Tasty Chips GR1 Granular Synthesizer - Latest Details & Kickstarter Campaign Launch

GR-1 Demo: Creative sounds (HDMI screen captures)

Published on Sep 3, 2017 Tasty Chips

GR-1 demo: Stand-alone "play mode"


You might remember the Tasty Chips GR1 from previous posts here. The following are the details and pics via the Kickstarter campaign.

"The GR-1 is a hardware polyphonic granular synthesizer in a class of its own. The GR-1 is capable of creating textures, characteristic sounds, drones, soundscapes, pads etc. with the help of your creativity! A sample and a few knob tweaks is enough to create something beautiful!

A truly high-end device

The GR-1 is massively polyphonic: 128 grains per voice, times 16 voices = 2048 grains in parallel. It employs 32 bit mixing and a HIFI stereo DAC for rendition. A 7" full colour display that is typically only found in top class synthesizers. It can use (USB or DIN) MIDI keyboards, USB sticks/disks, USB audio interfaces, and even PC keyboards. Yet it also features CV interfaces for integration with Modular (Eurorack) systems.

Easy to use

The on-board controls and MIDI connectivity make it extremely easy to manipulate sound. Directness is nr. 1 in the design: knobs and sliders allow all granular parameters to be changed in seconds. The GR-1 also allows stand-alone operation: No MIDI keyboard required! The GR-1 has buttons and sliders to create 4 note chords or drones. (see video demo, stand-alone "play" mode) Use the built-in headphone amp to create sounds fully standalone. It's modest form factor of 32 x 21 cm and light weight allow it to be taken everywhere in a small backpack.

Specifications

128 grains per voice
16 voice polyphony
Standalone or MIDI controllable
MIDI IN & MIDI THRU connection with DIN and USB MIDI
High quality stereo audio: internally: 32 bit float, DAC: 44.1KHz, 106 dB SNR
High quality headphone amplifier with dedicated volume control
Quad core ARM Cortex-A running optimized Neon SIMD code.
800 x 480 pixel, 7” TFT true color display
Firmware updates via USB
Sample file uploads in multiple formats via USB
The GR-1 can handle 32 sample files of 10 MB (about 2 minutes long)
Presets and performances can be saved to internal flash (4GB) or external (USB) memory
2 control voltage assignable inputs 0-5V with voltage protection
1 gate output
12dB/oct digital lowpass filter with direct and MIDI controls
2 assignable LFO’s with waveforms (sine, random, saw, square) and direct controls
4 banks of 8 presets all hands-on accessible and overwritable
ADSR amplitude envelope and Grain window envelope with direct controls
Rotary encoder for configuration, file/sample selection. Config menus provide extended possibilities beyond what the pots and sliders offer.
Access to configuration screen providing many more options
32 x 21 x 7 cm aluminum casing.
Raspberry PI3 inside. Tried, tested, easy to service, or upgrade. And _very_ powerful!
Full MIDI control: All on-board sliders and knobs, and internal controls are represented as MIDI CC. Full support for program change, pitch bend.
Ability to read and write any USB stick or drive: FAT, ExFat, NTFS (Windows), HFS+ (Mac), Ext4 (Linux).
Much more to be added by firmware updates: fully exposed mod matrix, another mode of granular synthesis (very small sample loops), MIDI clock sync, LFO cross mod, and stretchgoals (see below!)"

Stretchgoals

We have some really cool stretch goals to offer. The GR-1 can do firmware updates via USB, these extra features will NOT effect/delay the first batch.

€50,000: Sampling via USB interface/dongle. Record and save samples on the GR-1.

€65,000: There are 2 knobs that now control a lowpass filter. This stretch goal makes it possible to load different effects (more filters, delay, distortion, bitcrusher/sample rate reducer, etc.).

€70,000: Sub (sine) oscillator with control over pitch and amplitude will be added to the GR-1. This will make it possible to add a sub bass to your patch or add harmonic foundation to your patch.

€100,000: Map MIDI notes to different sample positions. This makes it possible to play multitimbral and layer samples with a good preparatoir of samples.

€120,000: Ok this is without a doubt the coolest stretch goal of all..: Play multiple (at least 2) patches at the same time. Each MIDI channel will correspond to a different patch. You will be able to layer patches and make multitimbral sounds.

See the Kickstarter campaign for additional pics and details.