Parawave Rapid?

[Samiver]

Hi, does anyone know if there will be an update for the Rapid? It's a very good instrument, yet it's so rarely updated?

I'm not aware of any recent updates but they were planned. Not sure if mirko ruta is involved with rapid any longer either.

[Benjamin923]

I believe Rapid was in large part a collaboration between Rene and Mirko. It’s possible life circumstances or who knows what else could have gotten in the way of it.

[parawave]

Happy new year!

I want to clarify a few things brought up in this thread. Excuse me for the long silence.

Sales
First of all, there is no grand scheme to "rip someone off" like some indicate or interpret it. Especially in regards to Black Friday, some treat it like it is an elaborate recurring trick, but the major reason for the sale in the first place is that people expect and demand it. Yes, as a matter of fact, Black Friday sales are a yearly occurrence. Support requests for it do amass in that season. Which is understandable, since some are not willing to spend more than 100$ on a hobby product.

Fear of Shutdown
One of the favorite talking points is that we will eventually shut down and leave the users unable to activate and use Rapid. This has been a worry since 2016 and what can I say in the year of 2026? 10 years after the initial release. It will always be a worry. To ease your mind, consider this: It's not only highly illegal but also morally bankrupt if we would do so. There isn't really anything that could be said to refute this issue. Only a vow that this isn't a moral choice or solution I could personally accept. Even in the case of shutdown, I would put in unpaid time to guarantee a continuation or final DRM free version. Additionally for the future, generally, if any incompatibilities should arise, it is planned to offer "support updates" that will guarantee that it runs on newer systems. For example if a new Windows or MacOS version is released, a compatibility update will make it run there. Which leads to the next point.

Bugs and Issues
While it may seem that Rapid gets no bug fixes and ignores requests, this isn't the intention. If you noticed an issue, reported it and expected something akin to a day-one patch, this isn't how it works either. For example - There seems to be an ongoing issue with how the DAW Bitwig handles parameters. After some updates from them, a long list of parameters causes longer loading times. If there would be an easy fix, it would be delivered. Rapid offers VST and AU versions and delivers them according to their specifications. It works in every other DAW. So there is a direct correlation of the amount of parameters and slow down. But this isn't anything that could be influenced by us. There is no magic trick to make it faster. It is their (DAW Host) area of responsibility. It worked before. They changed something. It worsened performance. Unfortunately. If possible we would add a workaround or "hack" specifically for Bitwig but it just isn't reproducible and highly dependent on the Bitwig Version and setup used. I can only recommend to notify Bitwig support and suggest that they contact us. I think they even did, for a test version. There is no ongoing communication though, I would gladly help them out if questions specific to Rapid arise, that could improve the performance of many parameter plugins.

Updates
There isn't much of an excuse to offer here. Just that unforeseen things happen which sadly mess up schedules and deadlines. This was really unfortunate. An update was promised in April 2025, with a really tight schedule and no room to breathe. But in the final stretch there was a decision that resulted in chaos and a way longer delay. To be more concrete it was a redesign of the way the new MSEG feature was used. Not that it was the wrong decision, in the long term it will be better. Just badly timed.
It isn't easy to explain the reasoning or why it wasn't communicated better. There is just no excuse for it. Appeasing with false promises wouldn't be right at this point. Only the intention of : "There will be updates" can be said with certainty. No concrete dates, as there is no fixed schedule.


At last.

Please be aware that there are unplanned things happening and that there is a natural product cycle at play and that the amount of time spent is related to all of that.
The realistic assessment of the situation is that Rapid will not disappear. You will not lose access. Your support requests are read but not always answered (especially if the email can't be delivered) or the bug is related to 3rd party software.
The update frequency was always slow and it will not suddenly change. I'm sorry for the unfulfilled promises. Eventually there will be updates.

I still hope that you can enjoy using Rapid in the meantime.

[twal]

I think the complaining in here put me off from getting Rapid but I always found it interesting. Fans love it and swear by it. This response seems to clear up some things, and that makes me interested once again. Perhaps I'll consider purchasing it the next time it's on sale...

[zvenx]

Well nice to finally get some kind of communication.

When a Politician shows up to his constituents, a month or two before elections, when they really haven't seem them since the last election, it is fair to question, their motives.
Same thing.. of course no one is suggesting that you shouldn't have black friday sales.. I have heard many developers only survive because of great black friday sales, but if in about two or three years in a row, the only update for the year come out just around that bf sale, I think it is natural, logical for people to question the motives..


Anyway looking forward to the next set of updates, whenever that happens.

Is there a reason though, why there have been no new expansions in quite awhile?

rsp

[Teksonik]

Fear of Shutdown
One of the favorite talking points is that we will eventually shut down and leave the users unable to activate and use Rapid. This has been a worry since 2016 and what can I say in the year of 2026?

The reason that it has been a worry is because you've failed to address the concerns....until now.

It's just another example of how a lack of communication can work against you and the reputation of your company.

Fear of Shutdown To ease your mind, consider this: It's not only highly illegal but also morally bankrupt if we would do so. There isn't really anything that could be said to refute this issue. Only a vow that this isn't a moral choice or solution I could personally accept. Even in the case of shutdown, I would put in unpaid time to guarantee a continuation or final DRM free version. Additionally for the future, generally, if any incompatibilities should arise, it is planned to offer "support updates" that will guarantee that it runs on newer systems. For example if a new Windows or MacOS version is released, a compatibility update will make it run there.

See, that's all you would have had to say some time in the past and there would never have been any worry in the first place. It's everything I've been wanting to hear for a long time and gives me renewed confidence to use Rapid in projects going forward..

As for bugs, I have not experienced any in Rapid. It's always been rock solid here. As for new features I don't really need any but of course if any are added I would welcome them. I have no problem paying for updates if they add value at a fair price.

You've got a really fantastic synth in Rapid and it should get far more attention than it does. All you need to do is stay connected with your customers and perhaps more importantly your potential customers.

Coming back every once in awhile to apologize for the lack of communication is little more than damage control. Better to avoid that damage in the first place.....

[morphex]

It isn't easy to explain the reasoning or why it wasn't communicated better. There is just no excuse for it. Appeasing with false promises wouldn't be right at this point. Only the intention of : "There will be updates" can be said with certainty. No concrete dates, as there is no fixed schedule.

I'm sorry for the unfulfilled promises.

Bravo!! Open communication like this shows nothing but respect for your loyal customers, and it alleviates some of the stress surrounding Rapid’s future. I don’t think that’s too much to ask for, so thank you for addressing these concerns in a respectable, and professional manner.

People often have a difficult time accepting the blame for when plans don’t work out the way that they intended. And that’s why your post is so refreshing. Instead of making unrealistic promises, you took FULL responsibility, and you didn’t try to hide behind a bunch of excuses.

You gave it to us straight. And sometimes, that’s all that is needed. That’s leadership. Rapid is a fantastic synth, and I hope that 2026 is a great year for Parawave Audio. Cheers!

[Examigan]

I remember when I reviewed it for the Soundbytes magazine several years ago, I thought it was very impressive. I’m sure it still is.

[zvenx]

As a former scientist I am skeptical by nature.

https://www.facebook.com/reel/785111911216249

Which could also explain this:
viewtopic.php?p=9151679#p9151679

rsp

[braacq]

Rapid will not disappear. You will not lose access.

Glad to read this, thank you for your message.

[MirkoVanHauten]

As a former scientist I am skeptical by nature.

https://www.facebook.com/reel/785111911216249

Which could also explain this:
viewtopic.php?p=9151679#p9151679

rsp

As if Ruta wasn't part of the problem too. Beginning with his demos and ads where he claimed to not be involved, just for him to admit he even developed parts of Rapid. Also talking about extensions which never came iirc. He also failed to communicate when he was a part of Parawave. Whatever projects he does now or whatever companies he partners with, I'd be skeptical of too. Anyways +1 for Parawave to say at least something. But there's lots of burned ground to repair and I'll wait for some actions before all the praise. Fool me once...

[zvenx]

I missed all that back and forth you mention. I do remember initially I got the impression it was his software (akin to how Avenger's was Manuel's though Mirko is also a programmer so I thought his involvement would be more than Manuel's with Avenger was).
But eventually figured he was a subcontractor in the project called Parawave Rapid.

I, btw, want Parawave to do well.. I have invested in Rapid's success, and I think in terms of cpu usage and stability it is probably the best of the super-workstation-like-synths and (like Zebra 2,) it fits easily into most mixes.
rsp

[THE INTRANCER]

Parawave can't ensure that there will be a DRM free version available in the future though. Vince Zampella, the developer of the Call of Duty / Battlefield 6 being one example where he is no longer with us due to the accident he had in his Ferrari. We just don't know what's round the corner.

[Trancit]

I am sorry... but I don´t buy it anymore...

Similar to what zvenx wrote:

When a Politician shows up to his constituents, a month or two before elections, when they really haven't seem them since the last election, it is fair to question, their motives.
Same thing.. of course no one is suggesting that you shouldn't have black friday sales.. I have heard many developers only survive because of great black friday sales, but if in about two or three years in a row, the only update for the year come out just around that bf sale, I think it is natural, logical for people to question the motives..

my question would be why do you wait 9 month before communicating something??
9 month you let the rumor mill rolling before you finally decide it would be time now to address the masses to dispel some rumours?

Sorry, but for me this is the usual and recurring pattern we have seen all the time since at least 3 years...

When critics reach a certain level, suddenly parawave either has time to smooth things a bit over and communicate a bit of "mea culpa" before everything goes back to business as usual or we get fed with a very minor little update á la: "See, it´s constantly developed"...

...The update frequency was always slow and it will not suddenly change. ...

Idk man... do you think we cannot read or remember? Whom do you want to sell this?
2017, 2018, 2019 there were 2-3 often huge updates per year... far more than I have mostly seen on any other VSTi out there ...
Even 2020 was released a huge update directly afterwards which included all the granular stuff and half a year later another big one with all the new effects...

And now just because development has mostly stopped you want to make me/us believe there was always slow update pace?

For everybody not aware look here: https://parawave-audio.com/rapid_version_history

I don´t want to be ungrateful... this was all for free... thx very much but do not attempt to take us for fools!

Because of Rapid´s heavy copy protection it is and will stay a risk!
And with the background how things went in the past years, I think one shouldn´t give too much on any promise what happens if Parawave disappears completely... maybe it´s true... maybe it isn´t... nobody knows for sure...

[SLiC]

I have been doing this a long time (20+ years) and the only VST I stopped being able to use (mainly through bad housekeeping!) was Camel Audio Alchemy when they went to 'Apple' - that shit can happen to any plug in at any time, regardless of the copy protection as OS's change you eventually loose use of it...its just a risk with any software irrespective of copy protection.