Access Music User Forum

I seldom post and show up here once in a blue moon, but I hope this helps someone...

Virus TI Snow

OSX 10.5.6 on a G5 Quad with 10 GB RAM on Cubase 4.5.2

Soundcard = Steinberg MR816 CSX

Overall TI Snow Performance = Stable (please read below).

I found the Virus OS versions > 4 completely useless in my setup. I am sticking to 3.1.15 (or something like that) and will forever stay with it.

Please bear in mind that there will always be a bit of lag when switching patches on the TI Snow. This is normal in my setup. Even my Nord Lead 3 sometimes needs nearly a second to update the patch. If you switch too quickly you might get the red message bar at the bottom of the plugin GUI containing the message "sync error" etc. etc. Just be patient with the TI and switch patterns smoothly. This, to me, is no big deal.

As far as the arp sync issues, I have no use for an arpeggiator, so I have had no problems with at least one feature I never use.

Also, look for the best USB port on your comp. I found that on my setup, having the Snow plugged into the front USB port works very well. When I used a PC in my studio, I also found that Texas Instruments firewire cards were the most reliable (this is a bit off topic since the TI is USB, but thought I'd add that in for anyone who ever wondered about firewire cards). Last I checked, those cards were hard to find.

Live mode is a fair solution to latency issues. However, in my setup, as I stated in an old thread somewhere, the TI gives me minimal trouble (probably because I do not use the features that users usually have problems with, like the arp or sequencer... they just don't suit the type of music I write so I never use them). It has a sequencer, right???

In 12-13 years of doing this stuff in a variety of settings, I also learned that updates are not always necessary. If your system works fine and a new featureless update is released, you would not be unwise to skip it (this applies to synth OS, DAW version, software version, etc.). However, if an update does not work well, simply revert and enjoy the item you purchased originally. Personally, I don't care about a new "whatsit" or some "blizblaz" that may be introduced in an update. The way I see it, electronic musicians in Germany (i.e. Kraftwerk) and elsewhere were making pretty great music and quality mixdowns with "obsolete" equipment 30 years ago that nowadays costs 4 times its original price on the gray/used market. I'm still on a G5 Quad... do you think I care about obsolescence? Just don't fix what isn't broken, make some music, and have some fun. Life is too short. I prefer improved stability over added features. But it is not always all that easy to develop, I'm sure.

If the piece is too much of a pain, sell it. I recently bought a Future Retro Revolution and did not take to the interface - not that it is bad, it is just not my preferred method of working. I rarely work with sequencers, so I returned it and moved on. And selling is not a bad option when it comes to a troublesome piece. Someone else might have more experience, time, or patience to deal with troubleshooting. Test out something else, or at least research it well, and get another instrument. Better to lose a few hundred from depreciation in the used market than the entire price of a piece that just sits there because you hate the thing. Knowledge sometimes comes at a cost!

I remember that my Snow was a little moody regarding random shrieks it once produced with OS 4.x that suddenly stabbed my Dynaudio BM6s. They survived the attack and I'm back on OS 3. Big deal. Since reverting the OS, it has crashed maybe once (and perhaps because of some unrelated reason... but with a little luck and a lot of research and despite my system being a bit dated, it works like a charm 99.9% of the time).

Here's some final advice. Whenever possible, make a pre-sales call and ask what systems or DAWs the manufacturer tested their synths/interfaces/cards on. Call the company, say you have a pre-sales question, and allow them to work for the sale. For the prices most units fetch for, manufacturers need to provide more than marketing-speak to earn my hard-earned money. The marketing is a good intro to what a piece does. After that, you would be well advised to do your own research and read what others are saying either in magazine reviews or forums (though both should be taken somewhat lightly, since either can be in cahoots with a manufacturer or simply don't know what they are talking about). On an undeterminable basis, either one can even resemble astroturfing. I'm sure you have all read a post in one forum or another that sounded like some guy was pretending to be "Joe Average" but sounded like he was up to something. Who really knows, right? Either way, just do your due diligence.

Two keys to purchasing a piece of equipment: make sure their customer service and tech support meet your standards (i.e. availability, means of communication, average or mean turnaround time on repairs or Q&A, etc.) and that the company who makes the piece is both reputable and viable. I have a Hartmann Neuron that, should it ever keel over, cannot be serviced because Hartmann folded years ago. When I bought it, the company had been around a few years. Then, it all came crashing down. Great synth, though, and former developers as well as hard core Neuron users maintain a forum for tech support to this day. The administrators are sharp, friendly, and know their stuff. The community is also very friendly.

In any case, I have little patience with email tech support. Although, I do not know if he still works at Access or Celemony, but Jorg Huetner is one of the best techs I have ever encountered. By email, he helped me with some Melodyne and TI-related issues and proved he both knows his stuff and cares to do a good job. He's a good guy and an efficient worker.

By the way, as an unrelated tip, never underestimate the value of treating your room with a few bass traps and other sound absorbing materials to remedy bad reflections. Don't completely deaden the room, just minimize standing waves as much as you can (there are great sites on this topic, for instance http://www.ethanwiner.com/basstrap.html. Lastly, a good pair of monitors (at least in my humble opinion) are more important than buying the latest synth. Think about it... when you audition a synth at your local store, bear in mind the quality of the speakers it is hooked up to. Bad speakers/monitors will make a Neuron, SEM, or even a miked-up Stratovarius sound like hell. Bad monitors can either hide things you want to hear or show things that aren't really in the mix.

In my experience with Access, they have been helpful and provide a good product. But that's me. I have a small list of brands whose products I will never buy and stick to it. But from my time as a hobbyist musician, the best brands I have interacted with are Moog, Elektron, Audio Ease, Prosoniq, Oberheim, and Mark of the Unicorn. I have had little reason to ever contact Access, but in my few encounters with them, they've been pretty good. Moog, however, is by far the best at taking care of its customers, at least as far as I am concerned. I have to give them props.

Alright fellas, I hope that helps someone. Until the next blue moon.

Cheers,

The Wood.

Mark,

Do you want to use the plugin or the MIDI connection? In my experience, if you want to treat the snow like a standard MIDI module, disconnect USB and connect your MIDI interface to the snow's MIDI in. You will be unable to run the plugin without USB though.

Each part as far as I know is assigned a channel 1-4. Use multimode and switch between patches as shown in the instructions.

Lastly although I own logic as well, I still only use cubase. Call or email tech support if my advise doesn't help. Btw, if you use virus control, just setup 4 MIDI tracks with channels 1-4. Enable those tracks in logic as its manual indicates and strike some notes.

I hope that helps. Anyone else want to chime in?

The Wood.