©2000 Access Music GmbH, Germany. VirusTM is a trademark of Access Music GmbH. All other trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners. All features and specifications subject to change without notice. Written by Christoph Kemper, Uwe G. Hönig, Wiland Samolak and Marc Schlaile. Translation by Thomas Green. Graphic Design and DTP by Babylonwaves Media. http://www.access-music.de info@access-music.de CONTENT INTRODUCTION - 15 HANDLING - 59 The Virus ..................................................16 The Amplifier Envelope ....................... 20 The First Filter .........................................23 Filter Modulation ...................................25 The Saturation Stage ............................27 The Second Filter................................... 28 Filter Routing ..........................................32 The First Oscillator................................ 34 The Second Oscillator ...........................37 The MIXER Section ................................ 39 The LFOs ................................................... 41 LFO 2 ......................................................... 46 Velocity .................................................... 48 Unison Mode.......................................... 49 The Chorus/Flanger Effect.................. 50 The Delay Effect...................................... 51 More to Come .........................................52 Parameter Selection and Data Entry ...............................................60 Knob Modes ........................................... 63 Display of values ................................... 64 ALL ABOUT THE MEMORY - 67 Store ......................................................... 68 Compare..................................................69 MASTER CLOCK & MIDI-CLOCK - 71 Master Clock and Midi-Clock ..............72 THE MODULATION MATRIX AND DEFINABLE KNOB - 75 Creating Modulation Configurations via Assign ................................................ 76 The Definable Knobs.............................78 CONCEPT AND OPERATION - 53 THE EFFECTS SECTION - 81 Operating Modes .................................. 54 The Multi-Single Mode.........................55 Edit Buffers ..............................................57 The Effect Section ................................. 82 AUDIO INPUTS - 83 Menu parameters for Oscillator-2...107 Menu-Parameter for Oscillator-3... 109 Menu-Parameters of the Suboscillator ...........................................111 Mixer-Parameters within then Oscillator-edit-Menu ...........................112 Mixer ........................................................ 113 Filters ­ Panel.........................................114 Filter-Edit-Menu....................................118 Amplifier ................................................ 122 Main Edit Menu (Common)............... 123 Assign......................................................129 Velocity................................................... 133 Audio Inputs ........................................... 84 OSC Volume / Input.............................. 85 Input Level Indicator ............................86 INTERNAL AUDIO ROUTING - 87 Aux Buses................................................ 88 The Audio Outputs ...............................89 ADDITIONAL FUNCTIONS - 91 Panic Function ....................................... 92 Audition function.................................. 92 Reset Function ....................................... 92 WITHIN THE CTRL-MENU - 135 COMMON ..............................................136 ARPEGGIATOR....................................... 137 DEFINABLE 1 / DEFINABLE 2 .............. 140 MULTI MODE parameters.................. 142 THE PARAMETERS - 93 Sound Parameters with a Dedicated Control Element .................................... 94 LFO 1 ­ Panel ........................................... 95 LFO 1 ­ EDIT Menu ................................. 97 LFO 2 - Panel ......................................... 100 LFO 2 Edit-Menu ................................... 101 LFO 3 ........................................................102 OSCILLATOR 1- Front Panel................ 104 Oscillator 2 ­ front Panel....................105 OSCILLATOR ­ EDIT-Menu................ 106 PARAMETER OF THE FX-MENU- 149 The internal Effects .............................150 Input........................................................150 Follower (Envelope-Follower) ........... 154 Ringmodulator ..................................... 155 Vocoder ..................................................156 Distortion............................................... 157 Analog Boost ......................................... 158 Phaser .....................................................159 Chorus..................................................... 161 Delay/Reverb.........................................162 THE VOCODER OF THE VIRUS - 201 Vocoder ................................................. 202 The parameters of the vocoder .......204 Notes about the vocoder ...................210 GLOBAL-, MIDI- AND SYSTEM PARAMETERS - 173 Global Parameters ............................... 174 System ................................................... 180 THE VIRUS AND SEQUENCERS - 213 Parameter Control via MIDI .............. 214 Organizational Information.............. 214 Handling MIDI Parameter Control ..216 Notes on Adaptive Parameter Smoothing ............................................. 217 Problems Related to Parameter Control.................................................... 221 DUMP: The Sound in the Song .........222 RANDOM PATCH GENERATOR - 183 Random Patches...................................184 CATEGORIES - 187 TIPS, TRICKS AND OTHER WORDS OF WISDOM - 227 MULTI SINGLE Mode .......................... 228 Value Buttons ...................................... 229 All abouts Inputs ................................. 229 About the Delay/Reverb..................... 231 The Virus as an Effect Device............232 Envelope Follower ...............................233 Oscillators ............................................. 234 Filters.......................................................237 SATURATION for Added Dirt ............ 239 Sound Categories.................................188 THE KEYBOARD VERSIONS OF THE VIRUS - 189 The Virus kb and the Virus Indigo... 190 Local off and "Three in One" ............ 190 Keyboard & Company.........................192 The Keyboard-Modes ..........................195 LFOs ........................................................240 Volume Control ................................... 242 ASSIGN and the DEFINABLE Knobs. 243 ARPEGGIATOR ...................................... 244 MIDI ........................................................ 245 PRIORITY ................................................ 247 Installing an operating system update.................................................... 247 Loading the Operating System from One Virus to Another .........................249 Software Updates ............................... 250 APPENDIX - 251 System Exclusive Data........................252 Parameters Describtion..................... 258 Multi Dump Table................................273 Classes ................................................... 276 Mod Matrix Sources ..........................280 Mod Matrix Destinations...................281 Definable Knobs Destinations ........ 282 MIDI Implementation Chart............. 284 FCC Information (U.S.A).....................286 FCC Information (CANADA)..............288 Other Standards (Rest of World).....289 Declaration of Conformity................290 Garantie Bestimmung ....................... 292 Warranty ............................................... 293 6 ACCESS VIRUS OS4 7 Important Safety Remarks Please read and heed the following safety guidelines! A few fundamental rules on handling electrical devices follow. Please read all notes carefully before you power the device up. Don't expose the device to direct sunlight. Don't expose the device to strong vibrations and mechanical shocks. Connections Set-up Operate and store the device in enclosed rooms only. Never expose the device to a damp environment. Never operate or store the device in extremely dusty or dirty environments. Assure that air can circulate freely on all sides of the device, especially when you mount it to a rack. Don't set the device in the immediate vicinity of heat sources such as radiators. Be sure to use exclusively the included mains power supply adapter. Plug the device only into mains sockets that are properly grounded in compliance with statutory regulations. Never modify the included power cord. If its plug does not fit the sockets you have available, take it to a qualified electrician. Always pull the power plug out of the mains socket when you won't be using the device for prolonged periods. Never touch the mains plug with wet hands. 8 CHAPTER 2 Safety Remarks Always pull the actual plug, never the cord, when you're unplugging the device. Memory battery change The Virus stores its sound programs in a battery-buffered RAM. This battery (general type designation: CR2032) should be replaced every three to four years. The housing has to be opened to change the battery, so take the device to a qualified service technician. Do your part in protecting our environment and take it to a shop that disposes of batteries properly. Before you have the battery changed, save the entire memory content of the RAM by loading it to a sequencer via "Total Dump". Be advised that RAM content is lost when the battery is swapped (see "Midi Dump TX" on page 174). Operation Don't set beverages or any other receptacle containing liquids on the device. Make sure the device is placed on a solid base. Set it on a stable tabletop or mount it to a rack. Make sure that no foreign objects fall into or somehow end up inside the device's housing. In the event that this should occur, switch the device off and pull the power plug. Then get in touch with an authorized dealer. Used on its own and in conjunction with amps, loudspeakers or headphones, this device is able to generate levels that can lead to irreversible hearing damage. For this reason, always operate it at a reasonable volume level. Care Do not open the device, it is not equipped with any user-serviceable parts. Repair and maintenance may only be carried out by qualified specialists. Use only a dry, soft cloth or brush to clean the device. ACCESS VIRUS OS4 9 Do not use alcohol, solvents or similar chemicals. These can damage the surface of the housing. Fitness for Purpose This device is designed exclusively to generate low-frequency audio signals for sound engineeringrelated purposes. Any other use is not permitted and automatically invalidates the warranty extended by Access Music Electronics GmbH. 10 CHAPTER 2 Safety Remarks ACCESS VIRUS OS4 11 Prologue Dear Virus Owner, Congratulations on your choice, the new Virus. You have purchased a cutting-edge synthesizer that comes fully loaded with several revolutionary features. Here are just a few of the highlights: The Virus delivers the sound characteristics and tone of traditional analog synthesizers - for instance the Prophet 5 or Memorymoog to name just two popular examples of the species - in a previously unparalleled level of quality and handling ease. We're not kidding, the Virus actual delivers the authentic response of an analog synth via a digital signal processor chip, although the sound shaping and voicing options out-perform those of it historical predecessors by a considerable margin. The Virus comes with 512 slots for storing SINGLE sounds. These are organized in four banks. The first two banks (A and B) are located in the RAM, so you can overwrite them with new sounds. The other two banks are "hard-wired", i.e. they're programmed into the FLASH ROM. The Virus offers a maximum of 24 voices. In Multi Mode, these are allocated dynamically to sixteen simultaneously available sounds. You have no less than three audio oscillators plus one suboscillator, a noise generator, a ring modulator, two Multi Mode filters, two envelopes, a stereo VCA, three LFOs and a saturation stage (SATURATOR) for cascade filtering, tube and distortion effects. The Virus offers a veritable arsenal of effects. You have seven powerful sound-sculpting functions, including chorus, phaser and distortion, at your disposal, with each effect available separately for every sound. Thus, in 16-way MULTI mode, the Virus offers 80 effects, no less!. You also get a global reverb/delay unit that lets you create high-quality reverb effects and rhythmic delay taps. Delay time can be synced up to MIDI clock. 12 CHAPTER 3 Prologue With the benefit of two external audio inputs, the Virus may also serve as an FX device and signal processor that you can use creatively to co ...