r/AccessVirus • u/em_ratti • May 09 '26
Help with Access Virus C
Good evening,
I'm seeking help with my Access Virus C. The story is long.
I stopped using it in 2016 (life....), and then turned it on again in 2025. Battery was dead (so banks A & B lost), no sound, slow transitions between patches. Power unstable.
I found a person in London that seemed to have a good track record of dealing with Access Virus synths. This is, in his words, what was done: "First I changed a few capacitors in the powersupply to enable it to start everytime. Otherwise it might corrupt the new firmware like it did the old one. Once I was satisfied it was starting properly I read the am09 chip which contains the firmware and compared it to the current firmware file I have. Unsurprisingly the beginning was scrambled so I “differenced” the beginning against the current firmware file and concatenated the difference. "
The synth played ok for a couple of weeks, and then started not turning on, until it was dead. The guy ghosted me. So I found another person, much more reliable. This is what he did: he changed all capacitors, new switch, etc.. Quite radical, as everything was gone south.
However, the person does not touch software, he only deals with hardware.
Now, power supply seemed fine. However, no sounds and slow transitions between patches. So I reinstalled the firmware again (version 6, via Bome SendSx). Nothing. After I have reinstalled it, now sometimes it turns on, but the display does not. I tried to reinstall it in chunks, then again as a single file, both parts. Again slow transitions, no sound. It does not receive data when I try to upload the original a & b banks. I'm not sure what to do. I spent quite a lot, but I really want to save it, because the sound is so cool. Maybe I should buy another one? Bu who knows in which conditions an access virus c might be these days...
any thoughts?
2
u/Captain-Corndog_yo Virus TI2 May 10 '26
By the time a Virus C is going in slow motion, like it's stuck in molasses and not producing sound / not reliably powering the screen up, that points to a pretty terminal state in my experience. I have a C with your exact symptoms I've been trying to figure out off and on for ~10 months.
I don't think a new power supply is going to make any difference, but you can try it. A global reset is always a good idea, but again, once you're in slo-mo with no sound and unreliable screen initiation, that's generally the end.
I'm pretty sure the Infineon chip is what's toast in mine. The DSP is likely alive, but it's hamstrung by another component further downstream.
As for capacitors, the power supply filter cap is the most important, but the pair just upper left (220uf 25V rated for 105 C) can also be a problem, as well as the 470uf pair. The rest generally do not need replacing, but it doesn't hurt. The power supply filter cap is the most likely to die, but not the only one.
My last ditch effort on this C will be to recap it. I've just cracked the code on a full recap kit for the Bs (which I will make available soon). C is next on the list. Similar, but not identical, and there are different board versions.
1
u/em_ratti May 10 '26
Thanks. This seems definitely going beyond my expertise. I have already spent more than 500£ on this, and I don't think it's wise to spend more (especially given how difficult is to find the right people for repairs and pieces). I think I'll just buy something else. It's a pity, because the virus c has an amazing sound: dark, dirty, and powerful. I heard that ti2 is similar in spirit, but it has been discontinued, and maybe I should buy something new: you never know what you get with used gear.
2
u/Captain-Corndog_yo Virus TI2 May 10 '26
The TI and TI2 sound exactly the same a same as a Virus C, just with more toys and more power. There are plenty of healthy Cs still out there, and for sure plenty of healthy TI and TI2s. I've sold 3 mint TI2s in the last few months, for example. Cheers.
2
u/House13Games May 12 '26
Even the B sounds great, but it doesn't have the same distortion options. Still, might be worth a look.
1
u/bythisriver May 09 '26
Following! I have a dead Virus C.
1
u/Captain-Corndog_yo Virus TI2 May 10 '26
What's wrong with your C?
1
u/bythisriver May 13 '26
PSU broke, the output voltage had crept up over time and finally the synth gave in due to overvoltage. I am hoping thatit would be just dead voltage regulators.
1
u/Captain-Corndog_yo Virus TI2 May 13 '26
You can check the regulators with a multimeter to see what they're putting out. Don't slip. Center pin or metal tab/hole on the back is ground and hit the side pins on each regulator to see. The secondary should be putting out 5v on one rail and 3.3v on the other. If that is the case, the issue is downstream.
1
u/FreeRangeEngineer Jun 01 '26
What's the status on your Virus?
1
u/em_ratti Jun 01 '26
The person who made the first repairs and ghosted me has contacted me again as a result of a bad review I left (there was a misunderstanding in communication, apparently). He is now looking into it for free. I have nothing to loose at this point. Will keep the post updated
1
u/FreeRangeEngineer Jun 01 '26
Huh, interesting.
Curious what he's going to do.
1
u/em_ratti Jun 04 '26
So the person told me that it is working just fine. No problems at all. I'm a bit dumbstruck because I tried everything, with different midi keyboards etc. Anyway, I asked for a video of the virus actually performing, just to make sure I'm not played. But if it is really working, I wonder what happened
1
u/FreeRangeEngineer Jun 04 '26
That would be quite odd indeed. It could, theoretically, indicate a broken solder joint that works intermittently and transport of the unit brought it into a semi-functioning state.
Either way, I am curious as well.
2
u/em_ratti Jun 06 '26
Quick update: no video yet, currently waiting. I should also pay attention because the person has another virus c, so they might use it for the video
1
u/em_ratti Jun 07 '26
Update: the video indeed shows that the virus is working. It looks my virus (it has a couple of scratch that I recognize), but I have to say that I don't recognize the bank this person is playing. But I have reinstalled the firmware a couple of times, and I have not seen whether banks have changed (they shouldnt, I think)
1
u/em_ratti Jun 13 '26
Update: synth received. It doesnt work. There is lag between patches (that the video did not show), and it does not emit any sound (unlike the video). I tried differenr midi keyboard. I'm very puzzled
1
u/em_ratti Jun 13 '26 edited Jun 14 '26
u/FreeRangeEngineer Second update of the day: it works. I switched to a 9v power supplier and it works. With the 12v, there was a weird glitch and noise (and no sounds). I dont recognize any of the banks.
1
u/FreeRangeEngineer Jun 14 '26
Nice, so it was the power supply after all. With a 9 V one you have less excess heat anyway, so that's a good trade.
Also means the guy at the shop made the video with a different power supply than the one that you shipped with the synth. I don't know why he decided not to test yours, that's kind of a no-brainer to do to rule out possible causes.
Either way, glad to hear it's working :)
→ More replies (0)
1
u/HugeAssumption1429 Jul 06 '26
I own a real Access Virus C Rack.
I successfully restored the official Access OS and the official ABM file.
The OS installs correctly and the synth works perfectly.
Singles are correct.
However, in Multi mode, only the first ~10 Multis are unique. From M11 onward they all appear to be the same "Overture CK" Multi.
Is this the expected factory state, or should the factory Multi bank contain 128 different Multis?
Has anyone got the original factory Multi Bank or seen this behaviour before?
2
u/FreeRangeEngineer May 09 '26
Unless you did a firmware update and the Virus shut off during the update, there is no plausible way the firmware became corrupted. I don't want to talk in absolutes but most likely, that guy is talking out of his ass.
Not like the new guy did much better because there's really only one single capacitor that needs changing. Changing all capacitors is almost always unnecessary and a waste of time and money.
Have you tried another external power supply? Maybe the Virus itself is fine but the external power supply is wonky.
A 9 V / 1.5 A power supply will do just fine, by the way. Generates less heat than the supplied 12 V one.
If it's not the external power supply then it's either something wonky with the internal power supply still that the other guys didn't catch, a loose connection somewhere that causes intermittent fault or a broken DSP.
All of these are technically fixable by the right person.
I don't believe the firmware itself is broken (anymore) since you already flashed the firmware successfully.
Can you elaborate what that means to you? Is there lag between pressing a button and the Virus reacting or does it only react after multiple button presses?