Well …
Welcome to the forum, and thank you for the positive contribution!
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The GR-1 doesn’t have a decent sequence built in, and it’s boutique (meaning I can’t buy it from Guitar Center or Sweetwater). Please correct me if I’m wrong, but you can’t even sample into it directly. So, I see lots of room for improvement. Whether that’s in the Digi* form factor or a flagship box, I’m not sure.
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No sampling on the GR-1 unfortunately also the build quality is not very reassuring. Hollow DIY feel to it vs Elektron tank feel.
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i think it would be really cool if a company (maybe elektron i dont know) could explore its full use cases beyond how what everyone already thinks of when they hear “granular”
I think this is a great point. Part of the problem is HW that is marketed specifically as granular is usually shown more as FX than a technique. I’m not sure what a standalone box would look like since results are achievable with non-granular gear, but it makes sense to me to have a sampler-based engine with more control over granular-focused parameters, like control over grain size/amount, spread, playback speed, etc. I think this is why some folks are more for adding granular to existing boxes.
FWIW, I’d love to see something like that, I just don’t know how deep you can go with a “granular-only” lens to make something considered a standalone granular synth without remaking what’s already been done (aside from adding direct sampling and such people have already mentioned).
But who knows, there might be enough demand/interest for that to work. I’d probably buy it.
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I keep reading that, but I’m confused as to which hardware everyone is referring to that would do granular justice? All of Elektron’s devices that have sampling/sample playback are monophonic.
…we’re all barking at the moon…
my first full concious contact with granular was this ipad app borderlands…back in 2012…
and wooooow, it was nice…for a week…
and tasty chips hw take on granualr was ambitious for something that turned out in daily sonic life as nothing but an unfinished but overwhelming and pricy piece of a boutique fx box…
if elektron ever give grains a real try, it will be a nice to add gimmick in some new sampling device in stereo…and in history cult terms meets marketing arguments, that will most likely happen within some new ot device…and since i can’t think of any other more effective name, they will, again, most likely, call it indeed a ot mk3…
and until then, we all continue barking at the moon…like stray dogs we are…
oh and to hw or not to hw…bitwigs sampler is the best granular fx device i’m aware of…
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OT is stereo. I don’t know why stereo is a requirement for granular?
Edit: I reread your comment, and you’re right, stereo would be preferrable but that doesn’t exclude the current lineup from having some fun! Panning modulation helps as well.
…stereofiles for all sorts of grain freezing/scrubbing are not a requirement…
but woud offer an obvious benefit…
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I don’t think stereo is necessary for granular, but playing a sample back monophonically is pretty limiting. I know the Polyend Tracker does it. I liked that feature in the Tracker but it’s a pretty simple use of it since it could only play a single grain at a time.
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I think it would be more useful as an effect, like add something similar to beads to a device in the fx chain. Or alternately add some more advanced LFO options that are friendly to it. But either way its not the kind of thing that will just happen overnight, especially if you want a whole device dedicated to that type of synthesis. I don’t think its enough to just have a stand alone device without a more thought out synthesis engine that pairs well with it and the use cases might not be so broad to make it worth the time/effort/money to develop a whole device.
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polyend tracker has it’s one grain at time GS. I imagine if you spread it across all 8 tracks you might get something interesting. I have not bothered trying yet tho.
[then i scroll up from the bottom and see [topo_explo]'s post right above mine, ok]
It will be a slight digression from the topic, but it might help inform discussion (to the extent that it’s still possible): I’d like to hear what your tools are, what your sources are like, and what you use the results for.
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This!
Nah, I fucked around with it plenty on a few difficult instruments, I just think it is more interesting from a technical standpoint that actual useful results, I find wavetable a bit in the same camp too, this isn’t to say granular or wavetable are useless, but the sweet spots are few and far between (IMHO), few synths with them sound that great to me, and often the resulting sound could be made better with other synthesis methods, although of course there are exceptions. But horses for courses, some people hate 303’s, DX7 etc.
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OT3 is coming , excellent news . Cheers
…just came back to recieve my latest little heart award from @Funk_Illuminati … 
to stumble over ur tasty chip expample and have to wonder… ur avatarname @Acidizer is kind of weird in relation to that grainy cloudy ambient sugar u have to offer there… just sayin’…
but to answer ur question…nope, dtakt can’t “do” that, but could “imitate” such lushness with ease…even in mono…
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…and i forgot to mention…me silly, recently just spended 100 bux on sugar bytes graindad…
what a waste of money…totally nice tails and shadows of whatever u feed it with, but nowhere near to change any game…but nevertheless, granular treatment seems to be very very useful for all sorts of ambient hush hush and crush…and weirdo soundscapes, of course…
so i come to my personal final conclusion…it does not deserve the term synthesis…it’s audio treatment in total fx fashion…
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Whilst I would not complain if they redid the OT, even after 10 years of owning them I am still enthusiastic about it, it has precision and handling of audio rarely seen elsewhere, and I am fully aware that I have not and am not likely ever to exhaust all of its possibilities and potential.
Sure, it is probably the most polarising Elektron device (possibly of any musical gear) but that is because it has a flexible architecture and isn’t an instant gratification box, but for absolute sure it rewards those who click with it and come up with their own usage scenarios. That is where it’s real strength lies. I doubt we will ever see such an enigmatic machine again, due to these reasons, it is almost like a concept product IMHO and as close to a modular audio sandbox as feasibly possible, and definitely not for everyone , but that’s ok.
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this thread has really turned into a revolving door hasn’t it.
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