GranSample - Granular Sampler
iOS Universel / Musique
A 16-pad sampler with a granular engine underneath. Standalone app + AUv3 plugin for GarageBand / Logic / AUM / Drambo / Loopy Pro. Tap pads, sculpt textures, sequence patterns. Same instrument either way.
Free to try. GranSample Pro ($3.99, one-time) unlocks all 16 pads and WAV/M4A export. No subscription, no ads, no telemetry.
■ AUv3 PLUGIN — NEW IN 1.2
Load "GranSample" under AU Instruments in any AUv3 host. Same 4×4 grid, same 10 factory Kits, same engine. 420 host-automatable parameters cover master + every per-pad slider. Sequencer locks to host transport; tempo changes propagate. MIDI in routes through the host; MIDI out emits NoteOn so pad taps can drive other instruments. Kit + pattern + sliders persist in the host project.
■ LIBRARY — NEW IN 1.2
Tap the project name in the top bar to open the Library. Ten factory Kits + your own saved Projects in one place. Load, tweak, save as your own. Red dot tells you when work is unsaved; loading another Kit prompts to save first.
■ GRANULAR ENGINE
Eight knobs per pad. Position scans through the sample. Grain size + density set the texture from pebbles to glass. Pitch + jitter, spray + stereo spread, four window shapes, Freeze for infinite sustain. Up to 128 grains per voice; lock-free render so it stays musical when you push it.
■ CHROMATIC MODE
Pick any pad as the root and the grid plays as a chromatic keyboard. Every pad shows its note.
■ STEP SEQUENCER
Per-pad patterns at 16, 32, or 64 steps with per-step velocity, drag-to-paint. Standalone runs its own clock; the AUv3 plugin syncs to host transport.
■ SAMPLE EDITOR
Waveform view, drag the grain region, trim playback range. LINEAR or GRAN preview at the top bar. Loop, reverse, normalize per pad. Inside the AUv3 plugin too — handles bound to host-automatable parameters.
■ ADSR ENVELOPE (PRO)
Per-pad attack/decay/sustain/release. Drag the live chart.
■ EFFECTS — REWORKED IN 1.2
Per-pad AND master bus. Reverb, Delay, Distortion, EQ, Compressor, Chorus, Filter. Master FX is now one tap from the top toolbar. Each effect ships ~5 hand-tuned factory presets (Plate / Hall / Slap / Punchy Drum / Bass Boost / LP Sweep…); save your own and recall per pad or master. EQ and Filter draw their transfer curve in real time — drag the handle to set frequency + gain together. iPad pinches the curve for bandwidth. Up to 8 effects per chain, automatable from any DAW.
■ MIDI
USB or Lightning MIDI keyboard, Bluetooth MIDI via the built-in browser, or virtual MIDI from other apps. Inside the AUv3 plugin, MIDI in routes through the host; the plugin emits MIDI out for taps + future sequencer triggers. MIDI Learn on every knob standalone. Per-pad channel routing.
■ RECORDING
60 seconds from the built-in mic straight into a pad (standalone). Full master bounces to WAV/M4A (Pro).
■ 10 FACTORY KITS, 16 SAMPLES
Late Night Room, Outer Space, Neon City, Forest Stream, Toy Factory, Midnight Dub, Tape Machine, Crystal Cave, Sunrise Choir, Dark Matter. Each Kit wires drums / melodic / textural samples with bespoke granular settings. Browse from the Library; reload, fork, save your own.
■ UNDER THE HOOD
AVAudioEngine. Lock-free atomic parameter bridge. Hermite pitch interpolation. Per-voice declick. Cross-pad RMS compensation. BT-aware IO buffer negotiation. Zero-allocation render path. AUv3 sample-accurate trigger, host-clock sync, full state preset.
■ FREE TIER
Pads 1–4 (Kick, Snare, Hi-Hat, Sub Bass) — same restriction in standalone and AUv3 plugin. Full granular engine, effects, sequencer, mixer, MIDI in/out.
GRANSAMPLE PRO — $3.99, one-time
All 16 pads unlocked everywhere (Bass, Piano, Rhodes, Guitar, Synth Pad, Vocal, Strings, Rain, Bowl, more) — standalone AND AUv3 plugin
Per-pad ADSR envelope editor
WAV / M4A export
Made by one person who wanted a granular beat pad that fit on a phone — and now in their DAW too.
Quoi de neuf dans la dernière version ?
1.2.4 — musical granular. Scale-lock pitch jitter, per-grain organic randomization on size / rate / probability, and a fourth LFO destination for density.
PITCH SCALE-LOCK (PRO)
Per-grain pitch jitter now snaps to a scale: Major, Minor, Pentatonic Major, Pentatonic Minor, Chromatic, or Off (continuous detune, the historical behaviour). Jitter range expanded to 24 semitones so scale-lock has room to range a full octave — set jitter wide and listen to the cloud arpeggiate itself across the chosen mode. Same idea as Output's Portal — random pitch that stays musical instead of detuned.
PER-GRAIN JITTER
Three new knobs in the GRAN tab. Size Jit nudges each grain ± a fraction of nominal length. Rate Jit jitters the spawn interval for drunk timing. Prob is a 0-100% gate — each scheduled grain rolls a dice; misses become silent gaps. Combined at low density they turn a smooth wash into a Borderlands-style organic grain cloud, without changing the average rate noticeably.
LFO — GRAIN DENSITY DESTINATION
The Granular LFO gains a fourth destination: GRAIN DEN, bipolar ± 2-octave (logarithmic) sweep of density. Joins position / size / pitch. Sample-and-hold + density makes for stuttering rhythms that re-cast every beat.
UNDER THE HOOD
AUv3 hosts gain 80 new automation targets (5 per pad × 16). Pitch scale, grain size jitter, rate jitter, trigger probability, and density-destination LFO depth are all individually automatable from Logic / AUM / GarageBand / Drambo / Loopy Pro. 628 host-automatable parameters total.
NEXT
Still working on sample chop-to-pads (slice a long sample across the grid, transient-aligned).
Bug reports and feature ideas welcome — email's open. An App Store review goes a long way too.
— zhi
