Granular¶
The granular sound engine rearranges small snippets of sound to create delightful soundscapes and moving textures. A list of samples is sliced into grains and distributed in a two-dimensional field from which grains can be selected based on loudness and brightness.
Grain selection¶
On the left side of the screen is a visualization of all grains in the selected sample list. Each dot represents a possible playback position with the location representing loudness (where left is quiet & right is loud) and brightness (where high is bright & low is dark).
samples sets the sample list from which grains can be played.
loudness sets the desired loudness of the grains.
brightness sets the desired brightness of the grains.
variation sets the range around loudness and brightness from within which grains are randomly selected. This range is visualized as dark grey circle around the crosshair.
offset can be used to shift the playback position of grains forward or backward relative to the position played using loudness, brightness and variation.
If variation is set to 0% or if no grains are within range, the grain that is the closest match to loudness and brightness is played. Otherwise a random grain within range is played. Thus a low variation means the same grains are played more often while a high value results in more unique grains being played.
Tip
To create the classic granular ‘scanning’ effect try assigning a slow modulator to offset.
Note
When samples in the sample lists contain a lot of quietness (for example the decaying tail of a one-shot sample) it can bias the grain plot and move the audible grains into a small area or corner. This can make it hard to search through and find certain grains. Try removing silence from the sample list by trimming the start and end times of each sample.
Grain triggering and envelopes¶
The first envelope is used as the grain envelope and the second envelope is the amplitude envelope of the voice.
Each voice has two overlapping grains repeatedly trigger until the main envelope is done. The next grain is triggered when the other grain’s envelope is halfway through, so the rate at which grains are triggered is dependent on the total length of the grain envelope.
env shape allows the curve/shape of the grain envelope to be adjusted.
Tip
To play more grains per note and to achieve a wider stereo image the unison can be used. Don’t forget to also increase polyphony to at least the same number.
Note
Setting the grain envelope attack or decay to 0 ms will result in clicks. To prevent unwanted clicks when a modulator is assigned to grain envelope parameters it is a good idea use the parameter itself to set a minimum envelope length and then to set the modulators range to positive so it never goes below the specified minimum.