Grainshifter is a granular looper that allows pitch and time to be modified independently of each other, with the ability to shuffle segments of audio and record live input.

Grainshifter divides audio clips into 16 segments, each with their own shift and warp settings. Shift allows for re-ordering of segments, leading to rhythmic sub-loops and creative rearrangement of pre-recorded audio. Warp is the playback speed of that segment, allowing you to speed up or slow down the audio by 2 or 4 times, without affecting the pitch.

Clicking the sequencer button will open a secondary window, revealing four sets of shift and warp control sections, each representing a step in a four stage sequencer. The shift and warp can sequences can have independent lengths assigned to them, allowing for a 3-step shift sequence over a 4-step warp sequence, for example.

The track and clip menus provide access to all tracks and clips shown in session view, allowing you to pull a clip from anywhere in your Live Set. These menus will auto populate when you first add the device, but later changes to the number of clips and tracks will need a manual refresh, which can be done by clicking the track and clip labels.

Sync locks playback to Live's transport. Various settings of warp easily allow for clips to become longer than the original audio file, but synced playback will keep things in time with the rest of your live set. Or leave things unsynced for explorations in phasing rhythms and melodies.

Pitch is a transposition control for the processed audio, fully independent of playback speed. Clicking the pitch label will switch between absolute pitch and semitone adjustments.

A tab-button labeled buffer and grain swaps between a waveform display of the audio buffer and playhead, and various parameters for grain generation and playback, respectively.

grain rate determines the lifespan of a grain in Hz, extending all the way up to 1000hz for audio rate granulation. Modulation of grain rate occurs two ways: retro and constant. retro behaves like tape or simple sampler playback, introudcing pitch changes as grain rate is modified, and likewise constant maintains pitch, allowing for expressive modulation of grain rate without unstable tonality. Note that in retro mode, pitch will gradually return to the value specified by pitch, but how fast this happens is dependent upon grain rate.

Grainshifter also features a set of precalculated window-functions for grains. Smooth interpolation between the 32 stored windows and the ability to skew and tilt the contour of the window provide a superb amount of control of grain amplitude and phase relationships, and even timbre changes at audio-rate granulation.

voices determines how many grains will be active for playback. Grains are evenly offset by phase from each other within one cycle of the current grain rate. Take consideration of voices when used in combination with the other grain parameters, and it becomes possible to stretch and warp most sounds with minimal artifacts, or shape them into entirely new identities.

Selecting "~ live input ~" in the clips menu will reveal 3 additional controls. Input is a gain control for boosting or reducing levels recorded into Grainshifter's internal buffer. Overdub determines how much of the previous audio remains on the next write cycle. Hi pass is a subtle high pass filter for reducing low-end frequency content up to 1000 Hz, useful for pitch shifting live input without muddying the sound.

When live input recording is enabled, sync will automatically be enabled, but switcing to a pre-recorded clip will return sync to its previous value.

Currently, the live input buffer will capture one measure of Live's current tempo.