MGranularMB

MMultiBandGranular by MeldaProduction is a powerful resynthesis effects plugin that is capable of adding a variety of granular nuances (clouds) to audio tracks — from slight grit and grain enhancement to a complete morph into new sound. In the past, I needed to use one of my synth's limited granular features to achieve re-synthesis. Usually, the results were an out-of-tune mess that sounded like it was run through a meat grinder on pulse mode. This was okay when I was producing industrial music or creating sound FX, but not so good for dreamy, atmospheric songs. With MMultiBandGranular, I have complete control over the texture of the grains via twenty layers, six bands, and lots of modulation options (LFO, envelope generator, pitch-shifting, randomize, etc.). I can either chose to add a pinch of grain to fatten up my drums or fragment my guitar or vocals into micro pieces, and then stretch, modulate, and reassemble them into something otherworldly! But, my favorite thing about MMBG is this — it's very musical, like some sort of granular vocoder. I especially like using the scaled sequence, thirds, and power-chords.

PROS:

• Easy mode and presets for fast results (four big knobs, column of features, and a meter).
• Advanced editing mode for more complex work.
• Many modulation options.
• Pitch detector/auto tuner.
• Randomize feature, which often results in pleasantly unexpected grain reordering.
• Quality and resource control via up-sampling (1x – 16x).
• MIDI learn.
• Lifetime updates.

CONS:

• Ulilitarian GUI — efficient, but not very attractive or inspiring.
• Advanced edit mode will require extra patience and willingness to experiment to achieve desired result.

CONCLUSION

MMultiBandGranular is not a tool for everyone; however, it's very handy for designers, innovative e-musicians, and producers looking for a secret weapon. For the price, it's certainly worth having in your plugin folder. I am enjoying it, and at least 1/3 of my granular experimentations have resulted in something extraordinary. Hey, a .333 batting average is pretty good — good enough for me to justify the purchase, especially at the price they're selling it for. .. the bundles are an amazing deal. Thank you Melda for daring to be different and creating such a unique and enigmatic plugin. I give MMBG two grainy drumsticks up.

*I found a great article about granular synthesis by Eric Kuehnl.

http://www.erickuehnl.com/Writing/Entries/1995/12/5_Granular_Synthesis.html.