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

[Whywhy]

Cubase, Reaper and bitwig, are compatible, max by cycling too, I think, waveform too.
Edit : I have forget Logic!
I use a roli seaboard and bitwig.
A lot of people here use the famous linninstrument , I have some nice feedbacks about Joue too. Now, we have a large choice of mpe controllers.
With the price of the Roli block serie, the mpe protocol is now accessible for a lot of musicians, producers.

Bitwig is fully mpe compatible, nothing to setup, just the pitch bend range.
If you consider mpe, an indispensable tool to build into Rapid, is the controller users curves for be able to adjust the controller, like pressure, cc74, note off, response.

[plexuss]

Very excited by this new features,
I hope the Parawave team will put Mpe on the to do list !

MPE +1 perfect synth for it

Okay, there are multiple MPE requests now. Yes it would definitely be interesting BUT .. honestly MPE is still a bit rare for most producers. I remember watching a few MPE recording setup videos for different DAWs and it was a mess. I'm curious, what MPE controllers are the most used ones and which DAW supports it to a viable level? And which ones are you using/recommending?

No mess here. Logic. Rise 49. Plug the Rise in, run the Roli software, fire up an MPE synth and it just works. The synth, when in MPE mode, has parameters for the 5 touch parameters which are easily routed to various synth parameters. You information is either old or has misled you.

[Mirko R.]

Just playing around with one instance

[Dip200]

Will it be possible to sync the carrier oscillator while fm'ed ?
Any chance you will allow single, independent outputs for each layer ?
I would also like to suggest 2 insert slots per Oscillator.

And most importantly: Do you plan a Black Friday or Christmas Sale ?

[sircuit]

Just playing around with one instance

As cool as it is a first sight (also the fans of Nexus and now Avenger seem to dig very much the sequences), I am still struggling to find real use for this approach. (I have my own little "conspiracy theory" that Manuel Schleis got "inspired" from hardware synths that had demo songs to showcase the presets and he pushed it a little bit forward in Nexus and the rest is history. Because he pretty much got "inspired" from everything in his way - from layering sounds to make presets Roland style to releasing FX bundles exactly how Air Music Tech did with their suite). So obviously from my point of view the most utility for sequences and complex multilayer presets is when showcasing new presets packs.

For a live artist, Ableton Live is way more powerful than anything these synths can do.
Then, for someone doing small bits (commercial/jingle) it may be some use, although is easier to do it in a DAW - because you need to export the parts to audio and rebalance and eq the mix.
Then we have people looking for ideas so they need a quick barebone - it may work.
If you do a full song and you use a seq, you have to first modify the melody, then render parts then introduce the missing segments of the song (breakdowns, buildups etc) - is weird becuase you work on a given part (the seq) it almost becomes a remix state of mind rather than creating a new song.

So, I am genuinely asking - who managed to put these presets (in a successfull manner, with a real workflow improvement) to real use? (real use = integrated in a finished song, finisned jingle and, sold product).

[Mirko R.]

Just playing around with one instance

As cool as it is a first sight (also the fans of Nexus and now Avenger seem to dig very much the sequences), I am still struggling to find real use for this approach. (I have my own little "conspiracy theory" that Manuel Schleis got "inspired" from hardware synths that had demo songs to showcase the presets and he pushed it a little bit forward in Nexus and the rest is history. Because he pretty much got "inspired" from everything in his way - from layering sounds to make presets Roland style to releasing FX bundles exactly how Air Music Tech did with their suite). So obviously from my point of view the most utility for sequences and complex multilayer presets is when showcasing new presets packs.

For a live artist, Ableton Live is way more powerful than anything these synths can do.
Then, for someone doing small bits (commercial/jingle) it may be some use, although is easier to do it in a DAW - because you need to export the parts to audio and rebalance and eq the mix.
Then we have people looking for ideas so they need a quick barebone - it may work.
If you do a full song and you use a seq, you have to first modify the melody, then render parts then introduce the missing segments of the song (breakdowns, buildups etc) - is weird becuase you work on a given part (the seq) it almost becomes a remix state of mind rather than creating a new song.

So, I am genuinely asking - who managed to put these presets (in a successfull manner, with a real workflow improvement) to real use? (real use = integrated in a finished song, finisned jingle and, sold product).

Beginners. RAPID is for everyone. Pros can create their own stuff deep in detail and beginners can load presets like this and create full tracks with it, only using the macros. Maybe you would not like that (just ignore these presets, there are a lot of other ones), but a lot of customers do. And me, too. It's everytime a party for me playing with this presets.

[parawave]

Just playing around with one instance :-)

As cool as it is a first sight (also the fans of Nexus and now Avenger seem to dig very much the sequences), I am still struggling to find real use for this approach. (I have my own little "conspiracy theory" that Manuel Schleis got "inspired" from hardware synths that had demo songs to showcase the presets and he pushed it a little bit forward in Nexus and the rest is history. Because he pretty much got "inspired" from everything in his way - from layering sounds to make presets Roland style to releasing FX bundles exactly how Air Music Tech did with their suite). So obviously from my point of view the most utility for sequences and complex multilayer presets is when showcasing new presets packs.

For a live artist, Ableton Live is way more powerful than anything these synths can do.
[..]Then we have people looking for ideas so they need a quick barebone - [..] - is weird becuase you work on a given part (the seq) it almost becomes a remix state of mind rather than creating a new song.

Just look at it from a different perspective. If you are a beginner, or never produced this kind of genre, or just need an inspiration for a new track, these presets are a good starting point.
e.g Just delivering the "screamy riddim lead" (4. Layer in the video) and listening to it solo wouldn't convey the intended use of the sound and users may never find it useful in their own production. These packs are intended to quicken your workflow and give new ideas you may never have thought about.

Don't forget, a preset isn't just a static sounds. It always contains some information about how the sound was made. And these sequences contain a lot of information. Information you probably won't get looking at a bare Ableton project. How long would it take to build such a sequence from an empty Ableton project IF you never had build something similar? It's a time saver.
And I'm positive that users know how to alter sounds, swap wavetables and completely change things up so it fits their needs. That's the cool thing about a synth, compared to a ROMpler or construction set : )

[sircuit]

Thank you for your input. It’s a very dangerous rabbit hole for beginners imho, as they fail to train the very essentials in making music: composing, picking a sound palette that make sense (sounds that complement each other) and thinking the song structure.
It’s like my personal trainer would do all the exercises for me at the gym and let me do only the final 2 reps saying: “bravo, you had a great workout!” But who sees the results of that workout in the end?

Edit:
@parawave: the time it would take me to “get that beat” is as following:
- bring in the famous song into the daw and start dropping markers — this alone will give me the structure and what sounds are recycled between sections and what sounds change octave, what are new etc
- loop a section and replicate the drum hits - this alone will further train my ear in identifying sounds within a mix
- loop other interesting sections to hear what kind of palete they use: in your face transitions or discrete or none, simple leads or pitch-bended, vocal cuts etc.
In one hour I learn more about actually dissecting music than any multilayered preset.
Also, doing this first time in one's life takes hours, doing this the 100th time takes 30 minutes plus having in the end a complete layout of the new song from analyzed one's markers.

You wrongfully assume that people that use sequences learn from them or move to properly dissecting songs but they rarely do, is human nature to take the easy way. Almost no pro I know buys Nexus packs (although they own the basic package "just in case") but I know many that have no released tracks that spend their money on expansions with the thought that “aaah, this new one is all I need for my next hit” - it's a drug that keeps them hooked without really helping them to actually finish songs, really.

Nothing personal here, Mirko is a great sound designer, you are a very talented developer that managed to deliver a high quality zero-bugs synth is just I find this practice of “one song inside the synth” kind of a dangerous gimmick for beginners, on the long run.

[Whywhy]

Personally, I really don't care about all the seq, pre made tracks, but, if people like it, buy it and use it, why not.
If sequences can help them, why not, but I will never recommend to a student or a newbie to use pre made sequences, they will waste their time, the short way is to learn how music works , but Parawave are not here for educat peoples, it's not their job.
In a sound designer point of view, I must recognize, making full demo tracks and sequences is really fun !
Ps : we should speak about mpe implementation !

[Mirko R.]

Wanna see the Glitch FX?

[exmatproton]

Coool to use the seq for that!!

[Mirko R.]

Coool to use the seq for that!!

yes, the sequencer is perfect for it. it's also really nice that you can change the source and the glitch changes the pattern with the next beat. That means, you can change the sequencer without any clicks or nasty effects. Aaaand on top, you can also modulate the source parameter. Imagine, you put Modwheel on it, than you can switch the pattern with the Modwheel. That's a lot of fun.

[Musical Gym]

Will you be having a BF sale?

[strovoknights]

I'm waiting for New XTs!
I love RapidSynth

[exmatproton]

Coool to use the seq for that!!

yes, the sequencer is perfect for it. it's also really nice that you can change the source and the glitch changes the pattern with the next beat. That means, you can change the sequencer without any clicks or nasty effects. Aaaand on top, you can also modulate the source parameter. Imagine, you put Modwheel on it, than you can switch the pattern with the Modwheel. That's a lot of fun.

Awesome!