Just checking in from 2023 to say thanks for all the great content over the years. I just watched the @audiopilz Superbooth '23 vid, and it inspired me to revisit an old sonicstate review. Really, thank you for being a steward of music technology and for creating a community that brings me joy. The pod has been a weekly watch/listen for as long as I can really remember being on youtube. Sonicstate is probably my 2nd longest youtube subscription. Really, thank you.
"destinations are legion" love it! great review have to admit, I've never been a fan of many digital/dsp based synths but this definitely looks like something I might consider for my studio
awesome review, this has definantly convinced me to get a ti desktop, i could never get the snow without the front knobs. that's the most fun of a synth!! now that the Ti2 is out, the Ti's should come down a little in price! You are an excellent host aswell, subscribing to your videos as we speak. please make more :)
Your reviews are all party awesome.... Keep it up. Also what you have tay has proved very useful to me in his labyrinth of synths and which one to go for,
ps: great detailed review! thank you very much, it's really the only review I`ve found I wish you can make a video comparing the Snow to the TI desktop to the TI Polar Happy Holidays!
Firstly, the Snow only does 4 separate parts, with the Ti dtop you get 16 parts, so that's a big difference in the capabilities. As far as I know, once you are hooked on the Virus, you may find you want to use it everywhere, so this may be a big deal for you
this was absolutely brilliant! Its truly a must have for every producer, I'm buying one when I have the money available. Thanks for the excellent review! I'm completely convinced now. Hold on world, here I come!
great review!! Although I was initially disappointed by the Ti Snow by itself via midi (in comparison to earlier models) the software editor and parameters are what really makes this the awesome synthesizer that it is. Thanks man!
I dont think you'll be disapointed. Worth checking out what others are saying if you intend to use this with another host DAW (I used Logic Pro on the mac)
I would think so as there are VST versions of the Virus Control Plugin - best check the Access website for full compatibility list and user experiences
between this little beast and the forthcoming omnisphere from spectrasonics, it's is going to be a very, very good year for new sounds and inquisitive ears.
About to (hopefully) purchase a Virus Ti2 desktop. I kept thinking "which virtual analog synth should i get?" and never considered Virus until this deal popped up. Now, I'm just in awe and suddenly realize what everyone has been talking about. Pricey though.
The more I get into the blofeld the more I appreciate the "waldorf sound". It is very flexible and easy to program from the main control panel. I'm not dissing the virus as I've never owned one.
hello there, i love looking at your reviews.. you are straight to the point and right on the important details to point out. I have a question though.. I want to buy a virus ti desktop.. does it also have the same control software as the snow? thank you very much
Columbo, I would have in the review, but I didnt have any. The latest drivers and OS made this a pretty pain free review, although it was around a year ago, it's possible that newer host OS has caused a problem
The ti range seems awesome! But I heard that the lfos only go up to 30hz or so? Is that true? Is that a problem in practice? Is this better than the blofeld? Loved the mod matrix of that one but had to sell it to finance new gear...
Hello! I've got a question for you. Does this device work with FL 8 or 7? If so, how do you set it up simple? It probably works like a vst. Kind regards. Vinganza
Wow i see you have a HPD-15 Roland HandSonic! I never hear anyone talk about that thing. I have one too. My bandmates love it. I was wondering what you do with it. I wanna use mine more but it's limited for me in the fact that there's only stereo outs and midi in/out. I wish i could split the drum hits individually for more control live and in the studio...(like the brain from a V-Drum set)
Get one used to save $$...I like mine a lot and use it live all of the time. Total Control is amazing.....Open in your DAW, set your patches, Save to hardware, unplug and go. Really fast.
hey, please help, Snow v Polar Snow is only 1 DSP vs 2 DSP TI dtop Snow is only 4 multi timbral vs TI dtop 16 Multi Timbral I use Logic 8 and I do have a controller ,i prefer a table top, but could you give me some advice on whether "the lack of power" in the Snow as compared to the TI desktop is a huge difference? For something that I will keep forever, is it penny wise pound foolish? As far as lack of knobs, cant I assign a MIDI controller to tweak extra parameters in Logic ? thanks!
The TI series is an absolute monster. The snow is kinda like the TI's little brother that is still bigger than the biggest kid on the block. I really wish that Access would release another huge update to their line of synths, or maybe release a new line or model since the TI2 is starting to get a few years old now. Still an awesome synth regardless though.
@pkpaulkersey honestly there isnt a huge difference from the highend vsts these days and the virus. Just to be clear about this i own a ti2 desktop and love it to bits. A few things that i would mention are that the sound is not the only thing worth considering, Having direct control of the synth makes sound design alot more fun and intuitive, the load it removes from your computer, whilst not to important these days is useful you can use it without having a computer turned on...
so i found a used snow on ebay for $800 (and it all looks legit, crossing fingers). so i bought it.. and i'm pumped but nervous because it's my first hardware synth, since only using vsts. but the daw integration as well as the pro sound are what sold me. i was going to go with a micro brute but i think this will do a lot more for me.
Really well actually. It worked great; just like a vst except better because it uses its own processing power and not the computer's. It's annoying having a limited number of voices to work with but it wasn't hard to figure out ways to deal with it. (Like recording phrases to audio tracks when needed.) But yeah overall I was really happy with it and don't regret buying it at all
+Josh Venning that's good to hear. I'm trying to decide on the Snow or a the Blofeld Keys. I'm concerned with reports of the TI being a bit flakey on one hand, and on the other the encoders being dodgy on the Blofeld! Thanks.
+PatientRichard I haven't seen much flakiness with my snow.. Sometimes it won't load in ableton but it's rare and a quick power cycle always fixes it. Considering I bought a used floor model I'm more than satisfied with it. It does the job wonderfully when I need it to. I love the thick, layered sounds it can make.. If you want a really big sounding synth line with the open cutoff and maybe some phase effect it's perfect. It can really make sounds that seem to come from a synth with more voices it seems. Although I admit I don't have much experience with other hardware synths so I could be wrong. Here's an example from one of my mixes if you're interested soundcloud.com/joshvenning/vega
it's pretty much the same as what he said about the multi timber you'll get 4 virtual synth with the Snow and 16 Virtual synth in the rest, snow is like a tone down Access Virus for those artist you does not eat in music...
which one is better the Virus TI snow or the Virus C. The Virus c has 16×multie . I have seen an used Virus C for €600,- and one ti snow for € 650,- also used ...
well to be honest I need your advice, I checked today at the store the virus ti 2 keyboard, i did not the sound better than these collection of 500 $ ( sylenth and z3ta zebra) instead of 3500 $ anfd go ahead buy sh-201 from roland,, am I mistaken.. please advice???
God damnit I'm playing with the idea of bying this one, I even could afford it, but is it really worth it? Daaaaaamn... You are tearing me apart, Access! :-D
yeah i agree. i own the Virus Snow and a friend of mine owns the Blofeld and honestly, i think the blofeld just makes more sense than this - especially if you're not planning to use the virus mainly via the TI VST thing
@pkpaulkersey ... ontop of these are hundreds of reasons which due to limited space i cant go into. Then theres the sound, my sweet jesus this thing sings. its character is incredible and dark. Its incredible versatile and can sound like so many different things but ultimately its still a virus and has a character which no doubt you have heard in so many different songs. i you want i can do some side by side comparisons against your favorite vsts and post it online...pm me if you are intersted
My ti snow was completely unusable. worked with support and they couldn't get it to work. crashes in ti, out of ti, audio pops so even if a session's midi is stable, you gotta worry about the recording.
I own this and the Blofeld. Blofeld is a much more exciting synth and has much better filters. Virus is great for so many sounds , but just great, the Blofeld makes my spine tingle.
I have both Serum and a Virus and yes Serum sounds great, it's about as close as you can get. But no. You don't get the sonics of a Virus with ANY soft synth.
Pfff you obviously weren't using your Virus properly. When will people learn that when it comes to synthesisers hardware tops software, regardless of how outdated they are. Vintage synths from the 80's have waaaay more outdated algorithms and they still sound better than any soft synth.
You're really comparing Reason to a Virus?!? lol... The Snow is the EXACT SAME sound engine as the entire TI series. It is not "just a plugin", otherwise you wouldn't need the hardware, which produces the sound. The VST is a controller for the virus, not the other way around. And yes, there is no keyboard, because who really needs another keyboard these days? Way better to have one master keyboard and save $1000 on the hardware.
The funniest thing is, even with all those 9 sawtooths playing at once, it still doesn't sound anywhere as good as Analog! I suppose if you're a Dance Musician, then yeh.. This is the Ticket for you. But if you want to sound Original & Unique, this is about as much use a building floodlights in Heaven.
I was going to buy one of these because they sound great. What has put me off is essentially it is an overpriced VSTi with its own sound card - being the hardware unit - and feeding it back into your DAW. I would rather stick with NI Massive and Rob Papen's Predator VSTi's.
