This is a different video but from the start Kemper says they have not forgotten the Virus. It is from 2019:
Access Virus is Officially Discontinued
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oh I am not questioning that... simply too many times he mentioned here and there that at some point they may be back in the synthesizers world. But also what looks clear (at least to me) is how many times he stressed that "sound revolution" with synths took place in the 90' and 00' and they achieved maximum that could be achieved at the time. Then he went on to disrupt the the guitar business and I am guessing once they reach the ceiling over there, this would be the time to return to synthesizers.
But I am not loosing sleep over this
I am very happy with my Polar and 61 keys. I quietly hope that prices will go up for that precious vintage equipment and will sell 61 keys for lots of moolah (I will keep Polar forever - it still looks like its from the future). -
Estevez I don’t loose sleep over the lack of support. I love my TI2 Desktop, and because I sequence it from a hardware unit (Squarp Hapax), I’m not really affected by the problems on MacOS.
The Virus does represent the pinnacle of development of virtual analog synths IMHO. I doubt there will be a huge market for products like this in the future, as so many who would use a multitimbral VA are now working “in the box” with great DAW plugins.
It’s funny. The guy who got me into keyboards and synths when I was a teenager is today a successful producer in the TV and film music world. His work is virtually 100% in the box, except when he scores a live orchestra (he recorded 60- and 90-piece orchestras at Abbey Road Studios a few months ago for an animated film now out, Leo) or a band. He laughs at my desire to collect what he calls “vintage music gear.” In other words, musicians who would have used a Virus in the studio during a different era are using VST’s today.
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this is true - they only use hardware keyboards on stage when performing live but majority of pros use plugins. It is convenient and efficient. On the other hand, you cannot effectively replace guitar with a plugin lol
Collecting vintage gear is a great hobby, if not an expensive one. But still, lots of fun. I had an idea of collecting one piece of each Virus model ever released (maybe except those limited 150 and 15 runs) but still waiting for my 6/49 luck.
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Hey.....new here and just got registered after my first couple of weeks as a Virus TIO2 owner.
After waiting for nearly 3 months to receive my new Virus from my local retailer, I actually emailed Access/Kemper to get information on whether or not the Virus had truly been discontinued. Here's the response I received on 1/31/24
Hello Brett,
hast he retailer said anything about it? I mean we are currently sold out here in Europe as well but the US has gone empty a good while ago if I remember correctly. As far as I know the Virus product line is not discontinued but rather out of stock right now. Maybe some retailers have a rest of stock in their warehouses but we of course don't have insight into this.
I would consider asking the retailer if he had it in stock when he sold it to you or if he has to order it himself. Because if he had to order it I am sure that our team already told him that we are currently out of stock.
Mit freundlichem Gruß / Best regards
I managed to find an "Open Box" item that was more or less brand new so I'm happy especially since I got a fairly nice discount for having to wait. Thought I would post this up to maybe dispell any rumors, etc. and hopefully shine some truth to the situation. If things have changed since then, I'm unaware since I am no longer waiting on my unit. But this was the last thing I heard from Access/Kemper so maybe there's hope.....
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Their reply was dated January 31 while "official" notice about AV being discontinued was released on February 7 so I guess they could not confirm it before official confirmation in February. Once that information went out, all the stores had "no longer available" instead of "special order" or something.
In Canada, the music store chain Long McQuade, re-sells lightly used or open boxes and I see there is one used Polar in Ontario for $2,599 (CAD):
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Their reply was dated January 31 while "official" notice about AV being discontinued was released on February 7 so I guess they could not confirm it before official confirmation in February. Once that information went out, all the stores had "no longer available" instead of "special order" or something.
In Canada, the music store chain Long McQuade, re-sells lightly used or open boxes and I see there is one used Polar in Ontario for $2,599 (CAD):
After looking at my local retailer website, it does appear that you can no longer order a new unit. So it could be that it wasn't official when I received that response. This makes me even more glad I didn't opt to continue waiting on the new unit I'd ordered because it's eveident now that it would never have been produced. So thatthen has me wondering......do I have the last Virus TI2 to ever be produced? Would be really awesome if I do......
