Just got word from a reseller that the Access Virus TI has been officially discontinued. It looks like we won't be getting the update we've been waiting for, which is a real disappointment. I'm not quite sure why Access is being less than transparent about this—maybe they're trying to move the remaining stock sell. I think it's important for users to know, so I'm posting here.
Posts by MagicJukebox
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Just got word from a reseller that the Access Virus TI has been officially discontinued. It looks like we won't be getting the update we've been waiting for, which is a real disappointment. I'm not quite sure why Access is being less than transparent about this—maybe they're trying to move the remaining stock sell
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Funnily enough, Kemper halved prices on the KPA this month after realizing they had real competition from Neural DSP’s quad cortex and the TONEX Profiler pedal, both of which are cheaper options.
Meanwhile they’re still re-arranging deck chairs on the Titanic with a few new features.
I even DM’d Kemper himself on Insta, no response of course.
Instead of DM you should comment on their Kemper Instagram account. This way, Kemper users will become aware of how Kemper/Access really treats their customers. As a guitar player and someone working in the audio industry, I have noticed that guitarists are completely unaware of this issue when I discuss it with them.
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Yes, they alway copy/paste the same reply.
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Ploytec has finally released an update for their drivers. This is why.
If Kemper can have USB Audio, I don't see why the Virus can't. Maybe there's still hope...
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MagicJukebox and Sacguy71 you’ve introduced a topic argued on other discussion boards endlessly (modeler vs. tube amp).
I started playing electric guitar again last November after decades of not owning an electric (or a tube amp, for that matter). Initially, I used my beloved Virus TI2 for distortion, delay and other effects.
I am not buying a tube amp, and literally don’t have space for one. Using the Virus for guitar effects was a temporary stopgap until I could get a modeling pedal.Now that I own a Headrush MX5 and have spent some time loading IR’s (York’s Vox AC30 edition) and tweaking impedance curve based EQ’s, I love the tone. It’s probably not quite what I would get with an actual AC30, but I’m quite satisfied with what I hear while playing, and in my recordings.
Last night I listened to a track my Sweetwater rep sent me. He uses a Kemper. It sounded fantastic!Guitar tone is a subjective quality. Please keep that in mind as you post here on our Virus forum.
Actually, I wasn't talking about tube vs digital modeler. I use both myself, and digital emulations can sound fantastic. However, I tried the Kemper and IMO it's one of the worst sounding amp sim on the market, and also one of the most expensive.
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I think that the reason why nothing is done to support new technology from Access Kemper Music and I blame Kemper and would tell him that to his face too is the following:
a. Kemper does not give a fuck about Virus owners
b. Kemper is short of technical resources to update drivers and software for Virus hardware
c. Kemper is making more money on the stupid lame Kemper amp hardware.
d. Access Music is low on cash and resources to invest in software updates and future hardware design
Waldorf and other companies went broke and pulled the same horse shit on synth owners in the past before venture capital bought them and put cash and resources to new software and hardware updates. I like my Virus TI2 that I bought last year and will use mostly as stand alone hardware to record the audio without the plugin in spite of the crude interface. It is still better than my Moog Sub 37 that has less features and cruder user interface. Hell for fucks sake the Kemper Access Music people do not even support this forum as it has been invaded by spammers posting sports better horse shit all over it.
I totally agree with all of the points made above, especially "C". As a guitar player, I can't believe some guitarists are using this low-quality amp simulator. It's way too expensive and it sounds like crap. I recently attended a live show and was so shocked at how poor the guitar sounded... that is, until I noticed the Kemper amp on stage. They actually give them away to YouTube influencers in order to boost sales.
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It's 2023 and I can't stay on 10.14 forever just because of Access/Kemper incompetence.
Yesterday, I fixed the S/PDIF port on my audio interface so I now have enough audio inputs to connect my virus. Before I upgrade macOS, I have a question: will I still be able to use the Access Virus plugin for MIDI and to program the Virus? In other words, is it only the audio that is going to be broken or is if MIDI as well? If MIDI is also broken, I guess I'll need to buy a 3rd-party solution, but I'd prefer to use the Access plugin as I'm used to it.
Thanks!
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I was experiencing the same Illegal SPDIF input clock rate error when opening the Virus. I fixed it by disconnecting the S/PDIF IN cable on the Virus since I only need the Virus output. It works now! I hope it can help someone.
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MagicJukebox, I am quoting the email I just received seconds ago from Jani of Aura Plug-ins:
Hi Dov,
Yes our product works on macOS 10.15 and greater (intel or arm) with USB audio and MIDI.
Here is the guide: https://docs.auraplugins.com/k…b-audio-with-every-macos/
Kind regards,
Jani Kervinen
AURA Plugins Team
Access’s lack of support for their product is maddening, especially because they continue to sell it!
That said, the Virus is truly incomparable. With Aura Plug-Ins’ product, it continues to do what it was designed to do.Thanks for the info. Oh right, that aggregate device thing. I remember trying it but the audio was glitching a lot. It was unusable and I gave up. I should probably try again...
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MagicJukebox what about the Aura plug-in doesn’t work for you? Just curious…
Simple: it doesn't do audio via USB. I bought the Access Virus TI specifically for its Total Integration capability. The thing is I have a lot of old external synths connected to my audio interface. I don't have any more inputs for the Virus.
It's not a Virus TI anymore, it's a Virus BI (Broken Integration), and I'm not happy about it because:
1. I paid a big price for Total Integrationm and I lost years of not using my expensive Virus. The problem started in 2019. We're now in 2022.
2. Access kept copy/pasting the same generic answer to everyone who inquired about Mac support:
"Thank you for your email. We're sorry to say but we do not have any news in regards to macOS Catalina or macOS Big Sur compatibility at this point. We will post news once we have any.
With best regards,
Access Music Support"
3. Now they don't bother replying and are ignoring their customers.
4. Access is still selling the Virus, and advertising it as TI: "VIRUS TOTAL INTEGRATION™ technology to seamlessly integrate it in to a DAW based workflow" on their site. This is complete BS for Mac users. And after verification that is 100% illegal, at least where I live.
5. If only they had the decency to apologize and be transparent about the issue. But that's not how they proceed. Read the comments on their Facebook page, you will see they never reply to anyone.
I'm usually not one to complain, but this whole situation is a TM (Total Mess). I'm surprised none of the big magazine (Future Music, Computer Music, etc.) are talking about this. We should ask them to investigate and try to get real answers from Access.
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I'm now thinking of upgrading up from Big Sur and leaving my Virus TI behind. I can't use the latest version of Logic and Kontakt just because of that issue with the Virus. I tried the Mystery-Islands workaround but it's not as elegant as the Virus TI plug-in and not good enough for my needs.
I won't sell my Virus for now in case the Access team decides to work on a new driver. But they don't even bother answering emails anymore, so that's not a good sign.
In the meantime, if any of you guys would like to do a crowdfunding of some sort I'm in! Or maybe there's a way to do a class action against Access?
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That thread should be renamed "Virus TI not compatible with MacOS Catalina / Big Sur / Monterey / Ventura"...
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I wrote to the driver developer company with the following:
Someone there replied to my inquiry with:
I asked:
and he replied:
🤷🏽♂️
If the Ploytec driver is up to date, Access probably doesn't have the resource to update their own software. They should ask their user base for help. I'm sure most of us would be happy to contribute financially to get an update.
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https://auraplugins.com/product/access-virus-editor/
Mad that a third party company can get it to work but the manufacturer can't (or won't)!
I don't think Access has the staff resources to do it. Sadly, I heard they are slowly going out of business.
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Marc Schlaile still works for Access Music but he stopped posting here in 2019: https://www.virus.info/forum/i…hp?user-post-list/6-marc/
Their Facebook and Twitter profiles are abandoned in virtually the same way. That is a very bad look for Access, sad to say. I wish it were different but it's obvious that the management decided to avoid their customers instead of being open and transparent. In that sense we can be grateful that they keep this forum up.
His last post is interesting... "we are waiting for the company who wrote the driver we use."
The company who wrote the driver actually released a CoreAudio version of the driver:
https://www.usb-audio.com/download/
It looks like they were actually interested in updating the Virus back in 2019, but for some reason they couldn't update it.
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Access/Kemper posted that they are looking for a DSP developer again. This company has become a bad joke at this point......
Most likely to update their Kemper profiling amps. There's a lot of better sounding digital amps on the market (like the AxeFX) and cheaper options so they probably need new devs to keep up with the competition. If they were looking to update the Access Virus software, they would let us know.
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Here we go !
Audio & Midi ready finally from MysteryIsland Editor plugin.
Wow! Great news. Did anyone here tested it?
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Access really need to get off their asses and fix this. Especially in light of this new announcement from Steinberg: https://forums.steinberg.net/t/vst-2-discontinued/761383/2
Given the lack of communication from the company, it's becoming clear that things are not going well for Access Music/Kemper Amps. They most likely don't have the staff and budget to work on an update. I think their days are counted unfortunately.
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Strange answer. They did update my forum name in May 2020:
"Thank you for your email. We changed the username now.
With best regards,
Access Music Support
"
