your thoughts?
I’ve got a Classic (which is basically a B - I think?) but it’s not plugged in at the moment…
It’s a difficult synth to rate… Its raw sound isn’t anything to write home about - sure, it sounds more solid and quite a bit fuller than anything you’ll find in software, (being DSP-based they can put a lot of processing into modelling filters and keeping everything sample-processed,) but it’s not one of those synths where everything you do sounds like it should be in a record.
What’s good about it is the flexibility… It’s a synth where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts… The effects aren’t amazing, the filters aren’t mindblowing, the oscillators don’t sound particularly rich, but together it just seems to work… You can make bass sounds which are more than a match for a Juno or a Nord Lead, but you have to work quite a bit harder to get them, and you’ll never program the same sound twice…
If you’ve only got one hardware synth, it would be a really good choice - especially if you’re making D&B, Dubstep or anything Trancey or Psy-trancey… It covers a lot of bases and always provides really solid, really reliable results which don’t usually require any work to get them sitting well in a mix…
Personally, I find myself using the Nord Lead more… It’s simpler, but it does sound a little more special - especially for a digital synth… For all your classic sounds, which everyone uses everywhere, (subbasses, analog pads, simple leads,) it’s quicker to program and sounds fuller, brighter and more colourful - cuts through a mix better… But then it’s got nowhere near the sound pallette of the Virus, and no effects, so you won’t get distorted basses and swirling, delayed arpeggios out of the box with a Nord…
thanks for the review j swift! i’ve actually never owned a proper synthesizer (had a juno-d, but it was complete shit). this looks like a good start for me to learn synthesis, i need something physical. depending on how much $ i can get together by selling a few of my old instruments, i might get one soon 
I would love owning a virus no matter A, B or C… though probably a virus KB or KC because they look and sound fantastic and also has perfect room for my korg electribe sampler AND would work great as a Master Keyboard. My Korg MS2000r is just boring sometimes and has only 4 voices which makes it a bit limited.
I have a VirusB and have had it for about 3-4 years now.
I’m not a really good synthesis programming guy but there are tons of free (and commercial) presets were I often find something that sounds close to what I want and tweak from there.
When I picked my synth it was compared to the nord lead and supernova. I went with the virus because I found the sound to match more to what I wanted, sure a lot of presets have a lot of fluff which sounds great alone but doesn’t really work in context.
But it’s free to mess the presets up
I actually think the effects sounds pretty good and it’s not really difficult to setup, only downside unless you go for a TI is the global delay/reverb.
I’m also considering a Nord Rack 2x. hmmmm 
listening to your music - very nice btw! - i’d probably be more inclined to think a Nord would suit you better… perhaps even a Nord Modular or Micro Modular or something - but then, they’re not so hands-on…
it’s a cleaner, more classic/analog sound, whereas the Virus is a really modern/upfront, much more digital sound… the Virus sounds better dark on the whole and the Nord probably shines with the filter open
then again, i don’t know how much hardware you’ve used with sequencer software before, but just personally, i’ve had such big problems with MIDI timing over the years that i now either work 100% software or 100% hardware, using a W30 sampler keyboard to sequence everything
it’s just got worse and worse for me with each new operating system and each new computer… i was thinking i’d either have to buy a Mac or go back to using an Atari or Amiga, but stumbled across the W30 and the timing’s much tighter than i ever got out of an Atari anyway
thanks jswift! the nord does sound much more useful to me, mostly clear clean sounds and such. also, i’m more interested in the simplicity of the nord. want to stray away from a dirty or digital sound. I’ll look into a sequencer also, I’d be interested to see how I work without a computer thanks for the help, if everything goes well, i may have a nord 2x in a week or so 
Go for a second hand nord modular …only 4 part multitembral …but you’ll never grow tired of it …+ 30.000 patches …You can easilly recreate a nord lead 2 on the modular …secondhand 500 euro …go for it
i ended up getting the nord rack 2x. i payed 570 USD plus 22 shipping should be here soon, though a couple states away. wasn’t as interested in the modular because of software.