Sample Alchemy granular effect controls in MainStage

Granular synthesis is a technique used to create unique and unconventional sounds that are difficult to achieve using other synthesis methods–everything from subtle changes in a sound to radical transformations.

When playing the sample loaded in Sample Alchemy, its granular synthesis engine produces sound by continuously extracting grains from the loaded sample. These grains are short audio snippets, only a few milliseconds long, that represent the audio at the currently played position of the sample. The engine creates multiple overlapping grains that are shaped and combined in real time to form a continuous audio stream, which can be ordered, modulated, or randomized to create unique textures.

You can create a wide range of sounds and timbres by manipulating various parameters affecting the grains, such as their pitch, duration, and position in the original sound waveform. You can set those parameters for each source individually.

Granular synthesis module

Selecting the Granular button below the waveform display shows the parameters in this synthesis module.

Click one of the handles on the waveform display labeled A/B/C/D to select the source you want to edit. Alternatively, you can click the Source pop-up menu in the source module, then choose a source or all sources.

Effect pop-up menu: Choose the synthesis effect type for granular mode, which changes the assignment for the four knobs available in this section.

Classic parameters

Size knob: Adjust the duration of each grain from 2 ms to 230 ms.
Density knob: Determine the number of potentially overlapping grains from 1 (no overlap) to 10.
The Size and Density parameters interact with each other. When the Density value is 1, a single grain is sent to the output stream. As soon as one grain finishes, the next one is sent. A Size value of 100 ms sends a new grain every 100 ms.
Increasing Density to 2 adds a second grain that is sent in between those of the first, resulting in a new grain every 50 ms, assuming a Size value of 100 ms. The first and second grains overlap each other. Higher Density values inject additional new grains into the output stream. These new grains occur more frequently and overlap more heavily.
Setting Size to around 100 ms and Density to around 5 grains is often suitable for smooth pad sounds with no sharp transients. Setting Size between 40 and 80 ms and Density to around 2 grains is useful for drums and other sounds featuring sharp transients. Small Size values tend to produce a buzz that masks the original pitch of the sample. Large Size values tend to break up the sound. You can counteract both tendencies by increasing the Density.
Random Pan knob: Add a random offset to the stereo position of each grain.
Random Time knob: Add a small random offset to grain extraction positions in the sample. The default value is 3% because a small amount of randomization helps to smooth the output of the granular element.

Sync parameters

Formant Shift knob: Adjust the formants of the sound, shifting it up to a maximum of 36 semitones up or down.
Tip: The effect comes alive when modulating formant shift, for example, with a low frequency oscillator (LFO). Set random time to 0% to have a clear effect.
Num Taps knob: Set the number of parallel grain streams (layers) generated by the granular synth engine. Each tap generates its own grains using the same settings but with positional offsets, increasing density and creating a thicker, more diffuse sound.
Tap Spacing knob: Set the positional offset between the layers of parallel grain streams (taps). Each tap reads from a different point in the sample, spaced according to this value, which is expressed as a percentage of the total sample length. Higher values distribute the taps more widely across the sample, while lower values place them closer together.
Random Time knob: Add a small random offset to grain extraction positions in the sample. The default value is 3% because a small amount of randomization helps to smooth the output of the granular element.

Download the guides:

MainStage User Guide: PDF

MainStage Instruments: PDF

MainStage Effects: PDF

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