The Effects now have a section of their own see below , whereas on the A and B models these settings were all hidden within Edit menus accessed via the LCD. Both groups of effects have Edit buttons that will take you to more detailed parameter menus. This works in conjunction with the Oscillator Select and Edit buttons to facilitate access to the functions of the third oscillator, although there remains no easy way to 'solo' its output.
The two user-definable 'soft knobs' shown below the LCD in the picture on page 44 have migrated from the left of the panel to the bottom of the centre.
This juxtaposition of knobs and display brings with it the option to have assignable knob names per patch, thus serving as a useful reminder of which knob does what. These names can be chosen from a list of either parameter names or descriptive words such as 'attack', 'cutoff', 'decay', or even more synaesthetic terms such as 'fear' 'hype' and 'infect'! An option to create your own would add another fun, personal touch.
Whilst it would have been preferable to have more of these arpeggiator functions as hardware controls, limited panel space precludes this — but let's not forget that any two arpeggiator parameters can be assigned to the soft knobs, so it's not as bad as it seems. Let's hope a future OS upgrade includes user-programmable arpeggios — the 40 preset patterns on offer are useful, but there's always going to be a pattern you'd like that isn't included.
While we're on the subject, a 'strum' function would be a handy addition Photo: Mark Ewing. As expected, repeated toggling alternates between the last parameter change and its previous state. The Virus' Undo function is particularly clever, in that it can revert to the last edited sound, even after a program change — or several — just as long as any newly selected program has not itself been edited.
The same goes for Multi Mode; all 16 part edit buffers can be recalled even after a new Multi Program has been selected. This is seriously good planning — other manufacturers take note!
The C's modulation matrix sources and destinations have been increased from the three sources and six destinations on the B model to six sources and nine destinations on the C.
Source Assigns 1, 4, 5 and 6 have one destination each, while Source Assigns 2 and 3 can have two and three destinations respectively. OS v5. In common with many synth modules, the Virus C has no keypad with which to call up patches directly.
This is partly ameliorated by being able to search for patches by sound category; nevertheless I found it fairly tedious having to scroll through patches especially so many to get to a specific location. OK, panel space is limited, and Access have done well to accommodate users' demands for more hardware control of important functions without increasing the size of the original instrument.
Of course, sending program changes from a master keyboard is an option, but there are bound to be occasions when that is neither practical nor desirable. Ah well, you can't have everything. Finally on the hardware front, a tempo indicator LED has been included — a helpful referencetool bearing in mind that anything time-based or cyclic in the Virus can be clocked either by MIDI or by its own internal clock.
Despite this, I'd always advise that you back up your Banks before upgrading. Recommending a handful of patches is always a subjective issue, especially from such a huge selection. One man's meat is another man's mashed swede, but these tickled my particular fancy Existing Virus fans won't need to be told how good this synth sounds.
Those of you who have not yet been exposed to this particular bug will want to know what symptoms to expect actually, I think I did quite well, getting this far before doing The Medical Metaphor Of particular note are the comprehensive modulation routings, which enable almost every variable parameter of the Virus to be modulated.
Even the modulators can themselves be modulated, producing tones of great timbral complexity and animation. I particularly like the dual filters, which can be configured either in series or in parallel, given independent envelopes, and then panned in stereo — giving you two sounds for the price of one. Unison Twin Mode is also host to a very nice stereo layering effect, which is great for making those pad sounds really expansive. Located curiously in the Effects section, Analogue Boost can be used rather like an 'appendix' [groan!
The function is particularly useful for fattening up the bottom end, and can be equally helpful in adding a little sparkle to the upper range, giving a subjectively different result than using the EQ effect. And talking of which The EQ's parameters are among those that can be modulated, thus giving you another way to generate moving, filter-like effects.
Finally, Access must be congratulated on the phaser, which is a real corker, and sounds just the way you want a phaser to sound. Try it — trust me, you'll soon see what I mean. The vocoder section of the Virus has an implementation which deserves a mention, and is worth comparing with the vocoder found on one of the Virus' closest rivals, the Novation Supernova. When the Virus' vocoder is active on a patch in Single Mode, the entire filter section is disabled, and its controls are used to vary specific vocoder parameters.
Here's a quick rundown of the filter controls' altered functions. The Filter Release control sets the number of vocoder bands, from 1 to 32 the more bands, the more 'intelligible' the end result.
Cutoff Frequency controls the vocoder's centre frequency, while the Env Amount knob controls Frequency Spread. This can be set individually for the Carrier Filter 1 and the Modulator Filter 2 and is interactive with the centre frequency.
If this all sounds pretty complicated, you're right — it is. There's nothing for it but to twiddle away and experiment, and fortunately patch bank B has a selection of templates BB to get you going. I soon had a Radio 3 programme transformed into some pretty weird alien soundscapes. However, I wasn't convinced by the C's 'pure' vocoder sound, finding it rather gritty and occasionally lacking in intelligibility, even using all 32 bands.
Polyphony is expanded from 24 to 32 voices! Otherwise, the synth engine is virtually the same as the B series. Three oscillators, one sub osc. The C series offers an expanded mod matrix with 6 source and 9 destination slots, 98 effects, wood side panels, and more! The operating systems can be easily upgraded via MIDI This item is sold As-Described and cannot be returned unless it arrives in a condition different from how it was described or photographed.
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Learn More. But you can still create some interestingly vocal-like effects using just two filters if you set things up very carefully.
The first step is to create some speech-like raw materials. Then set both filters to band-pass, mode to Par, resonance to around 90, and filter keytracking to zero percent. You'll get a range of vowel sounds by setting both Cutoff controls between 50 and 70 — experiment for best results.
For an even more expressive effect, patch the mod wheel to the Cutoff 2 control. You can then play the vowels as you play the keyboard. The effect only sounds believable over a low octave range, and works best as a solo voice.
If you patch velocity to Cutoff 2, you can control the vowel sounds from a keyboard interesting, but tricky to play Saturation: Although this is controlled with the oscillator Volume knob, the saturation is part of the filter section and you can set its characteristics from the filter section's Edit button. The Virus offers a range of saturation types, from basic rounding to digital decimation.
These are best experienced rather than described. Many add a hint of digital fizz that isn't always welcome — it's a quirk of the Virus that for analogue simulations you'll often get the best and fattest sound by leaving saturation turned off.
The home site for the Virus and its many variants. Includes OS updates for all models, comparison charts, sample MP3s, patch collections, and links to other resources. Plus, you can download the free Sound Diver-based editor from here as well.
It's perhaps because the support network available here is so comprehensive that there's so little other on-line information about such a popular synth. The Access mailing list on Ampfea. Because it's maintained by fans, there's more general than technical chat about the Virus and how it's being used. Home of Rob Papen, who contributed many of the most popular patches to the factory set, with a link to patches that Rob sells online. Like the other features of the Virus, the LFOs have plenty of hidden subtleties that can baffle the novice and delight the adventurous sound designer.
The basics seem straightforward enough — two LFOs with the usual selection of wave shapes and destinations — but the Wave LFO setting is one of the secret weapons in the Virus arsenal.
Pressing the Shape button on the panel shows the wave selector. This might not sound like a big deal, but the Virus really comes alive when these digital waveforms are used as modulation sources. They're particularly useful for controlling the amplitudes of the oscillators in various combinations, and for complex filter sweeps.
The standard sine, triangle, and ramp waveforms sound predictable and uninteresting in comparison. When combined with the arpeggiator, it's easy to use these waves to create complex but solidly rhythmic textures that evolve as notes are held down, these patterns spanning anything from a fraction of a beat to entire bars.
As with the oscillator section, it's well worth taking the time to audition these waves to see what kinds of effects they can create when used as modulation sources. For example, wave 47 is a double ramp, and is particularly good for rhythmic modulation. Some of the other waves change very quickly, which means they're best used at very slow LFO rates. Unfortunately there are no wave graphs in the manual, and so far as I could find they're not listed anywhere on-line either.
The most interesting LFO effects available on the Virus are to be found by selecting the Wave option, which gives the LFO access to all the main digital oscillator waveforms. These more complex waveforms work particularly well when you combine them with MIDI sync. The wide range is there to accommodate some of the more frenetic modulation shapes. With a little thought it's easy to create very complex but stable rhythmic effects by locking both LFOs to MIDI clock, setting each one to a different subdivider and waveshape, and then routing them to Wave Sel, filter cutoff frequencies, the levels of each oscillator, the pitch of oscillator two when the Sync button is turned on, and so on.
But how to make these connections? The selection of default assignments available from the panel is more than a touch random. Oscillator pitch is obvious enough, but LFO control of filter resonance isn't quite so useful and, as we've seen, control of oscillator Shape is less useful still. Fortunately, the Assign option provides a much wider range of destinations for both LFOs.
Clicking the button repeatedly steps down the list of destinations on the panel. Now you get a huge range of destinations to choose from, including almost all the programming parameters the Virus has to offer. Aside from conventional patching possibilities pitch, filter cutoff, and so on there are also more adventurous destinations, such as the envelope timing parameters and arpeggiator controls.
You can also modulate effects settings, such as delay time and reverb mix. You can even make the LFOs modulate each other, for chaotic and unpredictable effects. When you combine complex waveforms with MIDI sync and this very rich selection of modulation routings, you can add another level of movement to rhythmic patches, or create very fluid and interesting slowly evolving pads and abstract tones.
The patching possibilities rival those of a medium-sized modular, but with the advantages of MIDI sync, polyphony, and patch memories. It's perhaps best to explore these combinations without too much direction from a feature like this one.
The basic principle of using unusual LFO waveforms with MIDI sync and perhaps the arpeggiator gives you plenty of scope for colourful sound creation. As with a real analogue synth, exploring the possibilities makes finding some trademark programming effects and a signature sound more likely. And what about that arpeggiator? By default it has the usual selection of modes: up, down, random, and so on. These aren't very exciting, but using the Pattern parameter brings in a range of rhythmic repeats that spice up the sound and make it much more interesting.
There are 64 of these if you have an older OS you'll find fewer available — you can get the rest by upgrading and they use the same clock divider system as the LFOs, so it's easy to create MIDI sync. If you switch the Arpeggiator to its fastest Clock setting, you can generate whirring, buzzing distortions. The arpeggiator also hides a secret, which is that notes in each pattern include velocity information.
So patching velocity to filter cutoff, Wave Sel, or some other timbral parameter can produce some wonderfully dynamic rhythmic effects. As a good rule of thumb, most patches with a fast attack sound good when arpeggiated this way, and it's worth spending a productive hour or two trying out arpeggiation on all the presets that don't have it already. The top 30 patterns or so include twiddles, legato glides, and burrs designed to add interest to dance music.
Many of these sound best in one of the Mono modes, and turning manually-controlled portamento on can create some very TBlike acid effects. Using the arpeggiator in Multi mode can easily create monstrous arpeggios of ultimate doom! The trick here is to try to use patches and pitches that are distinct enough to be heard clearly.
You can also add basic rhythm by filling out the sound with arpeggiated bass drum, snare, and hi-hat patches — the latter especially can benefit from some of the more intricate patterns that are available. The effects section of the Virus is an understated beast. Although you can use these effects just for adding gloss to your synth sounds, it's more interesting to include them within patches in a more organic way.
The key here is the modulation section buried deep inside the main Edit menu. This works like the LFO assignment section, but is independent of it and offers a much wider range of sources, including various MIDI controllers, velocity, and also the envelope outputs.
The destinations include most of the parameters inside the Virus — including many effects control parameters. This means, for example, that you can use an envelope or one of the continuous controller channels to control delay time or phaser frequency. A good start is to experiment with adjusting the effects using the synth section's modulation sources. Doing this will give you a whole new palette of sounds and effects you probably never expected to hear from a synth. And finally, there's external processing to think about.
Access have made it easy to assign external inputs to oscillator control for FM, to the ring modulator, and of course to the filters. The big attraction in the last case is that this will also route audio through the effects section, so you can use filtering and level control at the same time as adding delay effects and chorus — ideal for chopped up dance pads, for example.
But perhaps the most impressive effect which uses the external inputs is the vocoder. The manual does a good job of explaining how this works, and if reading about it doesn't make it clear, practice soon will.
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