Virus' Sounds Somewhat Muddy/Raw, Lo-Fi

    I've had a chance to browse the presets that came with my TI Polar. They're all right, but a little on the muddy side, there's no sizzling-warm character to them (in contrast to, for example, Nexus, whose sounds are pre-processed to have that professional, mastered quality out of the box). Any tips on how to make the TI's sound come alive?



    Also, are there any "quick tips" on how to fatten up/widen/intensify any given sound in the TI? My first instinct was to try Chorus and Detune but, surprisingly, they don't really "expand" the sound that much.



    My main motivation for buying the Virus was to tap into what was advertised as majestic, powerful, rich, sizzling sounds. So far, the sounds I hear from browsing the library are exactly the same "garden-variety" mediocre sounds as on a softsynth e.g. z3ta or Sylenth. Admittedly, I am sampling parts individually. When people praise the Virus, do they mean they achieve that power by combining different parts? Well, I can do exactly the same with multiple softsynths. I guess I haven't yet heard the breadth and power that people are talking about, am I missing something?

    Due to the number of routes one might take in designing a sound with the Virus, I don't think there's one particular setting that can be adjusted to make all Virus patches sound sizzling/warm.
    I do find it a bit surprising to hear it said that the Virus (and for that matter, Sylenth and z3ta) sound mediocre; they all sound fine to me.


    Edit: note that the Nexus I'm referring to is the reFX Nexus 2... if you were talking about the Tyrell Nexus 6 or some other synth, just ignore everything I said, though please elaborate on what Nexus you were referring to and provide a link to some demos or something in that case.


    So far as the Nexus sound is concerned, I listened to their demo video and can't say I heard anything I thought was new or original. I'm sure the presets are useful if you're looking to imitate the current popular sound though, as it does have a very polished sound to it, no rough edges. Keep in mind that the Nexus seems to layer up to four sounds per patch, so it may be a bit unfair to compare a single Virus patch with a Nexus patch.


    I didn't look much into how programmable the Nexus is, but considering that the video didn't focus much on that, and given it is a ROM based synth, I would not expect much on that end. I would be surprised if it had anywhere near the capabilities as the Virus has in that regard, but given you seem to be concerned with presets, I doubt that's a concern for you.


    In the end, it all comes down to what you are looking for. The Nexus is probably good if you're looking to throw a song together in a hurry, while the Virus would probably make the Nexus look very bad if you decided to create some new sounds (based my my own experience with ROM-based synths, though I admit I have not used the Nexus, and for all I know it is incredible to program). Also, in my opinion, at least, there are plenty of good sounding presets on the Virus, too. The Nexus definitely wins on price though, gotta give it that.


    Sorry I couldn't help you make your Virus sound how you like; maybe somebody else will be more helpful in that regard. Probably flabberbob, that guy is like a sound design god or something, judging by how he answers seemingly every question about sound design on these boards.

    As noct says, Nexus sounds have several layers, each of which is heavily processed with eq, compression, etc.


    If you're willing to do a bit of work, you can make much more interesting sounds by layering your virus Ti sounds.


    Also, stick a static low cut filter in your signal chain on your channels where you don't need very low end. Cuts out the mud. Nexus patches will have that done already.


    I'd also add that while the Virus has some fine presets available, I've never used it like I would for a dial-a-sound synth. The more you tweak it, the more you'll appreciate its sound. But do know that the virus rewards those who learn how to program it well.