Ableton gets new granular synth, Grain Scanner

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    Wed, Nov 6, 2019, 09:40
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  • The €49 sound design tool was developed by Amazing Noises.
  • Ableton gets new granular synth, Grain Scanner image
  • Independent developer Amazing Noises has released a new granular synthesiser and sound design tool for Ableton Live. Grain Scanner was released yesterday for €49 via the Ableton website and promises to turn "any sample into a blank slate for otherworldly synth parts." It uses granular synthesis to slice your sounds into tiny pieces, which can then be rearranged and replayed in transformative ways. With its ten polyphonic voices, you can play back and modulate up to 1000 slices simultaneously, leading to complex, evolving textures popular with sound designers and electronic producers. It was also designed with software controllers like Push in mind, so you can controls the four LFOs, step sequencer and other parameters by hand. Grain Scanner requires Ableton Live 10 and Max For Live to run. Because of their complexity, granular synths tend to come in software form, such as Portal from Output, Quanta from Audio Damage or Ableton's own Granulator. However, some hardware versions exist, like the Tasty Chips GR-1.
    Listen to examples of Grain Scanner.
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