Virus TI Emulation: OsTIrus Finally Released
For many electronic music producers and synth enthusiasts, getting their hands on an Access Virus synthesizer has been a long-held dream. The Virus series, known
I write about the gear I actually own. Most of it is old, most of it was cheap, and a lot of it is better than its reputation suggests. A JV-880 bought for 70 dollars, a REV500 for 60 euros, a TG55 for 40. The guides here come out of using those machines, not reading spec sheets about them.
Expect used prices that reflect what things really sell for, settings you can dial in yourself, and an honest answer when a piece of gear isn’t worth the money. Where a post covers a term rather than a machine, it lives in the music production glossary instead.
For many electronic music producers and synth enthusiasts, getting their hands on an Access Virus synthesizer has been a long-held dream. The Virus series, known
Madonna’s 1986 hit song “Papa Don’t Preach” is known for its rebellious message and catchy pop melody. But one element that really makes the song
Choosing your first serious synthesizer is less about analog versus digital than the internet makes it sound. Both approaches make professional records every day. The
The Roland Alpha Juno series of analog synthesizers, released in the mid-1980s, may not have achieved the cult status of their predecessors like the Juno-6
A reliable audio monitoring path is the mastering engineer’s lifeline for critical audio analysis. Without it, our ears cannot be trusted to make accurate improvements
Audio mastering may seem like a mysterious, complex final step in music production to many beginners. But understanding the fundamentals of the mastering process can
The bulk of what I write. Rack modules and workstations from the late eighties through the nineties, mostly bought secondhand, mostly documented badly everywhere else.
Akai’s workflow has outlived four generations of hardware. What each machine adds, and how to get your own material into it.
The boxes between the synth and the mix. What each one does to a signal, what it costs today, and whether a plugin covers it.
Rebuilding specific sounds, and the techniques underneath them.
The end of the chain, where most self-taught producers go wrong first.
Less gear, more of the parts nobody warns you about.
New guides go up when I finish testing something, which is irregular and honest about it. Recent work has gone into the Roland JV range, the QuadraVerb family and MPC wavetables. If you want a specific piece of gear covered, or you own something on this list and think I got it wrong, tell me. Corrections from people who own the machine are the fastest way this site gets better.