Parawave Rapid Discussion Thread II

[chk071]

When are Parawave going to update its customers on the progress for the next version/roadmap??????

Looks like they were tired of some people's attitude here. Can't say that I blame them...

Looks like some people are tired of Parawave's attitude. Can't say that I blame them...

Communication with your customer base is not a radical concept in the business world and companies that don't communicate might find themselves out of the business world.

Don't forget that most of the communication is done on social media these days, not on forums.

[zeph]

When are Parawave going to update its customers on the progress for the next version/roadmap??????

Looks like they were tired of some people's attitude here. Can't say that I blame them...

Looks like some people are tired of Parawave's attitude. Can't say that I blame them...

Communication with your customer base is not a radical concept in the business world and companies that don't communicate might find themselves out of the business world.

Don't forget that most of the communication is done on social media these days, not on forums.

I could be wrong but I see absolutely nothing posted on their facebook group as well.

[zvenx]

I just checked their twitter and facebook channels.. Nothing since last December.
I for sure don't think they are 'dead'; it seems to be 'their' way, for whatever reason, sadly.
rsp

[Dombaeb]

They were quite active here on the forum a couple of years ago. Until there was a super stupid long aggressive discussion, the reason for which was the name of one preset. They can be understood. You are inspired to make a synthesizer, have fun with the names of presets, add unique features and want to get support from the community, do something even more useful for them, but instead someone clings to one hooligan name in your preset and throws a tub of negativity on you, completely devaluing your passion. I think they lost faith in useful communication, hope they come back.

[eagle007]

Sorry, but I do not agree that it's due the attitude of customers questioning things.

I noticed RAPID last year and instantly thought "damn, that thing looks like all I wish for in a soft synth". But then I looked at the website, and some of the images were not loading, making me question the relevance of the synth. Then I looked at the historical change log and noticed that the last update was from 2020.

But there was a sale going on and I was still intrigued by the software. On this forum I noticed some people questioning the development activity, but then the VST3 update hit and Parawave posted on this forum that they were close to releasing 1.9, which would probably hit in January 2023 which would add new routing, and posted the VST3 updated version.

That post, the VST3 update, and the sale going on in December 2022 made me go for it. The synth is indeed cool. But the post on the 1.9 release was removed from this forum and in another post they claimed they never promised anything. We are now another 7 months ahead in time and 1.9 is not released yet. This basically means that there hasn't been a serious update on the software for almost 3 years. The 1.8.6 update was a quick fix release with nothing new. And the developer stopping to respond and removing posts feels fishy.

Having seen so many good and potential software projects go under, I feel very uncomfortable relying on this synth given the extremely slow development of the last years, the removal of posts by the developer and lack of communication from their end after that.

In the meantime I know that Vengeance has licenced the RAPID reverb algorithm and Mirko Ruta is one of the sound designers for them. Which makes me wonder even more... Did Mirko join Vengeance and left RAPID? Is he just helping to push Avenger 2.0 and then goes back to RAPID? (which would mean he is competing with himself). Or did he just sell a license and does some sounds for them?

On the other hand, the software is solid, sounds amazing, is Apple Silicon native and VST3 compatible and all times I contacted support, they responded within a day. And as a developer I know it can be hard to push a new product while maintaining a solid income without side projects or funding.

But what it burns down to, that it's not about attitude but lack of trust in the future of the product and people being disappointed by the idea this might be the case. I for one would be very happy to see the 1.9 update. Not for features I feel I'm missing, but to restore my faith in the future of RAPID. And only because I feel this is in potential one of the best, if not the best, soft synth out there.

With a little better community management and a more solid website there is so much potential in this company.

[zvenx]

I spend way too much on kvr, but to be fair, I personally never say a january 2023 or any definite time frame for release of 1.9.

Whilst I can understand how the preset name argument would have soured them against kvr did it also sour them to their own Twitter and Facebook feed? It surely didn't sour them enough to announce the sale end of last year.

My own two cents is that they have other priorities and 1.9 will indeed be released at some point.
rsp

[egbert101]

I like turtles.

[chk071]

I just checked their twitter and facebook channels.. Nothing since last December.
I for sure don't think they are 'dead'; it seems to be 'their' way, for whatever reason, sadly.
rsp

Surely looks as if the project is on ice, also with all those missing icons on their website.

[THE INTRANCER]

It's only been 4 months since they responded. We know what they are working on and when it's ready, it's ready. It's better to have a bug-free product than one that is going to be problematic which they have spent months developing.

To quote their last post...

"1.9 In development. Nothing noteworthy changed though. Again: Main focus of this update is advanced routing functionality, which includes Mapping Curves, MSEG, Quantizer and Gate Sequence features. A good portion is done. The MSEG point/curve editor for example (which is a big part).

You can look forward to it, this will add a lot of new possibilities."

For me, of all the synthesizers own, Rapid is the most fun and most powerful.

[zvenx]

I just checked their twitter and facebook channels.. Nothing since last December.
I for sure don't think they are 'dead'; it seems to be 'their' way, for whatever reason, sadly.
rsp

Surely looks as if the project is on ice, also with all those missing icons on their website.

Missing icons?
where on their website?
I just visited, nothing looks unusual to me.
rsp

[syntonica]

There's more FUD regarding this plugin than anything else I can remember. I can understand why the devs don't socialize on the internet anymore with their customers, or more likely, the people who love to complain, but never who will be customers.

[plexuss]

Reading KVR posts like this is like having young kids when christmas is every day. Relax. Chill out. Make music. Not all developers are going to want to engage on forums etc. If a dev is selling a product it should be considered at least working and stable on the specified systems and hence be a viable product. It's always a risk with software however so always be prepared for disappointment when inevitably the products stop working and/or the dev stops work on them.

[PebbleInAStream]

It's only been 4 months since they responded. We know what they are working on and when it's ready, it's ready. It's better to have a bug-free product than one that is going to be problematic which they have spent months developing.

To quote their last post...

"1.9 In development. Nothing noteworthy changed though. Again: Main focus of this update is advanced routing functionality, which includes Mapping Curves, MSEG, Quantizer and Gate Sequence features. A good portion is done. The MSEG point/curve editor for example (which is a big part).

You can look forward to it, this will add a lot of new possibilities."

For me, of all the synthesizers own, Rapid is the most fun and most powerful.

Their roadmap mentions that a ""'Via' modulation operator." is going to be added in 1.9... They are too humble! That sounds very "noteworthy" indeed. I've had an eye on Rapid for a while, but really have what synths I need for now, might finally pick it up though if it's on sale during Black Friday again this year...

[egbert101]

I own Rapid but never use it, because I'm put off by the AFK attitude of the developer.

[Trancit]

Nonetheless for everybody it should be clear by now that Rapid has turned from a great developing performance for the first years into more or less a hobby product and will be wasted at some point in time...

I think the dev couldn´t survive from the income and has another full time job/project working on Rapid perhaps here and then...

Actually what we see here now is exactly the same what happened to Zynewave´s Podium...
The dev had to take other jobs to be able to survive and Podium died every day a bit more...

Just speculation... but for me the only one which makes sense... if he would be honestely interested in pushing Rapid any further there would have been more happened in the last 3 years.