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I had a Virus C for a week or so - I bought it cheap, so if I didn't like it I could sell it on and make some money. As it worked out I sold it quite soon, but here are my impressions.
As synths go, the Virus is pretty good. It's got plenty of features, and a few unique touches, such as the two assignable knobs below the LCD that you can add a variety of labels to, such as 'Hype' and 'Infect'. Very snazzy. Polyphony is up there with the best, the effects section is a major strength, and you can program it to to all sorts of eprverted things. It's a well built, sleek looking box too, and the red LEDs with the black background look great.
For me, however, it wasn't really a keeper. Sure, it was stuffed full of useable sounds, but the overall sound quality for me wasn't there. I had it sat next to my Andromeda, Nord Rack 2x, and a Waldorf Q and XTk. I've also owned a Novation KS4 and a Roland JP8000. I'll try and review it against these synths, to give an impression of where it does well, and where it is lacking.
Going from the Virus to the Andromeda was an eye opener. First impressions of the Virus were that it sounded good, but then playing it after playing the Andy makes you wonder where the bass has gone, and why it now sounds so lo-fi. I'm not an analog nut, and I'm not gonna try and claim that because the Andromeda is analog it is automatically better, but to my ears the Andy was distinctly more solid and richer sounding than the Virus. It's more expensive, but it's a hell of a lot better sounding too!
With the Nord, it was a similar story - although the Virus has a lot more options and programability than the Nord, and effects up the wazoo, in terms of quality, again, I'd take the Nord. If I had to choose only one synth out of the Nord and Virus, I'd go for the Virus as it's much more versatile, but the Nord is easier to use, and while much more limited, the oscillators are a lot purer sounding.
The Q is harder to program than the Virus - the interface is a lot better, but it's just harder to get a sound that works well, probably due to the monster amount of options. When you do hit a sweetspot on the Q however, it blows the Virus out of the water. It's a very high quality, crystal clear sound - you can hear every nuance of what's going on. It's like the difference between looking at something through smoked glass, then removing the glass. The same is true of the XTk, though it isn't as close to the Virus in what it is designed to do as the Q.
My main gripes about the Virus were the somewhat sub-par sound, and the interface, which I found to be the least accesable of the lot. The manuals are excellent, and go a long way towards making up for this, but I just didn't click with the Virus in the same way as other gear.
Some may think I'm being too harsh on the Virus, but bear in mind I only had it for a week or two. I used it a lot over that period, but maybe if I'd had it longer it would have grown on me. I certainly wouldn't rule out owning one again in the future, to give it another go, but I found a V-Synth in a local store and traded in the Virus against it - a damn good move it turned out to be too!
I wouldn't say the Virus is a bad synth, it's not. Just for me, it is outshone by a few other pieces of kit in a similar price range on the s/h market. I think it would be ideal for a first synth, as it is a complete package, with usable effects, and tons of great presets to get you started, and the manual really explains how to program. The interface is a bit of a bugger, and could be a bit confusing for someone starting out, but a bit of time spent using the unit would sort that out.
This is a very hyped piece of gear, and I hope I've gone some way to adding a bit of balance to these reviews. It's a great synth, but it's definately worth looking at the other options before buying one.
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