The GrainHeads app transforms your iPhone into a granular synthesizerGrainHeads is a new iOS app that brings granular synthesis to your iPhone, totally free.
A quick primer: granular synthesis essentially slices audio samples into tiny fragments called grains, rearranging them to create new, evolving textures and soundscapes. It sounds complex, but now you can play with granular synthesis in your phone.
Available as a standalone app or as an AUv3 plugin for use in any compatible DAW or host app on iOS, GrainHeads offers eight independent granular playheads for experimentation, each with its own set of parameters, volume control and Moog-style modulatable ladder filter.

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The app also offers 8 LFOs, allowing “virtually every” parameter to be modulated for “complex, evolving motion”.
It features a multi-touch 2D performance pad, which supports the tweaking of numerous parameters simultaneously. The previously mentioned Moog-style ladder filter on each of the eight playheads has a selectable 12dB or 24dB/octave slope, self-oscillation and even overdrive for “warm, analogue-inspired tonal shaping”.
GrainHeads also comes with a 16-step polyrhythmic sequencer, with the ability to lock to parameters for pitch, grain size, position and more.
The app also comes with a slew of effects, including noise, stereo delay (BPM-syncable), and reverb with filtering. Again, the touch pad makes them easy to access, as they can be dragged and dropped to re-route your signal flow at will.
For truly wild textures, the app also features a Dice Randomizer – with which you roll a virtual dice to randomise “everything” in one tap for “infinite happy accidents and unexpected textures”.
GrainHeads is free to download, but users can also pay for a $6.99 upgrade, which grants the ability to record directly to the app using your iPhone’s built-in microphone, and load up external samples.
GrainHeads is available now via the App Store, and you can learn more via the official GrainHeads website.
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