Baby Audio - Grainferno

Grainferno is Baby Audio's granular synth plugin, which breaks any sample into tiny grains and rebuilds them as pads, drones, textures and playable synth sounds. It's for ambient, cinematic and experimental work, and for anyone who wants to turn their sample library into new instruments.

How it works

Grains can be generated fast enough to cross into the audio range. At that point they stop sounding like texture and start acting like an oscillator, so any audio file becomes a playable synth voice that stays in tune with your song while keeping a trace of the source's character. Two source files can be loaded at once and morphed in seven different ways. Per-grain filtering, compression and blur shape each grain as it's created.

Modulation is deep: three envelopes, three LFOs and three random generators, dragged onto almost any parameter, including each other. The effects chain (delay, reverb, modulation, multimode saturation) can be reordered and modulated too. A Play view with four macros makes the presets quick to audition.

The sound

Anything from glassy, tonal clouds to grinding digital noise, depending on what you feed it. A vocal stem or field recording comes out the other side as something completely new.

Verdict

Deep, but well laid out. For granular sound design it's one of the best value options going.

Features

• Audio-rate granular engine that plays in tune
• Two source samples with seven morph modes
• Per-grain filter, compressor and blur
• Host-synced grain rate and scan
• Three envelopes, three LFOs, three random generators
• Drag-and-drop modulation, including cross-modulation
• Reorderable effects: delay, reverb, modulation, saturation
• Play view with four macros, five template configurations
• 325 presets and 378 factory samples

System requirements

• Version: 1.2
• Mac: macOS 10.11 or later, native on Apple Silicon. VST2, VST3, AU, AAX (64-bit)
• Windows: Windows 10 or newer. VST2, VST3, AAX (64-bit)
• Plugin and standalone application

SOUND7 is an authorised Baby Audio reseller. Digital delivery: licence activation code sent by email.

Demo