ouroboros Posted December 13, 2002 Share Posted December 13, 2002 ok so i know people as these questions all the time but...... virus ( vs. waldorf q (not micro q..just q) discuss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ArcHammer // Ethereal Posted December 14, 2002 Share Posted December 14, 2002 Hmm.. here's what I think. First the Virus: It offers much more "instant gratification" when it comes to patch-creating. It doesn't take too much time programming a nice sound. It has lots of FX built in (notice: it only has a global delay/reverb and both of them can't be used at the same time, so it's either reverb or delay) and plenty of voices (24 voices, 16 parts). Three main oscillators and a sub-oscillator, although usage of the 3rd main oscillator reduces the voice-count to 18 in full usage. Excellent saturation/distortion effects, both per voice and also per part. Two good filters with several routing options. A small but useable mod-matrix. Two knobs assignable to any parameter. and the Q: Not as easy to understand as the Virus. This is mostly because of the very advanced synthesis structure. It offers 3 main oscillators without any voice-reduction (16 voices available, 16 parts). Osc1 and 2 can also be used as wavetable-oscillators, offering some of the sound possibilties from their Microwave range of synths and also adding a sub-oscillator for the used main.oscillator. It has very advanced filter-routings, with a seamless routing between serial and parallel (this can be modulated of course). FM with selectable source on each oscillator and each of the two filters. Lots of filter modes, including comb filters. Modulation possibilities are very good, with a 16 slot modmatrix and lots of hardwired modulations (some of them also with selectable mod-source). Very advanced arpeggiator and an equally powerful step-sequencer. It's a bit weak on the FX side , only 2 FX / patch and only FX for the first 4 parts in multimode. Can use more than one delay though, so you can have different delays for each of the first four parts and also different reverbs. ..and finally a small comparison: The FX are more and sometimes better on the Virus. The oscillators are weak compared to the ones in Q (the Q oscillator models are perhaps the best of any VA-synth available). Standard filter models on the Virus are a bit more analog sounding than those in the Q (except the PPG-filter). Much much better modulation stuff in the Q. The Virus sounds too much Virus and frankly, that has become quite tiresome. It needs a good external FX if you want to away from the "standard Virus-sound". New OS coming up for the Q, which will offer the same dynamic DSP management as the microQ; less features used means more voices. It's no way possible to say that any of them sounds better than the other. The actual sound is indeed a totally different thing. The only good solution would be to purchase both.. hehehe. Try to find a music-store which has both of them in stock. Spend a lot of time with each synth. Don't just listen to the factory presets (yes, they're better on the Virus). Start from scratch with a init sound, and try out all the features on each synth I'd say, if you want a synth which is more "instant gratification": go for the Virus. If you don't mind spending a little more time (in this case, due to more adv.features) programming sounds: go for the Q. Ok, that'll be all for now )) bw /Fredrik Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Lunar Posted December 14, 2002 Share Posted December 14, 2002 I have a Waldorf Q (16 voices) and i think it's the best VA synth's..I have played with a Virus for like 5 hours and it's also a GREAT synth...but synths are nothing but taste..I think both are equal when it comes to a raw sound (without FX) so go to the store and try out both synths...I think it is a bit overkill to buy both...To be hounest i will would go for a Q and the reason is: everybody has a virus, so it sounds have been used, but ony a few people have the Q so it more usefull..well this is just my opinion... Lunar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ouroboros Posted December 14, 2002 Share Posted December 14, 2002 thnx that was very informative. unfortunately i go to the music store all the time and they never have either one so i cant ever try them out. they usualy have the q rack so i could give that a try, but i have never seen a virus at any music store. and im not sure exactly when ill have the money for even one let alone both. but i might have a way to get a q for dirt cheap. i see the q is going for over 2 grand at novamusik and zzounds had the q rack at nearly that much. the virus you can find for 1300. i may be able to get the q for 1200. which is why i asked. the q was always just too much so i never even considered it before. thnx again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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