Franklin DNB
New Member
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2016
- Location
- Bournemouth
Hi guys, I've been using the virus ti2 now for around a year. Would love to hear other peoples methods on how they make sounds using one!
Access Virus ti2 - bass design
- Thread starter Franklin DNB
- Start date
-
- Tags
- production
- Joined
- Feb 3, 2012
- Location
- East sussex
I have a the C which is a bit older but still powerful! Im planning to design a dedicated rack insert in a desk with a rack plate with holes in just behind it to hide the cables. Im not at it right now but i know that using white noise with sines and distortion gets some nice results, i think that if you assign a mod osc to the pitch and ramp up the lfo you get some nice sounds, combined with ring modulation. How do you rate the ti2? are the presets fairly current/usable?
Franklin DNB
New Member
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2016
- Location
- Bournemouth
Hey! sounds wicked mate. I think the Virus is amazing. I dreamt about owning one for years and I finally plucked up the courage (and the funds) to buy one. One thing i did notice however is that when i first started using it, i was used to using massive etc and going from that to a virus, I was completely back to square one with sounds design and everything I learnt on massive as an example, was use less. Obviously the basics were there, but it took me a while to start producing sounds that were.... OK??? Im still learning a lot on it though and I see that Icicle shared a link on his Facebook the other day of sounds made using the Virus and it just blows my sounds out of the water. Its frustrating because I know that there is so much more it can do, its just getting it out of it! 
djdizzy
Active Member
- Joined
- Jun 7, 2012
- Location
- Atlanta, GA
I use the Virus TI for 90% of the sounds in my songs. I wouldn't even know where to start
^ at 4:51 of this song i use the FM knob to give the midrange bass some squelch at certain points during the 2nd half of the song, of course this was with the Osc Sync enabled. the risers were made with the Virus too, using automation.
^ at 3:56, i used alot of modulation and automation. i probably automated 7 different parameters. the riser was made using that same midrange bass sound and some automation. also the drone in this song that's before where the midrange bass comes in, was done on the Virus TI also with alot of automation. no other layers of other synths or any multi-timbrality from the Virus. all these sounds are just from one patch on the Virus. it's so versatile that there are alot of different ways to accomplish all sorts of different types of timbres or movement... from dramatic movement like i did at certain points with the drone sound (2:24 and 3:23 are some examples) to subtle movement like with the midrange bass (the midrange bass is automated constantly but is kept fairly subtle, one example at around 6:25 you can hear how the harmonics are dynamic but subtle, just to keep it interesting and so it's not too much of a static sound).
it really just takes alot of time with trial and error. i originally owned a Virus TI Snow and loved it so much that I sold it and got a Virus TI Polar instead. this way i could tinker with it alot more, being able to have access to knobs for most of the parameters. this really made a big difference and allowed me to step up my game when making my own patches and using more automation. i learned through trial and error at a MUCH faster pace on the Polar than i ever did with the Snow, and that's strictly because of it having knobs. the Virus Snow was a very capable synth, it was the knobs that helped me. it's like when i was learning my JP-8000 and Sub Phatty, they're knob-per-function (for the most part) and that's a huge help when learning a synth. everybody may not agree, some people may learn just as well with a keyboard and mouse, instead of knobs. since you have a Virus TI2 then you're good on that front
the Virus is a very deep synth, i think alot of Virus owners only scratch the surface of its capabilities. reverse-engineering other people's patches helps you learn alot too. find some complex pads or tearing midrange bass patches and reverse-engineer them lol. you'll learn what gives that sound its timbre and its movement.
^ at 4:51 of this song i use the FM knob to give the midrange bass some squelch at certain points during the 2nd half of the song, of course this was with the Osc Sync enabled. the risers were made with the Virus too, using automation.
^ at 3:56, i used alot of modulation and automation. i probably automated 7 different parameters. the riser was made using that same midrange bass sound and some automation. also the drone in this song that's before where the midrange bass comes in, was done on the Virus TI also with alot of automation. no other layers of other synths or any multi-timbrality from the Virus. all these sounds are just from one patch on the Virus. it's so versatile that there are alot of different ways to accomplish all sorts of different types of timbres or movement... from dramatic movement like i did at certain points with the drone sound (2:24 and 3:23 are some examples) to subtle movement like with the midrange bass (the midrange bass is automated constantly but is kept fairly subtle, one example at around 6:25 you can hear how the harmonics are dynamic but subtle, just to keep it interesting and so it's not too much of a static sound).
it really just takes alot of time with trial and error. i originally owned a Virus TI Snow and loved it so much that I sold it and got a Virus TI Polar instead. this way i could tinker with it alot more, being able to have access to knobs for most of the parameters. this really made a big difference and allowed me to step up my game when making my own patches and using more automation. i learned through trial and error at a MUCH faster pace on the Polar than i ever did with the Snow, and that's strictly because of it having knobs. the Virus Snow was a very capable synth, it was the knobs that helped me. it's like when i was learning my JP-8000 and Sub Phatty, they're knob-per-function (for the most part) and that's a huge help when learning a synth. everybody may not agree, some people may learn just as well with a keyboard and mouse, instead of knobs. since you have a Virus TI2 then you're good on that front
the Virus is a very deep synth, i think alot of Virus owners only scratch the surface of its capabilities. reverse-engineering other people's patches helps you learn alot too. find some complex pads or tearing midrange bass patches and reverse-engineer them lol. you'll learn what gives that sound its timbre and its movement.
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Franklin DNB
New Member
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2016
- Location
- Bournemouth
I agree with you and think that I am only scratching the surface. One thing I say to myself to keep me interested and enthusiastic in using the Virus is, If any of the real professionals used my Virus, they would be able to get really good sounds out of it. I think I work the same as you and I'm a believer of using nobs on hardware as opposed to making music with a mouse.
I made the below song with sounds I made on the Virus:-
I often find myself trying to make sounds midway through a project trying to fit that song though as opposed to spending a day/weekend making sounds, sampling them and using them in a song later on. It can be really frustrating that way.
Do you start from a blank canvas on your Virus, or use patches?
I made the below song with sounds I made on the Virus:-
I often find myself trying to make sounds midway through a project trying to fit that song though as opposed to spending a day/weekend making sounds, sampling them and using them in a song later on. It can be really frustrating that way.
Do you start from a blank canvas on your Virus, or use patches?
djdizzy
Active Member
- Joined
- Jun 7, 2012
- Location
- Atlanta, GA
I usually have periods of time where all I do is sit down with the Virus and make new sounds, save them. Then if I like any of the sounds a lot then I get motivated to use and i make a song using new sounds that I'd previously made.
But also most of the time when I'm done laying down the main ideas for the song and have used the new sounds that inspired me to make that song, then I'll realize it feels like something's missing... like I need to make the intro or breakdown more interesting or that it needs another counter melody or a changeup of some sort. Then I'll make the new patches on the spot to fit a specific purpose. And yeah that always seems to take a long time cuz you're not just randomly making new patches that you think sound good but have to fit a specific purpose with the song that's the work-in-progress. Sometimes it takes an entire weekend for me to do that cuz I'll nitpick at the new sounds themselves or the modulation or the automation until it's what I'm looking for. It always takes me a long time to make a song cuz I don't like using other people's patches. You always get closer to the idea in your head when do all the sounds yourself. For example it took me 4 hours to make the rider in my newest song. I ended up making 9-10 different risers (a lot of nitpicking with modulation then automation). I keep making new patches until I get closer n closer to what I'm looking for. The upside is then I have more risers sitting there for some song in the future. Same goes with anything, leads, midrange basses, etc. And I'll make different versions of the same sound cuz I get tone deaf and can't decide which I like best.
But it's not very time efficient at all, at least for me. Cuz even if I premade most of the sounds, it still took a solid block of time to make those sounds initially. But you have a lot more control that way and it makes you much more familiar with your gear. IMO it's better to have only a couple of few tools but know them inside out then to have an army of tools and browse through soundsets for em all.
Everyone has their own method and what works for them though, so maybe some people will disagree with me. Some people just pound out songs in no time, it takes me forever lol
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