CAKEWALK RAPTURE (software instrument)

[Anderton]

Cakewalk Rapture: Prologue

I’m dealing with a reviewer’s Perfect Storm. Cakewalk wants a Pro Review of Rapture, their new software synthesizer. Keyboard magazine wants me to review Cakewalk’s Dimension Pro, the Cakewalk soft synth released just before Rapture. Meanwhile, I’m reviewing M-Audio’s Oxygen8 v2 for the upcoming issue of the Harmony Central Confidential newsletter (if you’re not already receiving it, sign up on the home page). So not only will you get a Pro Review of Rapture, I’ll be throwing in some comparisons to Dimension Pro (I’m not alone in wondering what differentiates them). And if I have any pithy comments about how the Oxygen 8 V2 works with the programs, hey, I’ll toss those in as well.

And to top it all off, the PreSonus ADL 600 Pro Review is still happening. A lot of you wanted to know what it sounds like with synths, and this seems like a good way to find out!

Like most Pro Reviews, this one starts when I open the box. Well, I opened it, and the days of associating Cakewalk with butt-ugly graphics are over. It’s a nice package, with a classy-looking printed manual. Click on the attachment to see a scan of the manual’s front page – it's definitely not your father's Cakewalk manual. I guess winning the Music Press International Award last year at Frankfurt made a profound impression, because like Sonar and Dimension Pro, Rapture comes localized for English, German, Spanish, and French.

Installation involved inserting a CD-ROM – not DVD-ROM – which was my first clue: This is not an instrument with a huge sample library; it’s wavetable based, with the main effort thrown into the processing and step sequencing aspects.

So why am I reviewing this? Two main reasons. One, Cakewalk was willing to take the gamble to sponsor a Pro Review. Two, I’m personally very, very interested in it. I saw earlier versions at AES and at NAMM, and it seems very much up my alley: Highly dance-oriented, lots of things that sync to host tempo, and a ton of processors. For Cakewalk, though, this is a two-edged sword: If it’s really cool, I’m going to get really excited because it’s the kind of instrument that turns me on. But if it’s a disappointment, I’m going to be really disappointed because I’m expecting a lot.

Also, the timing is exquisite: Rapture is just getting into the stores. I’m hoping that this will encourage others to chime in with their comments as they explore the package. This also means that I’m going to try to make this about techniques and tips as well as being a proper “review.” That’s one of the advantages of the Pro Review concept: It will go in whatever direction you, and/or I, want. I think some cool tricks will be of interest to others learning about Rapture.

Ready? Let’s start.

[Anderton]

I’m reviewing Rapture on the Windows XP platform, although it is also Mac-compatible with OS X 10.3.9 and up. Supported formats are VSTi and RTAS on both platforms, AU on Mac, and DXi on Windows.

The Read Me documents a number of quirks, mostly related to how hosts deal with keystrokes intended for Rapture. Most are not deal-breakers, and have fairly simple workarounds. There are some exceptions: MIDI files from Rapture dragged into Cubase SX may appear to have empty measures, and the VSTi GUI doesn’t appear in Cubase LE. The Read Me suggests checking support sites on the web for updates to fix these issues. There are also a couple minor glitches specific only to OS 10.3.9; and, Mac users are advised not to trash the Rapture preferences file. Other than these known issues, Rapture 1.0 seems pretty ready for prime time. Not surprisingly, it’s very well-behaved in Sonar 5 :)

You have 30 days to register Rapture. This involves going to the web and giving the serial number, which is checked against a database for validity. If it matches, you’re sent an unlock code via e-mail. If you don’t have web access, which I suppose is a moot point if you’re reading this, then you can get a registration code over the phone.

[Anderton]

I’ve already gotten a few questions about this, so let’s deal with the issue now.

Both are soft synths, both are from Cakewalk, both are cross-platform, both are designed by the same guy (Rene Ceballos). Dimension Pro is $359 list, and Rapture, $289.

It’s an oversimplification, but I’ll invoke the sampler/synthesizer dichotomy. Dimension Pro ships with two DVDs of content, which includes a whole lotta samples of a whole lotta instruments. However, it’s not really a ROMpler, like IK Multimedia’s SampleTank or East-West’s Colossus. Yes, it can do straight instrument sounds (there are indeed pianos!), but Dimension Pro’s real strength is the many layers of synthesis-type processing it can apply to those sounds. What I like best about it is that you can take something like an acoustic guitar sample and warp it into something that sounds acoustic guitar-like, but has its own unique personality that may or may not make people think of an acoustic guitar.

Rapture, on the other hand, is a wavetable-based synthesizer – no French horns, no violins. In fact I’m pretty sure the wavetables are single cycle. (Okay Ensoniq ESQ-1 owners, you can stop being depressed that yours quit working several years ago!) The Big Deal here is the variety of step sequencing and tempo-related options that can add incredible motion to the patch…which we’ll explore during the course of the review.

Meanwhile, Cakewalk has a nifty little flash applet you can check out if you want to audition some Rapture sounds - just click here. (http://www.cakewalk.com/Products/Rapture/default.asp)

[Anderton]

Click on the attachment to see Rapture's main screen. There's a program browser window (outlined in yellow) that accesses the programs inside a folder in Rapture's directory - just click on the program window (outlined in green), and the browser window appears. Or, you can load a program from elsewhere by clicking on the load program button (outlined in orange).

But perhaps the key, uh, "element" to the user interface is the element selector buttons (outlined in red). Rapture's architecture is based around six "elements," which you can consider as functionally equivalent to layers in a multi-timbral synth. Each is identical, and endowed with a batch of synth-type functions. We'll cover each function in depth, but for the moment, here's the overview of what's available for each element:

* Basic Stuff - Tune, transposition, velocity and keyranges, polyphony, bend range, etc.
* A chain with two multi-mode filters, Decimator/Bit Reduction processor, and drive control; the order can be changed
* Modulators (envelope, LFO and step sequencer) for each of six destinations per element (pitch, filter 1 cutoff, filter 1 resonance, filter 2 cutoff, filter 2 resonance, pan, and amplitude)
* Three stages of variable response EQ (remember, that's for each element!)
* Element insert effect

Toward the bottom is a mixer for the six elements, with pan and volume for each one. The other window is a Global window, but I haven't gotten there yet. I'm not going to do the math, but I suspect this means the number of possibilities is at least in the millions. When you consider the number of possibilities per element, and you multiply that by six elements...well, this is a tweaker's dream.

Of course, how much of a dream depends on the effectiveness of each section, and that's what will form the core of the review. But I must say, so far this seems to have a lot of potential.

[Anderton]

As usual, I like to check out the included presets before getting into trouble by myself :). I figured I'd start with the Sequences.

What I heard was fine, but didn’t knock me out – until I hit the Basic Trans Seq, about 13 patches into the list. Wow!! After “rapturing” myself for a few minutes – yes, it’s that much fun – I thought I’d reverse-engineer the patch.

I was surprised to see this seemingly complex patch used only two elements. This is either a testimony to Rapture or the programmer (or more likely, both) that it’s possible to get that kind of mileage out of such a simple patch.

What makes the patch so cool is that moving the pitch bend wheel and mod wheel creates some pretty terrific filter effects. I stumbled on the Modulation Matrix (more on this later), and saw that the mod wheel affects Filter Cutoff 2, while pitch bend affects Filter Cutoff 1. This particular modulation routing affects the filter cutoff in all six elements.

This is also when I noticed the first two items for my wish list: First, the knobs being controlled by the mod and pitch bend wheels didn't track their movement. I don’t just want this for the eye candy, although that’s always nice, but so I can see at a glance what parameter is changing when I diddle a hardware control. However, when I checked out the MIDI Learn function (more later) and used a knob on the Oxygen8 V2 to control a Rapture parameter, it tracked the knob. Maybe it's just a mod wheel/pitch bend thing. Second, the window is modal, and always stays on top of the host program. I ended up doing a lot of minimizing when it was time to actually record with Rapture.

So you want to hear what the patch sounds like? Sure, no problem. Click on the attachment to download a short sound example of Basic Trans Seq sequence. Due to the file size limitations of this BBS software, be forewarned that the fidelity is not even close to Rapture’s sound quality; it's a short 96kbps MP3 file. But what I want to convey here is the motion in the patch, and I think this example gets it across.

[Cmusicmaker]

Hi Craig nice write up...some questions for you...

1. What is the CPU usage like with Cakewalks Rapture synth compared to DP or other synths you use?

2. It has elements like DP, so I assume it too can load samples?

3. On the Cakewalk site it says"...plus you can multiply each oscillator up to 9 times across the stereo field, creating some of the fattest sounds ever heard."Have you tried this yet? Turn your speakers down first of course :D I would like to hear your views on just how fat this synth can sound.

4. DP does ship with some sounds that are similar to Rapture (basses, leads, pads). As a Dimension Pro owner what would you say Cakewalks Rapture brings to the table that is different enough to make it a worthwhile purchase?

5.Similar to my 4th question in a way but how would you say Rapture differs from say z3ta or Pentagon?

6. Some of Rgc's synths have a ribbon at the bottom of the GUI that can be used to trigger sounds (Pentagon for instance has this) does Rapture have something similar?

Cheers

C.

[Anderton]

Thanks for the questions! I just wrapped up my review of Dimension Pro for Keyboard magazine today, so I'm really familiar with it. I'll be working with Rapture tonight and can address your questions then.

But I will say they have very different characters. DP is at heart sample-based, despite all the synth flexibility. Rapture is more wavetable/groove oriented. If I had to pick one of the two, given the style of music I do, the nod would go to Rapture.

More to come...thanks for throwing some questions into the mix.

[ustudio]

definately wanna here more on this I have dimension from Project 5 V2 dont have pro yet

[U&I]

I just got Dimension Pro (well worth the long winded wait however) LOL.
So thanks for the interview Craig as Rapture has somewhat caught my attention.
From what I've read here and seen it looks rather tasty.
Here's where I am a bit put off.
I can put my own digicyclic waveforms into Dimension Pro as is.
The envelope and LFO sections looks quite similar (correct me if I'm wrong).
Surely alot of the gate effects and the like that Rapture can pull off could easily be automated in Dimension Pro via clip envelope automation on midi clips in Live for example?
Please feel free too correct me if I'm wrong.
Rapture does have wider oscillator detune doesn't it?
More potential oscillators per patch ?
And it has a ringmod feature per oscillator is that correct.
Are there major differences in the mixer / fx buss routing and is CPU consumption similar?
I find Dimension Pro exceptionally CPU efficient on the whole.
If it offers a whole lot more that Dimension I'm very interested as Rene' has told me it will load the sounds from the Dimension Pro sound library also (and vise versa).
So I'm sitting on the fence as to wether or not I really need both.
If it helps any the only instruments I use are TriangleII , Reaktor , Reason 3 , Kubik , Wusik and DimPro.
Would I find to much extra sonic overlap with that lot or do you feel it would be a well considered purchase?
Unfortunately there isn't an appraisal/demo version available so I want to atleast wait until a retailer here has floor stock I can demo extensively before I consder a purchase.

[lawapa]

Most of the sound demos I've heard show off Raptures strong point with trance/electronica like sounds. But I understand it can load SFZ format files from the Dimension Pro. How does it perform using Acoustic sets? Can it twist em up like say the standerd synth sounds? Can you add movement to a sample set? With so many options like LFO's and step gens going I was wondering how it did in this area with sample sets. Twisting these sounds all over the place ;)

[Cmusicmaker]

Originally posted by Anderton
Thanks for the questions! I just wrapped up my review of Dimension Pro for Keyboard magazine today, so I'm really familiar with it. I'll be working with Rapture tonight and can address your questions then.

But I will say they have very different characters. DP is at heart sample-based, despite all the synth flexibility. Rapture is more wavetable/groove oriented. If I had to pick one of the two, given the style of music I do, the nod would go to Rapture.

More to come...thanks for throwing some questions into the mix.

Thanks Craig. Looking forward to the additional information.:thu:

[Anderton]

Okay, let's field some questions.

What is the CPU usage like with Cakewalk’s Rapture synth compared to DP or other synths you use?

I don’t want this to sound like a cop-out, but “par for the course.” I upgraded my computer not too long ago, and everything takes less CPU power so my standard of comparison is shot. FWIW with all 6 elements loaded and lots of processing, it’s hitting about 10-13% on the CPU meter, about the same as a fully loaded Dimension Pro, or a reasonably loaded NI Kompakt sampler player. It’s definitely not a CPU hog.

It has elements like DP, so I assume it too can load samples?

It will load AIF and WAV files just fine; I also tried MP3 and WMA, but they wouldn’t load. Rapture will also load .SFZ multisample files, in fact I loaded some from Dimension Pro. But of course, because the architecture is different, it won’t load Dimension Pro .PROG (program) files.

I must admit it was fun to load a DPro guitar .SFZ file into Rapture, and drive a bunch of filters with highly resonant step sequencing :)

On the Cakewalk site it says"...plus you can multiply each oscillator up to 9 times across the stereo field, creating some of the fattest sounds ever heard." Have you tried this yet? Turn your speakers down first of course I would like to hear your views on just how fat this synth can sound.

Actually the “9 voice” thing is a little misleading, because that’s only for ONE element and there are six elements! So ultimately, you could spread 6 x 9 = 54 voices in what’s basically a unison mode. And each oscillator can run through a chorus, essentially doubling it, so that’s a lot of fatness. But hey, this is a Pro Review – I’ll do better than let you hear my views, I’ll let you hear a bass sound. Click on the attachment to download a fat bass file.

Regarding the file, I should emphasize I spent almost no effort on this and banged it out in a couple minutes (which tells you something about the ease of use regarding Rapture’s interface). I loaded the Digital Bass program and initialized all the elements except the first, went into Multi mode and set it to 9 voices (you can also choose 3, 5, or 7 voices), and set Detune (which detunes all the voices) to 19. I didn’t mess with the filters, effects, or anything else yet even so, you can hear it’s pretty fat. Imagine what would happen if I used more elements, or put more time into programming it.

DP does ship with some sounds that are similar to Rapture (basses, leads, pads). As a Dimension Pro owner what would you say Rapture brings to the table that is different enough to make it a worthwhile purchase?

If you don’t mind I’d like to postpone answering that question until I feel I know Rapture as well as DPro. I have definite ideas already, but I’d like to be more confident that I’m giving you a really well thought out reply given that it might influence a buying decision.

Similar to my last question in a way but how would you say Rapture differs from say z3ta or Pentagon?

I’d say the biggest difference is that there is the potential for a lot of motion in Rapture, what with being able to apply step sequencing and synced LFOs to six different layers. I also like that you can do ring modulation, and the filter structure is very cool…we’ll get into that later as well, it deserves more than just a couple sentences here.

Some of Rgc's synths have a ribbon at the bottom of the GUI that can be used to trigger sounds (Pentagon for instance has this) does Rapture have something similar?

I haven’t found anything like that, sorry. If there is, I’m sure someone from Cakewalk will let me know.

[Cmusicmaker]

Thanks for the answers Craig! Cakewalks Rapture is clearly a top draw synth and I can see where it *does* bring something different to the table.

Rene is clearly a very capable developer and Rapture certainly looks like another superb offering from him.:thu:

[Anderton]

One thing that concerned me about Rapture was the lowpass filter; after some preliminary patching efforts, it just didn’t seem to have that warm, fat sort of Mini sound. So, time for an experiment to see if the problem was with my programming or with Rapture.

I loaded an Arturia Minimoog V and Rapture into Sonar, both with two oscillators active. For the Rapture waveform, I used an actual sampled Minimoog sawtooth waveform. I adjusted the oscillator settings as closely as possible for the two synths; all I can say is, credit to both because setting the detune, oscillator, and filter cutoff to the same numeric value produced a seemingly identical sound.

I then tied filter cutoff to mod wheel for both synths, and created a mod wheel modulation track to open and close the filter. I copied this so that the identical track fed both Rapture and the Minimoog V.

Next, I rendered each to WAV files. Here I found something really interesting: Both synths appear to have truly free-running oscillators, because each time I rendered, the resulting waveforms were slightly different. I rendered multiple versions of each, and chose versions for each synth that looked as similar as possible, indicating that their oscillators had pretty much the same phase relationship during the course of the file.

Finally, I copied one after the other in Wavelab, and saved the series of two sounds as a single MP3 file (128kbps, stereo). Click on the attachment to download the Rapture vs. Minimoog V bass sound file. I’m not going to tell you which one is first and which is second just yet, but I’m curious: Do you prefer one over the other? Anyone care to guess which is which? Do you hear a difference or not? Comments, please.

In any event, I don’t think the sound is all that different. It became clear to me that the fabulous Mini bass sound, at least in “emulation land,” has as much do with filter and amplitude envelopes as it does with the oscillators and filters. With a little more careful programming, I felt I could definitely get something that, if not identical to the Mini sound, would come extremely close.

[Anderton]

Just to follow up on the last post, I worked a bit more and came up with what I think is a pretty good mini emulation. Click on the attachment to download an MP3 sound file (128kbps, stereo) of Rapture emulating a Minimoog-type bass.

The patch itself is very simple: Two elements with the sample of the Minimoog sawtooth wave mentioned in the previous post (one cycle, spread across the entire keyboard), low pass 4 pole filter, and common envelope for amplitude and filter cutoff (just like a real Minimoog).

In the process of creating this patch, I found my first big wish list item: The ability to do group edits across multiple elements. For example, suppose you get a great sound, but want to add a little overdrive to several elements. As things stand, you need to call up each element individually, and make the same tweak to each element. I’d be a lot happier if I could, for example, ctrl-click on several elements so that adjusting a control in one of them would make the same adjustment to that control in the other elements.

[Anderton]

Before I sign off for today, I have to add one more thing. Just for grins I wanted to see if I could come up with one of those huge, syrupy analog string-type patches. Again, I used the Minimoog sawtooth sample and two elements, but this time applied the 9-voice “unison” mode for each element, panned them somewhat oppositely, and added some detuning. I also applied some global reverb to the output, and tied the filter cutoff to mod wheel (not envelope) so I could add some real-time expressiveness. Click on the attachment to download an MP3 sound file (128kbps, stereo) of a big, Rapturized string synth sound.

I know we’re getting a bit far afield from the review itself, but this was a cool sound so I figured I might as well post it :). Tomorrow I’ll stop playing with Rapture long enough to review more aspects of it! Then again, I guess it says something that I can’t seem to stop wanting to make sounds with it…

[rasputin1963]

Are any of you actually authoring *.sfz files from scratch?

Correct me if I'm wrong here: at present there is no *.sfz editing interface-- all *.sfz's are coded simply in NOTEPAD?

Question 3: What fun could that possibly be?


(Note: please scratch that last question.)

[modul8]

I would guess the second sweep was from the Minimoog V, at least I would hope that is the case. The first wave, although processed with a comparable filter, has a decidedly digital edge when the filter is wide open. The resonance of the second wave is slightly more prominant giving the filter a fuller yet darker sound. The differences are rather subtle.
How far off am I?

[Cmusicmaker]

I’m not going to tell you which one is first and which is second just yet, but I’m curious: Do you prefer one over the other? Anyone care to guess which is which? Do you hear a difference or not? Comments, please.

I think the first sound is a tiny bit thinner or edgier (very little difference though) compared to the second sound sample.

Very interested to see who gets it right!:cool:

[Anderton]

Well, guess what: The first one is the Arturia Minimoog, and the second is Rapture.

You're both right -- the difference is subtle. If I could have put a longer example with sweeps using different types of material, it may have been easier to spot a difference between the two. Overall, because I did get to try them both out under varying conditions, I'd say at the low end of the sweep, the Minimoog is a little bit fatter but at the high end, Rapture is a little sweeter.

But even more importantly, the difference between the two is not significant if you make an effort to set up the Rapture filter to be as close as possible to the Arturia Minimoog. In terms of musical impact, of course there are elements of both synths that make more of a difference one way or the other. But overall, if you want a Good Bass Sound to put on a track, either one will do the job. They'll just do a slightly different job.

[Anderton]

<<Are any of you actually authoring *.sfz files from scratch?

Correct me if I'm wrong here: at present there is no *.sfz editing interface-- all *.sfz's are coded simply in NOTEPAD?

Question 3: What fun could that possibly be?>>

It is indeed a text-oriented editing system. But it doesn't look too difficult, in fact I think I might make a .sfz file based around my Minimoog multisamples and see if I can make it happen.

[Anderton]

Well, I made it happen -- my first SFZ file! I used five sawtooth samples from a minimoog and set them up in SFZ so that the middle three samples each covered an octave, while the lowest one stretched down as far as possible and the highest stretched up as far as possible.

Then I just replaced the sawtooth file references with triangle wave references, and voila, I had a multisampled Minimoog triangle multisample. Next I tried it with pulse waves...all seemed pretty easy, although I didn't try to do velocity switching or anything, I just mapped samples across the keyboard.

It must not be hard if I figured it out simply by reverse-engineering some SFZ files from Dimension Pro! :)

Hey if someone from Cakewalk is listening -- is there something that documents the entire SFZ spec somewhere?

[Frantag]

here's a start: http://www.rgcaudio.com/sfzformat.htm

[spokenward]

I'm interested in creating sfz files too. I have not invested the time to get my head around the concepts yet. It is the sort of thing that a scripting language could handle readily. So you may see people using Perl or Python. I would attempt it with Rebol.

Here are links to a couple of projects and resources.

This is a link to a free editor in development:
http://audio.clockbeat.com/sfZed.html

This is a page of links and examples of sfz format mappings (http://www.drealm.org.uk/sfz/)

[Anderton]

Great resources, very helpful. Thanks!

[U&I]

Originally posted by Anderton
Great resources, very helpful. Thanks!


Craig here's a link too a free .sfz beat slicing utility.
I'm just downloading it now.
Might do some funky things in Rapture.
If it does let us know.
I'm about too give it a whirl in Dimension .

Oh yeah link .....

Virtual Turntable (http://virtualturntable.fourstones.net/the-best-beat-slicer-is-free)

Enjoy.

[Magpel]

I confess to being a little confusexd by the SFZ thing. I know rgc:audio's older stuff well, and I know that sfz and sfz+ are rene's neat little soundfont playback synths (sfz, the free one, actually gets bit of use here 'cause I love the free NS kit drums and have quite a few nice Sonic Implants SF libraires)

So...wonder why he would reuse those same letters for what sound like such an unrelated purpose...

Rapture abnd Dimension Pro both look fab to me. Just the thought of having Rene's latest engine--features aside--has me drooling. Pentagon 1 is still one of my first call softies and I still think it sounds terrific.

[moosethree]

was the question answered: if you import sfx multisamples is the quality of playback the same as
Dimension Pro?

[Anderton]

<<So...wonder why he would reuse those same letters for what sound like such an unrelated purpose...>>

Well, it makes sense to me, and there is a precedent: Propellerhead software invented the REX file format, and create REX players for playing those files.

[Anderton]

<<was the question answered: if you import sfx multisamples is the quality of playback the same as
Dimension Pro?>>

No, it wasn't, and that's a good question. I have imported the same multisamples into both of them, and the sound quality is identical. However, obviously what you can do with the samples differs for the two instruments.

[dpcoffin]

Craig, I love these interactive pro-reviews, and am delighted you're looking at Rapture.

I hope you'll devote some space to comparing what it can do with other somewhat similar soft-synths besides Dimension, which never particularly interested me... Can you address what are other similar soft-synths from other makers? Off the bat, it seems like Motu's MX4 is comparable, since it's a wavetabler and has some serious mod options. It's the modulation options that really set Rapture apart, right? At least, that's what's got me most interested:) So ARE there any other soft synths/romplers/samplers with modulation capabilities that put them in the running with Rapture?

I guess there's no point in saying "Keep up the good work!" since you so obviously have been doing just that for decades now...so, thanks!

David

[Anderton]

Hey, why no Rapture posts?

Well, I've been getting ready for the Frankfurt Messe. But part of that was installing Rapture on my new LiveBook, along with some of my samples. Hopefully I'll have easy net access over in Europe, but if all else fails, at least I can prepare the sound examples, screen shots, etc. and upload them as soon as I get a chance.

Thanks for your patience, there's LOTS more to come!

[your fat mom]

craig,

thanks for the detailed review of rapture. i would really like to see cakewalk put out a demo version that could be tried out before plunking down my cash. i and others have raised this issue on another board. i don't know if you have the ear of cakewalk...but if you do, maybe you could pass this along. i would think they would be doing this anyway in an attempt to keep people from "trying it out" via p2p....but maybe there is another reason why there is no demo?

thanks

[Gonkulator]

Originally posted by Anderton

Rapture, on the other hand, is a wavetable-based synthesizer – no French horns, no violins. In fact I’m pretty sure the wavetables are single cycle. (Okay Ensoniq ESQ-1 owners, you can stop being depressed that yours quit working several years ago!) The Big Deal here is the variety of step sequencing and tempo-related options that can add incredible motion to the patch…which we’ll explore during the course of the review.


I have been playing around with Rapture for a few hours. I was expecting, but haven't found anything "wavetableish"," ala Microwave or Prophet VS wavetables, about it. I wish we had a single definition for "wavetable." There is a lot of modulation fun for all, especially with the up to 128 step sequencer, but nothing like wavetable sweeps, or other typical wavetable fun. The included audio samples are all single-cycle. I keep wanting to combine them sequentially in a wav file, but I don't know of any way Rapture could use something like that. Unless I am missing something of course. There is a reference to sample offset, but That doesn't look like what I want either.

BTW, It is a lot of fun playing with the step sequencers. There could be more documentation.

[Anderton]

<<I was expecting, but haven't found anything "wavetableish"," ala Microwave or Prophet VS wavetables, about it. I wish we had a single definition for "wavetable.">>

Very good point. Strictly speaking a wavetable-based synth uses very short waveforms as the basis of the sound. The type of thing you're talking about is a more complex iteration of wavetable-based synthesis.

With six elements, though, it shouldn't be too hard to do sweeping-type things. Let me see what I can cook up :) Seems the "joystick" modulator might also do what you want.

[Anderton]

I was working quite a bit with Rapture back at my hotel room while staying in Frankfurt for the Messe, and in addition to the cool stuff I'll cover soon, I did want to point out two limitations:

1. I can't find an undo option, so I end up "saving as..." a lot under different names.
2. When you're using multisamples, the voice multiplying/spreading option where you can get 3, 5, 7, or 9 voices out of a single sample doesn't work. It works only if you've loaded a single sample, although it doesn't have to be a really short sample.

One very cool feature is the LFO, and the fact that you can add your own waveforms. I use the LFO a lot to create staccato lines with pulse or sawtooth LFO waves that sync to tempo.

[Gonkulator]

If I remember, the .sfz format allows unlimited (meaning 128 I assume) velocity switching levels. I wondered about inserting different waveforms for each velocity, and then using velocity switching them in Sonar based on the velocity I programmed. It would be very weird when playing, but could be precisely controlled in the sequencer. One wave per note-on, but with legato (or not), you could simulate some traditional wavetable stuff, in a kind of crude way. Maybe?

Boy, it is real easy to insert your own waveforms in this program.

[Anderton]

Actually there are a ton of ways to get wavetable variations, it depends on whether you want these changes to be automatic, tempo-synched, or manual.

For example, one cool way is to tie step sequencers to amplitude for different elements so you can bring waveforms in and out at different times. I plan to try this later and hopefully can post an audio example.

You can also use the mod wheel or X-Y controller to morph between waveforms...

[Anderton]

First, apologies for taking so long to get back to this…it’s taken a bit longer to debrief from the Musik Messe than I expected. Anyway, I’m back and Rapturing away.

As I was intrigued by the question about wave sequencing, I did indeed fire up Rapture to see what it could do. It turns out that it’s very easy to string together wave sequences, or at least, seuqence up to six waves. This experiment is also a good introduction to the flexibility of the step sequencer options.

Here’s what I did. Click on the attachment to see a screen shot of one Element’s parameter settings. The basic idea is to load a different wave into each Element (I used four Elements), then assign the step sequencer for each Element to Amplitude. Then, you can turn the amp sections for the different Elements on and off sequentially by altering the step sequencer sliders. I used four of the FM waveforms because I didn’t want the sounds to be too different, but I later found that morphing between really different waveforms produced some useful sounds too.

In this patch, each step sequencer is set to 16 steps. For Element 1, the first four sliders are up all the way, and the rest are down. For Element 2, sliders 5-8 are up all the way and the rest are down. For Element 3, sliders 9-12 are up all the way, and for Element 4, sliders 13-16 are up.

So you can picture what happens: As you hold down a note, first you hear the wave from Element 1, then the wave from Element 2, and so on for the four elements. To avoid an overly abrupt “switching” effect as the waves change from one to another, note on the screen shot that the Smooth control for each step sequencer is set to maximum (1000). This lets the waves “morph” into each other. Also note I set the sync to 8, so each wave plays for two beats. This seems like a good value for pads.

My next question was whether I’d be able to add an envelope to the overall sound, as I figured the step sequencer would take priority. I hoped there was an envelope option on the Global Effects page; no luck. However, I needn’t have worried. I set up a simple EG for each Element’s Amplitude parameter with a short decay, sustain, and release, and this was “superimposed” on whatever the step sequencer was doing. Cool.

For the final touch, I went to the Global page and added two effects: Chorus followed by Large Hall. I gotta say, considering that I put the sound together in under five minutes, it’s an evolving, lush pad that I like a lot…and shows that yes, Rapture does indeed to wave sequencing.

[Anderton]

...and then I thought hey, why not post an audio example? Click on the attachment to hear the wave sequenced sound. It's not very long, but it will give you an idea of what I mean by an evolving sound, where the waves morph into each other.

[Anderton]

I should also add that a Group Edit option would be really welcome here. When you're treating each Element as really one big Element, if you make changes in one you probably want to make changes in the others as well. It was really helpful to be able to copy envelopes among Elements, but when I made changes to the step sequencer, I had to make those changes to each one as copying would also copy the slider positions -- which I didn't want to do.

Speaking of which, there are up to 128 possible steps in the step sequencer, so you could create some really interesting amplitude variations for the various waveforms being used in the Elements. My sequential switching thing, while useful, just scratches the surface -- the waves could morph polyrhythmically, for example.

It just occurred to me that review-wise, I've gravitated toward programming cool sounds and getting into applications rather than describing features and offering opinions on them. So next, I'll step back a bit and give an overview of Rapture's capabilities.

[your fat mom]

IRT my earlier post regarding a demo, i have been asking on my own and have it from a cakewalk rep that a demo for rapture will be available within the next few weeks.

...ask and you shall receive!!!

[protues9]

So, can someone sum up the advantages or major differences between Z3+A and rapture?

I dont know much about either.. but I do know they are both wavetable based. So Im really curious what the differences between the two are!

thanks!

[Anderton]

One of the important point to remember about Rapture is that every Element (there are six of them) has the same basic structure. For example, each one has a DSP section, and that’s what we’ll investigate now. Click on the attachment to see the modules that make up the DSP section.

There are five DSP “modules”: Two filters with resonance, Bit Reduction (in case you miss the sound of your Mirage!), Decimator (lowers sample rate), and Drive (distortion).

We’ll get into those in the next post, but one of the interesting features is the ability to route these modules into one of four configurations (as well as bypass). These are:

* Decimation/Bit Reduction > Filter 1 > Drive > Filter 2
* Filter 1 > Decimation/Bit Reduction > Drive > Filter 2
* Filter 1 > Drive > Filter 2 > Decimation/Bit Reduction
* Filter 1 > Decimation/Bit Reduction > Filter 2 > Drive

Why is this useful? Well, every guitar player knows why sometimes you put the wa-wa before distortion and sometimes after, and it’s possible to get the same type of effect with Rapture. For example, if you throw Filter 2 in front of Drive, you get a nasty, hard sync type of sound. Put Filter 2 after Drive, and you can tame the Drive’s harmonic response.

Following Decimation/Bit Reduction with Filter 1 allows filtering the Decimation/Bit Reduction sound, but reversing the order produces strange, unpredictable noises, especially with lots of filter resonance. Any Drive, Decimation, or Bit Reduction effects become even more pronounced with chords instead of single note lines.

[Anderton]

The filters are definitely a strong point, especially because you have two of them with resonance and multiple response options. Click on the attachment to see the filter section responses.

As you can see toward the left portion of the screen shot, if you adjust the filter frequency knob, you get a readout of the frequency – nice. Toward, the right, the filter response is being selected for Filter 2. The 1-pole options are highpass, lowpass, bandpass, band reject (notch), and all pass. The bandpass and band reject filters are made up of 1 pole highpass and lowpass filters in series, which if you spent any time with old modular Moogs, should bring back some memories: Creating a bandpass response required “coupling” high and lowpass filters. All pass isn’t very spectacular but the manual says you can use it to “phase align samples between different Elements.

2-pole options are highpass, lowpass, bandpass, band reject, and “peak.” This is similar to bandpass, but boosts the resonant frequency by 6dB and brings up the skirts a bit. There are also 4-pole and 6-pole lowpass and highpass responses. You don’t run into a 6-pole filter response very often, but it’s excellent for making very dramatic filtering sweeps.

The Comb filter introduces multiple notches, whereas Pink simply tailors the response via lowpass filtering to create the type of response associated with Pink noise. With Pink selected, the controls are disabled as the characteristics are not adjustable.

[Anderton]

One of the reasons I really like having two filters in series is to use Filter 1 for “effects” (e.g., driving it with a tempo-synched sawtooth wave to create “dugga-dugga-dugga” synth lines, a la Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love”), then tie Filter 2 to mod wheel so I can also sweep the overall filter sound.

But one of the weirdest uses I came up with was a sort of “pseudo-scratching” effect. Click on the attachment to download an MP3 example of the “scratching” effect. I did this by setting both filters to 4-pole lowpass with resonance about halfway up, then tying them to the mod wheel. However, they sweep oppositely so that as one sweeps from lowest to highest frequency, the other sweeps from highest to lowest. I used a sawtooth wave so you could hear how the pitched sound was being affected, but it sounds pretty cool with white noise, too.

And this is also a good time to remind you that one of the big deals about Rapture is being able to modulate all this stuff, and tie it to controllers!

[Anderton]

We've touched on this a bit, but it's time for some details. You can load individual samples that stretch across the entire keyboard, or .SFZ files of multisamples.

Click on the attachment to see the Oscillator page that we'll be talking about.

We'll cover parameters starting the left corner, then work our way down and across.

* Lo/Hi Key - When you're using multiple elements, you can restrict an element to play only over a certain key range.
* Lo/Hi Vel - When you're using multiple elements, you can restrict an element to play only over a certain velocity range.
* Bend Down/Up - Sets the pitch bend range.
* Sustain/Sostenuto - Turn either or both on or off
* Transpose - Transposes the oscillator up or down up to 96 semitones.
* Tune - Tunes the oscillator in cents.
* Keytrack - Adjusts whether the oscillator tracks the keyboard pitch. If you want to play a mean trick on someone, set it to -100: The keyboard plays backwards.
* Phase - Alters the oscillator phase. As with the Lo/Hi options, this is relevant only if multiple elements are playing back.

Those are the "normal" parameters, now it starts to get more interesting.

* Quality - When set to Hi, you can do wide range pitch sweeps without aliasing.
* Multi - This has four options, 3, 5, 7, or 9 voices and basically turns the waveform into the specified number of voices, spread evenly across the stereo field, and detuned according to the Detune parameter. However, this doesn't work when using multisamples, only with single stretched samples.
* Ring Mod - This is mutually exclusive with Multi; you can have one or the other, but not both. Again, this works only with single samples. It works by creating two oscillators out of one, and ring modulating them with detuning based on the Detune parameter. Slight amounts of detuning give a "chorusing with attitude" type of sound. If you need more detuning, you can add more by selecting Detune in the Matrix Modulation section. There's one other interesting ring modulation option: If you right-click on an Element, you can select a Ring Modulate Previous Elements option. This causes the Element to ring-modulate the output of all previous Elements, which makes some really messy sounds.
* Detune sets the Multi and Ring Mod detuning, up to plus or minus 100 cents.
* Porta Time - Sets the glide time from one note to another, but this works in conjunction with the Polyphony control (up next).
* Polyphony - Limits the polyphony for a given layer. When set to 1, the layer is essentially in mono mode; when set to 0, it's in mono mode and portamento is active.
* Layers - This is a read-only that shows how many layers are in being used in the program.

So what does all this mean? Basically, that's it's easy to get really fat, thick sounds even before you hit the DSP section. And also, that you can pitch/velocity limit each Element to create multisampled layers.

[murphy54]

man that long writing...

[Anderton]

<<man that long writing...>>

Yeah, welll...there's a lot to say about this thing! Would you prefer that I broke the posts into smaller pieces? That's certainly possible to do.

[rasputin1963]

Hi Craig,



Thanks for de-mystifying a good deal of RAPTURE's capabilities. It truly seems like an amazing tool.

But you might think I'm an "amazing tool" after you read my questions:


1. What is the relationship-- or interrelationship-- between the EG envelope drawing window and the Steps window? Do these two commands BOTH address the currently illuminated parameter (e.g. AMP, PITCH, CUT, etc.)? And if so, don't they sort of "step on each other's toes?" Could you clarify a bit here between the two and the function of each?

2. Where it says LO/HI KEY, and then offers a choice between 0 and 127... is that referring to MIDI KEY NUMBER? In other words, is this the place you assign key regions to that particular element? Is this is the way it creates multisampled patches?

3. Also, on each Element's page, what is that small window to the right with a single horizontal line across it (under the LFO window).


Many thanks... Pardon if these are dumb questions...!

[Anderton]

<<1. What is the relationship-- or interrelationship-- between the EG envelope drawing window and the Steps window? Do these two commands BOTH address the currently illuminated parameter (e.g. AMP, PITCH, CUT, etc.)? And if so, don't they sort of "step on each other's toes?" Could you clarify a bit here between the two and the function of each?>>

Sure! The LFO, step sequencer, and EG are all in "parallel" -- think of them as being mixed together. This was really brought home to me in the wavesequencing example given earlier, where the EG provided a "master envelope" for the wave sequencing function being done by the Step Generator. It's actually very cool that it works this way.

<<2. Where is says LO/HI KEY, and then offers a choice between 0 and 127... is that referring to MIDI KEY NUMBER? In other words, is this the place you assign key regions to that particular element?>>

Yes, exactly. It also means that you can use the six Elements to create a "multisampled" patch. Let me give an example.

I have a folder with five Minimoog sawtooth waves, each an octave apart. Suppose I want to make a really "fat" sound with lots of layering. There are two ways I can do this:

1. Create an SFZ file with all five waves, and load it into an Element. Then, duplicate the Element multiple times (up to six), with slight detunings and such.

2. Load each wave file into its own element, and use the key number option to limit each file to a specific range. Then I can use the Multi feature in each element to multiply the number of voices.

Why use one over the other? Well, in option (1), you have a maximum of six layers. In option (2), you can multi a waveform to create up to nine voices (layers). However, (1) is less work to program, especially because there's no Group Edit option. Does this make sense?

<<3. Also, on each Element's page, what is that small window to the right with a single horizontal line across it (under the LFO window).>>

That sets keytracking for cutoff, resonance, pan, etc. (it also works with pitch, but the oscillator Keytrack parameter allows for more precise adjustments). I've used it to advantage on a tuned white noise patch to tune the filter. Unfortunately it's poorly calibrated, it's more of a qualitative than quantitative parameter, but I was still able to keytrack the filter precisely to create the tuned white noise effect.

<<Many thanks... Pardon if these are dumb questions...!>>

They aren't even REMOTELY dumb. A dumb question would be "Is the DVD-ROM with the program edible?" or "Do you have to replace the six strings when they wear out?"

Okay, to my left on my music computer, Rapture is set up and ready to go. Let's see what it reveals tonight :)

[Anderton]

Hey, maybe some Rapture expert can help me out here...

I wanted to control the volume of an element from full on to full off with the mod wheel. I used the modulation matrix to assign Mod Wheel to Volume. I figured that this would override any envelope settings and control the Element volume parameter...nope.

To make a long story short, I was able to get the effect I wanted by doing the following:

* Turning the Amp Envelope Generator to ON
* Creating a full-on envelope with maximum level sustain
* Set Depth, Vel >Tim, and VelTrack to 0.0
* Set Vel > Int to 0.1. If I set it to 0.0, it didn't work right.

What am I missing? There must be a simpler way to just control an overall Element output level with the mod wheel. (In case anyone wonders, I'm trying to create a "theremin" patch where the mod wheel brings the sound in and out).

[rasputin1963]

Many thanks, Craig.

So am I right in thinking that each element can only handle one wave and one wave only? Where is the "Duplicate element" command located?

The MULTI function... is it a chorus? (ie., does it partake of the delay/phase stuff that a chorus does?

Does RAPTURE have a window for viewing the actual contour of your 3 EQ settings?

Can RAPTURE users share their custom-made patches (with custom waves) with other RAPTURE users? I'm guessing RAPTURE doesn't save the wave along with the patch, so you'd have to send your recipient both the RAPTURE patch and all relevant waves, right? Into which Windows folder would the recipient place the WAV's so RAPTURE could automatically find them?

The overall picture I'm getting of RAPTURE is that it's rather like a SoundFont... on steroids, no?

I'm also thinking that, with all RAPTURE's temporal movement, the ambient composer could almost lay down the theme of a whole song-- just with one patch alone!!

[Anderton]

<<So am I right in thinking that each element can only handle one wave and one wave only?>>

One wave, or an SFZ set of multisampled waves.

<<Where is the "Duplicate element" command located?>>

You right-click on an Element number, select copy, then right-click on another Element and select paste.
<<The MULTI function... is it a chorus?>>

It's not a signal processor, it actually creates more voices and detunes/spreads them. This does result in the same kind of sound as chorusing, just like detuning two oscillators slightly sounds like flanging, but it is an actual "chorus" of waves rather than a wave being chorused.

<<Does RAPTURE have a window for viewing the actual contour of your 3 EQ settings? >>

There's no frequency response graph, if that's what you mean.

<<Can RAPTURE users share their custom-made patches (with custom waves) with other RAPTURE users? I'm guessing RAPTURE doesn't save the wave along with the patch, so you'd have to send your recipient both the RAPTURE patch and all relevant waves, right?>>

Yes.

<< Into which Windows folder would the recipient place the WAV's so RAPTURE could automatically find them?>>

In the Rapture folder.

<<The overall picture I'm getting of RAPTURE is that it's rather like a SoundFont... on steroids, no?>>

Well...if so, those steroids are mega-steroids, as you'll see in some of the future audio examples.

<<I'm also thinking that, with all RAPTURE's temporal movement, the ambient composer could almost lay down the theme of a whole song-- just with one patch alone!!>>

You are definitely right about that!

[Anderton]

This is a program where the LFOs sure do a lot more than just add vibrato. As with the other modulators, Pitch, Cutoff 1, Resonance 1, Cutoff 2, Resonance 2, Pan, and Amplitude each have their own LFO.

Let's look at the various parameters. Click on the attachment to see the part of the screen that relates to the LFO.

* Status can be on or off.
* Frequency is in play only if you turn off sync to host; it ranges from 0.01 to 40Hz.
* Sync goes from 1/8t to 128d. Each cycle equals the selected beat value. For example, if you select 1/8, there's a cycle every eighth of a beat.
* Delay determines how long it takes before the LFO kicks in, up to 10 seconds.
* Fade fades in the LFO over up to 10 seconds. You can combine Delay and Fade, so there's a certain amount of delay before the LFO fades in.
* Depth just sets the overall depth of the LFO.

You'll also note the waveform display. 28 waveforms come with Rapture, (26 periodic and two random) but what's really cool is you can create your own waveforms out of any WAV file; there can be a total of 100 waveforms. I did a half-wave rectified sine LFO waveform just for kicks.

But this is important for another reason: There's no smoothing option for the LFO, so anything like a square or sawtooth wave has a very sharp transition that might cause a click when controlling a parameter. So, you can create a waveform that's smoothed and use that. I'd rather have a smoothing control, but hey, maybe next version...

[Anderton]

Just to show what you can do with the LFO, I've prepared a little audio example. Click on the attachment to hear the LFOs at work.

Here's what's happening. An Element has a multisampled Moog sawtooth SFZ file loaded. All the modulation is done with LFOs, specifically:

* One LFO is set to a negative-going sawtooth and feeds the Filter 1 cutoff, with sync set to 1/4 (1/4 of a beat, or a sixteenth note). This produces a series of quick filter frequency decays.
* Another LFO is set the same way, but feeds the Amp. So, you have what sounds like a series of 16th notes with sharp amplitude and filter envelope decays.
* Another LFO is set for a slow sweep (every 16 beats) and varies Filter 2's cutoff.

But a sound is worth a thousand words, so check out the example.

[lawapa]

:D Great example of LFO's at work CA.

You can have a pitch sweep/step workin as the lfo's do there thing as well. Almost to many options in Rapture.

[Anderton]

<<You can have a pitch sweep/step workin as the lfo's do there thing as well.>>

The next example is going to be a fun step sequencer thing that uses only the step sequencer to accomplish the desired results.

I wouldn't say there are too many options! You don't have to use all of them :) But the more you know about the program, the better. For example, I tried doing the last example with the step sequencer and realized it would be a whole lot easier just to use the LFOs.

[lawapa]

I personally use step when I'm reaching for a discrete change to happen with smoothing to soften the abrupt change to something with a softer edge. Of course any change can be drawn in.

[Anderton]

<<I personally use step when I'm reaching for a discrete change to happen with smoothing to soften the abrupt change to something with a softer edge. >>

Yes, I think the smoothing function is incredibly useful! I wish the LFOs had it too. The easiest way to create a "smooth" waveform is to take something like a sawtooth, run it through a lowpass filter, then save it as a custom LFO waveform.

[René [Cakewalk]]

Hello Craig,

Wow, that's in-depth. Thanks for the great review and comments, superb as always.

What am I missing? There must be a simpler way to just control an overall Element output level with the mod wheel. (In case anyone wonders, I'm trying to create a "theremin" patch where the mod wheel brings the sound in and out).

In the modulation matrix, we have one source which is fixed. This one is set to 1 (or 127 in MIDI terms). We have set CC127 to do that.

There are many ways you can 'connect' the modwheel to element volume. If, for instance, you'd like to add 6dB to the element volume using modwheel, you'd do:

CC1 -> Volume 1 -> 6

Those are Source, Destination and Depth respectively. Now, if we'd want to decrease the volume by 6dB, then we'd do:

CC1 -> Volume 1 -> -6

In case we'd like to increase the volume from a fixed, quiet point, we could just turn the element volume down using the element knob (not recommended, as you lose the ability to set a mix level after that), or use the CC127 to set a 'fixed' level of volume down, and then specify the modwheel to make it increase with a positive value. As follows (two rows in the matrix):

CC127 -> Volume 1 -> -36
CC1 -> Volume 1 ->36

That way, the element volume knob remains in 'allow-to-mix' status, and you get a 36dB boost from a quiet status using modwheel.

The CC127 trick is used in several patches, for many different uses, all related to adding a fixed amount of 'something', or to reverse a controller effect.

I would like to drop two comments here: first, the modulation matrix rows can 'stack'. This means that destinations can be affected by multiple sources, and same source can affect multiple destinations. This is also valid for MIDI Learn: you can learn multiple controls in the same control, or vice-versa. Second, the smooth control allows you to link one source-destination pair, and assign a smoothing factor. It is notable that smoothing isn't only used to avoid zippering noise during parameter transition, it can have an enormous creative potential for performance.


-René

[rasputin1963]

Hello Craig,


I can't get over how crystalline-clear is the sound quality of these MP3 snippets... :thu:

Is this the "anti-aliasing" that has been referred to? It certainly sounds different from other soft-synths I've heard. The patches sound fat-fat-fat, but with no unpleasant artifacts.

Can you speak more about how this ultra-clarity is achieved?

[lawapa]

I'm not craig but I have both Rapture and Dimension Pro and yes both of these beauties have that type of sound engine. You have to import noise to use in you patches.:wave:

[Anderton]

<<I can't get over how crystalline-clear is the sound quality of these MP3 snippets...

Is this the "anti-aliasing" that has been referred to? It certainly sounds different from other soft-synths I've heard. The patches sound fat-fat-fat, but with no unpleasant artifacts.

Can you speak more about how this ultra-clarity is achieved?>>

I think Rene could do a better job of that :)

Part of it is also that I know how to create MP3s that sound decent, which is a whole other issue. BUT the important point is that an MP3 can't make something sound BETTER than it is. So, although you're not hearing Rapture in its 100% native quality level, the fact that it makes it through the "MP3 gauntlet" sounding this good tells you something right there.

Wait'll you hear the next audio example :)

[Anderton]

Rene, since we have your attention...someone asked about the differences between the z3ta+ and Rapture. Given that you designed them both, it would be great if you could give your perspective on how they differ.

[Anderton]

This is arguably the crown jewel of Rapture's modulators, although the Envelope Generator is pretty hot too. Anyway, every parameter you can modulate with LFO can be modulated with step sequencer, and again, this is true for each element so you have 42 total step sequencers.

Click on the attachment to see three step sequencers. Through the miracle of paint programs with cut and paste, I've captured three step sequencer settings for reasons that will become clearer next post, and pasted the Element label on to each one.

* Status can be on or off.
* Steps range from 2 to 128. The higher settings let you "draw" fairly detailed curves.
* Frequency is in play only if you turn off sync to host; like the LFO, it ranges from 0.01 to 40Hz.
* Sync goes from 1/8t to 128d. As with the LFO, each cycle equals the selected beat value. For example, if you select 1/8, there's a cycle every eighth of a beat.
* Smooth rounds out the step transitions, giving more of a continuous waveform.
* Depth determines how much the step sequencer will modulate the assigned parameter.

This is all pretty straightforward; step sequencing lends itself to sample-and-hold effects, complex varying curves, and the like. But don't forget that each Element also allows for other processing...

[Anderton]

Click on the attachment to hear the step sequencers having a good time. Here's a description of how the patch was constructed.

I loaded a Minimoog SFZ multisampled sawtooth wave into Element 1, a similarly constructed Minimoog square wave into Element 2, and a Minimoog thin pulse wave into Element 3. (By the way, if you're searching your Rapture folder looking for the Minimoog waveforms, these are custom waveforms I created and they don't ship with Rapture.) Each Element uses one step sequencer applied to Amp.

Element 1 is the main element; it's panned to center, and the Step Sequencer provides a nice rhythm. Additional LFO negative-going sawtooth modulation is assigned to Cutoff 1 and Amp to give the quick decay featured in the LFO example given earlier.

Element 3 is panned right, and has a complementary rhythm. It similarly applies LFO to Cutoff 1 and Amp. Element 1 and 3 played together give a sort of "AdrenaLinn" vibe.

But the interesting part here is Element 2, which is panned right and has a relatively sparse sequence. It goes through the Large Hall reverb insert effect so when it triggers a sound, there's a reverb tail. This is a pretty cool effect that's representative of the type of creative step sequencing effects you can add in Rapture.

[René [Cakewalk]]

Rene, since we have your attention...someone asked about the differences between the z3ta+ and Rapture. Given that you designed them both, it would be great if you could give your perspective on how they differ.

Well, there're really many. To start, with Rapture we wanted an instrument you could use in any studio, regardless of what platform you feel more comfortable with. Therefore, it's VSTiDXi/DXi64/RTAS on the PC, and VSTi/AU/RTAS/UB on the Mac. z3ta+ is VST/DXi on PC only, and a Mac port might be difficult.

From an architecture point of view, all the sound designers who worked with z3ta+ agreed in a major feature request: they wanted different oscillators to be routed thru different filter types, and processed with different effects.

That wasn't really possible in z3ta+ without rewriting it from scratch, it's a complete architectural change, with busses and all. Rapture delivers that: any of the 6 elements (which could be compared with z3ta+'s 6 oscillators) allow to process each oscillator thru a whole dsp chain.

z3ta+ is still famous for the fat trance pads and leads obtained using the MULTI mode, and some detuning. Rapture expands that by allowing a selectable multi-voice multi mode, which is spreaded in the stereo field. This, and the ability to process multisamples in each element, requires a full stereo path in each element. Also from a z3ta+ user request comes the ability to change the dsp chain order, the graphical envelopes and the graphical step sequencers.

In a parallel path, we had the sfz/sfz+ family of players, using a novel technique to playback samples. We expanded the parser capabilities, enhanced the performance, and once the new engine was ready we merged it with an also expanded version of the z3ta+ wavetable-playback engine. That is the Expression Engine, which is in use in both Dimension Pro and Rapture. We oriented the straight sample-playback capabilities to Dimension Pro, and packed it with tons of contents, and the wavetable-playback capabilities to Rapture.

It is important to mention that each element in Rapture allows loading an sfz file. Any sfz file can contain a complete multisample definition, including an arbitrary number of keyboard regions, velocity regions, regions selected by the position of other things like random, sequence or MIDI CC, etc. Each region can not only play a different sample, but also can play a full wavetable oscillator.

This means that you can stack multiple oscillators using different pitchs, waveforms and others with a little sfz magic. For most uses, the interface will provide the required power, but the adventurous could really get much more mileage by doing little sfz experiments.

The other impressive achievement with Rapture is the resources efficiency. It can process the same dsp load as z3ta+ with about a half of the resources.

z3ta+ still has some unique features (waveshaper), and that will remain that way for now. It's still a tremendously successful product, with a bitrigazillion of patches and banks in the web. There's no reason to avoid people having both z3ta+ and Rapture :)


-René

[Anderton]

This was originally going to be about the Envelope Generators, but I found a workaround for an EG limitation that I thought you'd find interesting.

Here's the problem: There's no way I can find (maybe Rene has a solution?) to assign mod wheel to envelope decay. You can assign it to release (which isn't equivalent for what I want to do), and you can assign velocity to envelope decay; but what I wanted to do was trigger the envelope generator, and be able to vary the decay time expressively.

After not being able to come up with a solution, I thought about why I wanted to vary decay in the first place: It was so I could have a series of four notes, with decays of short-short-LONG-short to accent the backbeat.

Then it occurred to me to use the Step Generator. Click on the attachment to see the control signal that provides "dynamic decay." I set the Step Sequencer to 16 steps, and created a sharp decay that lasted for 7 steps. Then I increased the Step Sequencer length to 32 steps, and created an even sharper decay with a slightly lower amplitude in the next group of 16 steps. Then I set the Step Sequencer to 48 steps, and for the third group of 16 steps, drew a decay that covered all 16 steps (the long decay). Finally, I extended the step sequencer to 64 steps, and drew in one final short decay over the beginning of the last group of 16 steps. This envelope got applied to the Cutoff 1 and Amp envelopes to create a percussive, rhythmic effect.

Keep reading…

[Anderton]

Now it was time to fine-tune the effect. Setting Sync to 2 meant that the step sequence was 2 beats long, so each "decay" was an eighth note (four in two beats).

So far so good, but I wanted to add more expressiveness and some motion. So, I copied the Element to another Element, and added a little detuning. Then I used the Mod Wheel to control the Filter 2 cutoff for both elements, so there could be a little "filter-opening-and-closing action" in the patch.

Finally, I went to the Global FX page and used stereo delay to add motion. The left channel was set to 1/2d delay, and the right channel to 1d. Although this wasn't quite the same as being able to vary decay via mod wheel, which was what I had originally set out to do, I was still able to get something close to a dynamic decay effect. Click on the attachment to hear the patch do its rhythmic thing.

[Anderton]

It was asked about why the audio engine quality was able to make through the process of being converted into an MP3. Cakewalk provided me with results from a Dimension Pro Expression Engine Aliasing test, which also applies to the engine in Rapture.

In this example, Cakewalk's engineers loaded a 15kHz sine wave into Dimension Pro and played one octave up (C5-B5), then one octave down (B4-C4). The session was rendered at a 44.1kHz sampling rate at 32-bit floating point depth.

The sample was converted into mono, and imported into Adobe Audition’s spectral frequency view. When viewing the spectral analysis, the different colors represent degrees of amplitude. Yellow is the loudest, followed by orange, red, magenta, violet and blue.

The first picture is of Dimension Pro's engine without the sinc interpolation option enabled. Click on the attachment to see Dimension Pro without sinc interpolation. All of the extra lines you see are small bits of aliased frequencies.

The next post shows the results with sinc interpolation enabled.

[Anderton]

Click on the attachment to see the results with sinc interpolation enabled. It's pretty impressive: You can hardly see any aliased frequencies at all. This is in line with my own experience when I first tried Rapture -- I sent an email to Cakewalk saying that there was definitely aliasing in their "alias free engine." They asked if I'd enabled sinc interpolation. Ooops (read the manual!). When I did, any aliasing was no longer audible.

[lawapa]

That ability to enable and disable sync interpolation/distortion is mighty cool. If you want it you got it and if you don't it's gone :wave: You can also load a wavetable in with sfz mapping. With oscillator=on it loads up clean. or you could load it as a wavefile direct and get thet nasty distortion. What ever turns your crank :thu:

[Anderton]

The following is a true story from several years ago at the Frankfurt trade show...

Waldorf designed a new synth and they were very proud because they'd been able to get rid of aliasing. Only problem was a lot of their customers LIKED the aliasing sound of the previous model, so they put in a switch where people could choose one or the other!!!

Regarding Rapture, I'd say just leave Sinc enabled. There are lots of other ways to get nasty sounds, far nastier than just disabling sinc.

[default_damage]

Craig

thanks for all the helpful information .
I have rature on my computer now.
I got it at a local music chain store priced , the street was $199.99.

loading it into my PC was a breeze, the registration and recieving the recg. code took almost but not quite a minute.


Using a P4 2.8 hyperthreading 800fsb,
Rapture in Sonar loaded and ran four instances @ 21% cpu.

the Sound ? I liked what I heard . I found it to be very clear and detailed.
I then added the PSP vintage warmer to each instance and after that , it was true love
(hi, my name is default and I am a Vintage Warmer addict)
thanks again
tah-tah fo' nah-nah.
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b308/0a0r0t0/misskittyoutside.jpg

[Anderton]

I love Vintage Warmer! It hadn't occurred to me to try that with Rapture, but I'll check it out. What do you think of the distortion options included with Rapture?

[default_damage]

Originally posted by Anderton
I love Vintage Warmer! It hadn't occurred to me to try that with Rapture, but I'll check it out. What do you think of the distortion options included with Rapture?

the distortion is good sounding .
Vintage Warmer probably is not necessary
with this instrument.
I just wanted to do an A/B comparision

I am excited about learning to program this instrument! I have not checked the distortion out with the exception of applying Distortion 2 to some basses
the effect had a nice smooth quality to it.
the patch seems to have a nice added texture to the sound rather than having the effect annihilate the original sound of the patch.

kjaerhaus makes a modulation effect that can add to a sound rather than take it over . I find it hard to discribe , the integrety of the original instruments sound is not compromised while at the same time adding something to it. in the case of the distortion 2 and the bass patches that was my experience.

yes I am happy.

[lawapa]

I spent this week end making new sounds for my Rapture. I had already made up a bunch of wavefiles/tables to use. So off I went. I was surprised at how well it went. The sound engine in Rap does help a lot.

You can do some major damage to a sound or leave it clean with all it has by way of lfo's, eq's, filters, effects, step sequencers. I was impressed before I started making. Just with the stock sounds. But after diggin deeper. I'm even more impressed. This synth is lookin like a must have for anyone lookig for some sweet sounds. Now mind you it does take some time but the end result is great. Your sound just like you want it. It is do-able thing if you just take the time.

[Paolo Legnetti]

Yeah yeah whatever...

[Anderton]

Well, I do think he makes some valid points...it DOES take some work to get where you want to go (Group Edit, please!). Also there are often several ways to do the same thing (e.g, Step Sequencer vs. LFO) so you have to know enough about the program to choose the right options.

I would also encourage people to come up with their own LFO waveforms. In fact, you can start with this one :) Click on the attachment to see a graphic of the waveform. This is what I send to filter cutoff or amp to get a fast, percussive decay. It's basically a modified sawtooth wave, but I also slowed down the attack a bit to make sure there wouldn't be any clicks.

[Anderton]

...and here's the file itself. Unzip it, then remember to put it within the "Lfo Waveforms" folder in the Rapture folder.

[danatkorg]

Originally posted by Anderton
Regarding Rapture, I'd say just leave Sinc enabled. There are lots of other ways to get nasty sounds, far nastier than just disabling sinc.

My guess is that enabling Sinc interpolation will increase the CPU load by some amount, although this might or might not be significant in context.

- Dan

[default_damage]

a quick note ,

now that I have started delving, I am hooked! stop
looking for the Allen Ravenstine EML patch inspirations. stop

things are going well stop




:thu:

[Anderton]

I got a private email from DanAtKorg -- he didn't want to hijack the thread -- but I thought his comments were well worth posting, so I got his permission to do so.

"Rapture's oscillator puts in an admirable performance here.

"Although it's unlikely to occur, I'd love for the MI community to
agree on a standard about how to describe aliasing characteristics. With the products that I work on, I'm always careful to say "low aliasing" or, in some cases, "no audible aliasing," instead of "alias free" -- since with all current realtime technologies there is still some amount of aliasing, even if it's inaudible.

"Of course, it's the audibility that's the important part for musical
purposes - I just haven't wanted to make claims that could be
disproved by someone running our products through test equipment!

"But then, I've occasionally been challenged about the meaning or value of "low aliasing" -- especially when other products may
advertise having none at all, even though this is technically
incorrect.

"Additionally, even if an oscillator itself has very low aliasing,
other elements in the signal path may add their own aliasing;
distortion, for instance, will do so, along with other processes that modify amplitude at audio or near-audio rates (wave shaping, ring modulation, limiting, etc.). These effects can be limited by oversampling or other means, but present a separate challenge from the oscillators themselves. So, a no-audible-aliasing oscillator may be different from a no-audible-aliasing product.

Regardless of how it's described, aliasing is an important aspect of audio quality in synthesizers, and I'm glad to see it being both a topic of discussion, and an area of focus for talented synth
designers such as René."

[Anderton]

This is pretty sophisticated - so much so that you really need a "cheat sheet" of the keyboard shortcuts, such as ways to zoom in and out, fit the envelope to the window size, enable velocity or keyboard control over segment time, etc. I reached for the manual constantly in the process of exploring the envelopes, and still need to refer to it from time to time.

Basically, we're dealing with a rate/level envelope with a sustain point. Like conventional envelopes, the envelope level or time can track velocity, and this affects all segments. However, there are some interesting additions not found in most envelopes. Click on the attachment to see an unusual envelope.

* Each segment can be tied to velocity. For example, hit a key harder, and the desired segments can get shorter or longer, depending how you programmed them. You can also mix and match, so that (for example) an attack time gets longer if you hit a key harder, but one of the decay slopes takes less time.

* Similarly, you can tie each segment's time to keyboard position. Note the blue stripes above and below the envelope centerline; this show the extent of the modulation. Orange stripes indicate the extent to which velocity influences the timing.

* Portions of the envelope can be looped. If a sustain point is set, it can also serve as a loop end point. The loop start can be any selected node prior to the sustain point. In the screen shot, the orange line toward the bottom shows the part of the envelope that's looping.

* Each segment's curve is adjustable from exponential, to linear, to reverse exponential.

This is all well and good, although I'm not sure there's not a huge amount of practical value of some of the more esoteric functions, and it takes a fair amount of tweaking to get what you want. Still, I like having more options than fewer options. You can always treat the envelope like a regular envelope if you want.

However, there are also some limitations that I would like to see addressed in future updates. Given the "let's be able to sync everything to tempo" attitude that pervades Rapture, I'm surprised that unlike the envelopes in some Native Instruments synths, you can't lock nodes to rhythmic values. This is valuable for two reasons: When programming envelopes, segments can fall in with the rhythm; also, with tempo changes, the envelope changes as well.

Lacking this, having a calibrated background to at least "eyeball" the node rhythms would be helpful, but that's not available either.

Another limitation is that there's no trigger mode for percussive sounds where you just tap a key, and the envelope immediately goes into the release phase. You can come close by programming a very short hold time before the sustain phase kicks in, but then if your fingers stay on the keys for any length of time, the sound will sustain.

Maybe I'm asking for too much to include these functions, but I think that at least the "rhythmic node" option should be in a future update.

[Anderton]

The effects aren’t going to put Waves out of business, but what makes them highly useful is that each Element can have its own insert effect, as well as three EQ stages (with Gain, Frequency, and Q controls) that can each have a low shelf, high shelf, or bandpass/bandreject response. Most of the effects are time-based (various delays and reverbs), but there are also two distortion settings, LFO controlled filter, and filter/phaser. Click on the attachment to see the list of available effects.

It’s quite something to have one type of delay on one Element, reverb on another, and a different reverb on yet a third. Because the delay effects are tempo-synched, you can have all kinds of animated stereo effects sweeping back and forth. Bottom line: The Insert effects are integrated well into Rapture, and serve as valuable sound design tools.

[Anderton]

The Global page has two Global effects that affect all Elements, with the same roster of effects as the Insert FX. There are also three master EQ sections, a Master FX section (again, using the same roster of effects) that affects the final sound, and a Global Step Generator with separate generators for the left and right channels. Click on the attachment to see the Global Page. Note that in this example, the Step Generator creates a panning effect by increasing amplitude in one channel while the other is decreasing.

[Anderton]

This was too much fun not to post. Click on the attachment to hear a tribal percussion sequence. It has three Elements; two are Minimoog triangle waves with step-sequenced pitch, while the third has step sequenced Minimoog white noise with swept resonance. But what makes this patch move are the effects: There are two global effects, mid-size room reverb and a filter/phaser. The Step Sequencer does right-left panning, but the Master FX, which adds tempo-synched delay, is after the Step Sequencer so it restores a fulle stereo image by bouncing echoes back and forth between the channels. Meanwhile, a bit of EQ perks up the upper midrange. Whee!

[lawapa]

My sample management app Awave has a little utility that renders any dx/tx/tg/ patch to a wavetable. In options you set length and number of regions. Then you chose SFZ as format and well you got a fm patch ready to pull up. It only does the whole bank so you do spend some time organizing the sizeable mess it outputs. 32 patches with the sfz file/ wavefiles for each one. But I bet you can imagine the possibilities :D The possible combinations? Along with everything else Rapture has included? Wowzers. The downside is it takes some tweaking to get the patch just right but Sheech thats just the way you do it right?

This is one fancy synth. I'm a believer. Oh the percussion mp3 with the tri hits and swept noise. I have got to try that.

[Anderton]

<<Oh the percussion mp3 with the tri hits and swept noise. I have got to try that.>>

I should probably add I was not trying to get that sound. I was actually going for something else and got led down that path - Rapture does that a lot. Sometimes I feel like I'm forming a partnership rather than the programming; I say "how about this?" and Rapture tries to one-up me :)

[Anderton]

Even after all this, there are still some additional features of interest. Rapture is multitimbral in the sense that each element can be driven from its own MIDI channel. Click on the attachment to see the multitimbral dialog box - simple, eh?

I'll admit that when I first saw this, I wasn't exactly impressed - it's not like Rapture is a workstation. But as I worked more with Rapture, I realized that each Element is its own little synthesizer/step sequencer. As one example of how you'd use multitimbral operation, you could set up some very complex loops for each element, load Rapture into Ableton Live, and use a controller to bring these complex loops in and out of a larger composition. There are so many control options within Rapture there are some definite advantages to setting up a multitimbral hardware controller to exploit them.

[Anderton]

One aspect we didn't really cover was the Step Generator "extras." It's possible to randomize, reset, invert, mirror, and reverse steps. This provides a quick way to generate complementary sounds with a second (or third, or fourth, or...) Element. You can also copy and paste steps, as well as snap steps to 10, 12, and 24 levels. Why 12 and 24? For doing pitched sequences, of course. What's more, you can enter the steps with a MIDI keyboard starting at C4 (notes lower than C4 move to the previous step). But there's no way to generate a rest; you need to enter those manually by dragging the step to zero.

[Anderton]

I think Rapture is brilliant, but more on that under conclusions. Following is my wish list for version 2.0 (or 1.5 if Cakewalk sees fit!).

* Higher contrast. I bumped up contrast and brightness on some of the screen shots because the image was just too dark otherwise. From an art standpoint I like the current color scheme; from a programming standpoint, it would help to be more legible.

* The LFO doesn't seem to be able to sweep the full Amplitude range. If you use a waveform that goes from full on to full off, the Amplitude is not fully off when the waveform is at minimum. I've tried using the modulation option to scale it down, but then the peaks aren't as high, either. I suspect I might be missing something and Rene has the solution; but if not, this should be fixed.

* When using a MIDI keyboard to enter steps in the Step Generator, I'd like to see a way to enter rests. How about moving pitch bend up full then hitting a note to create a rest?

* Also with the Step Generator, I'd like to see grid lines every 4 or 8 lines (or both, with different colors). When you're using the Step Generator for complex rhythms, it would really help to see an overlay of that rhythm.

* The Global Page FX aren't part of the modulation matrix, although they will do MIDI Learn. This isn't even close to being a dealbreaker, but I did say this was a wish list.

* The X-Y pad is a cool controller, but it doesn't have a MIDI Learn mode, so you can't drive it from MIDI controllers. Logically this makes sense, as the X-Y pad is itself a controller; still, I'd like to see a way to control the X-Y pad without having to drag it with a mouse.

* I'd already mentioned that I'd like to see the Envelope Generator nodes snap to rhythmic values, and have an EG grid that displayed those values.

* Undo function.

That's pretty much it.

[Anderton]

I liked Rapture as soon as I started playing with it, but also found what I thought were limitations. It turned out there were provisions to deal with most of these, like where I started using LFO waveforms to “chop” sounds instead of the Step Generator. In many cases, the “limitations” were just a result of my not fully understanding the program.

This is a construction set for those who like synchro-sonic effects. If you just want to do instruments and standard sounds, Dimension Pro would probably be a better choice. Rapture is incredibly fertile for sound design, dance music, experimental electronic music, hip-hop, and more. Although I’ve emphasized the pattern and sequencer-based possibilities, with six elements and a batch of waveforms, Rapture is also an extremely capable synthesizer – especially because you’re not locked in to either the oscillator or LFO waveforms that come with the program. I came up with a lot of programs based around Minimoog waveforms and custom LFO shapes (thanks, Wavelab!).

This review has gone on for a long time, with a fair amount of time between some posts. There’s a reason for this other than leading a busy life :). The more I played with Rapture, the more I developed a profound respect for just how much you can do with it. With most programs, you learn the big features – then as time goes on, you pick up on the details. Rapture keeps delivering big surprises. Just when I thought I’d figured everything out, Rapture would reveal another cool, major feature (like multitimbrality and pitch options for the Step Generator). Exploiting these features to the fullest extent took some serious exploration.

And even though this review is winding down, I wouldn’t be surprised if a couple months from now I bump it back with just one more cool feature…and then maybe another one…

Now let me make one thing totally clear: Rapture is my kinda synth. It’s deep, it’s novel, it’s clever, it’s perfect for electronic music genres. If this was Keyboard magazine, I’d give it a Key Buy without a second thought. There’s nothing quite like Rapture, and for those who like to tweak, you’ll be well rewarded for your efforts.

But I also recognize that’s not what everyone wants from a synth. If you want to load up a bunch of presets, fine…the presets are cool. There are even nifty drum kits, analog brass, you name it. But if that’s all you want, you can do better – starting with Dimension Pro. Where Rapture excels is in doing things other synthesizers can’t do. I have no idea how you’d market something like this, but hey, that’s not my problem.

I suspect that the same type of people who love Ableton Live will flock to Rapture like flies to honey, as Rapture is the first synthesizer I’ve met that excels at creating multiple, self-contained loops. Rapture would also be an exceptional addition to Acid (now that its MIDI instrument implementation is up to the task), as well as Cakewalk’s own Project5. On the other hand, for those who use more “straightforward” programs like Logic, Cubase, Digital Performer, Sonar, and the like, Rapture instantly converts those otherwise “neutral” programs into dance beat monsters, with a side of synths.

If all of this sounds good, you’ll definitely become a Rapture convert. No matter how much I’ve described here, it seems like there’s always more to discover. I think it's a superb musical instrument that is both brilliantly designed and executed.

As always with a Pro Review, just because I’ve posted my conclusions doesn’t mean the review is over. Got questions? Suggestions? Something cool you want to post? Want me to post more of my custom LFO waveforms? Feel free to speak up.

[lawapa]

How about loading up a whole tune in Rapture? Sound silly? If you did it you'd see what I mean. Apart from the obvious LFO madness you could inject into your master you can snag some killer phase effects that phase really deep. You could turn rapture into a DJ's dream machine. That is if you took the time to ferrit out all it can do.

If Cakewalk were to add standalone to this puppy and maybe tweak it a tad it could grab the DJ market strong. I think of it as the most innovative effects machine "maskerading as a synth" around ;)+)

Don't get me wrong. I use Rapture AS A STRAIGHT UP SYNTH. And I agree wholeheartly with you synopsys that's it's a truly unique synth in and of itself.

[underbug]

Originally posted by Anderton I came up with a lot of programs based around Minimoog waveforms and custom LFO shapes (thanks, Wavelab!).


There's a freebie VSTi that's very handy for
generating waveforms to use in synths like Rapture.

Sonic Assault Rndwave! 1.1
16/24-bit Wave Shape Generator

Click here (http://homepage.ntlworld.com/jez.price/effects.htm) to check it out

[b rock original]

I'd like to see a way to control the X-Y pad without having to drag it with a mouse. In the exposed VSTi or DXi parameters, there is both an X and a Y parameter available to external MIDI Remote Control. (Host-dependent, of course). I use these to bind MIDI messages from a physical X-Y pad (Novation) to that of the X-Y in Rapture. Works great: snap to center, return to 0,0, or no snap,. X-Y Acceleration (Desaccel) is also controllable.

I haven't had the same difficulties with the outer ranges of user-defined LFOs. My waveforms are created in Sound Forge, and using them in Pitch modulators appear to nail targeted 'notes' directly. I'll check this again..the Amplitude is not fully off when the waveform is at minimum. I wonder if the 'hidden Amp EG' is playing into this.

The UD-LFOs are a breeze to create, offer up bipolar control, and finer resolution than available to a Step Generator. So many unique approaches to choose from within Rapture. I haven't found a parameter yet that isn't externally controllable in some manner

[Anderton]

Well I guess that's it for this review. I must say I've been using Rapture a lot, it's particularly wonderful in multi-timbral mode with Live because of its "loop-oriented" mentality. Great stuff!! I wish Rene would have commented on my wish list, but I guess I'll just wait to see what version 1.5 or 2.0 brings....

[René [Cakewalk]]

Hey Craig,

I'm sorry. I didn't see the wish list till now, when I received the notification message. Gosh where have I been...

First of all, thanks for the super in-depth review. Everyone who knows my knows that I've been a long-term follower of your work, and it's a fundamental motivational impulse to get an overall positive evaluation from such a guru as you are.

But now, as they say in the old MKII "Round one... Fight!" :)

/*
* Higher contrast. I bumped up contrast and brightness on some of the screen shots because the image was just too dark otherwise. From an art standpoint I like the current color scheme; from a programming standpoint, it would help to be more legible.
*/

I have heard this before, but it looks to me like it's a CRT thing only, it's really defined and with great contrast on every LCD I tried. In any case, I have relayed the comment to bitplant (the graphic artists behind Rapture, Dimension Pro, PSYN, z3ta+, Reason, Arturia, etc.) for more in-depth analysis.


/*
* The LFO doesn't seem to be able to sweep the full Amplitude range. If you use a waveform that goes from full on to full off, the Amplitude is not fully off when the waveform is at minimum. I've tried using the modulation option to scale it down, but then the peaks aren't as high, either. I suspect I might be missing something and Rene has the solution; but if not, this should be fixed.
*/

That is correct. The design concept was that the Volume LFO is centered, so when it moves you get a variation in dB which is symmetrical: if you set 6dB, you get 6dB of reinforcement, and 6 dB of attenuation.
The idea was to create a 'tremolo oriented' LFO instead of those sound-cutting devices like the one in z3ta+, provided that Rapture gives you the StepGens which do control amplitude, so you can cut the sound using those.

It would be still possible to have a full excursion LFO in dB if we'd add a "center" parameter for the LFO, so the sound designer could select if she wants the LFO centered or only in one direction, with all the middle stages. FR duly noted.

/*
* When using a MIDI keyboard to enter steps in the Step Generator, I'd like to see a way to enter rests. How about moving pitch bend up full then hitting a note to create a rest?
*/

Well, the Step Generator is controlling the pitch, so there's just no easy way to get a silence by just controlling pitch. It might be sync'ed with the Amplitude StepGen to enter a zero step there, but then it'd require the user to have it turned on and with the same number of steps and depth. I see this would be cool but I'm worried about how users would understand it.


/*
* Also with the Step Generator, I'd like to see grid lines every 4 or 8 lines (or both, with different colors). When you're using the Step Generator for complex rhythms, it would really help to see an overlay of that rhythm.
*/

I've heard this is already in for next version ;)


/*
* The Global Page FX aren't part of the modulation matrix, although they will do MIDI Learn. This isn't even close to being a dealbreaker, but I did say this was a wish list.
*/

Si. The mod matrix expansion with several things is in my own personal wish list, so expect it to improve in future releases.


/*
* The X-Y pad is a cool controller, but it doesn't have a MIDI Learn mode, so you can't drive it from MIDI controllers. Logically this makes sense, as the X-Y pad is itself a controller; still, I'd like to see a way to control the X-Y pad without having to drag it with a mouse.
*/

Righto. z3ta+ introduced the X-Y pad MIDI Learn in a dot version, so it is very likely that Rapture will as well. BTW, you can use a PC joystick to control it :)


/*
* I'd already mentioned that I'd like to see the Envelope Generator nodes snap to rhythmic values, and have an EG grid that displayed those values.
*/

Yes, this has been the #1 FR for DP and RP envelopes. We'll see what we can do...


/*
* Undo function.
*/

This is by far the feature where all of us devs put less attention in plugins. The truth is, it's a mega work to implement this well, but sooner or later we'll do it. It's not top in the priority list, but it is in the list for sure.


Again, thanks a lot for the review, and thanks to everyone who participated.

Cheers,
-René

[Anderton]

<<I have heard this before, but it looks to me like it's a CRT thing only, it's really defined and with great contrast on every LCD I tried. In any case, I have relayed the comment to bitplant (the graphic artists behind Rapture, Dimension Pro, PSYN, z3ta+, Reason, Arturia, etc.) for more in-depth analysis.>>

Say hi to Mr. Merkle for me :) Actually I've tested Rapture ONLY on LCDs, three different ones actually.

<<The design concept was that the Volume LFO is centered, so when it moves you get a variation in dB which is symmetrical: if you set 6dB, you get 6dB of reinforcement, and 6 dB of attenuation.
The idea was to create a 'tremolo oriented' LFO instead of those sound-cutting devices like the one in z3ta+, provided that Rapture gives you the StepGens which do control amplitude, so you can cut the sound using those.

It would be still possible to have a full excursion LFO in dB if we'd add a "center" parameter for the LFO, so the sound designer could select if she wants the LFO centered or only in one direction, with all the middle stages. FR duly noted.>>

Okay, good, then I'm not going crazy and it IS the LFO! I know you can do the same sort of thing with the step generator, but I seem to get "cleaner" results with the LFO.

<<Well, the Step Generator is controlling the pitch, so there's just no easy way to get a silence by just controlling pitch. It might be sync'ed with the Amplitude StepGen to enter a zero step there, but then it'd require the user to have it turned on and with the same number of steps and depth. I see this would be cool but I'm worried about how users would understand it.>>

I didn't think about that. You can pull this one from the list!

<<I've heard [grid lines] is already in for next version>>

That's great!! It will also allow using all those 128 steps more easily.

<<[Undo] is by far the feature where all of us devs put less attention in plugins. The truth is, it's a mega work to implement this well, but sooner or later we'll do it. It's not top in the priority list, but it is in the list for sure.>>

Well, that explains why I don't see Undo very much in virtual instruments! In some ways not having undo is good, because it forces me to "Save As" a lot...sometimes I end up saving something that I end up using after all.

<<Again, thanks a lot for the review, and thanks to everyone who participated.>>

It's a great synth, thanks for making these kinds of tools available to fanatics such as myself!!! You're very welcome in this forum any time.

[exh]

It's been quiet for awhile, but with the 1.1 release hopefully I can jump start this for a minute to get a couple questions answered: I've been playing with Rapture quite a bit the past few days but I can't figure out how to do a couple typically obvious things. One is to modulate the DSP / various FX. The manual indicates the modulation matrix is for MIDI sources, and indeed that's all I see, but all the EGs, LFOs and step sequencers have hard coded destinations. If I just want to set up an LFO on the amount of tube saturation, how would I do that? Along the same lines, the mod matrix is where I would typically go to patch one LFO to another, but again, only MIDI sources. Are these things possible and I'm just not seeing it or was Rapture not designed to do this? I've looked all through the manual and all over the web and I haven't seen this mentioned as either something that's possible or not, seems like a kind of obvious topic so now I'm scratching my head. It's hurting me to have all those banks of modulators sitting there doing nothing in my 1-element patch.

[njmike]

This sounds really stupid, but how do you start this program. :confused: My girlfriend just bought it for her daughter, and we can't figure out how to get it up and running after installing it on a laptop with Windows XP. Can't find an .exe file or anything like that. From the start menu, we have a choice for Rapture Help, Release notes, and uninstall. Can somebody please help, we will be eternally grateful.:confused:

[Rev. Jem]

Rapture is a plugin, ie. it requires a compatible host in which to run. Track down a copy of Tobybear's MiniHost (http://www.tobybear.de/p_minihost.html)to start you off.

[fretwizz]

Herman Seib's SAVIhost (http://www.hermannseib.com/english/savihost.htm)is also a good one to use......

Wikipedia has some good info about VST plugins on this page.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_Studio_Technology)

Also on wikipedia is this generic page (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plugin) describing "plugins"...

[Anderton]

You can run Rapture as a stand-alone instrument (you need the latest update, free to legit owners) by going Start > Programs > Cakewalk > Rapture > Rapture Microhost. Set up your MIDI and audio, and you're good to go.

Funny that this thread got dredged up...I'm putting the finishing touches on a Rapture expansion pack called "Minimoog Tribute" that I'm told will be released at NAMM.

[MezzoForte]

Hey. Been using this thread as a reference for playing with the trial version of Rapture, with an eye towards purchasing the Pro Suite from Cakewalk. I realize there haven't been any posts here for a while, but was hoping someone could lend some insight into the possibility of what I'm trying to do.

Basically, I'm looking to bring recorded samples into Rapture as elements, setting loop points for each element and possibly sequencing multiple elements one after the other in the same instrument.

Example 1: Bring in a "yo" recording, and loop the "o" sound, but not the "y-" sound

Example 2: Bring in a "y-" sound and an "o" sound and sequence the two one after the other, with the "o" repeating.

I know that there was an example posted of multiple elements fading into one another, but I haven't been able to get the same effect with custom-loaded WAV files. Of course, this may simply be due to my lack of experience with the program itself.

The one thing that has me baffled in general is that all of the WAV files in the Rapture directories auto-loop, but custom-loaded WAV files do not. This may be due to the length of the file, but I may also be overlooking something extremely simple.

I'm sure this thread is one that I'll look back on months from now with a good amount of forehead-slapping but, for now, any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for your assistance.

Setup: Rapture Web Trial running through MiniHost

[Bensbeenjamin]

From what I understand Cakewalk is a good program for the "beginner" recording artist, it takes out all the know-how of a Digi board user and put's it into a format that you can fiddle with without having to worry about messing something up. From what I've read Rapture sounds like a good alternative for people that can't fork out the cash for those who don't have the money to fork out for the "better" program.

[Anderton]

From what I've read Rapture sounds like a good alternative for people that can't fork out the cash for those who don't have the money to fork out for the "better" program.

Rapture is a virtual instrument, not a sequencer, and it won a MIPA award. I don't know of any program that's a "better" version of Rapture...

[Ubertakter]

MezzoForte:

I think what you really want is DropZone. It allows you to drop in a wave file and control pitch and the looping portion of the wave file. You might be interested in RXP as well. Both are Cakewalk products. A quick search didn't reveal any stand alone trial version of either, though I didn't dig in too deeply.

[Anderton]

Example 1: Bring in a "yo" recording, and loop the "o" sound, but not the "y-" sound

Example 2: Bring in a "y-" sound and an "o" sound and sequence the two one after the other, with the "o" repeating.

I know that there was an example posted of multiple elements fading into one another, but I haven't been able to get the same effect with custom-loaded WAV files. Of course, this may simply be due to my lack of experience with the program itself.

I used delay times on the envelope to do the "wave sequencing" type of patches.

The one thing that has me baffled in general is that all of the WAV files in the Rapture directories auto-loop, but custom-loaded WAV files do not. This may be due to the length of the file, but I may also be overlooking something extremely simple.

There is a limitation on how long a wavetable can be, but you can get around this by creating an SFZ format file with your WAVs.[/QUOTE]

[fretwizz]

From what I understand Cakewalk is a good program for the "beginner" recording artist, it takes out all the know-how of a Digi board user and put's it into a format that you can fiddle with without having to worry about messing something up. From what I've read Rapture sounds like a good alternative for people that can't fork out the cash for those who don't have the money to fork out for the "better" program.

None of the above is correct.

Cakewalk is the name of the company.

They make all levels of Software from
beginner level to Pro.

Their Pro level Sequencer is called SONAR.

Rapture is a softsynth not a sequencer.

Many people who know what they're talking about
(unlike yourself) believe Rapture's audio engine to
be the best on the market.