GGrain Manual

Welcome to GGrain

GGrain is a granular resynthesis effect. It randomly takes short snippets (or "grains") from the incoming audio, modifies them, and then reassembles them.

Despite the random element of the process, the resulting sound retains much of the character of the original material.

Installation

1. All GVST plug-ins come compressed in a ZIP file, so the first step is to extract the files from the ZIP file.
2. Once extracted, you should have one or more DLL files, these are the plug-in files.
3. You need to copy the plug-in files to the appropriate folder for your host program.
4. In most cases, you will need either to restart the host program or re-scan the plug-in folder in order for newly-installed plug-ins to appear.

Hints

• GGrain is one of the more experimental GVST effects. It can require high levels of CPU power and is usually best used off-line.
• You can create especially interesting vocal effects using GGrain. There are a couple of useful presets to get you started.

Interface

The GUI features eight knobs and a switch to control all of GGrain's parameters. All of the controls are labelled appropriately.

Grains: This controls the maximum number of grains processed by GGrain at any instant. Using a small number of grains results in a sparse, grainy sound. Using more grains gives a fuller, denser sound. This parameter also has a direct effect on CPU usage, with more grains requiring more processing power.

Size and SizeVar: The "Size" parameter controls the base length of each grain taken from the input. The "SizeVar" parameter allows the grain length to vary randomly for each grain. When GGrain takes a grain from the input, its length will be a randomly chosen value between "Size" minus "SizeVar" and "Size" plus "SizeVar".

Pitch and PitchVar: The "Pitch" parameter actually controls the playback speed of a grain, which consequently affects its pitch. A grain's pitch can be shifted by up to an octave up or down. The "PitchVar" parameter allows the pitch-shift to vary randomly for each grain. When GGrain plays back a grain, its pitch will be shifted by a randomly chosen amount between "Pitch" minus "PitchVar" and "Pitch" plus "PitchVar".

Gain and GainVar: The "Gain" parameter controls the playback volume of a grain. The "GainVar" parameter allows the gain to vary randomly for each grain. When GGrain plays back a grain, its volume will be adjusted by an amount between "Gain" minus "GainVar" and "Gain" plus "GainVar".

Mix: This parameter controls the mix of the original and resynthesised signals. At 0%, GGrain will pass only the input signal, and at 100% it will pass only the resynthesised signal.

High Quality: When this switch is on, GGrain operates in high-quality mode. In this mode GGrain uses better interpolation during playback and employs filters to minimize aliasing. This mode consumes considerably more CPU power than the normal mode.

License

1. GVST plug-ins are provided to the user at no cost. While every GVST plug-in is tested to the best of the developer's ability, no warranty or guarantee is offered to the end user.
2. No suggestions made by the developer or his representatives (i.e., freely offered support) are to be taken as an implied warranty or guarantee.
3. These plug-ins may only be distributed by the official GVST website, or by parties explicitly given permission by the developer.
4. GVST plug-ins are to be distributed only in their original form as intended by the developer (i.e., the unaltered archive).
5. GVST plug-ins are freeware, meaning you are never under any obligation to pay for them! However, should you wish to help support continued development of GVST software, please consider donating through the official website.

Credits

• Development, code, website and graphics by Graham Yeadon.
• Documentation by Greg Pettit and Graham Yeadon (many thanks to Greg for all of his help).
• VST technology copyright Steinberg GmbH.
• The "VST" name and logo are registered trademarks of Steinberg GmbH.
• "Windows" is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation.
• "Mac" and "OSX" are trademarks of Apple Inc.