GRN - Granular Effect Plugin (New Release)

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GRN

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GRN by FRCTL
Granular effect plugin for textures, glitches, and sound design

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GRN breaks incoming audio into grains (10-500ms fragments) and rearranges them with pitch shifting, stereo scatter, and time manipulation.
Core Controls:

Size - Grain length (10-500ms)
Density - Grains per second (0.5-50, tempo-syncable)
Spread - Stereo width
Spray - Time scatter (how far back in 2-second buffer grains are pulled from)
Pitch - Global shift ±24 semitones
Mix - Dry/wet

Key Features:

Tempo sync with note divisions (1/1 to 1/128)
Scale quantization (force grains to Major/Minor scales)
Reverse grain playback
Pitch jitter (randomize grain tuning up to 12 semitones)
Built-in HP/LP filters
Real-time waveform and grain visualization

What It's Good For:

Evolving ambient textures from static sounds
Rhythmic glitch effects synced to tempo
Sound design for film/games
Making drum loops into pitched instruments (scale quantize)
Controlled chaos

The Spray parameter is what makes it different - instead of just freezing audio, it pulls grains from random moments in the buffer, creating evolving unpredictable textures.
Format: VST3 (Windows/Mac/Linux)
Price: $29.99 (v1 price)
Link: https://frctlaudio.com/products/grn

This is my first commercial plugin. Built with JUCE, focused on getting results fast without needing a manual. Happy to answer questions about features or how it works.

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This looks great! Will all future updates be free?

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Best $10 I’ve spent in a while. (Early Adopter)…

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pekbro wrote: Fri Feb 27, 2026 4:56 pm Best $10 I’ve spent in a while. (Early Adopter)…
Nice! I’m really tempted.
$29 now, looks good and a fair price.

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very fair. and great support btw. needed help with an activation problem. quick and friendly.

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Version 3.0 looks good. Some new modulation and whatnot.

https://www.kvraudio.com/news/frctl-aud ... -0-1-67249

Sound Design in 3 Minutes with GRN v3 | No Talking

REAPER + Davinci Resolve Pro on Manjaro KDE. Neve 88m. Focusrite 18i20 2nd gen. Neumann NDH30 headphones. Mics: Telefunken TF39, AT4050, Miktek C7e, EV RE-15. VSTs: u-he Hive 2, F'em, Renoise Redux, Apisonic Speedrum 2.

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Forever question lol - do the freeze mode (declared in v1.9) saves freezed buffer together with the DAW project ?
Bad that there is no demo version. Price pretty good though.

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c_voltage wrote: Sat Jul 11, 2026 11:28 pm Forever question lol - do the freeze mode (declared in v1.9) saves freezed buffer together with the DAW project ?
Bad that there is no demo version. Price pretty good though.
Just tested this for you. It will reopen with the Freeze button on, and an empty buffer. And then you have to click off the Freeze button to get the audio passing through again.

The dev is super responsive to emails, might ask if this can change. EDIT: Email sent.
REAPER + Davinci Resolve Pro on Manjaro KDE. Neve 88m. Focusrite 18i20 2nd gen. Neumann NDH30 headphones. Mics: Telefunken TF39, AT4050, Miktek C7e, EV RE-15. VSTs: u-he Hive 2, F'em, Renoise Redux, Apisonic Speedrum 2.

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TechHaus wrote: Tue Jul 14, 2026 12:34 am Just tested this for you. It will reopen with the Freeze button on, and an empty buffer. And then you have to click off the Freeze button to get the audio passing through again.
Thanks for checking. Yes this is rather as i expected. Otherwise it would be too good to be.

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c_voltage wrote: Tue Jul 14, 2026 1:54 pm
TechHaus wrote: Tue Jul 14, 2026 12:34 am Just tested this for you. It will reopen with the Freeze button on, and an empty buffer. And then you have to click off the Freeze button to get the audio passing through again.
Thanks for checking. Yes this is rather as i expected. Otherwise it would be too good to be.
Well, it might be too good soon!

Got an email response:
That's actually a really cool idea. It should be possible yes and I'll definately try to add this to the next update!

Thanks alot for sharing this, really appreciate it!
REAPER + Davinci Resolve Pro on Manjaro KDE. Neve 88m. Focusrite 18i20 2nd gen. Neumann NDH30 headphones. Mics: Telefunken TF39, AT4050, Miktek C7e, EV RE-15. VSTs: u-he Hive 2, F'em, Renoise Redux, Apisonic Speedrum 2.

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@TechHaus thanks, sounds good 👍

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GRN 3.2 is up.
GRN just got a new macro panel: four knobs and an XY pad, each able to drive as many parameters as you want. Drag a macro's connector dot onto any knob to link it, then sweep the whole patch with one gesture, or one automation lane. The XY pad drives Macros 1 and 2 together for two-handed moves.

The other big one: MIDI Pitch Mode. Send MIDI in and the grains retune to them, polyphonically, with a per-note envelope and velocity response. Feed it a pad or a frozen buffer and play it like an instrument. Off by default.

Also in 3.2.0:

- Stack modulation on one knob: an LFO, an envelope and a macro can all pull on the same control at once. HP/LP resonance is modulatable now too.
- Buffer Library: freeze a texture you love, save it under a name, reload it in any project.
- LFO PLAY mode locks a synced LFO to your DAW's timeline.
- macOS: a GRN MIDI entry in the AU list for Live and Logic.
REAPER + Davinci Resolve Pro on Manjaro KDE. Neve 88m. Focusrite 18i20 2nd gen. Neumann NDH30 headphones. Mics: Telefunken TF39, AT4050, Miktek C7e, EV RE-15. VSTs: u-he Hive 2, F'em, Renoise Redux, Apisonic Speedrum 2.

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I bought GRN on Gumroad and was promised that I will get free lifetime updates. Now the last version I have in Gumroad is 2.2.1. How do I get the latest version?

Edit: OK, I found it :tu:
Last edited by PTV on Sat Jul 18, 2026 8:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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PTV wrote: Sat Jul 18, 2026 8:46 pm I bought GRN on Gumroad and was promised that I will get free lifetime updates. Now the last version I have in Gumroad is 2.2.1. How do I get the latest version?
See the small text below the form on this page:
https://frctlaudio.com/downloads
REAPER + Davinci Resolve Pro on Manjaro KDE. Neve 88m. Focusrite 18i20 2nd gen. Neumann NDH30 headphones. Mics: Telefunken TF39, AT4050, Miktek C7e, EV RE-15. VSTs: u-he Hive 2, F'em, Renoise Redux, Apisonic Speedrum 2.

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Thanks!

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