Upon unpacking the Virus TI Keyboard and hooking it up through my headphones, I just stared at this beautiful, sexy keyboard, and reflected on why I loved the Virus line so much. Like chess, it’s easy to learn and hard to master. You can spend all day recording presets and tweaking just a little here and there, or you can program away with its in-depth sound programming tools.
Although the Access online MP3 demos sounded really good, there’s nothing like listening to the Virus TI through good headphones and decent monitors. Owning a Virus kC, I felt right at home with how Access laid the most-commonly-tweaked parameters right on the panel, and with a little knob-fiddling, the Virus TI screamed, moaned, and growled at me…It was like the keyboard was teasing me with an is-that-all-you-got???
Access perfected the balance of having lots of dedicated knobs to play this live, but also has enough submenus and parameters to really get into the heart of this monster. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve played great-sounding boards that lacked one or two really useful parameters to tweak onstage. Searching frantically through menus and weird combinations of holding shift and another key sometimes stifles the mood when you’re playing. Needless to say, this board will drop jaws on stage, or in the studio, and it’s pretty easy.
Now because this keyboard is a virtual analog synthesizer, it constructs leads, pads, and sound effects extremely well. It’s a perfect complement to your sampled, ROM-based keyboards that do pianos, brass, and strings well. The Virus TI would be your “top” keyboard to play live with screaming leads, warm pads, and downright scary SFX!
My next step is to integrate the Virus TI in my home studio with Logic Pro to take advantage of how the TI can be used as an audio interface, a sound generator, a MIDI controller, and a native-like plug-in to process TI sounds and parameters right in my DAW. Whether you record its legendary sounds in the studio, or show off this ear-candy on stage, the Virus TI will move at your pace. With the forward-thinking concept of TI (Total Integration), Access proves they invest in ways to future-resist their line and provide you with tools to create sounds for years to come.