00:00In this video, we'll explore the
Granulator III Max for Live device,
00:04and see how you can use it to create
unique, texturally rich sounds.
00:08This video assumes at least a basic
level of synthesis knowledge, and an
00:11understanding of things like envelopes,
LFOs, and filters, as covering these
00:15is beyond the scope of this video.
00:17Instead, we'll focus on the
elements of Granulator that make
00:20it unique, compared to other
synths you might have worked with.
00:24Granulator III is available to users of
Live Suite and must first be installed
00:28from the Available Packs section.
00:31Once installed, Granulator III will
appear in the Packs section at the top.
00:36Granulator comes with several
presets for you to use.
00:39Listen to some of these to get
an idea of the kinds of sounds
00:42possible with Granulator.
00:44For now, we'll load up a blank
instance and build our own sound.
00:50Granulator is divided
into three main sections.
00:54The main display at the top.
00:55The modulation display in the middle.
00:57And the parameter display at the bottom.
01:00Granulator uses samples as the
sound source, so we first need
01:04to load a sample into the device.
01:06I'll grab one of the samples that's
included with the pack, and drag
01:09and drop it into the main display.
01:16Granulator's main display can either
show the loaded sample, or Granulator's
01:21two envelopes, LFO, and filter section.
01:25It can also be set to automatic
mode, showing the section of the
01:28main display relevant to whichever
control we're currently focused on.
01:32We'll leave it in auto mode for now.
01:34The parameter display at the bottom of
the device shows all the controls most
01:38important to shaping Granulator's sound.
01:41We'll start with the controls on the left.
01:43Granulator is a granular synthesizer
that works by playing back small chunks
01:47of the loaded sample, known as grains.
01:50These first five controls adjust
how these grains are played back.
01:54The first control sets the playback mode.
01:57We'll leave this on Classic for now
and explore the other modes shortly.
02:02In Classic mode, Granulator plays
back two overlapping, looping
02:05grains per stereo channel.
02:12Position sets where in the sample
our grains are played from.
02:15You'll see and hear that as I
adjust position, the part of the
02:18sample that is played back changes.
02:31You can also adjust position by clicking
and dragging within the sample display.
02:44Grain Size adjusts how much of the
sample is played back with each grain.
02:48Note that, similar to a conventional
sampler, the note that I play affects
02:52the speed of the sample's playback,
with lower notes playing slower
02:55and higher ones playing faster.
02:57So, grain size doesn't necessarily
affect how long each grains loop
03:01is, but rather how much of the
loaded sample is played back.
03:20The Scan control causes the
playback position to advance within
03:23the sample as the note is held.
03:25At 0, the sample always plays
back in the same position but if I
03:29increase scan, the position advances
through the sample as the note is held.
03:52In Classic mode, the shape control
sets the envelope of each grain.
03:57At 50, each grain fades
in and out smoothly.
04:04At 0, the grains have a
sharp attack and quick decay.
04:14At 100, the grains have a longer
attack and an abrupt end.
04:27Granular synthesis starts to get
interesting by adding variations
04:30to the playback of each grain.
04:32This is what the variation control is for.
04:35As I increase variation, you'll hear
that each grain's playback begins to
04:38vary, creating an ever changing sound.
04:41By default, variation affects the playback
position of each grain, but it can also
04:45influence the grain's size and volume,
which we can adjust using the modulation
04:49display in the center of the device.
05:39Next along is the transpose control.
05:42It's essential to be aware that, because
we are using samples as the source of our
05:45sound, we might need to tune the overall
output to map correctly to our keyboard.
05:50To demonstrate this,
let's load a new sample.
05:59We can see from the sample's name
that the root note of the sample is E.
06:03Granulator, like any sampler, assumes the
note of whichever sample we load to be C.
06:08If I play the note of C on my keyboard,
the sample plays back at its normal
06:12pitch, which in this case is an E.
06:15We can see this by loading Live's
tuner after the granulator.
06:27Therefore, I need to adjust the tuning
of granulator by minus 4 semitones so it
06:31plays in key with the rest of my sounds,
including some fine tuning if needed.
06:50Moving along, the Spread control
offsets the pitch between the left
06:53and right channels, as well as
adds subtle variations to other
06:56elements of the sound in each
channel, enhancing the stereo image.
07:21Now that we know more about some
of Granulator's controls, let's
07:24look at the other two modes.
07:28Loop works much like a regular
sampler, looping the selected
07:31section of the loaded sample.
07:33In this mode, Shape controls
the crossfade of the loop.
07:54When Grain Size is selected, there
is also an additional reverse
07:57control that defines the chance a
grain will be played in reverse.
08:23In Cloud mode, up to 20
individual grains are layered
08:27to create rich, textured sounds.
08:30Shape is unavailable in Cloud mode, but
an additional density control is available
08:33when Grain Size is selected, which
sets the number of simultaneous grains.
08:57In addition to adding modulation with
the Variation control, the Modulation
09:00display lets you add a variety of other
modulations to Granulator's controls.
09:05The Modulation display updates based on
the currently selected control and shows
09:09available modulations for that control.
09:12For example, we could add random
modulation to the Position
09:14control so that each new note
plays with a random position.
09:19Let's load a different sample
to hear this in action.
10:01Granulator III also supports MPE,
and many of its parameters can be
10:06modulated by MPE parameters like
slide and pressure, in addition
10:09to the built in envelopes and LFO.
10:12Granulator III also supports Live Input,
allowing you to capture the output of
10:16another track or input and immediately
use it as a source of granulation.
10:21To do this, click the I/O
button in the sample display,
10:24then choose a source input.
10:26This could be another track in Live,
or an external input source, like
10:29a microphone or hardware synth.
10:34Hitting the Capture button will
instantly grab a snapshot of sound
10:37from the input, equal to the length of
time defined by the Length parameter.
10:47You can then immediately play
back and manipulate the sound just
10:50like any other within the device.
11:17To keep the recorded sound and save it
with your set, you will need to click
11:20the Save button, and save the sample
to a location on your hard drive.
11:26If you don't save the sample,
it will not be remembered the
11:28next time you open your project.
11:31Now that we know how Granulator works,
let's hear a few sound examples.
11:35One creative way to work with Granulator
is to load an initial sample, set up some
11:40settings, and then swap out different
samples to hear the results you can get.
11:45Remember that much of the sound will
be determined by the sample you load.
11:48But experiment with Granulator's
grain controls to stretch and
11:51smear samples into completely new
pads, atmospheres, and textures.
