2:43AM
 
Also, there is (and has been) very little information on the Internet on Rapture.  Barely any videos exist that demonstrate, let alone talk about, its powers and/or weaknesses.  To me, Rapture seems like a failed piece of software.

Cakewalk used to sell the Rapture In Depth Video tutorial of  about a hour.
 
Preview: https:// /watch?v=-hEtThELduo&list=RD-hEtThELduo#t=8
 

2:43AM
It's hard to understand.  It seems like the controls don't do anything/enough.  And it's hard to reverse engineer patches to understand "what's going on under the hood."  To me, it just seems like a preset machine as opposed to a "builder's synth."  Am I correct in this assumption?
 

It's an sample-based, static wavetable/quasi additive synthesizer, not a preset machine. You can get evolving soundscapes and sound colors by adding elements and using their filters and modulators. The right click drawing system works very quick and fluent, which makes it easy to transform patches. The DSP takes some time to get used to, in the wrong configuration the cutoff/reso filter doesn't seem to work.
 

AT
Probably the biggest impediment to using Rapture is the many pages - they are logical but most users are more comfortable with faceplate synths.  The same as the difference between early modular analog synths and the minimoog.  The biggest mistake is to try to change the sound w/ more than one element (voice) on - which means jumping from page to page to turn off other elements, change the effects and global effects & sequencer, etc. etc.  Once you strip a patch down to a single element (and know where that element fits in the overall patch) it is very easy and simple to work on the sound - everything from changing the sample to filters and amps and envelopes.
 

This is a good way to approach this synth.
 
 

Woodyoflop
Iv used Rapture in some projects, theres quite a few generic sounds but if you dig into it you can really find some good sounds especially when you tweak them. The new Rapture pro is amazing is by far one of my favorite VSTs alongside Z3ta-2 and all of Outputs instruments. Rapture pro essentially just combined dimension pro and rapture and the new rapture pro all into one program now. One program and you can select between all the instruments as well as the expansions for each. (i apologize if you already knew all this)
 
As far as the original rapture though, iv enjoyed it from time to time. Taking the time to search and tweak is to your benefit and your arsenal.

 
Thank you for clarifying for someone like me who likes to have VSTi's like Rature Pro, but mainly a guitar based writer. I was wondering if Rapture Pro replaced Dimension Pro. Are there any reasons to load the old Rapture and Dimension Pro in a project now?
 
 
Thanks,

Not really.  There have been some problems finding certain libraries, but that seems mostly cured.
 
@

2:43AM
To me, it just seems like a preset machine as opposed to a "builder's synth."  Am I correct in this assumption?

As soon as Rapture came out it became one of my favorite synths...maybe my favorite. All the step sequencing and modulation options were fantastic and there was nothing like it. I also loved using it with Ableton Live, the two are very compatible. However, you are not alone in your opinion, Dimension Pro was much more popular.
 
Check out these two demo videos for two expansion packs I made for Rapture (all the sounds were made using Rapture). I think you'll be surprised at the versatility this synth offers, especially with the Electronic Guitars set.
 
Electronic Guitars

 
Minimoog Tribute

I've used Rapture (original) for many years, and I still find some of it's sounds to be the "go to" sounds for my work. For example, the Moog Pedal Lead and Lyle Mays patches are particular favorites of mine, and there are others. I prefer it to Dimension Pro, although I used to use that a lot and still occasionally do. Even though I have some other synth VST's, such as AAS' Analog Synth, I think Rapture has a lot of potential. I've just downloaded Rapture Session, and not sure how much I like it--for one thing, patches seem to take longer to load, very annoying. But having everything, Dim Pro, Rapture legacy, with some Pro patches is a nice touch.
I don't do much sound design, more a preset user, but I have fiddled with Dim Pro at this, and both instruments do have some good tweakability, although Dim Pro's interface was not really to my liking. I'm mulling over Rapture Pro, but not sure it's worth it to me. Need more time to sample Session first.

thepianist53
I've used Rapture (original) for many years, and I still find some of it's sounds to be the "go to" sounds for my work. For example, the Moog Pedal Lead and Lyle Mays patches are particular favorites of mine, and there are others.

There's a Lyle Mays patch I like in the leads. Just a few days ago I was listening to it and programmed something similar into a Boss SY-300. I just bought Rapture Pro and found a new patch in there I liked that I also programmed into the SY-300. 
 

I used Rapture in nearly every project for quite some time. Since upgrading to RapPro I haven't deployed as much because of that insanely long load time. That bug has been fixed but I just haven't had a chance to dig through the new presets much.
 
I think I preferred my Rapture sounds to be a separate animal than the ROMpler like sounds I used when DimPro was separate but I'm sure I'll get over that.
 
I do hope they give the patch browsing some attention in updates. The pretty pix are nice but I'd prefer faster and easier ways to index and search through sounds.

Rapture is my goto synth for anything that requires step sequencing and envelopes. I also sometimes use multisamples from DimPro in Rapture.

I got RPro bundled with DSF sound packs and I've discovered a plenty of great sounds. It grows on me more and more. By now I've learned how to program velocity switching patches. Just wish RPro had some key-switching ability.

Richard Cranium
unless of course you don't consider silent patches (factory content) and huge volume differences between patches that actually do work a problem.

Well, given that I create my own sounds, it's not an issue 
 
I hated Rapture Pro when it first came out, but I'm warming up to it. There are definitely some improvements that would make programming less tedious - a detachable Mod Matrix and Browser like the original Rapture (who decided to remove these options?!?), better file management, and the ability to copy more aspects of one element to another. However, the fact remains that there is no other synth like Rapture, and it has always been an important part of "my sound." Rapture Pro - although not as user-friendly as Rapture - does offer several advantages over Rapture.
 
Also, the audio engine is off the hook. I've made a lot of presets with a single wav file because I could get away with stretching it over the range of the keyboard. There's something very natural about the way Rapture does transposition...in some ways it reminds of a real guitar string, the way the timbre shifts as you move up the neck. I often prefer not to multisample.