Craigster91
- If you have the original Rapture & DimPro, what does Rapture Session bring to the table that is a benefit?
These are all excellent and relevant questions. I have to admit I did not like Rapture Pro
at all upon its introduction. However, now that the code has been cleaned up, I gave it a second chance and in the process, discovered the Instrument page. Although its stated purpose is live performance, and I get that, it's also a GREAT way to build presets that are highly customizable, either in real time or as "set and forget" changes. It's kind of like an FX Chain in that you can bring out the strategic parameters and have a "front panel" again. Even if you don't use a controller, being able to tweak these can make a sound much more suitable for a particular application.
- Does Session represent the best sounds of the full "Rapture Pro"? Or are the best sounds left out?
I think that depends on your viewpoint. If by "best" you mean the sounds that will probably find the most favor with the most people, then the answer is probably yes. But if you favor a particular kind of music that involves more specialized patches, your answer might well be no.
- Is there any reason to get both Rapture Pro AND Rapture Session?
I'm quite sure the Rapture Session sounds are a subset of Rapture Pro's sounds.
Who likes it and why?
What I like most about Rapture, and now Rapture Pro, are the extensive tempo-synched modulation capabilities, including step sequencers. Rapture Pro has basically all the building blocks used in contemporary synthesis, and as a side note, it's one of the absolute best synths for MIDI guitar because you can assign each string to its own element, and restrict the element to playing one note at a time (like a real string). This reduces glitching dramatically.
Of course there are some improvements I'd like to see (e.g., being able to enable/disable elements easily from any element's page and a tear-away modulation matrix like the old Rapture) but Rapture was an essential part of "my sound." It took until now for me to be convinced that on balance, Rapture Pro was a better replacement.
If nothing else, it's definitely a great synth for hardcore synth programmers who want to get original sounds. I assume part of Cakewalk doing Rapture Session is for those who just want a simple experience with lots of sounds "out of the box."