NAMM 2006 Show News

Monday, January 30, 2006

2006 NAMM Winter Show: Cakewalk Rapture Software Synth

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Cakewalk introduced Rapture, described as "the ultimate wavetable synthesizer for igniting the sounds of today's pop, dance, and electronic music."

Rapture is the latest dual platform synthesizer to come from the Cakewalk Instruments engineering team. In Rapture, musicians will find powerful and flexible wavetable synthesis in an inspired creation tool that enables vast sonic possibilities and experimentation.

Cakewalk Rapture

Rapture combines one of the most advanced and exciting modulation systems available in any synthesizer today, with an unrivaled non-aliasing wavetable resampling engine for unparalleled sound quality and creativity.

Rapture Highlights:

Wavetable synthesizer with cutting edge sound manipulation capabilities, well suited for electronica-related music styles
Non-aliasing resampling engine for pristine sound quality
Over 500 professionally-crafted sound programs
Six fully-programmable, stereo sound-generating Elements
Multi-waveform Oscillators with ring modulation
Two 16-mode filters per oscillator with LoFi and Drive
Over 40 Envelope Generators, LFOs, and Step Generators for superior parameter modulation
Comprehensive MIDI Modulation Matrix
Mix and modulate all Elements through global FX and dynamic Step Generator
Superbly designed graphical envelope generators and LFOs for ease of use
Expandable with native support for SFZ sample formats
Mac formats: AU, RTAS, VSTi
Windows formats: DXi (32-bit & x64), RTAS, VSTi

Sounds

Rapture sounds like no other synth, offering sound design capabilities with patches that blend up to six different Elements. Out of the box you get a collection of over 500 programs including Basses, Leads, Pads, Arpeggios, Textures, Electronic Percussion and Sequences.

At the heart of Rapture's six-part sound engine are powerful, multi-mode wavetable oscillators. These wavetables provide an array of sonic possibilities, plus you can multiply each oscillator up to 9 times across the stereo field with controlled detuning, creating some of the fattest sounds ever heard. Rapture's high resolution anti-aliasing rendering engine ensures that every note of every voice will be pure and vibrant.

Advanced Modulation Capabilities and Sound Design

Rapture's modulation capabilities provide the basis for awesome synthesis capabilities sure to inspire listeners, performers, and sound designers alike. Rapture offers over 40 Envelope Generators, LFOs, and Step Generators per patch. These Step Generators breathe life into your sound, allowing for dramatic trance gate effects and percussive rhythms. With graphical step sequencing of sound parameters, Rapture provides a modern extension to traditional envelopes and LFOs, allowing you creative control of Pitch, Filters Amplitude, and other parameters.

And Rapture's global and per-Element FX stages provide the finishing touches to your sounds. In the Global FX Stage Rapture offers 3 multi effect units with 9 Delay and 3 Chorus types, 3 Parametric EQs, and a dynamic Step Generator for volume with independent L/R control. The per-Element FX stages offer the multi-effect units and EQs mentioned above, plus two 16-mode filters per oscillator with LoFi and a 5-mode Overdrive section for additional control.

Design

Everything you need to make your sounds come to life are easy to find, and more importantly easy to use. A comprehensive MIDI Control Matrix provides for extensive MIDI controllers mapping of all of Rapture's functions, with the added sensitivity over modulation depth and smoothness control. An X-Y pad lets you assign multiple Rapture parameters to X and Y axes, allowing you to intuitively glide between various parameter levels with ease.

Pricing and Availability

Rapture has a $199.00 U.S., estimated street price and will be available at select music and sound retailers around the world February 2006.

More information is available at the Cakewalk site.

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