Synthtoast: totally agree.
flabberbob: we want to use the usb for audio as snow only has a pair of stereo outs. also hardly want to run another host for no reason. come on access!!
Beiträge von alexrjohnston
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the sync issues are not to do with the fact the units are usb 1.1. even a perfectly set up virus on its own 1.1 bus with lots of bandwidth will have sync issues due to the way the timecode info is transmitted along the usb.
the whole system need redoing top to bottom. ive spent hours trying to fix TI issues. i now just use soft synths
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one month and no reply marc?
i would really like to hear what access are planning to do to help with these issues. i dont know many virus users who dont have them. the way the midi timecode is sent over usb needs an overhaul. but in the meantime please either explain why my idea will not work.. or implement it.
Al.
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+1000. come on access.
theRoyal1 ctrlr is third party software and extremely unstable on osx although it is a fantastic idea. access should make something similar
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Marc as you are clearly active on the forum and responding to other peoples questions could you please get back to me as above ^
Al.
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robg that is pretty much what i am suggesting
totally agree with you. -
sounds interesting, so with cubase you can block the timecode? very handy! if only i used cubase i would look into that without doubt thanks dude
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Marc please respond to my above message, i would like to understand where i have quoted incorrectly and how my proposed idea will not solve my problems?
Al.
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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.
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agreed jrob, same here.
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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 -
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.
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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.
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Al. -
MarPabl: haha so true.
Suges: i have just put in a feature request that would allow you to do exactly this. change the bpm of the arp inside the virus separate to the project BPM. it will also make the arps and lfos of the virus much more predictable, please lend your support to the thread here:
http://virus.info/forum/index.php?page=Thread&threadID=4725
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Al. -
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!
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Al. -
Marc i dont see where i have quoted incorrectly? the direct quote from Jorg's email is as follows:
"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."
I dont believe this is acceptable. he even states its not practical during actual song writing!
This is not an issue i have with my setup, it is a global issue. I have tried it across two separate viruses and four separate machines. i have also purchased extra equipment on Access's recommendation to try and fix the problem. you dont have to search far on these forums to see loads of people have got sick of VC and now use midi/audio.
for anyone interested please read this feature request for a full description of my solution. it is simple, and almost certainly WILL make the virus alot more stable when using LFO and Arps:
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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.
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Hello all! Ive spent a huge amount of time going through my setup with tech support trying to get both a snow and a polar working properly on several macs. Ive bought cables and hubs on Access's recommendation. eventually tech support admitted the problems ive been having are just a limitation of the virus ti. Apparently we are expected to accept that we need to start our tracks a bar early and that 1 in 30 starts of the playhead the virus might be out of sync and then catch up with itself. I dont feel this is acceptable.
I have come up with a solution that should make sounds using lfo and arps much more stable for many users but Access have said they are not interested in trying my idea. If you have issues similar to the ones i have described above, please support my feature request at the link below:
http://virus.info/forum/index.php?page=Thread&threadID=4725
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Al. -
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!!
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Al. -