probably be aware if you used any DAW which has a fully working PDC integration. But let me make this simple for you: Make 2 exactly the same channels in FL playing the same fast attack percussion sound, and set them on separate mixer channels. now put 2-3 FL effect plugins on one (or any other plugin with large latency), and nothing on the other and play them together.
That phasing you hear is FL PDC not working as advertised. FL doesn't know how to keep them synced, and you get phasing. This isn't as obvious on different samples, but milliseconds are what grooves are made of, and having FL delay a snare by 2ms because a plugin with latency is used is not acceptable. FL supposedly works around this problem during offline export, but as you know, hardware exports realtime only.
So in short, no. It doesn't work as it should, and no, it's not Access fault (although I kind of wish it was, as I know Access guys would fix it).

Quote from eugenebalt

Thanks for the reply, how about Ableton? Does Ableton also have good support for the Virus?

I'm deciding whether to get Ableton vs. Cubase. Ableton is closer to FL Studio in design. If it has good hardware support then I'll go for it.

I'm afraid my knowledge of Ableton is limited, as I only use it for live performance as a DJ tool, not for production. AFAIK it has PDC, but I did notice people having some issues with it on a few threads here. On the other hand, Access officially supports it (there's a live button in the virus VST specifically for ableton live), so you should be ok.... in theory

However, I'm sure someone who uses Ableton Live as their main DAW can be of better help here....

EDIT: Tried inserting it into a live project, and it seems to sync up fine. I notice it doesn't seem to have a real time export option, but there seems to be a workaround for that:
http://www.djslyone.co.uk/2010…icks-real-time-rendering/

Quote from eugenebalt

Thanks... very useful info...

LmfC, your post was written a year ago, do you know if anything's changed, any updates since then?

Like I sad, Image-line obviously has no intention to cater to professionals of any kind, and instead focus on the hobbyist/bedroom producer who does it all "in the box".
I still own FLStudio, update regularly, and try every new version in hope it will eventually be fixed, but I switched to cubase years ago and honestly, after all this time, I doubt I'll be coming back.
The problem with FL is the bad implementation of the PDC (plugin delay compensation). The reason for this is that FLstudio, although incredibly powerful today, is still, at it's core, a loop creation software it was a decade ago, and has kept the core engine which doesn't allow proper delay compensation. What FL does, and it does this badly, is read the plugin latency and adjust the mixer channel delay automatically. This, however, is far from ideal, as mixer channels are not fixed to a VST, making any re-routing a PITA. I've learned how tedious all this can be 1st hand when I tried using the virus inside FL combined with multiple effect VST plugins with different latencies (most VST plugins introduce a small amount of latency, some more that others). Also, when using plugins with multiple outputs (such as the virus) only the 1st channel is correctly synced.

In short, FL has terrible PDC, and although one CAN make it work, it's tedious and time consuming.
But even if image line somehow rebuilt FLStudio from the ground up and finally fixed this issue, until they add a real-time and batch export option, you're stuck with using edison wave recorder inside FL to record each virus track into wave and drop it back into the project. Personally, I bough the virus to be able to use it real-time and with no bouncing. So I bought Cubase.

Quote

Are there any problems with latency in Cubase? just curious... thanks

None whatsoever. Cubase keeps everything synced up perfectly. As do most other DAW's for that matter.

Read: http://virus.info/forum/index.php?page=Thread&threadID=2859

Short simplified answer: No. If you want total integration and the ability to use the virus as a VSTi, you're gonna have to switch DAW's. And this is not a virus problem, it's a FLStudio problem.

...working perfectly!

And I love it to death. I bough it new 5 years ago. It was the most I've ever spent on a HW synth (3000$) and ironically, it was and still is the best bang for the buck I've ever spent on an instrument. It' was the first HW synth I ever wanted, and the only HW synth I still keep around in this era of amazing sounding VST instruments. Got rid of the moogs, waldorfs, rolands and novations.... not worth the hassle. What I need is a synth that follows the times and delivers the speed, workflow, options and features I need for producing professional music in the 21. century while working with the cutting edge software and computers of today: And this is the only HW synth on the market that delivers on all accounts.

So there... call me a fanboy. And no offense intended to people who have genuine problems with their Virus that are not due to lack of expertise (yes, both of you), but with all the negativity I see here on a daily basis, I had to throw it out there.

So.. any help is appreciated

[Blocked Image: http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/498/clipboard1hl.jpg]

I understand this was made to warn the user about possible problems, but as it is now, it's just a hassle for a lot of users. Why? Because s of now, one of the most popular audio cards (E-MU series) have their buffer settings in ms instead of samples. And I'm pretty sure they're not the only one out there. Hence no way of changing it to what the Virus keeps nagging about. And even better, there are no actual problems with using the virus at the "odd buffer size" whatsoever. So this annoying popup which goes off every time I load a project is not only irritating, but also just plain wrong.
Can we perhaps get a "Do not show this message again" checkbox?
Please?

I've got the Ti working fine in a cubase template @ 44.1kHz (using the USB outs ofc), but when I try to switch to 88.2kHz, I get all sorts of problems of epic proportions, from complete PC frezing to BSOD, resulting in a hard reset. Also, when @ 88.2, the Ti SPDIF output is distorted. What's the problem? Shouldn't the Ti work at all frequency resolutions?

Quote from Fireshark

From my understanding the difference is that the new filters are not polyphonic. In the normal filter section each note triggers the a new filter envelope. Imagine the filters in the fx section as an external piece of gear that processes the audio signal. Please correct me if I am wrong but that´s how it should work.

That's basically what I said. And yes, they're probably gonna be monophonic, which is a shame as that makes them a lot less flexible, but as with any parameter they can still be modified by an envelope/LFO, and IMHO, filters always benefit from a GUI that provides an easy way of linking them on the same page. Especially the envelope, which is basic part of most (if not all) filters; cut/res/env
An analogy would be a chorus/phase effect with the rate/depth being done only via the mod matrix. It COULD be done that way, but it's not very practical.

But again, it's just my opinion, coming from use of a lot of VST synths, which over time, developed a kind of "standard" for these things, created by a decade of experimenting with GUI's and feedback from users. Kind of like how, in the beginnings of the VST era, many developers experimented with the fundamentals of the interface; tweaking the knobs was linear, circular, etc, resetting the parameter was done with a different key in each VST.... but over time it all became standardized.

However, I'm sure Access knows what they're doing, and whatever the final interface for the OS5 will be, it won't stop me from using the tasty new filters

Amazing as always! Thanks Access! Looking forward to the new filters and envelopes

One question though:
Why are the new filters "removed" from the filter interface and instead placed in the effect part of the Ti? This made sense for a frequency shifter, but now it kind of separates the extra filters. I'm guessing the default filters are hard-wired into the synth, with the new ones being more of an insert effect, but why not make them the part of the filter interface, perhaps similar to the new envelopes, having a tab for switching between filters, and more importantly, having a direct modulation link section?
It won't matter to the expert users ofc, as we'll tweak it though the mod matrix, but your less techy users might find it less than obvious to use and modulate, not to mention being in a bit of an unexpected place.

Just an idea...

1st of all, talking about a more "analog punchy sound" and then using VST's as examples is just sad... yes massive, sylenth, korg VST's are some of the best out there, but still.... not analog.

Different synths have different characters. That's normal. It is, however, ironic that for the last 15 years (from the birth of VST) people wanted a VST that sounds like the virus. Nobody was able to make it. And today we have people who want the virus to sound like some VST's.

On the other hand, I do understand where you're coming from, as I've also found (after the 1st year of "virus only" addiction) that sometimes there are better synths out there for a particular situation. Sometimes you want s very bright sound, sometimes you want a very hard raw analog lead. For these situations I found it better to use another synth or a VST. One can use the virus EQ, but that doesn't change the character, and can sometimes sound "forced", so to speak. But, again, this is normal. No synth can be best at every sound. And the virus is still by far the most used synth in my sound pallet, just not the only one anymore.

However, regardless of everything, IMO the virus would definitely benefit from some new basic oscillators and filters. Having multiple selections of saw/square oscillators and filters has become the norm in software for a while now, and for good reason. It give a single synth multiple characters. It would be awesome if the virus could follow this modern "trend". But is this possible considering the Ti's internal design to squeeze this in? That's up to the virus programmers to decide. Personally, I'd love to hear their opinions on the matter.

loving the series so far