Little background: I’ve sold off a ton of unused vst’s / some hardware, and now have ~ $2500 to spend on new gear. Throughout the process of saving up, I was pretty dead set on a Virus Ti2 Desktop. Recently I have been going down a rabbit hole lately thinking of other ways to hypothetically spend the money to get the most bang for my buck.
I primarily produce music that would be classified as progressive house / trance, sometimes even getting a little techy-sounding as well. I’m looking for a synth / synths that can cover as wide a sonic range as possible…from lush leads / pads, to more “ear candy” arps / sequences and atmos. I currently own a Subsequent 37, which I absolutely love.
If I was looking in that price bracket I would say Matriarch Dark or Pro 3 SE… but those are both paraphonic rather than polyphonic so that is a consideration. Rev2 is another great one that is not only poly but bitimbral also. Or maybe the Polybrute?
If you’re looking at multiple synths in that range I would definitely recommend the Minilogue XD for one of them, killer variety of sounds for the money. In fact, XD and Pro 3 are going to be the center of my keys setup (the latter arriving today…)
Get the desktop virus, but get a used TI1. You won’t notice any difference between TI1 and TI2 unless you are maxing out polyphony with complex patches, and the savings are more than worth the slightly reduced DSP capacity.
Then hold your remaining cash because you need about a month or two to come down from the high of putting hands on a Virus for the first time.
(I traded my TI2 keyboard for a TI1 desktop + stuff last year and couldn’t be happier)
Also check with @Airyck to see if he will make you some of his sweet custom angled end cheeks.
Virus C will get you where you need to go for under a grand. Use some of the leftover money to buy a hardware sequencer like the Keystep Pro or Digitakt, which will do wonders for your workflow. That or go to Hawaii. That would probably be cool.
Welcome to the forum! And as we’re on Elektonauts, it’d be remiss not to mention Analog Four, which can do everything you mention and drums on four tracks with decent FX too.
Thanks for the input. Are presets usable across all the Virus models? For example, would a preset made on the Ti2 be able to be used in the C? And vice versa?
I looked into the Analog 4 awhile back and loved what I heard from it. I ended up going with a Sub 37 in the end. But you’re right, could be a contender here as well!
Can’t beat the Virus if you’re going for that mid 2000s trance/dance sound. It just instantly has that iconic sound. You can probably get one used for quite a bit less than 2500 and pocket the rest.
Whatever you do I would advise you buy one synth for now. 2500 is a lot money, no need to spend it all.
I have an OB-6 and love it, so I’d always recommend that. I was able to find a keyboard version in your price range, and (just my 2 cents of course) I find the keys go a long way to making it feel like an instrument. But if you already have a keyboard or sequencer you like using, the desktop is just as great.
@DonovanDwyer mentioned the Matriarch which I think is worth taking a good hard look at. A friend of mine got one recently and I’m blown away by the stuff he’s been coming up with on it. But for that one, I think it helps a lot if you have some interest in patching, or if you have any other gear you might want to patch with it (or interest in getting that gear later). Matriarch is a really special one.
