Windows stalwart Cakewalk has in fact gone cross-platform (Windows VSTi/DirectX and Mac AU/VSTi). So, why’d they do it? Apparently, they wanted to unleash this serious synth monster on two platforms: think two DVDs, 1500+ sound programs, major layering and easy editing and morphing. More details from Cakewalk after the jump, and I’ll have more after I get to meet with Cakewalk themselves.

The skinny:

Dimension Pro is the synth from Cakewalk’s Project5 synth, only now made “Pro” by the addition of two DVDs of content. It’s a multi-engine sampling instrument, with virtual analog and physical modeling synthesis built in.

The specs:

1500 sounds on two DVDs with multi-samples and grooves (grooves can be manipulated with MIDI)
Multiple sound capabilities: sample playback, virtual analog, physically-modeled components
Graphical editing of envelope generators and LFOs
Mix/layer 4 stereo parts per program (serious layering, folks)
Multi-stage effects and filters
MIDI mapping via the Control Matrix for live performance
Morph sounds with the Vector Mixer

And, really, quite a lot more. I’ll check it out at AES, but you can check it out at Cakewalk. I want to get to play with this thing before I make any final judgment — but this is definitely high on my list of synths to play with!

CDM 5 Words: Serious synth cross-platform surprise.