I've been a happy owner of a Virus TI since version 1. I now have a TI2 and I'm still happy with it. What intrigues me is how the company stays afloat with just the one product year after year. System updates are extremely rare and their website boasts that breaking news is "Voted Best Hardware Synth 2013"
It makes me wonder what the staff do all day with seemingly no department devoted to development. Compared to similar synths from DSI, who must have churned out dozens of new products in the same period, how can Access just remain stationary? Or do they believe the TI is so good it can't be improved?

 

That’s an excellent question !Maybe it is only one person !
I have contacted the support recently and they answer promptly in the evening....

 

And they even have a job opening available for a Software Developer! But currently only have 20 full-time employees.

 

This is their 2016 data...in euros

EUR 31.12.2016 31.12.2015
A. Anlagevermögen 5.809,00 6.938,00 'fixed assets'
B. Umlaufvermögen 309.824,87 265.088,93 'current assets'
C. Rechnungsabgrenzungsposten 136,000,00 'pre-paid expenses'
Bilanzsumme, Summe 315.769,87 272.026,93 'total assets'

Passiva

EUR 31.12.2016 31.12.2015
A. Eigenkapital 268.498,74 187.970,46
B. Rückstellungen 19.053,00 24.390,75
C. Verbindlichkeiten 28.218,13 59.665,72
Bilanzsumme, Summe 315.769,87 272.026,93


With such figures, we guess there aren't 300 employees. ..
At the same time, sorry like thomann keep on selling those virus synths in a regular basis. .
...and every single band in the world seem to have one virus synth... it must be hard to find an edm/trance/etc producer, who owns several hardware synthesis, that doesn't have a ti or polar virus synth...


I've always though access music was a 50-100 million euros company. .

Meanwhile, steinberg did around 32 millions, in 2016 and 2017, with overall sales around 12 millions...
If we more or less calculate the % that Cubase, nuendo, halion, etc etc, and the ur-xx audio interfaces, represent, in terms of sales, we can more or less extrapolate and guess how many copies of Cubase were sold. With 172 employees. ..no way those x.5 updates can be free ;)

Native instruments are also a 30-million company.

Even the Uhe, and the ever complaining boss, who blames the evil, hairy ugly pirates for all the sorrows and pains of the planet, already has 11 employees, instead of 10, 2 years before. For sure, the ugly ,devilish pirates have had a huuuge negative impact on sales, right....and they had to hire an extra guy.


Algorithms are so close to the 'analog' sound, and the 8/16 cores/16/32 thread CPUS have become so powerful, that a synth like the arturia pigments would be impossible to create on hardware... and even if it was possible to recreate all those crazy modulators, filters, etc etc, 1 or 2 notes would be enough, to destroy a synth with 16 dsps (virus ti has 2 dsps...).

Pretty much everything has already been made. Granular, subsctractive, sample based, wavetable, etc etc, there already exists tons of synths, hardware and software. ..

What could access music bring to the table ? Do people need another hybrid wavetable/subsctractive/ granular/etc synth ? No...

Could the virus ti be updated ?

Hell yeah.

Make a virus TI 3, with
16 stereo tracks, with 16 stereo outputs via usb2 or usb3
386 notes of polyphony ( each of the 16 outputs could run at least 24 notes)
Add some extra filter types
Add more modulators
Add some multi segment envelope generators
Add wavetable oscillator
Add a big step sequencer mode/complete arp mode
Add granular oscillator, with sample import
Add unlimited presets/banks/ manager
Add random features
Add 1 delay/ 1 reverb/ 1 compressor/1 limiter/ 1 eq/ 1 saturation/ PER track (16 tracks total)
Add 8 free knobs
Add 3rd mod wheel
add up to 8 envelopes and lfos
add a big 9 inches touch screen, to quickly manage presets, step sequence, create mseg points

Keep the price under 2000 euros. ..
... and get ready to invade the planet !

It really sucks, to only have 3 stereo outs... when the usb2 can handle hundreds of tracks, at 24/48 !

 

Does anyone have the

Virus TI Installer 5.1.7.00 for Windows 64 bit
-------Change log -------- ?

It asks me my login, can't remember it.

Thanks

 

Waiting for the R2R crack

 

The owner of Access Virus also makes the Kemper Profiler Amp

Maybe one day they will also find a way to model FX pedals, consoles, preamps, EQ, Compressors & tape machines, etc., in a single hardware unit?

 

Last edited: Jan 17, 2019

They could have easily beaten Dave Smith by creating something like the Prophet X. A Virus with sampling/sample playback should have been released a decade ago. I don't know why it took Sequential so long to do it. Shame I'm broke.

 

The Virus isn't perfect until they replace the poor USB support. I've owned a couple Virii. they were touchy with what USB chipset one had on the computer. Sometimes it would work, more oft than not, it would have major issues. I ended up never using the 'Total Integration' due to it and they ended up being sold.

At this point, I'm unsure I care about it considering the wealth of other options out there.

 

I sold my first Ti because of the USB connectivity fiasco. The TI2 seems better, but I have more hardware and software options now than I did back in 1997 and I use it sparingly.

 

Yes they are flying with the Kemper amps, I have also been told by one of their major distributors that the chip in Virus is no longer being made but that are developing a new chip in India which is supposed to be fantastic, they will use in their amps and there is talk of a Ti3..but a while away untill they rebuild around this chip.....also with the usb dramas i also find it must not share its port and if i run it in Multi mode i actually do not have any crash issues....might only be me though

 

Virus Access is an amazing piece of gear, it is the VA sound done properly . Germans need to do things once, cause things are well made and meant to last forever. After the job is done, german companies can rest and still have a healthy profit. Arturia Pigments quality is actually poor when compared to UHE, now imagine if we compare it to a Virus. About processing power, if you have good ear and experience, you will understand that it does not take a supercomputer with all the cores in the world to get an amazing sound. It is actually more important how efficient and properly designed are the internal algorithms that process the sound, and behind the algorithms there is a lot of interesting dsp research with heavy math involved. Do you remember logic? the algorithms that comprised the emagic logic years ago (like those sweet resonant bass filters that created a genre on its own) are the same algorithms sold by apple in the current logic. And yes Emagic = german,
so I guess
if it ain't broke, don't fix it

 

Emagic is german,like Cubase,Studio One(Presonus American but S1developped in germany),Ableton,Pro tools(Avid are Canadian but Pro Tools developped in Germany)...Germany are the experts in audio softwares.

But speaking Virus,what is exactly this problem with their usb port??

Owning a Virus is my dream since many many years ago but they are very expensive for the poor musicians.So recently I bought a Elektron Analog Four MK2,instead of a Virus TI2 Desktop.
But today the small Virus Snow can be found at around 400€ used,it could be a good deal.

Do you know it?What do you think about this synth?

 

I have the Desktop snow, its just smaller, buy obviously sound is via digging into layers and editors, but the sound is no different, ive hd for 5 years, but new parts and replacements are not available, but theres a lot out there on the market if parts are needed, ive been always tempted to go the bigger versions but im also waiting for Ti3....could never be, but the Snow is great!!!! the usb is just not great, it needs its own port {i have on my desktop front and i use none of the other ports on that outlet) but since running in Multi ive not has the issues (the issues are glitch then crash....horrible sound as preset jams etc) if you usea lot of usb hardware (like 6 or more) it doesnt like to share....i dont know the technology as to why, i dont think its a compliant driver maybe? but as i said since using in multi mode...no issues///


if you use it via midi its sweet...but its the analogue outs to use, the sound via the usb driver is great, so i use that way....reserve my inputs for older gear....midi with mystery islands controller 100%

 

also doch.....
wtf..
imagine bla²
--------------------
if you check daily you can get virus even for under 300-400 on ebayk

 

I just had a past life nightmare watching someone type code into a C64 ...No debugging possible after 100's of lines were inputted. Pulling hair out meticulously going through line after line wondering where the hell I went wrong. OMG make it stop!

 

Noir Et Blanc Vie
great channel