The Almighty VA of all times... 
by Ciprian from Toronto, ON, Canada, September 2008
Music Background:  Pro Musician

Writing a review about the Virus TI ? Boy, that’s a tough one! I’ve had it for 1 year now and if you want me to say all the detailed stuff about what it can do, I guess it would take me a couple of weeks to complete the task, so I will say only a few things here:
-it has 100% rightfully been nicknamed the Ferrari of all synths ever;
-built like a tank - german made, it has a rock-solid heavy aluminium chassis, high quality look and feel. Wherever it is, in your home or in a studio, it’s gonna be the centre of that place;
-keyboard ? it has the best keyboard I have ever played, perfect response, great feel and touch;
-packed with almost 3000 patches (2432 flash ROM patches and 512 RAM patches combined, to be more specific) that are all user editable, you’re gonna have tremendous editing and sound tweaking, shaping and morphing possibilities – in fact, the only limit with a Virus TI is your own imagination;
-no other synth (VA or pure analog) can get even close to the Virus TI (not to mention stand in front of it)
-it comes with killer built-in effects with lots of parameters;
-it would be much, much easier to talk about what the Virus can’t do than about its capabilities;
-whichever synth you buy, it will at some point be compared to this by someone;
-ease-of-use ? even if you’re a seasoned veteran, read the manual. If not, you’re just gonna be tweaking the knobs in hope for a good sound, even if the layout is good enough that even a neophyte can get good sounds out of it. But if you’re gonna pay this much cash for it, read the book, because no synth (rompler, VA or pure analog) is plug and play, every synth has its own style and personality – by the way, I would have liked the manual to be more thoroughly written, despite the fact that the Access customer support is outstanding!; This is a VA, so apart from music knowledge, sound knowledge is somehow required if you are serious into programming analog subtractive sounds. If you don’t have the knowledge, the Virus TI is a wonderful synth to start learning on; even if the quantity of patches greatly outnumbers the ones in any other VA, eventually you’re gonna want to have your own, personal sounds; and, in fact, you don’t get the Virus to limit yourself to “just” almost 3000 patches;
-I generally compose electronic / new age music, and I like to program sounds that resemble those of Jarre, Oldfield, Vangelis, Depeche Mode…the Virus is perfect in this respect; - by the way, the Virus TI Control goes with my Logic 8 soft sequencer (I am a Mac user) perfectly - no issues or soft conflicts so far;
-price ? You definitely get what you pay for and, in the Virus TI case, you get much more than what you have payed. Check the other synths in this price range. No one can come even close as far as sound, effects, built structure and keyboard concern – in fact, if you really wanna know, go check one! After playing and a little knob-twisting of the Virus for an hour or so (or even earlier), the words will be useless! When you first switch on the Virus, go to ROM B – 96 Schilla (patch no 96 from Bank ROM B) – it doesn’t necessarily characterize the Virus, but try this patch and try to do some knob tweaking on it. You’ll see what I mean…..anyway, this is probably the best patch in that 3000 patches galaxy…
Conclusion ? The Germans have gone beyond themselves, thanks a lot, Access Music!

  Nice Box! 
by John Lopez from Los Angeles, CA, October 2007
Music Background:  Performer, Writer

After listening to the sound of this box I knew it was money well worth spending. Signal flow very easy to control and program. Like any other instrument takes some practice to acheive desired results, fun way to find new sounds as well . Keyboard very nice feel, a few hang ups and glitches (tuning, arpegiator hang)not sure if new user error(we'll see) just reboot! nice box, I'm real happy with it. Thanks for your help Nate Edwards!

  Excellent Synth 
by Barzin from Chicago, IL, August 2007
Music Background:  Hobbyist

The best sounding VA synth out there. The current competition is sort of the new Roland V-Synth XT. But the Access sounds warmer and MORE analogue-ish to me. But there is not much lot of overlap, you can have both. The best choice is to buy the XT and a Virus Module (no keyboard). Even though the TI keyboard is great, if you want it all, that may be a great option. I highly suggest using the digital out. It's not night and day, but the difference is big enough to notice even for a laymen. I also own an Andromeda A6, and they pair very nicely together. There is not doubt it's a whale of synth, blows doors on Alesis, KORG or Nord VA gear, but they all have their place too. You need to couple it with a software or hardware sequencer... I'm use an MPC and sometimes my computer, also you can only program the user ARPS via the the Software VST... which sort of slows the the creative process if you don't use the computer much. Btw, it blows door on ANY VST Synth. There is no comparison. I have dozens of the best and I just don't use them anymore unless I'm doing some layering.

  Access Virus TI Keyboard update 
by Alan Winter from Central California, August 2006
Music Background:  Semi-pro musician

This is just an update on the TI. I'm still in love with it...it's really a dream board. Together with my Nord Lead 3, I have a killer setup that will cut thru guitars like a knife thru warm butter. But anyone getting a Virus TI needs to make sure that it has the 1.2.1 update, specifically for the problem the initial OS had with stuck notes. This update totally eliminates that problem, and thereby eliminates any qualms that I had with this awesome piece.

Not quite there yet.... 
by sebastian from Nyc, April 2006

The main reason I bought Virus Ti was not only for the sounds, but also for its TI capability......to be able to use it as a VST was the sellign point for me....Even though Access keep updating the drivers for the software/hardware still....I havent been able to use it without problems since november. Its very frustrating at times. please check out the access forums and then decide if this synth as now will do it for you.

Ti Polar... what a beast! 
by Anonymous from sun diego, ca, December 2005

I've had my Polar now for about 3 weeks, and with the latest firmware update from Access, it's performing pefectly with ableton live 5.0.2 under OSX on my 15"PB. I'm able to record up to 16 tracks, in any combination or all at once, simultanously, all over the USB cable. This is like having 16 Virus C's playing all at once, and the cool thing is that I can store the song settings in live with the 'virus control' plugin that comes with it. It's like having your cake and eating it too...and the sounds....the SOUNDS...this is the best synth I've owned in 25 years, hands down. I'm turning out tracks now faster than ever before, and I just can't stop playing this beautiful instrument. I had my doubts, but this truly is the 'holy handgrenade' of instruments.

Access Virus TI Keyboard...WOW !! 
by Alan Winter from Central California, October 2005

Being a self confessed "gear hound", I have a great feel for different synths and their personalities. I currently own a Nord Lead 2X, a Nord Lead 3, a Moog Voyager, a Motif ES, a Fantom X, and a slew of vintage pieces..."all-star" pieces to be sure. But today I received my Virus TI Keyboard. All I can say is "WOW" !! What a quality piece, not only in terms of sound, but of construction and execution as well. For those familiar with the Virus B and C models, there are no big surprises here...just a lot of improvements. I can't say that this piece is better than the Nord Lead 3 for all tasks, just a lot different. Whereas the NL3 is fat, raw, and aggressive, the Virus TI is smooth, lush, and polished (not in the way of the workstations and their overprocessed samples, but in a very evolved analog way)...and the Total Integration concept is killer...the future of synths, to be sure. NOTE THIS...there is no better semiweighted keyboard action on the planet than this...feels like a million dollars, and makes the velocity affected patches feel very natural. For the player that wants very analog sounds, very digital sounds, the best construction and keyboard available today...and is not afraid to pay more for it, GET A VIRUS TI today !!
By the way, if you do get one, get it from Craig Wilson at Sweetwater (no, this is totally unsolicited)...he got me the best price, kept me constantly appraised of the availability, and got it to me immediately when it became available. I only wish that all sales staff members at other stores were like this. He made me feel very appreciated and valuble at all times. Thanks, Craig !!

A DREAM WAS NOW TRUE 
by frank from germany, February 2005

ITS A DREAM MACHINE, IT WOORKS SO KEWL WITH OSX AND XP WITH LOGIC AUDIO AND RME DSP DIGIFACE! WOW THANK YOU ACCESSMUSIC I HAVE NOW SOLD MY KB!!

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