Fair questions.
The short honest versions. Something missing? hello@cathodeaudio.com — a human reads it.
The product
Is this another capture player?
No — and it loads alongside the one you have. A capture is a snapshot of an amp at one setting. Cathode designs are live circuits: every knob re-solves the amp while you play. Different tool, different job.
What formats and platforms?
Standalone app plus VST3 on macOS, Windows, and Linux — with AU on macOS too. Player is free in every format.
Will it work with my NAM captures and workflow?
Yes, by design. Any Cathode design can export a NAM profile, so your existing rig keeps working. We build bridges out of Cathode, not walls around it.
What format do designs live in? Am I locked in?
Designs are an open, documented format (.acir.json) with an MIT-licensed parser SDK, and NAM/IR/WAV export is built in. Your designs are yours — inspect them, script them, take them elsewhere.
Do I need to understand electronics to use Designer?
No. The gradient is the point: start by turning knobs on an amp you love, then swap parts and hear what changes. The deep end exists when you want it.
The license
Do I ever have to keep paying to keep using it?
No. Designer is $149 once, perpetual — minor updates free, major versions optional paid upgrades at about half price. Prefer to spread it out? A payment plan is coming: a fixed number of installments, total known upfront, pause and resume anytime — and it ends in ownership. Never rented.
Will there be a trial?
Yes — at launch, Designer has a full-featured 30-day free trial, account-bound, nothing held back. When it ends, everything you built stays playable in Player permanently; editing picks back up whenever you buy a license. Your work is never confiscated.
How long will my version keep working?
Every license includes at least 5 years of compatibility updates from your purchase date — new macOS, Windows and Linux releases, current versions of major DAW hosts, security and critical fixes. Free. Never subscription-gated. Best effort after that. Buy within 90 days of a new major version and the upgrade is free. (That covers compatibility and critical fixes, not new features — and if a platform vendor removes an architecture outright, best effort applies.)
How many machines? Can I move it?
Three machines at once, self-serve deactivation in your account, and the license is transferable if you ever sell it on.
Does it phone home? What if I'm offline?
Activate once, then it runs offline — no login to play, no hard cutoff mid-session, and if our servers ever vanish it keeps working. It re-checks quietly whenever you're online, so machine swaps and license transfers actually take effect.
Will there ever be a sale?
One: the founding window at launch — 25% off for 90 days, never repeated. After that the price is stable permanently. No fake-discount cadence.
Before launch
When does it ship?
When it's right. The email list gets the date first, plus a monthly devlog with real audio in the meantime.
How do I get into the pilot?
Tick "I want to help test" when you sign up. We're hand-picking a small cohort from that list — feedback and honest clips are the ask.