Musikmesse 2015: Cakewalk announces Rapture Pro plugin synth

Rapture Pro is said to be for musicians of all abilities.
Rapture Pro is said to be for musicians of all abilities.

MUSIKMESSE 2015: Fresh from revamping its Sonar payment model, Cakewalk is getting back into the software instrument game with the launch of Rapture Pro. Combining algorithmic and sample-based synthesis, this ships with more than 1000 sounds in a 10GB library.

The new instrument has been designed to appeal to all manner of musicians and is based on Cakewalk's original Rapture and Dimension Pro synths. It comes with both Perform and Edit modes so that you can tailor the interface to your requirements.

Check out the feature highlights below and find out more on the Cakewalk website. Rapture Pro will be available later this month for PC and Mac and in VST/AU formats. The introductory price will be $149, with discounts for owners of other Cakewalk software also available. This includes those who got the full version of the original Rapture free with issue 200 of Computer Music magazine - the upgrade price for them will be $99 if they take advantage of the introductory offer.

Cakewalk Rapture Pro highlights

  • Transform, perform, produce, bend, and twist with new sounds, more FX, and more control
  • Find and prioritize sounds faster with databased browsing
  • Performance Mode gives unprecedented freedom to interact with sounds on stage or in the studio
  • Vector Mixer controls all 6 element volumes simultaneously for creative, real-time mixing
  • Edit and create sounds easily with the clean, expansive, colour-coded user interface
  • 6-element architecture is ideal for MIDI guitar
  • Effortless parameter mapping with the new Mod Matrix
  • Each element of Rapture Pro has 7 Step Generators, 7 LFOs, and 7 Envelope Generators
  • 13 crushing distortion FX for massive pads and lead presets
  • 21 sweeping filters for building bass drops and surgical mixing
  • 31 soaring insert FX for each individual element
  • Freely layer synths and samples
  • 2-click MIDI Mapping for quick controller assignments
  • Mix your instrument's elements with the Mixer Page's faders, pan, and sends
  • Individual element tone-shaping with a more visual EQ
  • Supports Mac OS X Audio Units, Windows 7/8 VST3
  • Nearly 10GB of sounds from professional sound designers
  • Ability to load individual microtuning files per element
  • Multitimbral mode allows you to play each element individually
Ben Rogerson

I’m the Deputy Editor of MusicRadar, having worked on the site since its launch in 2007. I previously spent eight years working on our sister magazine, Computer Music. I’ve been playing the piano, gigging in bands and failing to finish tracks at home for more than 30 years, 24 of which I’ve also spent writing about music and the ever-changing technology used to make it.