User Manual

v1.1.0 -
2015-02-14

for Access Virus|HC AU & VSTi Editor / Librarian plugin by

Mystery Islands Music

[oscillator / filter / envelopes tab in v1.1.0]

First,
thank you
for your interest towards our Editor & Librarian plug-in. :-)

Intro
Our Access Virus|HC was built to control your legacy and the new TI-series Viruses
over MIDI. Access built their unique Total Integration method to connect hardware
synthesizer to your DAW via USB, so we did the same with MIDI. The only difference
between our software is that we are not able to transmit audio signals over the MIDI
connection.
In this little handbook you will find the instructions to get your plug-in installed and
how to use it. You can use our Editor / Librarian software to control and manage your
beloved hardware synth, the Access Virus!
Our plugin has nothing to do with Access Music company, so dont bug them if you
encounter issues with the plugin - send us a support ticket (instructions below) :-)
1

Manual index:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Intro
What does this plugin do?
What this plugin does NOT do?
Requirements
Compatibility
a. Supported plugin formats
b. Supported Virus models
c. Supported Digital Audio Workstations
6. Downloading the plugin Demo or Updater
a. Important note prior to install
7. Installing the plugin and knowing the demo limitations
a. Demo limitations
b. Setting up MIDI devices in Windows
c. Prepare your Virus for the plugin
d. Inserting the plugin to your project
e. Operation system specific instructions
8. Registering your purchase!
9. Parameter differences between models
10. Using the librarian
a. Browsing patch files located at your HDD
b. Adding new patch files to librarian from your HDD
c. Organizing patches in librarian
NEW

d. Sending patch from librarian to your Virus

NEW

e. Storing patch bank from librarian to Virus

NEW

f. Storing single patch from librarian to Virus

NEW

g. Requesting patch bank from Virus to librarian

NEW

h. Requesting single patch from Virus to librarian

NEW

i. Requesting active multisingle data from Virus

NEW

j. Requesting active multi data from Virus

NEW

k. Force current multisingle data to Virus

NEW

11. Other parameters

NEW

12. Troubleshooting
NEW

13. Final words

NEW

*
new
markings will be removed at the first of March 2015
2

What does this plugin do?

Note to reader:
This plugin does not generate sound - Only handles MIDI & SysEx!
Control your Access Virus hardware synthesizer from your DAW over MIDI.
Organize and manage your patch library.
Move patches from one bank to another and save as you like.
Download and put all of the Virus soundsets in one folder for quick access
through the plugin.
Librarian supports MIDI and SysEx soundset formats across all models.
Store banks to Virus from the librarian.
Store single patches to Virus from the librarian.
Request banks from Virus to the librarian.
Request single patches from Virus to the librarian.
Select next or previous librarian patch from hardware.
Select next or previous patch from hardware via librarian.
Control up to 16 parts of your Virus from one plugin.
Each part can have its own patch.
Each part patch name can be set from the plugin window.
Each part has its own parameters which you can automate from your DAW.
Changing part from plugin changes part in hardware and vice versa.
Layer multiple patches to create massive leads or such.
Mute, adjust levels, panning, outputs and suchs from the plugin, per channel.
Automate almost every parameters from your DAW.
Parameters that are available for automation will be listed on your DAW.
(Ableton Live cant see our parameters, so you have to teach it).
Easier to handle automations than trying to remember hundreds of #CCs.
Total Recall of the sounds used up on project reload.
All of the current parameters from the plugin will be sent to the hardwares
temp memory up on project reload!
Time saver when thinking about storing, naming and loading data from
multiple hardwares per project.
Control almost every parameter that is available in your Virus.
We added a bit more than 5000 parameters to the plugin (16 parts) so the
sound editing should be painless and quick task.
Plugin reacts to hardware knob movements and displays knob, slider, menu
and button values within the plugin display.
Virus model selector in multi settings page allows to show the parameters which
are available to your Virus model.
Virus A -> TI2 supported!

What this plugin does NOT do?

Transmit any audio.
Generate any audio.
Note to reader:
We are constantly adding new methods to this manual, so please check
back often, if there is an update (see version numbering and date above) available. We try to
mark clearly new headers with orange
NEW

tab, so updates are easier to locate!

Before you buy our plugin, please take a moment and

download
the demo version from our
website to test it out first. If there are questions about the demo version, please send us an
email / enquiry from the product page. Install & Setup instructions can be found below.

Requirements
Mac or PC based computer with AudioUnit or VST host application (see below).
MIDI device with direct MIDI IN / OUT connection to your synth.
Access Virus A or greater model (see below).

Compatibility
Which formats are supported by the plugin?
AudioUnit for MAC OS X 10.6 or above (32 & 64 bit)
VSTi for MAC OS X 10.6 or above (32 & 64 bit)
VSTi for Windows XP or above (32 & 64 bit)

Access Virus models that are supported with our plugin:

Access Virus A-range

Access Virus B-range
Access Virus C-range
Access Virus TI-range
Access Virus TI2-range

This plug-in has been tested to work with following hosts:

Steinberg Cubase
Cockos Reaper
Ableton Live
Presonus Studio One
Apple Logic Pro
Image Line Fruity Loops

There are links, tips and tutorials below, which will show you how to insert this editor /
librarian plug-in to your DAW. If your DAW is not listed, dont worry. You can follow the
guidelines below and adapt them to your DAW to see if it works or not.

Downloading the plugin demo or updater

Anyone can download the demo version of our plugins and test them out, but only
customers are entitled to download the
updater
for their purchases. If you have purchased
our plugin through another website, register to our website and open a support ticket to
request account update. Only after the account update, you can see the updates you are
entitled to.

Important note prior to install:

Please make sure you make a proper back
up of your Virus before you run the installer. We
will not take any responsibility of your synth. You can do this very easily by opening your
DAW, inserting a blank midi track with Virus as a input port.

General:
1.
2.
3.
4.

System / Multi Edit

MIDI DUMP TX -
> select Total
Press record in your DAW
Hit STORE from your Virus and its done!

You can read more about the sysex dump from your Access Virus user manual.

Installing the demo and knowing the limitations

Demo limitations:

Not possible to register.

Not possible to automate.
Not possible to save settings with your project.
Not possible to use all of the librarian functions.
Does not reply to Total Recall requests up on project re-load.

Download the demo and run the installer. Some users have reported that if you dont have
all options selected on the installer, it wont install any of the plugins.
After you have installed the plugins, open your DAW and let your host do the plugin scan - If
the plugin scan fails,
send us the report
(copy from the window and paste to contact form)
and RESCAN, it will pass :)

Setting MIDI devices in Windows:

In Windows machines, MIDI devices needs to be disabled from the host, which you want to
use with the plugin. This is due to Windows driver architecture, which does not allow
resource sharing between applications, like MIDI devices.
We are looking out for a solution to this issue, if there would be a work-around. One option
is to install MIDI Yoke and see if it provides a solution to the issue.
You can find more info about how to shut down MIDI devices from our user forums which is
located
HERE

.
(+ image on the next page).
MAC can handle multiple device uses between several applications, all done!

[Disable MIDI Devices in Windows host - Cubase 7.5]

Prepare your Virus to work with the plugin

Now you are ready to use the plugin and the first steps are
critical in order to make it
functional:
1. Make sure you have direct connection between you Virus and your DAW with
MIDI.
No MIDI thru connections supported (as they wont work, period).
a. Virus MIDI out -> MIDI device MIDI in
b. Virus MIDI in <- MIDI device MIDI out
2. Make sure your Virus is powered up and it is set to MULTISINGLE mode.
Multisingle mode allows us to use all of the 16 parts within one instance.

3. Digg some Virus menus and locate lopage and hipage settings and set as
followed: lopage = control, hipage = sysex.

4. Check and make sure that MIDI thru is OFF.

DONE!
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Insert the plugin to your project:

Insert the plugin to a empty instrument channel, open it up and follow instructions below:
1. Choose the MIDI in and MIDI out terminals from the plugin window
(top right corner).

2. Click on multi settings button from the multimode mixer tab

this is the first view you see when the plugin opens.

3. Choose your Virus model from the menu

(plugin default setting is Virus A, which makes some areas of the plugin
interface unavailable to use).

4. Choose a DeviceID you want to use with your Virus

(important if using multiple instances of the plugin in one project).

5. In order to receive knob movements from Virus to our plugin, set MIDI
Destination to Int + MIDI.

You can also check other parameters like Multi Name and Global Arp settings from this
window. Please note that if you use Virus TI, Effects on multi settings page does not apply! :-)
If you click on multi name to edit the name for the project, all of the multi data will be sent
to your Virus, which will take some time.
TIP #1: Be patient and do not disturb the data flow with any knob movements or so. This will
ensure that data packages are being sent as supposed and you are not going to receive any
SysEx checksum error messages! While making patch changes, stop your DAW playback.

System specified instructions:

MAC:
Now insert empty midi channels (depending on how many parts you want to play) to
your DAW and point them directly to Virus MIDI out port, not to the plugin. If you play notes
directly thru the plugin, there might occur some delays / time stamp issues while playing
your project.
Select the MIDI channel you want to play with and enjoy the librarian functions as well as
sound parameter functions, directly through your screen & from your DAW!
PC:
As long as you dont have an application that cloned your MIDI device as a virtual device,
you have to use the plugin as a gateway to send notes to the hardware. I dont have much
experience about Windows environments, so I cant tell for sure about the timing issues or
such.
TIP #2: You can set a function in Librarian tab, which will allow Virus patch change buttons
to control the librarian patches or the plugin next / previous buttons to control the patch
change from Virus. Plugin display and parameter values will update to the current patch
settings after the patch has been loaded by the mouse click or hardware next / previous
clicks. (available in v1.1 and above).

Select Previous Patch.

Select Next Patch.

Allow hardware control over

the librarian patches.

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Registering your plugin after purchase!

First of all, we couldnt be more happy that you have decided to support our long journey of
coding this plugin + drawing the graphics ourselves!
THANK YOU
. :-)
Registered owners can enjoy the full advantages of the plugin, like:
Plugin parameters can be automated from your DAW.
Librarian is fully functional and allows a lot bigger editing possibilities.
Total Recall: Once you open your project again, all of the data is being sent
automatically to your Virus or Viruses, if you have several in the project :-)
Lifetime free support in tickets! (priority support).
But now to the point: registering your instance of the plugin.
Follow the instructions below:
1. Always download and use the latest version of our plugin - Make sure to backup your
project, since some updates may break the original frame, meaning that some old
settings are not going to work with older version of the plugin.
2. Download the license.key file from our server. You can find it from your
account page
and check your order details for download link.
3. Make sure your license is named license.key after the download. If it is
license.key.txt or license.txt, simply rename it to license.key.
4. Open your DAW (in Windows, Run as Admin required to validate registration).
5. Open the plugin and check what the display says. If display says
unregistered
, you
are able to input the license.key file.
6. Click on the
Virus|HC
logo at the top left corner of the plugin window.

7. Pop-up window appears, asking you to navigate to the license.key file.

8. Locate your license.key file, select it and click ok - DONE!
9. Check registration by removing the plugin from your channel and insert it back again.
Display should say
registered :-)
if everything went down ok. If not, please open a
support ticket
.

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Parameter differences between different models

As we made this plugin cross-compatible with Virus A-series, B-series, C-series and TI-series,
there are some differences / extras in the plugin menus, which are not available on all
models. These differences are marked with either a) which means the parameter range for
Virus A-series, b) for Virus B-series etc. We also made a dropdown menu to multi settings
window, where you can choose your Virus model. Depending on your model selection, some
of the functions are unavailable for your selected model.
On your DAW, when you select a parameter to automate, all of the parameters are shown,
no matter what you have selected as your Virus model. Automation parameters are loaded
up on plugin scan, so we cant block out certain parts of parameters :-)
You can send patches to your TI, even though you might have set your model to C-series,
but the parameters that are being sent, wont be handled the same way, so make sure you
have a right selection of your model before you proceed.
Saying all that, YOU are responsible for your own Virus and you agreed these terms up on
the installation process, where the EULA was shown.

Using the Librarian functions

One of the greatest function this plugin offers, is the librarian functionality. This allows you
to exchange patches between your Virus and your DAW without the need of touching your
Virus.

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Browse patch files stored in your HDD

Virus|HC installation comes up with two custom soundsets, one by me which is called

Access Virus Revealed vol.1

and
Trance Soundset vol.1
by
Alan Marcero
. Alan is a
great sound-designer and he has made the mark on the scene with his patches, so be sure
to check them out.
First up when you land to librarian tab, you can see a lot
init
patches in the window. This is
because we included init bank to start off with. You can select a different patch bank by
clicking the little
arrow down button or
patch bank name in the librarian window. After
you select the next bank, the window will update with the selected bank patch names.
(see image below).

Adding your own custom, free and / or commercial banks to the librarian
During the installation process, you were prompted to select plugin installation destination.
By default, Windows patches can be located from
C:\Program Files\Steinberg\Cubase\Vstplugins\VirusHC Editor\Patches\
.. and on Mac
MacHD/Library/Application Support/Mystery Islands Music/VirusHC Editor/Patches/
You can add
any Virus soundsets to the librarian folder as long as it is MID or SYX format.
Note that if the patchfile name is too long (32 characters), it is most likely going to crash the
plugin. We are going to fix this soon and we are looking for a solution to add subfolders to
the librarian view.

13

Organize Patches in Librarian

You can edit patch bank content and you can organize patch file appearance priorities on
the Librarian list view. First we go through the method, where you can edit your bank
content. If you wish to make your own favourite bank including patches from here and
there, the steps are quite easy once you get to know it properly.
1. On upper patch list window, select a bank you want to edit.
2. Click edit from the librarian window (see image below).

3. Librarian is now at active edit mode, meaning: Librarian created new patch bank file
to temp memory based on the patch list you had active on the top menu while
pressing edit. You can now drag and drop patches
from lower list to the upper list
as you desire. You can also change bank on the lower list, to select patches from
different bank :-) (see image below).

4. If you are happy with your list after the tweaks, just simply click
save as
to open
the saving dialog. Enter a name, without the extension and thats it, bank saved!
5. If you are not happy with the changes you made, click discard to exit.

14

To arrange patch files and their appearance in the list, simply rename your banks for
example: 001 my favourites, 002 mystery islands vol1, 003 alan marcero trance v1 etc.
Numbered items are prioritized on the list and then after numbered items, everything will
be sorted alphabetically.

Transmit patches from librarian to Virus multisingle buffer

As you remember, while using the plugin, you have to have your Virus in multisingle (legacy)
or seq (ti) mode in order to transmit and receive data between the librarian and the Virus.
To send patches from librarian list to your Virus, simply double click the patch name to send
it to device. There are some notes to you need to know:
1. If you have Virus TI, outgoing data will be handled differently inside our plugin before
its being sent out to the MIDI device selected. Other model selections will handle the
data equally before it goes out.
2. Patch will be sent out to the part you have put active on the part selection window. If
you select part 1, patch will be sent to multi temp buffer part 1. Part selection 2
sends the patch to multi temp buffer part 2 etc. (see image below).

You can also send patches from librarian to your Virus via external commands by activating

Control Library From MIDI / HW

from the librarian window.
When this mode is activated, incoming program change commands and Virus program
change commands sends the patch from the upper list to the Virus. Note that incoming
program number, for example 107, sends the patch number 107 from the list to the Virus.
There is one more option how to scroll through the presets on the list: Patch up and down
buttons, which are right next to the
mute
button on the part selection window.
Again,
control librarary from midi / hw
has to be activated in order to make this work.

15

Store entire patch bank from librarian to Virus

You can store an entire bank to your virus with few clicks. Please check your Virus menu that

MIDI DUMP RX
is
Enabled
before you proceed.
1. Go to librarian view, select a patch bank you wish to store in your Virus.
2. Select destination bank slot (A or B) where you want to store the whole bank under

from bank
header above
store to hardware
header.
(
from bank
menu selection acts as
to bank
selection up on storing data).
3. Click
entire bank
under store to hardware to start the transmit process.

This will take roughly around

1 minute
and 30 seconds to write the entire bank to Virus
memory, so again, please be patient and
do not disturb the data flow during that time!

Store single patches from librarian to Virus

This is pretty much the same as sending the whole bank, but each patch will be stored to
Virus once you activate
selected slot
button under store to hardware header.
To store the patch, just double click on the patch you want to store while the button is
active. Patch will be stored to the slot which corresponds to the patch number on the list
and to the bank that is selected from the drop down list. (see image below).
(
from bank
menu selection acts as
to bank
selection up on storing data).

To inactivate single patch storing, simply deactivate selected slot button.

16

Requesting the selected bank from Virus to librarian

Getting the bank data from the hardware to the librarian is a huge advantage so it was one
of the must-dos for us. You can request data to your library with a few clicks.
(data will be stored to your harddisk and it wont be synchronized with your Virus).
1. Click
edit
to make request buttons accessible.
2. Choose bank which you want to request by selecting it under
from bank
header.
3. Click
entire bank
under request header to start the request process.
(see image below).

4. Request process will take around two minutes and patch names should be updated
on the patch list while the process is running.
5. After the request process is completed, you can either discard your edits which will
remove the requested data from temp memory or you can click
save as
to store
the bank on your hard drive.
!! Please do not disturb the plugin or playback your project while data transfers are
active to ensure that your data is correct once the process completes !!

Requesting single patch from Virus to librarian

Single patch request process is quite like the process of requesting full patch banks. Enter

edit
mode, click
from bank
menu to select which bank data you want to receive, select
patch number from the list with single click and click
current slot
. Again you can either
save your bank data or discard your edits.

17

Requesting active multisingle data from Virus

As required, we included a method to request currently active multi part data. This following
sample shows how to request data per-part on your plugin user interface.
1. Enter Librarian view.
2. Click the part you want to request from the left mixer window.
3. Make sure you are on
Single Patch Mode
in librarian! (see image below).

4. Click
active part
under the
request
header to request single patch from part.
(see image below).

5. Data from one part will get now processed and your user interface should update to
the according settings. However, if you select patches from your Virus manually, the
patch data will be updated on the user interface anyway. This sample was included,
because there might be cases when you accidentally set Virus parameters wrong and
it stops responding to our plugin calls.
6. Done
! Not storing needed, because this data will be written with your project and
when you reopen it, the data will be sent out automatically :-)

Requesting active multi data from Virus

Do you have a multi saved in your Virus which has a great settings initial settings to start a
new project with? You can request your current multi data to our plugin quite easy.
1. Click
Multi
button from Virus.
2. Find your favourite multi from the memory and return to plugin window.
3. Click
Patch Browser
and click
Multi Files
under
Data Type
header.
(see image below).

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4. Click
Arrangement
under
Request
header to start the data request process.
(see image below).

5. This method will request the current arrangement data that is used on the particular
multi program. The process will take around 15 seconds to complete and the user
interface will be updated with the multisingle patch data.
6. Depending on the
Override Multi Settings
switch, multi settings will be
overwritten from the incoming data dump. By default the button is off = incoming
multi settings dump will be ignored. This switch can be found from the main tab ->

FX / Settings #2
. (see image below).

19

Force multisingle data to Virus

There might be times, when data is not correctly received by the Virus when you re-open
your project, so we included
force to device
functionality. This button has the ability to
send the current multisingle data to your Virus. Button is located in Patch Browser window.

Example #1: You reopen your project, MIDI ports are not the same anymore as they used to
be back in two years ago (heh). You note that you have to re-set your MIDI ports and you
would like to dump the data to your Virus. Well, this is what its made for! Click
Send
Arrange
and the data will be transmitted.
Example #2: You work on two systems, Mac & PC. You created an awesome track on Cubase
for PC and you are looking out to work on it at your Mac. Again, re-assign MIDI ports and
click
Send Arrange
.
Note that in order to fully reset your MIDI devices, you have to select
Select MIDI Device

from the dropdown menu on both, MIDI in and MIDI out menus before you set a new port.

Other Parameters
Most of the Virus parameters are known to you already, because you know your synth. In
cases, when there is a parameter in our plugin, which is not included with the Virus, we
explain its functionality and purpose in this part. We are not going to tell you how to use
your Virus, because you can find all the relevant information from the Virus user manual.
User pattern editor from Virus TI not included in the plugin
We will not include user arpeggiator parameters known from Virus Control software to our
software, because simply, it is impossible for us to debug the USB flow data.

20

MULTI SETTINGS additional parameters

Virus Model -menu :
This menu was added so you can choose which Virus model you are
connected with the plugin instance. For example me, I have 3 Viruses, so I can pick up
different model from the list and based on the selection, it displays different kind of info on
the plugin user interface. For example, Virus A does not have 3 oscillators, while Virus C and
Virus TI does. Virus A oscillator 3 are is grayed out, Virus C oscillators are in static legacy
mode while Virus TI allows you to choose what kind of oscillator generator is used.
Selection also affects incoming & outgoing data processor which we built inside our plugin.
Menu selection defaults to Virus A, but its value will be saved with your project.
Copy Fx From -menu
:
This menu is for all of the models before the Virus TI. In legacy
Viruses you can have only one Multi Effect, which is used for all the Effect Sends. From this
list, you can choose which part effect settings are being copied to the Multi Effects to use.
Click
copy
button below the menu to trigger the copy function.
Menu selection defaults to none, and its value will not be stored with your project.
PATCH BROWSER additional parameters
All of the parameters were well documented above. Starting at
this
header.
OSC / ENV / FILTER additional parameters
PAGE -switch under oscillator common
:
As there is a lot information in the Virus patch
data dumps and I created the graphics well before the actual hardware debugging, we had
to add this little switch to show more knobs on the user interface which were inaccessible
while using Virus TI and certain oscillator modes.
Switch defaults to page 1, and its value will be saved with the project.
FX / SETTINGS # 2 additional parameters
Override Patch Tempo -switch :
This switch works simple yet powerful -> Get Host Tempo!

All of the patches you send to your Virus, will include your host tempo inside. This applies
only to multisingle temp buffer data and wont overwrite your patch tempo data signature.
Switch defaults to on, and its value will be saved with the project.
Override Multi Settings -switch :
Last but not the least, this switch overwrites incoming
multi settings data to the plugin user interface. If you want to keep your multi settings intact
while requesting new multi from Virus, keep it off!
Switch defaults to off, and its value will be saved with the project.
REFER TO YOUR VIRUS USER MANUAL FOR OTHER PARAMETERS !

21

Troubleshooting
This is most likely the first place where you come up. Well, we have some great news for you
in this order:
1. Read this manual, and
2. Read this manual again!
Now if you still have trouble with your Virus and the plugin, it is time to check out the
possible solutions.
I cant get my Virus to function with the plugin!
-

Check your audio cables and make sure they are connected as supposed.
Check your midi cables and make sure they are connected as supposed.
Check your midi connections from the plugin interface and be aware that you have to
reset your devices before selecting the right device. Instructions mentioned above in
the manual, so read it.
Make sure your license is valid. Plugin displays registered :-) when the license is ok.

If you still cant get your Virus to make the handshake with the plugin, you can open a
Support Ticket
at our official homepage. The best way for us to solve your problem is when
you send us a little video of what you try to achieve and how you try to do it. Send us a
private youtube link in the ticket or upload a video in our service.
If you have validation errors, we hope you will send over an email with the crash log and full
specs of your current system. This way its much easier and faster for us to solve your issue.
Our support is open from Monday to Friday between 07:00 - 16:00 EET and we intend
to reply on all support tickets within 24 hours and emails in 48 hours.
If you want us to make cool plugins more, read the manual for the third time and let us
focus on what we do the best: Develop more control plugins for hardware synthesizers. :-)
This user manual is based on Virus|HC v1.1.0 which was released to public on 14.2.2015

22

Final Words
We would like to that you all for your support prior to the development of this plugin.
We hope you will enjoy the advantages this plugin brings to your everyday production
workflow and we hope that you will purchase the full license to our plugin from our
own
store
.
Development of this plugin has taken over 19 months, including over 70 000 lines of
deep C++ coding, thousands of cups of coffee and endless hours with the graphical
user interface.
Most of the plugin core was written together with Arto Vaarala and you should check
out his multi award winning plugin
Kirnu Cream
as well. We might include a lite
version of this plugin to our editors, what would you say about that?
Coding
: Jani Kervinen & Arto Vaarala
Graphics
: Jani Kervinen
Patches
: Jani Kervinen & Alan Marcero
Manual
: Jani Kervinen
More to come, stay safe and make some music!
https://www.mysteryislands-music.com
http://www.kirnuarp.com
http://www.alanmarcero.com
***
Mystery Islands Music
Jani Kervinen
info@mysteryislands-music.com
+358409307093
VAT : FI18995982

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