Designers: Ferenc Vincze
Format: Standalone & Ableton M4L Software
Platform: Mac Osx & Windows
Price: £20
GRAINSCAPE:
GRAINSCAPE is a four channel granular synth and multi-effect with midi controlled random and preset function. Each channel has separate effects per channel. There are 4 effect/channel called reverser, delay, reverb, filter.
Tags: IDM, glitch, granular, ambient, experimental, avant-garde, deconstruction
GRAINSCAPE offers a versatile granular sound design and composition tool via:
1. Playheads and Modulation
2. Grains
3. Effects
4. Random and Preset Options
5. Position Midi
6. Create and Record
Some parameters related to sample playback are directly settable, such as loop mode, pitch shift and detunes, while others are based on chance, such as choosing another sample or reverse playback.
A random delay of a few milliseconds allows a rapid and unpredictable timbre variation, while frequency and ring modulations alter the sample more heavily. For a subsequent smoothing of the sound and to ensure complete processing there are digital distortion, delay, a weird reverb and two second order filters.
You can download the instruction manual > HERE
MAC installer video instructions > HERE
Reviews
Gear News
Grainscape is a 4-channel granular synth and audio processor that plants and harvests grains like a granular farm. Grab your wellies and let’s get stuck in.
It’s one of those strange granular things where sounds are scanned, taken apart, reduced to tiny grains and smeared all over the place. It can generate backwards glitches, forward textures and time travelling moods and messes. It’s about playheads and modulators, effects and randomisation all tied together with too many parameters to cope with.
It’s super-crazy and there are 4 channels of this stuff to contend with. Each channel can play independently with the loaded audio file. You can set playhead positions, direction and movement, introduce randomisation and shape the LFO that directs the travel. In the Granular Block you can get hold of the grain sizes, density, pitch and randomisation. In the Effect Block you can add delay and reverb plus a bit of reversing and EQ.
All you need is some audio and you’re good to go. It looks pretty exciting and can easily become a convincing granular playground for textures and digital weirdness.
Grainscape is available now for £20 as a standalone or a Max For Live device – and it definitely has that Ableton vibe about it.
Synth Anatomy
Audiobulb Grainscape, a new Max For Live granular synth that scans your audio, split into tiny parts, & creates new glitch timbres, soundscapes & more.
Max for Live is an environment to build your own instruments and effects, tools for live performance and visuals, and much more. It is comparable to Reaktor 6 from Native Instruments but only very adapted to the Ableton Live cosmos. Especially useful for creating your own Live devices.
Grainscape is a four-channel granular synth and multi-effect processor with controllable random and preset function over MIDI. To get the sound out of it, you need an audio file that is looped through the granular engine. For each channel, you can set the playhead positions, direction, and movement. Plus add randomization and shape the LFO that directs the travel functionality.
Each channel also has a granular part where you can set the grain size, density, pitch, and randomization. Further, each channel has separate effects including a reverser, delay, reverb, and a filtering unit. The developer says it “opens up a multiverse of sounds – making infinite variation from a single sound”.
Looks very interesting at first look. Especially worthwhile if you want to experiment with sounds and go beyond your classic synths. Perfect for creating glitching textures, big ambient textures, and sonic destruction.
Audiobulb Grainscape is available now for £20 as a standalone app or runs as a Max For Live device.