I bought a GR-1 a couple of days ago and really love it. I have been looking for such an instrument for a long time. Now I need a small keyboard to play the GR-1. What do you guys use with it?
The GR-1 does MPE. Not sure how deep it goes but perhaps a keyboard with MPE.
ADDED : I put together a list of MPE controllers, over in the MPE Synth Controller Options Thread.
1 Like
I was thinking about a sensel morph with the buchla thunder overlay. Could be a great combo.
The Morph is hard to find, and no word when it will be available again.
Does anyone know if you can plug the Morphās USB directly into the GR-1 ?
The Morph has its limitations, but has a lot of strengths too. ( I use one. )
1 Like
Thereās a good chance Iām doing something wrong (Iāve only had the GR-1 for ~1 week) but I canāt get it to respond to my Sensel Morph + Buchla overlay while directly connected at all. Itās fine when going via my computer, but then using MPE mode = flooding my MIDI interface with messages on all channels, which means Iāve got to keep one output on the interface strictly for the GR-1, which Iām not super happy about doing.
Iām minded to blame the Morph rather than the GR-1 since it never seems to work the way Iād like or expect it to - and just FYI, it seems suspiciously like itās being abandoned by Sensel given the state of the Sensel forum/lack of firmware updates, Iām not sure I could recommend purchasing one going into 2022ā¦ I did find one video on youtube of a guy using them together, so perhaps there is a way, but might require some Sensel app diving 
2 Likes
Thank you for your help. Maybe MPE is overkill for me. Today I connected a Launchcontrol XL to the GR-1, which gives me the option to control more parameters in multitimbral mode.
What ever is best for you.
On the Tasty Chips FAQ page it says :
Q: Thereās just one filter? Is it then paraphonic? How to use the gr-1 as a fully polyphonic device?
A: You can use MIDI MPE devices to achieve full polyphony. You can use sampled sweeps to emulate the polysynthās typical filter envelopes. Without MPE it indeed is somewhat paraphonic.
1 Like
Next question for you GR-1 experts: Can I use the device as a usb midi host? I control my GR-1 with a Launchcontrol XL. Is it possible to send the CC messages from the Launchcontrol thru the GR-1 to the Analog Rytm? That would be great.
As someone who has wanted a hardware granular synth for a while, Iām not sure why I held off so long on the GR-1. Having four independent timbres, the playback/sample looping mode, a filter on every voice, etc. all makes the GR-1 an extremely flexible device for a song setup. The visual feedback makes it more enjoyable than my favourite software granular, and the hands-on control make it so much better to design sounds. It also sounds pretty good! I definitely waited too long on this one.
14 Likes
I was thinking the same thing today. One of the most inspiring instruments I have ever played. The live sampling blows my mind every time I use it.
Your video is superb!
2 Likes
Great stuff as always!
1 Like
I canāt wait to try the live sampling!
Useful tip thatās probably relevant for this forum: you need a USB audio interface for live sampling/granular, which is a bit of a pain, but if you have a Digitone kicking around you can connect it by USB to GR-1 and set it to transfer audio over USB and you can sample anything you like through the external ins or the Digitoneās synth voices themselves! I imagine it probably works just as well with the Digitakt too, though I donāt have one to try. They do note in the manual that Analog Heat doesnāt work for this, but Iām not sure why given the Digitone is fine. I might test it with mine to see what happens.
1 Like
Fantastic stuff!!! you make me wanna get both, a GR-1 and a Take 5 
1 Like
This is a super fun idea!
That would be ace
Interesting, the Heat has worked well for me as an input for GR-1. Have only had trouble with my Zoom recorders.
The Analog Rytm MKII also works well. You can also run the GR-1 through a track (or 2 for stereo) on the Rytm and run the GR through the analog filters and the effects. Planning to do a video on this soon.
3 Likes
Thanks, I will test this with my MK1 today. It would be great if that works out.
Edit: Of course it does not work because the MK1ās are not class compliant.
Works with Akt
Works with Akt