User Manual

Granular Synthesis
190
You can use granular synthesis to extract interesting spectra from all kinds of samples, to
create sound effects by completely scrambling a sample, or to perform low-fidelity time
stretching, for example.
In granular synthesis, it is not an entire sample that is played back, but only short portions
of the sample, the so-called grains. These grains can be played back in any order. Each
time a grain ends, a new one starts. To avoid discontinuities in the playback and to minimize
artifacts, envelopes are applied to the grains. Very short grains produce sounds with an
individual pitch. This means that you can also extract pitched spectra from samples without
a distinct pitch, such as drum loops or sound effects. Sounds with longer grains usually play
back with the pitch of the original sample.
If you repeatedly play back the same portion of a sample, the sound may become too static.
To compensate for this and bring more liveliness into the sound, you can use the Random,
Spread, and Offset parameters. By adding more grain streams, you can increase the grain
and sound density to produce a richer sound.
Grain Oscillator
To show the settings for the granular synthesis, select a granular zone in the Program Tree
and open the Zone Editor or the Sound Editor for the zone. For granular zones, the same
sections as for sample zones are available, except for the AudioWarp section.
The Load/Replace Sample button in the header of the grain oscillator allows you to load
another sample.
RELATED LINKS
Editing Zones on page 92