Access Indigo V2

Price Paid: 1900 (aud) used

Ease of Use: 7
The manual is fairly clear , not as bad as i had heard it was at all. It could have gone into more detail in certain areas though (the matrix) , mine came loaded with 1024 presets and os 6.5 (second hand) so i dont know if they were the factory ones or not. Presets could have been a bit more varied for my liking , but they can be changed so no worries and there were plenty they showed how amazing the virus is. I have a Moog mg-1 and an roland sh-101 so i only have those to compare with. The virus is infinitly more complex but doesnt take much more effort to make the same sort of sounds , just slows you down when you have to go into the menus to change something like 'portamento' wich my other synths have a pot/slider for. Im still learning , i may allways be learning with this beast.

Features: 9
It does everything i'll ever need to do , and awhole lot more. Can't really complain about anything personally. The vocoders and inputs are neat. Its my first Midi synth , so i can do alot more than im used to. I use it for a controller , aswell as sequence it from my laptop. Polyphony is nice after using monosynths for so long. The effects are nice , though in the manual it says theres 98 , theres actually about 5. phaser , distortion , chorus , delay and reverb. The first three are multi timbral , the delay isnt. But its all a bonus my other synths sure have no effects or midi , or polyphony , or inputs or vocoders or patch storage etc etc. The keyboard is fine IMO. its better than my other synths , i had read the indigo had a bad keyboard but, its seems fine.

Expressiveness/Sounds: 10
I grew up around death metal and computers , so my taste in synths is a mix of both. when choosing this synth i wanted something that could get downright dirty and do all the things my monosynths couldnt. This thing is so brutal , ive killed my hi-fi allready , because it just sounds so good and wants to be loud. The virus goes way beyond my expectations when it comes to sound.I hoped it could sound like a fat like my moog but after only a few minutes , i was wondering if ill ever use the moog again. The virus can be the moog but the moog can't be the virus. Some of the noises this thing can create are quite disturbing and scary. The sounds can be so intricate aswell as disgustingly harsh. This thing is unatural and takes your ears to places you didnt think existed. I can't write music because i just keep playing the damn thing and smiling. I will also mention that it can do smooth and happy sounds just as well. Im not sure theres anything it can't do soundwise. The virus C engine is definitly awe-inspiring.

Reliability: 10
This thing is built tough and its heavy (for a portably version). The case oozes quality , the knobs are great, Nothing seems suspect. 100% reliable so far , ive had it a few months.

Customer Support: 10
Im not going to ring them up , but acess website is as good as you can ask for , with loads of patches. Free and easy OS upgrades.

Overall Rating: 10
I would have to replace it if it was stolen , I dont have faith that another synth can be as brutal sounding as this one. I rarely touch my other synths now. As mentioned above i own 2 analogue monosynths and wanted something digital with midi , something that could do heavy and harsh sounds aswell as sweet. I am no veteran when it comes to synths and have only used one other decent VA (yammy an1x). I almost bought a Nord Lead 2, But ended up with the virus and im more than happy, the virus was exactly what i had hoped and more. The indigo's seem quite rare , it looks great , sounds great , is built great and does everything i wanted in a synth.

Submitted by inty at 03/18/2006 01:18

Price Paid: N/A

Ease of Use: 10
The manual is well written and has made it easy to understand the interface. I like the layout of this synth. Have heard a few virus users complain about the upgrade from OS 5.5 to OS 6.0. I plan on keeping mine on 5.5 for the time being. All in all this synth is extemely easy to use.

Features: 10
The keyboard action feels great to me. It shows alot more quality then all the others I looked at for comparison. This synth has way more features then an nonpro like myself could ever hope to use.

Expressiveness/Sounds: 10
Out of all the latest synths of this class that I tested for several months I choose the Indigo 2. This board is the cat's ass. IMO it can be used for any style not just the techno-dance-trance-chillout stuff.From super cool pads to ass thumping B&D it is easy to create new and exciting sounds with very little effort. This synth DOES NOT GET LOST IN THE MIX.

Reliability: 10
My wife was so put out with the amount of time I was spending with it she threw it out of the second story window of my studio to the ground below then had the nerve to back over it with MY TRUCK. In a panic I went outside to see what all the fuss was about. To my surprise once I got it reconnected to the mixer and flipped the switch it actually sounded more extreme then it did before, not even missing a beat. When I got finished with the little woman for what she had done to my Virus the law hauled her away for the rest of the day. She must have been infected.

Customer Support: 10
Who cares. Their all the same. If and when it requires service after what happened to it I will deal with it at that time.

Overall Rating: N/A
Been playing synths since 1982. Next to the new MOOG voyager this was worth every nickle. There are so many neat sounding instruments on the market today that go way beyond where I started years ago. The Virus Indigo 2 has provided alot of cool soundscapes and lead lines to date and probably will for a long time to come. Got to get that damn window in my studio fixed now! So see YA.

Submitted by harleyisa at 10/31/2003 08:37

Price Paid: 3800 (Can)

Ease of Use: 9
First synth I ever touched from Access, didn't take long to adapt to the layout. Each section on the synth has an edit button, took some time familiarizing the menu as the scrolling can get deep with the small LCD. OS6 seems solid and simple. Loading sounds thru midi/sysex using the OS has never been so easy, and extremely quick. Factory presets seem polished, if you don't like them there are thousands to choose from from the Access website. Got two manuals, the original for the Indy, and a manual on Analog, explaining it's history and some tutorials for the user to try.

Features: 7
The fx's were simple, prefer using fx with indept editing features. The different arpeggiator patterns are numbered with no description eg. up&down etc...have no idea what pattern is gonna do what. Also allocating keys in the multimode is not touch sensitive, gotta know your notes for each key, and also must stay within the 3 octave range for realtime play.

Expressiveness/Sounds: 9
No big suprises here. Not concerned on how close it emulates analog, after listening I could careless. The sound clearity is remarkable, adding major tightness and warmpth seemingly without any effort. Tweaking is very responsive...razor sharp! Dolby surround sound using the headphones was sick, had sounds attacking me at every angle showing the power of this beast. Sound is "phat" end of story.

Reliability: 8
Solid little box. Feel confident traveling with it, luxury of a small unit. The Indigo and it's OS go hand in hand so well that a laptop/desktop might be essential to gig with for some. Computers are an accident waiting to happend, but the indy is a different story.

Customer Support: N/A
Never dealt with, I'm sure their ok. Like the company's effort on updates, and other goodies.

Overall Rating: 9
Lotta good things going for this synth. Gotta hear to believe, the sound has no room to lie. Just wish it had a step sequencer with a touch of velocity/gate, my inspirational preference, but no biggie. Pound for Pound it literally RIPPS the competion.

Submitted by Anonymous at 07/23/2003 01:53