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42 QUICKSTART MANUAL
Maximising Polyphony
The Virus TI has several features which are considerably more demanding of the available DSP power than
others, and this can become apparent much more quickly in Multi Mode. If you find you are running out
voices too quickly, you could take a closer look at the patches you are using, and seeing if they can be opti-
mised in any way. The following features should be considered prime suspects in this situation:
· Unison Mode (Common Menu) – divides the voice count by the chosen value.
· Analog 1-4 pole (Filter Menu) – reduces polyphony by 50%
· Oscillator 3 (Osc1/2 Menu) – reduces polyphony by 25%
· WavePWM or Grain /Formant Complex (Osc1/2 Menu) - reduce polyphony by 50%
Reverb - this is the most 'expensive' of all the effects, especially if used on more than one Part, so it can
be advisable to try to avoid using it on more than one Part at a time. A delay will have far less impact on re-
sources, and often be just as effective – alternatively, don't forget you can use external plug-in effects if you
are using Total Integration.
Phaser - whilst not drastically expensive, it's worth bearing in mind that the more poles (Stages) you select,
the more calculation power is used.
If you find your patch is making use of any of the above features, try alternatives to reduce the CPU load.
Remember that a feature is active and consuming calculation power even when set to a very small value, so
in certain cases it can be wise to switch something off rather than have something which is barely audible
but still using up resources. For instance, if Osc Balance is set to –63, you will almost certainly be unable to
hear Oscillator 2, so try turning it to –64, at which point Oscillator 2 will be switched off altogether, thereby
freeing up resources. If an effect's Mix or Send parameter is set to Off or Dry, then it will not use any resourc-
es, so again, if a patch is using only tiny amounts of a particular effect, then it may be advisable to switch it
off entirely.
The Virus also has to work a little harder when both filters are used. If you only need a gentle, 2-pole filter
for a particular sound, then by turning Filter Balance fully left (-64) you switch off Filter 2, thereby freeing up
some voices.
Another factor that can be easily overlooked is the length of release tails. These can cause the voice count
to stack up much more quickly than you may think, and in an arrangement you can often reduce them a cer-
tain amount without having a detrimental effect to the overall mix.
Try not to use the mod matrix to apply an effect than be achieved by using one of the hard wired slots – e.g.
if you want an LFO to modulate Cutoff 1, use the LFO2>Cutoff1 parameter, which is always on anyway; by
using the mod matrix instead, you will be using unnecessary additional resources.
Some controller sources you may choose to apply in the mod matrix take more calculation power than oth-
ers – this is because some have to be calculated per-voice, whereas some are only applied globally. For
instance, the modulation wheel applies to all voices on a given part simultaneously, whereas Key Follow or
Filter Envelope apply to each individual voice. If you are playing a polyphonic patch, this can make quite a
difference, especially if you are using several different mod routings of this kind at the same time.