RAPID Synthesizer | 1.8.5

VST, AU, AAX, CLAP, etc. Plugin Virtual Instruments Discussion
Locked New Topic
RELATED
PRODUCTS
Progressive House RAPID Synthesizer

Post

I think it seems to fly under the radar for some reason. A hugely underrated synth imo.

Post

Really liking Rapid so far. One gripe i have with it though is not being able to modulate the Macros or Master section.

Overall though, it reminds me of Dune 3 quite a bit but with more options. Edge to Dune in overall sound, but Rapid for its better work flow and more dedicated options. Glad i got this after only recently hearing about it.
Last edited by MattLeschuck on Fri Feb 04, 2022 3:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Post

MattLeschuck wrote: Sat Jan 29, 2022 5:44 pm Really liking Rapid so far. One gripe i have with it though is not being able to modulate the Macros or Master section. Applying things like global velocity to the Amp and or Filter is not readily accessible and can be a bit tedious applying it to all voices (unless im missing something of course).

Overall though, it reminds me of Dune 3 quite a bit but with more options. Edge to Dune in overall sound, but Rapid for its better work flow and more dedicated options. Glad i got this after only recently hearing about it.
+ Rapid has granular synthesis & a unique resynthesis engine, expanding even more the sonic possibilities imo.

Post

I should have gotten this in the sale, just trying the demo. The formant filter sounds quite unique, and the overdrive insert sounds really aggressive, it's easy to instantly get hard sounds which take some work in other synths. However, I'm immediately struck by the limitations of the architecture: no mix control for the formant filter. No control to specify how much of the signal goes to each filter (just bypass both filters) etc.. So it seems that when the architecture fits this synth has some unique sonic properties, which I like, but a few small design changes would open up the architecture a great deal.
Every day takes figuring out all over again how to f#ckin’ live.

Post

cb8rwh wrote: Sat Jan 29, 2022 2:25 pm I think it seems to fly under the radar for some reason. A hugely underrated synth imo.
One of the most underrated on KVR, it looks and sounds great- lots of synthesis options and amazing FX (and even has a separate FX plugin). Its a pity the NFR puts so many people off, they would sell a lot more if they dropped that I suspect, so many people just wont touch NFR synths on principle.
X32 Desk, i9 PC, S49MK2, Studio One, BWS, Live 12. PUSH 3 SA, Osmose, Summit, Pro 3, Prophet8, Syntakt, Digitone, Drumlogue, OP1-F, Eurorack, TD27 Drums, Nord Drum3P, Guitars, Basses, Amps and of course lots of pedals!

Post

It, though also seems to have the least udpates per year than its competitors.. Not sure if that is making a difference to its popularity.
rsp
sound sculptist

Post

I mean, i demoed it again when they touted updated to "retina" graphics but it didn't infact look retina.

I have a dual screen setup (4K 21.5" UltraFine + 13" Macbook below) so non-retina interfaces really stand out in a bad way.
I conversed with support, and couldn't see the problem and tried to pin it on ableton's scaling (i use Logic) and my HiDPI/Scaling settings and when i told them it's logic, they simply disappeared.

It's not cheap enough to:
- not be retina
- for support to disappear
- be NFR
so i simply skipped on it, and i don't see myself going back to it after the brief exchange with support.

edit:
For reference and context:
Ploki wrote: Tue Sep 28, 2021 11:08 am yes and no.
Text is sharp and crips, knobs are fuzzy af :?
I contacted support (in a more polite manner)
i've been demoing Rapid and noticed that GUI looks fuzzy on my retina screen when size is at 100%. Text is sharp, but knobs and graphics are blurred and not sharp at all.
Support response:
Thank you for your interest in Rapid. Are you using Ableton or a DAW that uses auto-scaling for their GUIs? If so, you may want to check the hiDPI or similar scaling settings.
After telling them i use logic they just disappeared, and since i can see it hasn't been updated since... :roll:
Image

Post

There are not too many VST companies that just have 1 product/synth (and then a few soundpacks)- Spire, Rapid?
I guess it could just be '1 person' and he is the developer/coder/support etc...who knows! Must be hard if you are a 1 or 2 man team to keep up with everything, but I have been happy with the updates (all free) since buying Rapid.
X32 Desk, i9 PC, S49MK2, Studio One, BWS, Live 12. PUSH 3 SA, Osmose, Summit, Pro 3, Prophet8, Syntakt, Digitone, Drumlogue, OP1-F, Eurorack, TD27 Drums, Nord Drum3P, Guitars, Basses, Amps and of course lots of pedals!

Post

Which companies are its competition? Avenger I imagine, Nexus to somewhat degree, Ana 2.. which others?

rsp
sound sculptist

Post

It's sorts of in the 'super synth' category for me, being WT/Sample/Granular/VA and with advanced effects, routing, modulation and sequencing so there are a lot...Pigments, Phase Plant even Falcon. Obviously even with 1 layer it can compete with Hive, Serum etc. as the WT side is quite advanced. Not many synths even in the swiss army knife' category do multi-sample and granular...
X32 Desk, i9 PC, S49MK2, Studio One, BWS, Live 12. PUSH 3 SA, Osmose, Summit, Pro 3, Prophet8, Syntakt, Digitone, Drumlogue, OP1-F, Eurorack, TD27 Drums, Nord Drum3P, Guitars, Basses, Amps and of course lots of pedals!

Post

I didn't include some of those, especially phase plant because they don't really do the layer concept per se.

I also find it a lot more vanilla sounding that an Avenger, Nexus and Ana2 for instance.

Even finding good third party banks for it is hard.


rsp
sound sculptist

Post

So is it better than Avenger?

Post

simmo75 wrote: Fri Feb 04, 2022 3:00 pm So is it better than Avenger?
I prefer Rapids user interface and workflow, but its personal preference. I think the fx are better in Rapid...but its all about what 'you' like. Avenger definitely has more preset packs!
X32 Desk, i9 PC, S49MK2, Studio One, BWS, Live 12. PUSH 3 SA, Osmose, Summit, Pro 3, Prophet8, Syntakt, Digitone, Drumlogue, OP1-F, Eurorack, TD27 Drums, Nord Drum3P, Guitars, Basses, Amps and of course lots of pedals!

Post

simmo75 wrote: Fri Feb 04, 2022 3:00 pm So is it better than Avenger?
Not to me, but ymmv.. What it does have over Avenger for me is way better cpu optimisation/usage, and for me a better laid out GUI (once you aren't importing audio or wavetables into it).

Avenger at times seem cluttered to me.

rsp
sound sculptist

Post

I like the trance gate implementation with the dual frequency bands, plus 'smoothing' control. Very quick to get good results compared to e.g. the Kilohearts style gate, though one could wire up a similar sort of thing using multipass I suppose.
Every day takes figuring out all over again how to f#ckin’ live.

Locked

Return to “Instruments”