Granular processing has always existed at the cutting-edge of sound design. Now it’s found a home inside the Harmonizer®.
The latest firmware updates for the H90 and H9000 introduce four powerful granular algorithms that transform how you work with texture, space, and time: Cosmic Web, Glitch, GrainMod, and Stutter.
Shimmering grain delays. Evolving swells. Blooming reversed repeats. Each of the four effects offers a different approach and a distinct built-in reverb based on classic Eventide algorithms. Best of all, they’re available now as a free update for H90 and H9000 users.
What Is Granular Processing?
Granular processing breaks audio into tiny fragments called “grains;” typically between a few milliseconds to a few seconds long. These individual grains can be reversed, pitch-shifted, layered, scattered across time, or retriggered in real time.
Traditional effects process a continuous audio signal. Granular effects break sound down into malleable parts that can be reassembled in entirely new ways.
Instead of asking, “What effect do I put on this sound?” granular processing asks, “What happens if this sound becomes raw material?” Each of the four new algorithms explores that question in a different way.
Cosmic Web
High-end rack processing with a modern, macro granular package. Cosmic Web blends reverse pitched grains with pad-like reverb for deep delay and cinematic ambient space.
The algorithm is based on a classic Eventide rack effect and features two independent stereo voices with full control over reverse/forward playback, pitch shifting across a four-octave range, and variable grain length. Feedback operates in two distinct, combinable ways. Ping Pong mode adds spatial movement, bouncing grains between left and right channels. In Crystals pitch shifting occurs within the feedback loop making each repeat drift further from the original interval.
Dynamic retriggering responds to input threshold, so grains only emerge when the signal crosses the set level. For live performance, setting AutoRetrig to 0 dB means grains only appear when the Retrig footswitch is engaged. Perform parameters also freeze the reverb, launch either voice into an infinite delay, or clear the memory of both voices.
Glitch
Explore three distinct takes on destructive audio techniques. Alias distortion. Clock Jumps. Pitch-shifted bursts. Each type works independently or stacks with the others for more complex results.
Alias mode applies digital artifacts to the input signal, or to the output of another active glitch type. Burst mode groups short grains together with pitch shifting for a classic granular stutter effect. Clock Jumps re-pitch grains to different sample rates based on musical intervals, while adding pitch ramp effects when the Clock Slew is turned up. The most dynamic textures appear when all modes are combined.
For maximum effect, engage the Interrupt function and only wet audio will play while a glitch is triggered. Add random modulation to Alias Amount, Burst Density, and Clock Target via Flux. The Glitch perform parameter continuously triggers the active glitches while Glitch (M) triggers momentarily for as long as the footswitch is held.
GrainMod
Morph your sound in novel ways via modulation applied directly to different grain parameters. Three independent LFOs target Trigger Rate, Grain Duration, and Filter for textures that evolve rather than repeat.
Each LFO operates independently with adjustable rate, depth, and waveform. Modulating Trigger Rate changes how frequently new grains are created, for rhythmic pulsing or irregular textures. Grain Duration modulation varies grain length over time, shifting between tight stutters and longer overlapping fragments. Filter provides a switchable low/high-pass filter, delivering exacting control of your tone
Control grain playback direction via square wave modulation with Direction Mod. The control ranges from fully forward playback to fully reversed, with mixed directions in between. GrainMod also includes reverb for additional ambience, and a Retrigger perform parameter for resetting all LFO cycles simultaneously.
Stutter
The classic granular effect. Create burst patterns with precise control over timing and subdivision. The effect ranges from tight rolls to loose, scattered patterns.
Length determines the overall duration of the stutter burst, while Rate controls the spacing between individual stutters within that burst. This two-parameter approach means stutter patterns can be tightly controlled or spread out for different rhythmic feels. Like most of these FX, trigger options include probability-based chance mode, manual footswitch activation, or envelope sensitivity for dynamics-based triggering.
Additional controls include Smear for softening stutter attacks and Spread to control the stutter spacing which create rhythmic or syncopated stutters. Interrupt returns and functions identically to Glitch, while perform parameters offer Stutter for continuous looping, Stutter (M) for momentary footswitch triggering, and Retrigger to reset the LFO.
Available Now
These new granular algorithms expand the Harmonizer platform’s range, delivering otherworldly, expressive tools for sound design, production, and live performance.
The granular algorithms are available as a free firmware update for H90 and H9000 users.
H9000 Gen 1 users gain access to Cosmic Web and GrainMod via the Emote control software, while Gen2 hardware supports all four of the new granular algorithms.
H90 owners can download all four algorithms through H90 Control.
Available for H90
