Baby Audio has released its “most advanced synthesizer to date”, Grainferno, which promises to create playable synth tones from any sampled sound.
As with other granular plugins, Grainferno works by breaking recorded audio down into very small sections, known as grains, and shaping its sound through the manner in which it plays these back. What sets Grainferno apart from other granular synths, according to its developer, is the ability to generate grains at speeds that cross into the audible range.
According to Baby Audio, “at these rates, grains stop behaving like texture and start acting like oscillators, turning any audio file into a playable synth voice with the sonic fingerprint of the original audio.”
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Users can drag and drop samples into Grainferno’s sample visualiser in WAV, AIFF, FLAC, MP3 or Ogg Vorbis file formats, or draw on a varied pool of 378 audio files. The synth uses a dual sample engine that can load two source files simultaneously and allows users to freely morph between them.
The granular engine features a variety of controls for manipulating and modulating grain playback. There’s also a multimode filter, compressor and ‘blur’ effect for further refining the granular output.
This, according to the developer, makes Grainferno capable of creating “entirely new textures, enabling synth-like tonal instruments, lush evolving atmospheres and volatile digital noise.”
Along with the granular engine itself, Grainferno features a drag-and-drop modulation system, with available sources including envelopes, LFOs, randomisation tools and various expression inputs. The synth also allows for cross modulation between these modulators.
Grainferno features an extensive effects section with six modules that can apply a variety of processes, from filtering and compression to reverb and delay, analogue-style modulation effects, multimode saturation and more.
For users that don’t want to get into the nitty gritty of granular synthesis, Grainferno has a Play View UI option that strips back the controls to just sample selection and a group of four macros. The synth also has 300+ presets for users to get stuck into.
Grainferno is out now, priced at $129, but currently available at an introductory price of $79. Head to the Baby Audio site for more information.
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