Korg Forums

[robinkle]

I've had Virus TI Polar and Virus TI2 Desktop.
And I have a Kronos. Here is my opinion:

Virus TI series:
Fantastic sound.
Good Effects equal to each part.
Very nice control surface for sound programing.
High quality hardware.
TI2 series got great polyphony, TI1 does not.
Extremely good plug-in/editor!
TI2 series are very light weight compared to TI1.
Wavetable synthesis.
Minor FM synthesis.
Display much better then previous Virus models.

Kornos: (AL-1)
Fantastic sound, maybe a bit thin filters.
Tons of good effects and mastering tools.
Not as easy to program.
But can do alot more.
Good FM capabilites.
One program can contain 2 engines (AL-1x2 or AL-1 + MOD-7 etc)
Not as good control surface.
Editor yet to be released and reviewed.

But you got more alternatives like Polysix, MOD-7, MS-20, STR-1 and other engines which are complete synth engines like AL-1, and it
gives you alot more options.

My conclusion:
If you all you need and want is a VA synth, get the virus.
If you want more synthesis options, and maybe want to shrink your studio into less gear. Get a Kronos.

I think Virus TI sounds better then VA-1, to make it short.
Virus TI also makes it so easy to start programing, just save init patch and start tweaking.

The reason I sold my TI2 is because I wanted FM from MOD-7,
and VA-1 is good enough and it is nice to have STR-1, MS20 and Polysix on top of that.

My opinion!

[jimknopf]

It is hard to talk about "better" or "worse" in this context. I don't even think that my Access Virus TI sounds overall "better" than the Kronos VAs. It is much easier. for example, to get very analog sounding patches from the Kronos VAs, just because they deliver a richer overtone spectrum and more basic analog grit and warmth (especially Polysix and MS-20).

The Access TI is breathtaking good for what it is, but I would rather call it "other" than better, compared to the Kronos VAs. The Virus delivers a very transparent midrange sound, which is often first class for connecting different sounds in mixes, without getting muddy. And it has a first class modulation matrix allowing you to do about anything you could wish to do with a sound.

But if for example I want a classic lead sound (from Jan Hammer and George Duke over Keith Emerson to Derek Sherinian or whatever), I will anytime prefer my Moogs BY FAR, followed by the Kronos MS 20 and the other two Kronos VAs, before any Access Virus. The Access will stay here, because I regard it as extremely useful in lots of contexts, and as a modern classic, on one level with the big synths of all time. But I won't try to get sonic coulours from it which it can't deliver.
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Kronos 73 - Moog Voyager RME - Moog LP TE - Behringer Model D - Prophet 6 - Roland Jupiter Xm - Rhodes Stage 73 Mk I - Elektron Analog Rytm MkII - Roland TR-6s - Cubase 12 Pro + Groove Agent 5

[EvilDragon]

I think that Virus sound is overrated. Take out all the effects and you get a very dark sound that can be very bland and/or cheesy even. No particular attitude. If you want attitude, you want Alesis Ion or Waldorf Blofeld, or Novation (Super)Nova. IMHO.

I very much completely agree with what Jexus said here: http://jexus.id.uw.edu.pl/syntezatory_prv_pl/access_virus_ti.htm

[Hedegaard]

Hmmm, isn't a saw wave just that? A saw wave.
Dosen't matter what synth is producing it.
It will sound the same.

Then the differences are in the actual waveform itself and some effect variables.
_________________
.....Still waiting for the allusive, missing EXf for Oasys.....

[EvilDragon]

No, saw wave is not always a pure a saw wave, and it doesn't sound the same on every synth, ESPECIALLY if you're comparing analogs, but the difference is there even on VAs, too. Put them all on an oscilloscope and you will see the difference, not just hear it.


Unless you're trolling.

[robinkle]

Filters are also one of the things that sounds different between several instruments. Envelopes can vary also.

[Hedegaard]

Well then, I'm right, a saw wave is exactly the same, no matter the synth that is producing it.

Because if one synth is altering the wave shape, then its no longer a saw wave, but a distortion of the original mathematically correct saw wave shape.

Analog synths will by nature sound different because of the instability of the oscillators.

Robinkle:
Yes, you're quite right
But alas, this is again, distorting the original purely mathematical saw wave that preexists in all synths. Its the application of e.g. filters, component quality, envelopes e.t.c. that alters the saw wave shape to "something-else-but-sounds-like-a-saw-wave."
_________________
.....Still waiting for the allusive, missing EXf for Oasys.....

[robinkle]

[EvilDragon]

No.

If you tap out the signal directly from the oscillator of an analog synth, bypassing any other filters, envelopes, or amplifiers, and route it to an oscilloscope, you wouldn't see the same saw wave on every synth.

By nature it's extremely hard to get a mathematically precise sawtooth with analog components - the top of the waveform where the break occurs would always be a bit more rounded instead of surgically sharp. And this is different in each and every analog synth, because different components with different tolerances were used.


So no. A saw wave is not exactly a saw wave on absolutely every synth.

[jimknopf]

The Virus should neither be overestimated as super-synth covering all ground (no synth can do that) nor be underestimated as one of many.

Anyway an Access Virus does not at all live just from the power of it's effects. But perhaps it integrates it's effects better than other VAs do (as far as they have onboad effects at all). The Virus TI is a great synth, exactly as the extremely powerful complete(!) package which it is, and the three other VA synths mentioned (Ion, Blofeld, Nova) do not remotely match it's power and flexibility. Their patches also don't sound remotely as good in most kinds of mixes in my ears. If in the the selling synth ranks of VAs you find expensive TIs among the top 5, in midst of cheap alternatives costing a half or a forth or even less, this is no user error towards an "overestimated" synth. It is the convincing result of high satisfaction among musicians using it (many professionals among them).

But the Kronos VAs have their own very strong character: they are perhaps the most analog sounding VA synths I know, providing everything from growling and edgy to mellow and warm. They deserve to find their own place in the world of synth playing!


Else I completely agree with Evil Dragon that synths do not at all produce identical sounds with identical basic wave forms. No analog synth produces pure waveforms, and that exactly is one of many reasons which makes thems sound so vivid.
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Kronos 73 - Moog Voyager RME - Moog LP TE - Behringer Model D - Prophet 6 - Roland Jupiter Xm - Rhodes Stage 73 Mk I - Elektron Analog Rytm MkII - Roland TR-6s - Cubase 12 Pro + Groove Agent 5

[danatkorg]

[EvilDragon]

[EvilDragon]

[jimknopf]

What I said about the Virus being an extremely flexible synth isn't subjetcive.

But concerning overall sound character, everybody can use what he/she wants. It has become quite an attitude nowadays to try to sound as nasty as possible to impress others. But for my personal taste both extremes (elevator or disco pop on one hand and desperately trying to sound mean on the other side) sound equally boring, because you get the basic idea in three seconds, and then there's not much more interesting to follow. I hate soft pop and music industry mainstream sound styles as much as cold plastic or ear bleeding sound styles, just used to be distinct in the mass of modern music.

But here we are in the midst of taste disucssions, and I will rather leave that for everyone to decide for him-/herself.
_________________
Kronos 73 - Moog Voyager RME - Moog LP TE - Behringer Model D - Prophet 6 - Roland Jupiter Xm - Rhodes Stage 73 Mk I - Elektron Analog Rytm MkII - Roland TR-6s - Cubase 12 Pro + Groove Agent 5

[EvilDragon]