This video helps to break down how to control and modulate samples with the granular engine in NI Absynth through the use of an envelope.

 

Getting used to how granular synthesis works can be a bit daunting for those just beginning, but Absynth allows for so much control and is really rather intuitive in its approach. This tutorial uses a rather ethereal sample as the example audio, but the same ideas can be easily applied to any kind of sound you want to use. It is a great way to change any of your sounds and/or samples in a way that is going to offer you an entirely new way to experiment and interact with your music and soundscapes. So whether you are creating something for film, television or gaming projects or just happen to be looking for a method to twist up some elements for a song, this is good knowledge to have!

The focus of this lesson is really on time, direction and how Absynth lets you interface with the envelope parameters. Starting and stopping points of the sample being used, what direction the sound is playing back in, whether or not the sample is looping, how to assign Macro controls to multiple points in the envelope curve and many, many more little points of interest are covered in just a matter of minutes. So it may be a good idea to watch the video a couple of times through. You should also play around with several different types of sounds to get a better idea of the cause and effect of processing sounds with granular synthesis.

The Macro controls in Absynth function quite similarly to those found in Native Instruments Massive. So for those of you already familiar with the idea of these controls it will be a very easy transition for you. For those who are unused to concept, it is a brilliant way to control either a single parameter or many parameters with one knob or slider. This makes automation of multiple parameter values in relation to each other a very simple process. It is also a great way to quickly map certain effects across parts of your sounds, rather than being tied to the entire sound.

How do you take advantage of the granular capabilities of NI Absynth? Do you have a tutorial or some sounds you would like to share with the rest of the AbsynthTutorials community? Send us a message and tell us all about it! We are always happy to hear from our community members.

Cheers,
OhmLab

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