Tasty Chips GR-1 Granular Synthesizer Hands-On Demo

This video captures a live stream by Gaz Williams, looking at the new Tasty Chips GR-1 granular synthesizer.

The video is not a formal review, but instead captures his exploration and first impressions of the new instrument.

Features:

  • 128 grains per voice
  • 16 voice polyphony
  • Standalone or MIDI controllable
  • MIDI IN & MIDI THRU connection with DIN and USB MIDI
  • High quality stereo audio: internally: 32 bit float, DAC: 44.1KHz
  • High quality headphone amplifier with volume control
  • 800 x 480 pixel, 7” TFT true color display
  • Firmware updates via USB
  • Sample file uploads in multiple formats via USB
  • The GR-1 can handle 32 sample files of 10 MB (about 2 min)
  • Presets and performances can be saved to
    internal (4GB) or external (USB) memory
  • 2 control voltage assignable inputs 0-5V with voltage protection
  • 1 gate output
  • 12dB/oct digital lowpass filter with direct and MIDI controls
  • 2 assignable LFO’s with waveforms (sine, random, saw, square) and direct controls
  • 4 banks of 8 presets all hands-on accessible and overwritable
  • ADSR amplitude envelope and Grain window envelope with direct controls
  • Rotary encoder for configuration, file/sample selection. Config menus provide extended possibilities beyond what the pots and sliders offer.
  • Access to configuration screen providing many more options
  • 32 x 21 x 7 cm aluminum casing.
  • Full MIDI control: All on-board sliders and knobs, and internal controls are represented as MIDI CC. Full support for program change, pitch bend.
  • Ability to read and write any USB stick or drive: FAT, ExFat, NTFS (Windows), HFS+ (Mac), Ext4 (Linux).
  • Much more to be added by firmware updates: fully exposed mod matrix, another mode of granular synthesis (very small sample loops), MIDI clock sync, LFO cross mod, sampling via USB, extra FX types, and sub-sine (tuning )oscillator.

Pricing and Availability

Tasty Chips Electronics is available now for pre-order for €849.

16 thoughts on “Tasty Chips GR-1 Granular Synthesizer Hands-On Demo

  1. Backer #1 here. I love my unit, the results are always unique. Sample the world and feed this machine. You’ll be surprised at how beautiful the world sounds.

    1. what could possibly be unique with a granular synth?? Unless you’ve lost 10 years of commercial software synths and 30-40 years of academic synthesis tools….

      1. That’s like saying that the Minimoog wasnt important, or that the DX-7 wasn’t something new.

        Making synthesis available as off-the-shelf hardware has changed the sound of music, time and time again.

        1. where did i say anything about important???? I said unique. Seeing that there have been billions of implementations of granular synthesis and granulation controlled by every possible data known to man i wonder what is unique about it, not to mention that all of your examples were in an era where software did not really exist outside universities. It was either hardware or nothing..

          1. What’s unique about it is that it is a HARDWARE granular synthesizer, of which, to the best of my knowledge, there are no others commercially available outside the eurorack format. It’s the only 1 you can buy. Which, you know, makes it unique.

            1. Well said. The guy wasn’t even saying it was unique, he was talking about the sound. He said the results are always unique. But yeah, the hardware is unique as well.

              1. Actually that is my point, Backer#1 said the results were unique which is what I am questioning. No the hardware being unique (which I don’t think it is but I wouldn’t care either).

      2. Yeah you’re right. These hardware granular synths are ten a penny these days. Can’t leave the house without being forced to witness the hardware granular synths

  2. Ha, backer # this month hopefully. Super antsy but I cant wait. This is the gear people should be more excited about vs part 2 of something with an extra knob. Most excited about it because it seems to open itself up to a lot of exploration.

  3. What could possibly be unique? Well, it’s the only hardware granular synth that I know of.

    So there’s that.

    I seriously cannot understand why people feel the compulsion to be condescending in situations like this. The synth is either your cup of tea, or it isn’t. If you don’t have anything nice to say…

    1. I think it’s the price man, once you go a dollar over 800 bucks, people get real sketchy even if it’s somethjng amazing staring at them. Like the OP-1 thread or elektron gear.

      Looks like it’s well worth the cost and they have been updating the firmware while it was still shipping to the first backers. That’s a company you want to get behind.

    2. please try to read carefully what I said man and please stop judging people as condescending for whatever reason. The comment was about “sounding unique”, it is not about a cup of tea, it is not about being the only hardware granular or because of the colour scheme of the machine.

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