Simple Reaktor Granular Synthesis

Reaktor has earned itself a comfy little corner in the hearts, and studios, of sound designers and synth enthusiasts all over the world. Especially those who are interested in, and respect the importance of, experimental sounds. And when you talk about experimental sounds, eventually the topic of granular synthesis emerges. This easy to follow video tutorial shows the three simple steps of getting started with this approach to simple Reaktor granular synthesis by taking advantage of the open sandbox that makes all things possible in this incredible synth building program.

Starting out with a blank new ensemble, you can begin by loading up a Grain Cloud OSC (found in Macro > Building Blocks > Samplers) into an empty instrument module in Structure view. Next you will want to grab a Note Pitch MIDI In (found in Built-In Module > MIDI In) unit and route it to the Pitch Control port on the left side fo the Grain Cloud OSC unit. The next step taken in the video is to set up some MIDI controller assignments, but this is entirely up to you if you want to do this or not. Of course if you elect not to set up a MIDI controller, what you will be able to do with the ensembles once it’s complete will be limited to clicking and dragging.

As you may have already guessed, the last two steps are to connect the left and right output ports to the Grain Cloud OSC module. A quick and easy lesson for those who are new to building synths in Reaktor. More complex Reaktor granular synthesis is possible, of course, but requires a bit more programming. Now that you have this one set up though, you can begin to understand exactly what’s happening in this form of synthesis and what the basic parameters are. It gets you one step closer to building your own granular-based ensembles in Reaktor and creating sounds like no other.

Remember to shoot us a message before you leave if you have a tutorial request, or would like to share one of your own with the community.

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Cheers,
OhmLab