Korg Forums

[mathieumaes]

Hi,

I've been looking for a second board to back up my Kronos. A friend recommended an Access Virus so I went to the store to give it a try.

Comparing the sound of both synths would be pointless. Both have features the other one doesn't have. Both sound great, just different. One thing is sure, they sound great together! I've already created a few combo's where I layer sounds from both synths. The result is simply mind-blowing!

The main reason why I decided to buy the Virus is the "user experience".

1. The arpeggiator
I actually managed to operate the arpeggiator and make it do things I expect an arpeggiator must do. In just a few minutes, no manual. It had proven to me once more what a sorry excuse Karma is as an arpeggiator...

2. The controls
The Virus has all the knobs you would need. All basic parameters are accessible with knobs, and you have 3 user programmable knobs to assign anything you like. If you're operating AL-1 on the Kronos, you need to assign controls to the generic knobs and sliders and makes it a bit more complicated. I know I can't expect Kronos to have knobs for every specific engine, but still this is the main reason why I chose to buy the Virus: the simplicity of controlling it.

You can set the knob mode to "snap", "jump" and "relative". Kronos kan only "jump" the controls. In fact, the Kronos can't' get many of the basics right. For instance, if you wish to "write" a program, it asks for confirmation. The hardware keys (write, exit, enter, ...) don't work in the confirmation dialog, you are forced to use the touch screen. Or the fact that the keyboard has only a "shift lock" where you nee to turn off caps yourself after typing your first and only capital.

3. The editor
The official editor is of absolute no use to me, as it doesn't add anything to the control. It does nothing more then replicate the touch screen while there's so much potential. In my oppinion it's an affront that volunteers such as Michel Keijzers and Chrutil made better software editors then Korg! Korg didn't even make the editor themselfs, they outsourced it!

Because the Virus has a relative small screen, the PC editor (plugin) actually has additional value as it provides a more advanced (and graphically attracting) UI. Too bad it's not a standalone editor, but I still need a VST host to operate it...

Kronos is my absolute favorite synth ever, I wouldn't trade it for any other synth in the world. Which is why it's so frustrating that the Virus reminded me of all these imperfections...
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Old gig setup: Yamaha S90, Roland Fantom XR, Hammond XM-1, M-Audio Axiom 61
2011 gig setup: Korg Kronos 88

[Thoraldus]

[SanderXpander]

I think Mathieu meant literally as an arpeggiator KARMA is disappointing. I agree with this and in fact I think it's a shame KARMA is always described as "an arpeggiator on steroids". I guess it's hard to quickly describe any other way because there is nothing else common and similar. It's super powerful and I'm still surprised by some of the creative things people have found to use it (I had the original KARMA workstation and the software, but never really dug in myself). But it fails for the most simple cases of synth arpeggiating, where you want something just like PolySix. It is more effort to set up this way, it scans the notes you play in a different way and most people give up before even getting near something they expected to be easy. That's why it fails for this use case.

It's still an amazing invention and I'm glad we have it on the Kronos. I just think it's a shame Korg left off a simple "regular" arpeggiator (apart from PolySix). Even a slight modification to the drumtrack feature could have fixed this (like on the Triton series).

[Thoraldus]

[QuiRobinez]

congratulations with that great synth , you can't go wrong with adding a virus ti to your setup, it's one of the most fantastic VA's in it's genre. The arpeggiator is indeed really good on a virus and highly configurable. The good part now is that you can use the virus arpeggiator for your kronos by simply routing the virus ti arpeggiator to the kronos.

The 64 bit DAW integration including sound over usb with any asio device is something that access is miles ahead of the competition.

There are a few synths that i will never sell, and the virus ti is one of them

[JPWC]

I have a Virus TI Snow, and it has a certain sound quality that makes it very special to me.
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Kronos-6, Krome, M3, Radias, KingKorg, microKorg, KP-2, KP-3, KO-1, KO-1 PRO, Karma, microX, monotron, monotribe, PadCONTROL, Wavedrum Mini, Volca Keys, Beats, Bass, Sample, monotron Duo & Delay, microArranger, M1, Wavestation, Volca Sample, Keys, Beats & Bass, MS-20

JD-XA, JD-Xi, Aira (system 1, TB3, TR8, MX-1), Prophet 12, Mopho X4, Jupiter-80, FA-06, D50, CS1x, CZ101, DX200, AN200, analogFOUR, MachineDrum, MonoMachine, Motif XF6, Virus Snow, Nord Lead 2X, OP-1, MFOS, Tenori-on, QY100, QY70, meeblip se, miniBrute, microBrute, Bass Station 2

[SanderXpander]

[mathieumaes]

[mathieumaes]

[QuiRobinez]

[Rigel]

You can also use the step sequencer. I like it a lot..
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Korg KronosX73, Kurzweil PC3K6, Roland V-Synth GT, Kawai K5000S, Waldorf Blofeld, Novation Ultranova, Behringer Neutron, Yamaha HS80M, Boss Micro BR80, Zoom H6, Sony PCM D100, Tascam DP32SD, Mackie 1202VLZ4, Zoom MS-70CDR, Rode NT1, Sony MDR 7506.

[SanderXpander]

[Purusha]

The main thing I like about Virus Ti vs. Kronos, is: full access to all the parameters on a patch per MIDI channel.

On Kronos, you normally have to work on a patch individually in program mode.

[laandodeman]

[phillix2]

Can any Kronos & Virus TI2 owner tell me which synth can make better pads sounds?