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, and the amp itself is a design you can open and change rather than a fixed list somebody shipped. 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?
At launch, 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?
At launch, 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. I'm hand-picking a small cohort from that list: feedback and honest clips are the ask.