Access Virus TI

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FutureMusic
REVIEWS ACCESS VIRUS TI
gone back to the drawing board for
the TI, and I hugely respect them for
coming up with so complete a
solution here. Sure, there’s still room
for improvements, but I’m sure new
tricks are in development. This is the
most desirable piece of technology
I’ve come across for some time –
I urge you to check it out.
FM
tag genuine. The same is true for the
MIDI routing options, which allow the
Virus to act as a kind of MIDI hub.
MIDI can be passed through the unit
en route to other synths and
modules in your studio and as ever,
this is painless to set up.
Summing up
The new Virus is impossible to
dislike. So many of us run our
studios in software alone and yet this
unit is so desirable you’ll be forced to
at least reconsider your new-found
sleek, minimalist approach.
We’re all getting used to being
able to buy a software synth for no
more than a few quid and adding
something useful to our set-ups that
£1,200 looks like quite an outlay, but
right off the bat you get a hardware
synth, a software equivalent, an
audio interface, a MIDI interface and
a control surface, with support for
other synths and sequencers
planned for the latter. And this is
before you’ve factored in the sounds
which, were they hooded youths,
you’d immediately issue with ASBOs.
Access haven’t rested on their
laurels. Despite the success of the
Virus range up to this point, they’ve
next treat. You can select the unit as
your audio interface, so that all audio
routes into and out of the unit itself.
Obviously, there are no XLR inputs
on the back, but if you have any kind
of channel strip or preamp, this
means that you can record any and
all instruments through the Virus’
192kHz, 24-bit converters en route
to your computer.
Two analogue and two S/PDIF
inputs are available, so it is at last
possible to make the Virus the centre
of an all-digital studio. As you can
see, Access don’t shirk in their
desire to make the ‘Totally Integrated’
VERDICT ACCESS VIRUS TI
BUILD QUALITY
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VALUE FOR MONEY
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EASE OF USE
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VERSATILITY
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QUALITY OF RESULTS
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2 4 6 8 10
The charms of Virus TI are
contagious. Beg, borrow or…
okay, please don’t steal one.
1. Monkfi sh Pad
2. Heaven Trance Lead
3. Go-Er Arp – in the fi rst of three
sequences, the Virus turns into Arp
mode to provide a shadow loop.
4. Dub-Seq – here’s a dub seq pattern.
5. Old-Skool Arp
6. Bass T I – and another Virus forte.
ON THE DVD
“THE MOST DESIRABLE PIECE
OF TECHNOLOGY I’VE COME
ACROSS FOR SOME TIME”
Improved screen and
soft knobs make for
easy programming
It’s a synth, an audio
interface, a MIDI
interface, a controller…
Design aesthetics
THE PHYSICAL INTERFACE on the TI
has been modifi ed and improved from
previous Virus incarnations, and these
developments are worthy of mention.
The soft knobs below the screen offer
a useful starting point, as does the
bright shiny LCD screen, which updates
the dated 2-line LCD affair of previous
Viruses. More signifi cantly, the desktop
version features a rear-panel which can
be rotated so the plugs and ports can be
‘moved’ to the bottom of the unit rather
than languishing in an unreachable
position when rack-mounted.
Alongside these modifi cations, Access
have had some fun with this interface
too. Both Polar and keyboard versions of
the TI feature a rear-panel Access logo
which is backlit. This can be set to pulse
to either clocked on internal tempo, so
that your virus ‘throbs’ in time with your
music. Expect vibrate alerts and mirror
balls in future download updates.
Now with the power to
control Virus TI with
software and hardware
FMU170.rev_virus 62FMU170.rev_virus 62 5/12/05 3:10:41 pm5/12/05 3:10:41 pm