GranVerb makes use of two granular modules and a versatile signal path to produce a wide range of textural reverbs that go well beyond a traditional shimmer (although they can make very lovely shimmers, too).

====================== V2 patch notes ===============================

GranVerb V2

I reworked the signal path to make this one more “epic.” The previous signal path placed the reverb lite after the granular pitchshifters, now it is before them, and the plate reverb, which once came first, comes last, to give the patch smoother tails. The reverb lite can still be deactivated, and this certainly does change the character of the patch — making the pitch-shifting more apparent — the overall effect is a bit less abrasive.

A feedback path was added to the pitchshifter, to get perpetually rising or falling (or both; there are two, parallel pitchshifters) pitch reverbs.

A mix control (pitch mix) for the granular modules was also added, allowing you to mix between the two pitch paths, so you can favor one over the other, if you like, or only use one pitchshifter. The control previously called pitch mix in V1 has been renamed “pitch amount” and controls the ratio between how much of the signal passes through the granular modules before hitting the plate reverb.

A texture control was added, which affects both granular modules equally. It allows you to change the timbre of the granular modules, with lower texture having more forward pitchshifting and higher textures producing a smoother output.

Modulation was added; it is a bit of an interesting design, as the right side is roughly twice as fast as the left — I’ve found this to be an effective approach to stereo modulation. But the LFOs which control each side also modulate one another, ever so slightly, to keep things interesting.

The tone controls for the plate reverb were configured as a tilt EQ and added to the front page.

The stompswitches were reworked:

Left stompswitch — turns the reverb lite off and on

Middle stompswitch — freezes the granular modules

Right stompswitch — momentarily freezes the plate reverb output

=============== Original patch notes continue ======================

Beginning with a plate reverb, the signal path splits in three directions. One path remains unaffected until it reaches the mix controls, while the other two pass through dedicated granular modules and then a footswitchable reverb lite module.

Controls are available for all of the pertinent facets of the granular modules (except texture, which, despite the patch title, doesn’t have a lot of range and omittitng it makes the control panel a lot cleaner).

Changing the start position can allow the granular modules to fade into the sound when used in isolation, and produce more unexpected outcomes when used with the grain size and density controls. Adjusting grain size and density can produce everything from subtle undulations to tremolos to glitchy, bitcrushed sounds.

Finally, the pitch allows rumbling lows and sweeping highs; the reverb lite that follows the granular modules allows you to “smooth” out their sound, if you would like. It also adds a good bit of modulation to the sound.

Controls:

Left footswitch, latching: freezes the granular modules. Depending on your pitch mix (more on this in a second), you can solo over the frozen sounds with a sound affected only by the plate reverb. An indicator at the top of the front page turns on when this has been activated.

Middle stompswitch, latching: reverb lite on. This adjusts the mix of the reverb lite module from 0% to 100% (fully wet). An indicator for this is also placed on the front page.

Front page controls:

On the right and left sides are identical controls for each granular module. I’ve already described in brief granular controls above.

I will discuss the pitch controls a little. The control is bidirectional, with a range from -1 to 1. -1 is two octaves down, +1 is two octaves up (and -.5 is one octave down, etc.). Finding intervals may take a little work (.21 is a 4th, .29 is a 5th), but if you have worked with them in ZOIA before, you have to divide by two.

I have tried as best I can to balance the output of the pitches; the granular module’s output for upward pitchshifting is much louder than downward pitchshifting. A VCA was employed, with an CV invert, such that as pitch rises, the gain lowers. It’s not perfect, but it does help even the output somewhat.

In the middle of the control page are a few controls that pertain to the reverb component of the patch. The first is a wet/dry mix. Should be familiar.

Below this is a control titled “pitch mix.” This controls the mixture between the plate reverb and the granular path. At 0%, the output of the patch is pure plate reverb, without any granular elements. At 100%, it is purely taken from the granular path. Between the two are mixtures that allow for subtle to overwhelming mixes of the two.

Below this is a control titled “reverb decay.” It controls the decay of both the plate reverb and the reverb lite module. (I considered separating them, but I found that in most instances I used them approximately the same way.) At maximum, the plate reverb will freeze.

Finally, there’s an output control (with more range than you should need). At .5, it leaves the output unaffected, at 0 it is -20 dB and at 1 it is 20 dB (very loud). I had a little trouble dialing in the right volume, so, there it is.