I’ve given up trying to get a Virus to work in my setup. I’ve had 3 different ones (TI2, TI and B) and all of them had issues. I adore the sound but they’re not worth the hassle to me.
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Hi guys!
Have Peak or Iridium been able to replicate the sounds and flexibility of Virus grain oscillators?
Thanks!
today for the first time in years I again loaded Virus Control plugin so I could use automation in Ableton. Well I still get the situation where the I get no audio and have to start a fresh project but god the Virus is a beast automated in Ableton, even by todays standards
Has any modern synth replaced the virus yet in terms of being a powerful multitimbral synth?
Honestly no, at least not really. There are some wonderful VA synths out there with tasty oscillators and killler effects but as a do-it-all synth the Virus is largely untouched. I have a Virus B which I’ve been considering selling for ages but every time I go to list it on eBay I fire it up and spend ages making rich pads with it…
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Virus filter and fx are unique to the Virus. The only way to sound exactly like the Virus is with a Virus. Though the virus is a good chameleon, in that it can make a pretty good approximation of many other synths.
That’s not to say other synths can’t sound just as good in their own way. It used to be that other synths couldn’t match the Virus but there are a ton of great alternatives these days.
That said, my Virus isn’t going anywhere as long as it’s still breathing and growling.
Also would like to use this time to point out that TI integration is dead for OS X users from Catalina up. Luckily there are some great editors/librarians out there that are still alive and kicking.
I use the mystery-islands Virus HC one.
Just recently updated to a new version too.
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Which do u think would be the great alternatives to Virus Ti these days, in hardware form?
Virus TI2 
I have the feeling, that there are not that many multitimbral modern synths out there.
I have a lot of fun with the Micromonsta 2 lately, but its only bi-timbral. Works great with a sampler with good modulation and filters tho.
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What characteristics of the Virus are you looking for?
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Well the technology in Virus… voices, oscilattors, hypersaw, effects…
Maybe 16 Hydrasynth would get you close. They seem quite similar if you don’t count multitimbrality
Hi Virus TI folks,
I wanted to let you people know about the Access Virus TI editor running on the Electra One console.
You can find it here (search for “Access Virus TI”)
It works two way (back and forth and it has SysEx Dump parsing, which it can request), so you can get a nice overview of existing patches.
Cheers 
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I had the Hydrasynth, and as much as I liked a lot of the synth, it did sound very different from the Virus.
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I’m torn between the two at the moment. The look and size of the Hydrasynth appeals to me a lot but the Virus Ti has more of everything
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i think for the price, the blofeld is a great alternative to the virus. not as powerful but very very deep and multitimbral. at one point i was really adamant about wanting a multitimbral synth. virus, nord rack, and novation nova desktop were my top picks but out of price range/unavailable so i settled with the blofeld. what i learned from that is that “multi-timbral” itself isn’t enough- you have to have a really good implementation of it or else it becomes a headache IMO.
novation nova desktop seems pretty slept on. 16 voice polyphony, 6 part multitimbral, 42 simultaneous effects, many filter types, deep modulation possibilities etc. they can be found for around $500 if you keep an eye out, they’re not super available but definitely pop up from time to time
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True
I had the blofeld first and it totally did NOT resonate with me. I didn’t liked the sound that much, I hated the Menudiving and I totally not get how a software based synth in 2021 is still not able to sync Reverb and Delay to incoming clock without heavy glitches in sound.
On top of that: The FX in the Blofeld are worse than all others I tried and you are more limited in combinations then on the Octatrack.
Sure, it is very much cheaper, but it is definitely not an alternative, if you want the Virus sound and the usability.
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As other’s have said here, there isn’t much that’s going to be 16 part multitimbral. I’ve never used 16 parts on my Virus though. I maybe use 1 or 2 (4 tops) and use other things for different flavors.
Anything that gives you a wide variety of oscillators and multiple filters would be a good alternative. I think the main thing was that there wasn’t anything that could match the “Quality” of the sound of the virus in digital form in the past. The FX are probably one of the most stand out things about the Virus. Some high quality external FX with one of the synth’s below could have you pretty set.
Options:
Kyra
Iridium/Quantum
MM2
Novation Summit
more, I’m sure but I’m a bit scattered from being sick
Older novation stuff like
Supernova 1 or 2
Nova desktop
Ultimately if you’re looking for an alternative to the Virus you should just get the Virus.
I have one but I still like using other synths because it keeps me interested and having fun.
It’s still in production for now until the chips they use to make them run out.
Even then, there are so many out there you should still be able to get one for years to come.
None of the above have Virus’ warmth, poliphony and multi timbrality… so not so many options really.