Ambient jam with the Tasty Chips GR-1, Sequential Take 5, and Strymon NightSky

video upload by Jay Hosking

"Please support my work on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/jayhosking
A live, semi-improvised track performed entirely on hardware.

There are few options for granular synthesis in the hardware world. The Tasty Chips GR-1 has the right level of control, via its knobs and faders, and visual feedback, via its generous screen, to make granular synthesis fast, fun, and hands-on. Plus it's got 11-voice polyphony, four different timbres to play all at once, a dedicated filter on each timbre, and some effects for in a pinch. Not only can you create granular synth sounds, but you can also play looped "clouds" of the sample, or just straight sample playback at different rates, pitches, and directions. In short, the GR-1 overcomes all my issues with using software granular on (for example) my iPad, and makes the process just as fun as using subtractive synthesis.

Speaking of subtractive synths, the Take 5 continues to be a gem. Considering it's an introductory synth in the Sequential line-up, it is an amazing sounding synth with an excellent design, a nice keybed, and useable effects. It's rare to find a polysynth with a strong low end, but the Take 5 really can fill out the spectrum. I love it.

This track is the result of my Patreon's holiday collaboration, in which we all sent samples to a recipient, and received samples from a "secret syntha", and made songs from these samples. It culminated in a listening party on New Year's Eve and was a ton of fun. Thanks so much to Som Shankhar (pad sample) and jean-louis proust (drum sample) for the inspiration and the loops here!

Tasty Chips GR-1 - Three granular loops (piano, pad, sparkle) and one playback loop (drums)
Strymon NightSky - Reverb for the GR-1
Sequential Take 5 - Main synth pad

Performed and recorded live, with EQ, compression, and limiting on the master."