Getting Started with Granular Synthesis
A Granular Synthesizer is a special type of synth that allows for the creative playback of wavetable (or in our case a SoundWave file). It does this by playing (usually) small pieces of the file (called grains) and in many ways is analogous to an audio particle effect. Just like a visual particle effect, you can play grains forward, backward, control pitch, duration, shape, etc. Each grain can have its own settings, so in this way, it’s possible to play back dozens or even hundreds of audio grains from a single file all with different parameters.
Adding a Granular Synth to an Actor
The Granular Synth is a C**omponent **which can be added to an existing Actor or a custom Blueprint Actor.
The fastest way to get started is to do the following:
- Type “Granular Synth” in the Add Componet Dropdown menu search prompt to locate the Granular Synth Component.
- While selected, in the **Details **panel, expand the Synth > Preset submenu to expose the default Sound Wave value (if you wish, give it a default Sound Wave)
SoundWave references are now made using the Set SoundWave Blueprint Function
. - While selected, in the **Details **panel, edit your Sound Base properties as needed.
Dynamically Setting Granular Synth Values in Blueprints
The Granular Synth does not have as many parameters to control as the Subtractive Synth, but similarly, you can locate Set Functions in the Synth > Components > Audio blueprint categories—it is recommended to set an initial value for these functions before playing the synth. [INDENT=2]
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Playing the Granular Synth in Blueprints
Similar to the Modular Subtractive Synth, the Granular Synth utilizes MIDI-like playback functions such as Note On and Note Off. **Start **and **Stop **are necessary for full stop and start of the Granular Synth playback functionality. [INDENT=2]
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