Creating Sounds Using Long Grains

Sounds with longer grains usually play back with the pitch of the original sample.

Procedure

  1. In the Oscillator section, select the “Crystal Pad” sample from the “Padshop/01 Synths” folder.
  2. Set Duration to 200.0.
  3. Play a note.

    A single grain is repeated continuously.

  4. Set Number of Grains to 3.

    This way, you get three grain streams.

  5. Again, play a note.

    The grain density has increased, but the sound is rather repetitive.

  6. Set Position to 50 %.
  7. Play a note and increase the Position Random value until the sound is no longer repetitive.

    Now, each grain plays a random portion of the sample, and the sound is much richer.

  8. Experiment with the other parameters and see what they do, for example, try out Pitch Interval, Speed, Duration, and Duration Key Follow.
  9. Select another sample from the “Padshop/01 Synths” folder, and see how it sounds with your settings.
  10. Adjust the filter, envelope, and effect settings to your liking, and save your sound as a preset.
    Tip

    The “Swarm Intelligence” preset from the factory library is a good example for a pad sound created using long grains.