Virus TI2 or Arturia Origin?

[Tony Scharf]

On Thu, Jul 12, 2012 at 1:30 PM, Jay Vaughan <jayv at synth.net> wrote:
> I just cannot appreciate the whole integration thing either, since it requires too much fuss just to get started and anyway is more hassle for my typical sessions wherein I wish to make free music and not be encumbered by a lot of swotty thinking, which is my day job.  The last thing balding accountant types need after a hot and sweaty day of pocket calculation is a bootup sequence which requires yet more clicky click essentials before the beautiful dreamy landscapes proffered by the muse can be conquered, if you catch my drift.
>

Agreed.  I don't like to use the computer any more than I absolutely
have to.  I spend too much time in front of screens.

And the TI I had for a while did sound great...but man was the
integration pretty much worthless.  I couldn't get it to work reliably
in any DAW I tried at the time, and it was really frustrating that I
had to get it to work to have access to certain features (arpeggio
editing for one).  If the editor worked stand alone w/o being a VSTi
host I would have been much more in favor of it.

> As for current synthesizer selections, I wonder if the need to go digital is so prevalent these days .. a digital synth offers much power, but we all seem to get along quite fine with resolute analog restrictions, regardless, so some few thousand odd pounds spent on, essentially, a PC with a crap knob interface on it, why not heft the funds into a true modular?  My thinking, as I am surrounded by digital stuff, is less digital, more analog.  Imagine a bank of 6 filters, each with their own extraordinary canals of lust, sitting there waiting to be applied to whatever other, multiple sources of oscillation and generation may be sitting around.  I say, less integration within the box, and much, much more out of box experiences.
>

There is one dimension you can't really get into with a modular synth
at anything approaching a reasonable cost:  Polyphony.   If you ever
want to play even just duo-phonically, the costs are doubled and there
are very few modular controllers which capable of handling it anyway.

My major issue with the virus is it's cost.  It seems to have gotten
more and more expensive over the years particularly in comparison to
it's competition. The Blofeld, UltraNova or even the Alesis Micron are
better competition than their price would indicate.  I think the Korg
Radias really compares well with a much more aggressive sound.

Tony