RAPID Synthesizer | Rapid 1.8.0 released | Free "SP - Granular Elements"

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MFXxx wrote:Nice mainstream EDM demo. Got to say though as a long time vst user. The price for this from a non established devloper and this type of synth is pretty steep and a large gamble for the buyer. Was quite stunned at the pricing. When yu look at the competition (nto demoed it yet so this is off the top of my head comparissons) Zerba, Spire, Serum, Discovery to name a few and Vengeances new synth (which I wonder if this is a parallel?).

Im not sure if this is gambit move on revenue and long term game or misjudged price and product placement. Saying that, I may think differently when I eventually get round to demoing it. This post is base purely on the YouTube promo video so I might be right of base, however I know I'm not jumping straight to the demo download...which for me is quite unusual. Personally it's way too expensive for a new comer!

I thought it was overpriced at first too but after demoing I see that is it worth the asking price (for me).
my music: http://www.alexcooperusa.com
"It's hard to be humble, when you're as great as I am." Muhammad Ali

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ATS wrote:
I thought it was overpriced at first too but after demoing I see that is it worth the asking price (for me).
That's easy for you to say now, having received the special discount price.

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bluedad wrote:
ATS wrote:
I thought it was overpriced at first too but after demoing I see that is it worth the asking price (for me).
That's easy for you to say now, having received the special discount price.

I would of paid full price if I had to, don't worry.
my music: http://www.alexcooperusa.com
"It's hard to be humble, when you're as great as I am." Muhammad Ali

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ATS wrote:
bluedad wrote:
ATS wrote:
I thought it was overpriced at first too but after demoing I see that is it worth the asking price (for me).
That's easy for you to say now, having received the special discount price.

I would of paid full price if I had to, don't worry.
I assume you meant to say "I would have paid…"? :wink:

/Joachim
If it were easy, anybody could do it!

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A short while back I said I would do an overview of Rapid. Recently, the developer reminded me that I had promised to do this so here it is.

Just up front, this is not a butt kissing review. It is my totally honest assessment of this synth. It is not an in depth tutorial or anything like that. It is just a brief overview. If somebody wants, I'll be happy to go more in depth at a later date on whatever you want me to cover.

So, having said all that, here it is.

[REMOVED]
Last edited by wagtunes on Tue Oct 25, 2016 2:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Hi wagtunes,

Thanks for the video review of RAPID. That was very helpful.

Now, if someone can put a good video tutorial out, I would be more comfortable to buy it, even at the current high-price point, and as you commented, I totally agree with you that RAPID needs to be able to import custom user wavetables/waveforms to really be a 10, and worth buying at the current relatively high price point. Hopefully the developer can do this via a future RAPID update.

Cheers,
Muziksculp

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Muziksculp wrote:Hi wagtunes,

Thanks for the video review of RAPID. That was very helpful.

Now, if someone can put a good video tutorial out, I would be more comfortable to buy it, even at the current high-price point, and as you commented, I totally agree with you that RAPID needs to be able to import custom user wavetables/waveforms to really be a 10, and worth buying at the current relatively high price point. Hopefully the developer can do this via a future RAPID update.

Cheers,
Muziksculp
I could do a video tutorial series but my time is so limited as it is I don't know when I'd be able to get to it.

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Astralv wrote:FMR, thank you for transferring your discount. Looks like I will be getting the synth soon. Will share my impression. Thank you.
You're welcome. It would be selfish (and stupid from me) to simply let the oportunity go without anyone taking it. Enjoy :)
Fernando (FMR)

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Hey wagtunes. Good review, and fair points made. I also think that, for that price, it should be possible to import user waves, and that the transient samples are a bit pointless, if you can do all that using the layers yourself anyway. Also cool that the dev motivates doing honest reviews, and might take note on how to improve Rapid, if it's agreed that the points made are worth improving. :)

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wagtunes wrote:
Muziksculp wrote:Hi wagtunes,

Thanks for the video review of RAPID. That was very helpful.

Now, if someone can put a good video tutorial out, I would be more comfortable to buy it, even at the current high-price point, and as you commented, I totally agree with you that RAPID needs to be able to import custom user wavetables/waveforms to really be a 10, and worth buying at the current relatively high price point. Hopefully the developer can do this via a future RAPID update.

Cheers,
Muziksculp
I could do a video tutorial series but my time is so limited as it is I don't know when I'd be able to get to it.
I'm guessing some one will eventually post some RAPID tutorial videos. It's just a matter of time.

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Muziksculp wrote:
wagtunes wrote:
Muziksculp wrote:Hi wagtunes,

Thanks for the video review of RAPID. That was very helpful.

Now, if someone can put a good video tutorial out, I would be more comfortable to buy it, even at the current high-price point, and as you commented, I totally agree with you that RAPID needs to be able to import custom user wavetables/waveforms to really be a 10, and worth buying at the current relatively high price point. Hopefully the developer can do this via a future RAPID update.

Cheers,
Muziksculp
I could do a video tutorial series but my time is so limited as it is I don't know when I'd be able to get to it.
I'm guessing some one will eventually post some RAPID tutorial videos. It's just a matter of time.
Truth is, Rapid is really not the difficult to program if you take it piece by piece. In fact, most synths are very simple until you get into the area of synths that don't have traditional filters, lfos, etc. and sculpting sounds involves some oddball gymnastics. Cycle and Rayblaster off the top of my head come to mind.

Rapid has a lot of things that you can do, but they're all simple.

I might have some time tonight to do a tutorial. If I can, I'll certainly do it.

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Note on the demo install, not sure why or if I missed something, how do you select to only install 64 bit seems to insist on both 32 and 64?
Last edited by MFXxx on Mon Oct 24, 2016 8:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Nice overview Wags. Still on the fence about saving up for it though as some pointed out (and including your vid) that you can't import your own tables. I have nearly a thousand custom tables that might work well inside of RAPID.. might not. Will never know. The sound itself is fairly decent though. At first play it sort of reminded of Dune 2 but with more punch. That's not to say RAPID doesn't have its own character thought because it does. Also noticed that the presets do take a while to load so, if i were to use this in a live environment it might be a little tricky.

Still demoing, but maybe someone can show me the light.

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@wagtunes:
Thank you for your honest review. Now a few explanations regarding the critizied points.

Attack Samples
The logic behind the attack multi-samples is that you couln't create them easily without wasting a filter and multiple envelopes. They mostly include some kind of filter or pitch envelope and are designed exactly for that reason. You should browse a few presets and look out for use-case examples. The included attacks come in different flavors so you can combine them with lead multi-samples. They are a more subtle part in sound design, like a noise burst, to fine-tune your sound and give it an extra punch. Not intended as long filler sound, for that purpose you would use wavetables or lead sample.

Import
The reason this feature is not included in the first version is just missing time. It's a very complex feature and including it would have taken 1 month or more. At some point in development it was not foreseeable how users would use the feature. So the decision was made to first get customer resonance and then implement it in the most requested way. So it's no a question of "will the feature be implemented?" but more like "when and how will the feature be implemented?".

After the MacOS X version is finished, the work on the import feature will start. If it still remains the most requested feature, because another requested thing is the scalable GUI.

Sequencer
You mentioned the sequences being very flexible. So the shown use-case in combination with the arpeggiator is only one way to use them. Another way is to play just one note, not using the filter and attack envelope, but using multiple sequencers for volume, filter, panning and pitch. In this case a note retrigger is not necessary.

Tips
If a wavetable sounds too..
- harsh: It's because you use it one octave to high. Try using it on -12 and -24.
- filtered: Use a triangle LFO to get movement into the spectrum.
- quiet or boring: Use an attack envelope with linear decay. Especially for some of the FM and Real Phase tables.

Every table has its own thing or special way to use it. e.g. You mostly use the PWM tables in combination with an triangle LFO to get the classic PWM sound.

Price
A reminder: RAPID is a bit different from other synth products. If it would sell for 100$, then that would have been it: A finished product, no more features. But you're not only purchasing a finished product, but also invest in the future development of more advanced features. Also the price manifests in the included content. Some included presets are way superior than the stuff you hear from other factory presets. Please don't forget that. If you already like Rapid, there will be more in the future.

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Nice to see some good critics with substance. That's the spirit and what I was hoping for. If someone got any suggestions, how they would like the import feature to work, just write down your ideas. It's not about the technical stuff, but about your preffered workflow. I will read it and try to incorporate your ideas.

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Edit:
Ave Mcree posted a short preview about Rapid. Looks like he's collecting a few questions and will later answer them in a more detailed review. So if you are interested in particular features, I would recommend leaving a comment down there.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYe5fqDmGdU

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parawave wrote: Price
A reminder: RAPID is a bit different from other synth products. If it would sell for 100$, then that would have been it: A finished product, no more features. But you're not only purchasing a finished product, but also invest in the future development of more advanced features. Also the price manifests in the included content. Some included presets are way superior than the stuff you hear from other factory presets. Please don't forget that. If you already like Rapid, there will be more in the future.
I think that you created a real great instrument.
I'd just say that early adopters could also've been see as investment, so to speak, hence a reason to make them a price.
Concerning advanced features, most devs rarely do "finished" product nowadays.
Also, even if think that you'r genuinely honest, buyng a software based on promises for future features is a choice not everybody would go for.
But to say the thruth, this synth already have enough to offer that this risk is probably minimal here.
Anyway, I'll say congratulations for being able to do such a synth!

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