Tasty Chips has announced a major update to its GR-1 granular synthesizer.
Version 2.0 makes it multitimbral, and adds many new features and improvements. The new engine allows you to stack up to four patches, assign patches to MIDI channels and/or to play mode, record audio to one patch in real-time and play chords and solos with the others.
Here’s what’s new in GR-1 Firmware 2.0:
New features:
- Multitimbral – Complete rework of sound engine and GUI
- Enable, disable and focus on up to 4 parts simultaneously (Shift + 1,2,3,4 preset buttons to toggle part. Preset buttons (without shift) just set the patch to last enabled part)
- Many features accessible by MIDI NRPN (yet to be disclosed)
- File chooser remembers selected items in each directory, per data type (sample, patch, performance)
- Menu switches now simply work by a single press on the encoder button
- Make use of bigger SD cards (16 GB and up)
- MPE strike and MIDI note on velocity as modulation sources
- Firmware upgrades via internet
- NRPN support: 14 bit MIDI precision for all CC’s
- LED brightness has a minimum to stop everything from going dark 😉
- Support for USB computer keyboard for entering filenames
Bugfixes:
- fixed crash when all voices grabbed by midi sustain/hold
- ogg load crash
- sample position shift gone (most notably occurred with MPE)
- (potential) hang when entering sampling menu
- all sound off (CC 120) set envelope release to 0.. fixed.
Hadn’t realized it supported MPE. Neat!
pffffftt…. who could have asked for multitimbrality from an already robust machine running on a measly R pi? Unbelieveable work by the Tasty Chips folks.
Don’t understand the SD card comment? Mine has USB ports, so if you’re using SD to USB instead of a thumb drive, that’s just silly.
Will I need to purchase USB to USB to update the firmware? I haven’t figured out what the ethernet port is for yet, but I’ve never seen USB go to USB before. A quick Amazon search tells me they do make a cable for it.
I believe this is for future “drop kit” upgrades.
you can use any usb flash drive that has the update in the root folder. no need for cables.
Im still very impress by this device and I can easy see a creative potential, just a shame that the price is pushed so high 🙁
Roughly $1,000 for multitimbral hardware with a decent amount of hands-on control plus a nice screen seems reasonable to me. I’ve been wanting one of these for awhile but the previous wait times were long so I had forgotten about it. I just placed a pre-order after reading that it supports MPE and is now multitimbral. May 2019 now can’t come quick enough!
Get an iPad and a granular app or three and do more for less.
True. But with CV jacks it makes it fun to play with modular rigs.
get a usb-midi to CV converter. for example uMIDI2CVplus $49 on tindie.
Yo, what’s a good granular app that can be played polyphonically from midi controller? Thanks.
Tardigrain is pretty rad. Spacecraft looks good but I haven’t tried it. Wooji Juice make a couple too.
Also Quanta by Audio Damage, and all of the ones mentioned are polyphonic and AU, so can be used in a multitimbral setup
ipulsaret
Despite what is almost always said when new synths come out that are basically physical versions of software, iPad apps simply do not evoke the same amount of fun for many people as hardware synths with dedicated knobs and sliders. Playing the synths on my iPad Pro isn’t nearly as enjoyable as sequencing hardware and tweaking real knobs and faders. The iPad apps have their place but I’d wager for most people that place is primarily as a portable solution for making music on the go or as a control surface or sequencer for other gear. I like iPad synths, samplers, sequencers, DAW’s, etc but I could never get the same enjoyment out of just using an iPad regardless of how much cheaper it is (or isn’t, actually, considering a loaded Pro can reach nearly $2,000 nowadays) than dedicated hardware.
I can’t speak for ‘many people’ or wager what ‘most people’ use iPads for or how they use them or whatever.
I can speak for myself. I have tons of hardware gear, 3 studios full of hardware, about 600 sf total. I used to have more. I used to have an 850 sf studio with about 35 modules and about 15 keyboards, two TD-20 kits, full bass and guitar rigs, tons of stuff.
Along with my current mega stash of hardware I use 4-6 iPads and various iPhones. I read on Synthtopia posts people are spending well over a $1000 on the TE OP whatever, and hundreds to maybe a $1000 for some of these little boxes. I’ll take my iPad Pro with literally hundreds of apps that can take me down whatever rabbit holes I fancy in an instant over the majority of hardware gear I see here. JMO
dudes loves just a great piece of gear, have fun with it, its meant for that 😀 you like vst, dont buy, easy 😀
ps – the company response and implementation is super, wish them nothing but the best and will be supporting 😀