Possible Buyer

[Goon]

I am looking at adding a desktop module into my setup, my setup currently consists os Ableton Live 9.5 running on 64 bit Windows 10 with ableton push 2 and korg taktile controller all via usb, I have narrowed my choice down to Integra 7, Nord A1R or the Access TI virus, how well would the integra integrate, how would I setup with Ableton to access the different parts, any editors for sounds?

[lol]

Well hello, I don't know if you realize people in here don't sell anything nor have any interest in you buying anything from Roland or else. So maybe you could see it as you have to check with your current software and hardware how it is or not able to work with external gears such as a MIDI expander for instance.

The Integra-7 is nothing special, it's a MIDI expander, so you have to send the MIDI out of your software to input into the Integra-7, and then take the audio output from the Integra-7 to input it back into your software, as you would expect from an external gear. You can access the MIDI via USB as well as the audio but with restriction, and as you generally can only use one ASIO driver at a time, if you already have an audio interface, you'd have to input there the audio from the Integra-7. Nothing special, no magic transmission, no magic VSTi version that would allow you to use the Integra-7 sounds without the Integra-7 (it seems obvious but we've seen the question 10 times...), and no magic arpeggiators in the Integra-7 that would allow you not to play any kind of keyboard at all to use it.

Other than that, there's a rather bad VST3 editor from Roland, you can use it for automation purposes and navigation from within your computer, and a good one from K-Take (see thread in this forum) which is standalone only (but you can use it in conjunction with the other MIDI capabilities as the Integra-7 has a second MIDI USB driver dedicated to control.

But how does it compare with your other choices?, no idea, but the module is such a synthesis monster it's really hard to evaluate what it cannot exactly do if you can program it. And if you can't program it, there's still the 6000+ presets to start with upfront, and the other thousands of presets ready to load from the Roland axial site. I have the feeling the 2 others are oriented towards live performance or trance/techno music, where the Integra-7 is offering he widest possible range. You could compare it better to the top synths from Korg, Yamaha, Kurzweil, etc. It's a top VA synth, a top rompler, and a great archive of Roland's history. It sounds lush and beautiful, very detailed and delicate, very classy, even compared to the best VSTi it's far from being ridiculous, it's often good enough to avoid the pain of setting up the VSTi, and also this module has a great homogeneity in the way it sounds so that you don't have to mix and match the sounds to work together as it's the case with software very often.

But you have to make it sound right, it requires a proper reverb, if you want to have it sound warm you have to make it sound so, it's not as fun to use as a pre-programmed arpeggiated synth, it's clinical and professional in its interface, it's made for lasting, not for instant fun, and it doesn't play anything by itself.

[PauloF]

Well hello, I don't know if you realize people in here don't sell anything nor have any interest in you buying anything from Roland or else. So maybe you could see it as you have to check with your current software and hardware how it is or not able to work with external gears such as a MIDI expander for instance.

The Integra-7 is nothing special, it's a MIDI expander, so you have to send the MIDI out of your software to input into the Integra-7, and then take the audio output from the Integra-7 to input it back into your software, as you would expect from an external gear. You can access the MIDI via USB as well as the audio but with restriction, and as you generally can only use one ASIO driver at a time, if you already have an audio interface, you'd have to input there the audio from the Integra-7. Nothing special, no magic transmission, no magic VSTi version that would allow you to use the Integra-7 sounds without the Integra-7 (it seems obvious but we've seen the question 10 times...), and no magic arpeggiators in the Integra-7 that would allow you not to play any kind of keyboard at all to use it.

Other than that, there's a rather bad VST3 editor from Roland, you can use it for automation purposes and navigation from within your computer, and a good one from K-Take (see thread in this forum) which is standalone only (but you can use it in conjunction with the other MIDI capabilities as the Integra-7 has a second MIDI USB driver dedicated to control.

But how does it compare with your other choices?, no idea, but the module is such a synthesis monster it's really hard to evaluate what it cannot exactly do if you can program it. And if you can't program it, there's still the 6000+ presets to start with upfront, and the other thousands of presets ready to load from the Roland axial site. I have the feeling the 2 others are oriented towards live performance or trance/techno music, where the Integra-7 is offering he widest possible range. You could compare it better to the top synths from Korg, Yamaha, Kurzweil, etc. It's a top VA synth, a top rompler, and a great archive of Roland's history. It sounds lush and beautiful, very detailed and delicate, very classy, even compared to the best VSTi it's far from being ridiculous, it's often good enough to avoid the pain of setting up the VSTi, and also this module has a great homogeneity in the way it sounds so that you don't have to mix and match the sounds to work together as it's the case with software very often.

But you have to make it sound right, it requires a proper reverb, if you want to have it sound warm you have to make it sound so, it's not as fun to use as a pre-programmed arpeggiated synth, it's clinical and professional in its interface, it's made for lasting, not for instant fun, and it doesn't play anything by itself.

I think this is a fair integra-7 review.
For me it is the main "bread-and-butter" sound source, although its palette covers any genre, but as lol said, it's not instant fun and sometimes requires some fine effect and parameter adjustments, but that's also true for any other synth...

I complement it (mainly) with a MOXF6 and a Korg iM1. The three are the base of almost all the Sounds I'm using, but the i-7 being the main boss.

[Goon]

Im looking for mainly synthy sounds less so of the acoustic stuff.... Hows the synth engine as not too many demos on youtube showcasing this..

[PauloF]

Im looking for mainly synthy sounds less so of the acoustic stuff.... Hows the synth engine as not too many demos on youtube showcasing this..

The integra has, let's say... 3 different Engines.

1- The SuperNatural Acoustic >> Superb Sounds, Behavior Modeling, not very tweak-able and not expandable, although very unique sounds

2- SuperNatural Synth >> The New Roland Standard VA Synth -3x Partials per Tone, fully tweak-able and expandable via the Axial website

3- PCMS/PCMD - The "old School" sounds that cover almost all Roland history with hundreds of Tones and includes the 12 SRX board sounds.

With this palette you can cover virtually any genre

[MC909]

Hi

If it's more synth sounds you are after then you really need think no further than a virus ti2. A true monster.

I think you would be disappointed with an I7.
The ti2 and nord are very much hands on too. So programing would be a lot easier.

[Goon]

Yeah thats way Im thinking, but, and its a big but, the access Virus Ti2 desktop and the Ti Snow are both non existant in the UK, with most retailers not even giving any ETA for new stock either... This hopefully means a new Ti on the way, or at worse they are not making them....

[MC909]

Really, they aren't available anymore in the UK? They are still available here in Sweden.

Check on ebay. They pop up now and again .

[Goon]

I had contact with Access sales direct, they confirmed the Ti Snow is not being manufactured at present

"thanks for getting in touch. We currently face a production related issue. As it turns out, we have not determined an ETA on resuming the Virus TI Snow production. All other models are available.
and on the Ti2 Desktop

apologies, you're right. my information was outdated. it will take about 3 weeks plus shipment to the UK for a Virus TI Desktop. This is an estimate, we are open the first day today and I don't have all updated info at hand."

[Monkey Man]

Huge price difference 'though, right?

[Goon]

Price is simialr for the integra and a TI2 desktop here

[Monkey Man]

Cripes! Really?

I've always considered the Virus in its various flavours out of reach for me price-wise.

I'll have to look into it now. Thank you, Goon!

[PauloF]

Cripes! Really?

I've always considered the Virus in its various flavours out of reach for me price-wise.

I'll have to look into it now. Thank you, Goon!

Over here in Europe a new TI2 costs around €1699,00 and the i-7 can be bought by € 1499,00

[Monkey Man]

OK...

I bought mine for, I think, $1700 Aussie, which is like $1250 USD.

Perhaps 'cause we're closer to Japan the I-7's cheaper here, and at the same time we're much further from Germany which would make the Viruses more expensive.

€1699,00 for the TI2's gonna translate to two and a half grand Aussie, and that's the European price. Given that I reckon we'd pay even more here due to geography (ridiculous, isn't it?), it could well be 3 grand.

Well whaddayaknow, my long run of price-guessing form continues, it seems; I'm so used to factoring in exchange rates and geographical "taxes" that my guess was spot-on:

https://www.storedj.com.au/products/ACC-VIRUSTIDESK

$2999 AU. I was 1 dollar out. LOL

Way out of my league, as I'd suspected all along. Who knows 'though, one of the very early models s/h could one day be an option...

EDIT: Thank you for chiming in, Brother Paulo.

[Goon]

Still pondering on this possible purchase of the Integra, I use Ableton Live 64bit on PC, I also have Push 2 and a Korg Taktile 49 controller, is it possible to say control some parameters within the integra say for instance Filter cutoff for example using the encoders on the Taktile 49? If so how would I do this?