FRCTL Audio has released GRNi 1.1.0, a free update to its granular sampler instrument.
GRNi plays an imported sample as grains over MIDI, with every held note growing its own grain stream from its own spot in the selection. The update adds a second way to play it: SLICE mode, which cuts the sample into pieces and gives each one its own key.
With SLICE switched on, GRNi detects the hits in the sample and maps one slice per key, upward from the bottom of the keyboard. The key picks the slice rather than the pitch, so every slice plays at its original pitch and a drum loop or a vocal phrase can be played back from the keys like a sampler, as grains. A sensitivity control sets how many slices the detection finds. Markers can be dragged, deleted with a double-click, or added with a right-click, and layers A and B keep separate slices.
For loops, SLICE BY can switch from TRANSIENTS to GRID, which cuts one slice per bar or per beat. The grid follows the host tempo and time signature, or a typed BPM, and re-slices when the tempo changes. Bar and beat lines are drawn over the waveform, and markers snap to them while dragging.
Each held note runs its own read head through its slice. Playback runs forward, reversed or ping-pong, and a SPEED control sets how fast the head moves without changing pitch: 100% plays the slice in real time, lower values crawl through it, 0% freezes on the hit and 200% runs at double speed. At the end of a slice the head holds the last moment until the key is released, so the note envelope decides how long it rings.
Modulation also changes. A new LFO route now starts at the knob and sweeps one way; dragging the arc handle past the knob reverses it, and a right-click on the arc switches the route to a two-sided Bipolar sweep. Routes saved before 1.1.0 load as Bipolar, so existing projects and presets sound the same. The LFO and ENV tabs now show how many routes each source has.
Pricing & Availability
GRNi is $44.99 and the 1.1.0 update is free for existing owners. It can be tried free for 14 days, activates once, and needs no subscription. GRNi runs as VST3, AU, CLAP and a standalone app on Windows, macOS and Linux.
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