Virus Ti snow or Virus C?

[Skywalker]

Hi guys I need some help deciding which synth to get, I have been looking closely at the Virus Snow as it´s portable which is important for me, it has effects, usb connection etc.

But just recently a friend of mine offered me the possibility to buy his Virus C and it would be about 200 euros less then the snow. I know the synth and it´s in great condition.

I am considering the pro´s and con´s. So far I´m favoring the Snow as it is more portable and four parts is enough for me.

This is my first synth and my big concern would be the lack of knobs on the snow, I don´t know how to make my own patches but obviously with a synth I will want to learn.

Soft synths just don´t do it for me, although some have nice sounds they are just not inspiring to learn how to program and in my opinion sound thin compared to a virus.

Will the snow be intuitive enough for me to want to program it or will it be more like a preset box?

Will I be able to sell the C for about the same price I´m buying it for if I decide to upgrade to a Ti later on? Price is 700 euros more or less.

The snow also comes new with a 2 year guarantee and atomizer which I would take advantage of for live gigs.

Hope to hear your insight.

Thanks in advance

[andivax]

e. it's just simple.
virus c - 1 dsp
virus ti - 2 dps + new algos
virus ti snow - 1 dsp + new algos

so, we have 1 dsp synth versus 1 dsp.
but in snow we have new algos but limited voices (4).

Recomend you SNOW, IMHO.

[Phaidon]

The Virus C is a bit more "analog" sounding.

The Snow/Ti stuff is a bit more edgy/digital,but in a nice way.

I would go for the Snow,personally.

Cheers

[andivax]

Virus C has the SAME audio engine as TI.
It's impossible for TI sounds less or more analogue than C.
The case in DAC/ADC of Virus and YOUR AUDIO CARD.

[Skywalker]

Thanks guys I think I will be going for the snow

[cortisol]

Skywalker - I think the snow is the wise choice even over the 2 dsp TI desktop.

The portability of the snow will mean that you will take it with you to collaborate with others and to gig with it. And the keyboardist in my band also sends the outputs of his other synth through his TI desktop so that he gets his synths in stereo mixed the way he likes it through 2 DI's at gigs. He would have rather gotten the Snow in hindsight especially seeing that he is so used to using his Novation Remote 61 to control parameters. He also tends to set up most of his patches for his various synths using a gui on a computer than tweaking knobs because he needs integration more than programming synth sounds on the fly.

Peace,
cortisol

[biggator6]

I have an Indigo2 (Virus C), and my friend has both an Indigo2 and a TI Polar... he kept his Indigo, and says he actually likes it a little better. He says the way that the TI works with the computer just makes it a little more cumbersome and less 'immediate' than just grabbing a knob on the Indigo. This guy is easily one of the biggest synth sluts I've ever met.

[jenkzy56@]

i can't tell you how happy i am i got a virus TI, the way its software interface
works in logic pro (DAW of your choice) is just too cool!

i don't gig with it cause i am a bass player, but for studio use the total integration thing
just rocks.

[djdunamis]

if you want portability, Snow.

if you want more control, Virus C, course if you're willing to pay for a Snow, I would get TI then.

I love my Virus TI desktop, got it rackmounted and in arms reach to adjust or I use the VST interface.

[Skywalker]

The Ti desktop is out of my current budget.

I was thinking of the Virus C as it seemed like a good deal and it is good but not great.
If it was a great deal I´d go for the C and later upgrade to a Ti desktop but for now the snow seems to fit my needs.

[biggator6]

Originally Posted by Skywalker

The Ti desktop is out of my current budget.

I was thinking of the Virus C as it seemed like a good deal and it is good but not great.
If it was a great deal I´d go for the C and later upgrade to a Ti desktop but for now the snow seems to fit my needs.

You're dead wrong. The Virus C IS great.

Just because it isn't their current flagship product doesn't mean it stops being a great instrument - I have owned a rather large amount of synths in my time (including a bunch of the classic analogs) and the Virus is among my favorites of all of them. I sold off a Prophet 5, moog Mg-1, wavestation A/D and a few others - but kept my Indigo.. that should say something (other than that I'm insane).

[Simon Kaind]

I own a Virus C and have no experience with a snow:
My reckoning is that if one gets a hardware synth, it should be for the control and immediacy that a hardware synth brings. Don't get me wrong, the snow is obviously an incredible synth and I'm not knocking it, but I imagine trying to control a bohemith synth like a virus with so few knobs kinda defeats the idea of having a hardware unit. Having said that, I still end up hitting the menus pretty hard with my C so you'll probably end up doing it anyway. Another thing to think about is that you need a midi and audio interface with the C, which unless you already have, will exceed the price of a snow and probably even a ti when combined with the C anyways. Also the C has more outputs while the snow has more polyphony. The C has 16 parts while the snow has 4, so I imagine the C would be better for multi's while the snow would be better at singles. The snow has extra oscillator types though.
I'm not sure what the stat is on the C, but on the B, the control surface represents less than half the editable parameters of the Virus. Its a tight squeeze, even with the B, let alone the snow. snow wins over all for gigging I'd imagine though... Good luck and hope that helps!

[Skywalker]

Originally Posted by biggator6

You're dead wrong. The Virus C IS great.

Just because it isn't their current flagship product doesn't mean it stops being a great instrument - I have owned a rather large amount of synths in my time (including a bunch of the classic analogs) and the Virus is among my favorites of all of them. I sold off a Prophet 5, moog Mg-1, wavestation A/D and a few others - but kept my Indigo.. that should say something (other than that I'm insane).

I didn´t mean to say the Virus C isn´t a great synth, imho it is great! What I meant was that for around 700 euros it isn´t a great deal. 500 euros and I´d buy it right away! I actually wanted to get the C but then I saw the snow and it´s portability plus new features really attracted me.


Simon,

I already have an interface, apogee duet but it has no midi so yes that would add to the cost a little.

I´m curious about something on the snow, Do I need a soundcard if using the snow? I know it connects via usb to send midi and audio to the computer but can I use the Virus snow for D/A? For example: using Logic to mix a track, route the audio via usb to the snow and use the analog outputs to connect to the monitors. Maybe the converters on the snow are as good or better then the Duet. Wishful thinking?

[Simon Kaind]

I have no experience with the snow, but with the duet I'd maybe go with the snow. The converters are a lot better than the C and if you get the C, you'll have outputs that you can't use. Plus, if you get the snow and use it via usb
you will still have your inputs on your duet available for something else...

[synthfiend]

I'm hearing there will be news from Access at NAMM ...

[aeonsound]

if you want the latest Virus sounds - i.e. using granular synthesis, Hypersaw, FX-per-part - and don't mind doing some programming from within your DAW, then go SNOW!

if you want maximum hands-on control, tweakability, and analogue i/o, then go C and upgrade later. i'm not sure how 700 euros compares to your local market rate, but here in the UK the C has pretty much remained the same price over the past few years - £450.

either will be a great choice. i wanted the immediacy of the many dedicated knobs and so i went for the C, figuring i'd upgrade to a TI when the price was right really, whatever you chose will be a wonderful addition to your studio. welcome to the family!

[Pschelfh]

Originally Posted by Phaidon

The Virus C is a bit more "analog" sounding.

The Snow/Ti stuff is a bit more edgy/digital,but in a nice way.

I would go for the Snow,personally.

Cheers

I have a Virus Ti and used to have a Virus B (very familiar with the sound since I used to make a soundbank for Access) and also thought the same.
To make it sound more 'analog', try to use the audio outputs of the Ti instead of the audio through USB (+ you'll also have less latency that way).
It made a difference to me, but it might depend on your monitors.

Peter.

[Skywalker]

Ordered the snow! Thanks to everyone that contributed

[Storm Music]

I have an old indigo (B) and a TI2 Polar, and to me the converters sound better in my old indigo...
There's some clarity about the indigo - whereas the TI is more "nasal" to me, like it has a small lift around 1 khz or something...

And also I have some lag/latency/timing issues with my Ti.
Support won't recognize it - and I might just be neurotic - but it seems really hard to play notes at EXACTLY the same time on the TI.
I own a bunch of other digital and analog keys - and make a living playing keyboards - so it's not just out of nowhere...
...

[kotrona]

Hey skywalker,what did you get finally??i am in the same position as you!
C or snow???