Independent developer ukdf has released a free granular synthesizer built to be intuitive enough to open and start using immediately.
GrainCharlie runs in three modes. Melody is the standard granular mode where grain pitch follows played MIDI notes. Slice divides a sample into individually playable slices like a traditional sampler while retaining granular controls, and Slice Melody combines both so a single sample’s slices can be played melodically.
The goal was to keep the synthesizer flexible enough for sound design while avoiding unnecessary complexity. It can be used for traditional granular synthesis, but the Slice and Slice Melody modes also make it suitable for creating melodic material, unusual textures and experimental sounds.
GrainCharlie features
- Length and Grains, both syncable to project tempo.
- Position, Jitter, and Spray for controlling where and how randomly grains are generated within the sample.
- Pitch (±36 semitones), Pan, and Pan Spread for randomly distributing grains across the stereo field.
- Attack, Release, and Reverse for shaping note envelopes and randomly reversing grains.
- Unison mode with Glide, and up to 8-voice polyphony.
GrainCharlie is available as a VST3 plugin for Windows and macOS.
More information: GrainCharlie
