GrainSpace
by Audiority · Reverb · Granular reverb
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GrainSpace is a granular reverb that resynthesizes the input in real time with up to 32 grains per channel and feeds the result into a reverb.
It adds pitch quantizing, a multi-mode filter, four modulators and a chord resonator, for $49.
Best for: Keys & Synths, Vocals, Guitars, Sound Design. Genres: Ambient & Cinematic, Electronic & EDM.
Keywords: granular, sound design, freeze, simple, ambience, pads, vocals, cinematic, evolving, finishing touch, mixing, tempo-synced.
What it does
GrainSpace is Audiority's granular reverb: a "granular processor focused on real-time granulation and reverberation" of the incoming audio. It slices what you feed it into grains, rearranges and repitches them, then passes the result through a reverb.
- Granular engine: a 10-second recording buffer, up to 32 grains per channel and grain sizes up to 500 ms.
- Grain controls: Size, Distance, Pitch, Feedback, Freeze, Position and Stretch, with two stretch modes and a pitch quantizer to keep grains in tune.
- Playback modes: Stereo, Mono (L+R) or Side, so you can granulate only the edges of a mix.
- Modulation: four grain modulators: two LFOs with 11 waveforms each (tempo-syncable) and two random generators.
- Tone shaping: a multi-mode filter and a smearing effect.
- Chord resonator: tunes the output into chords, with its own gain and mix.
- Reverb: a reverb module with decay and mix at the end of the chain.
Version 2.6 (April 2025) added interface improvements and parameter locking with visual indicators, and fixed granulation on ARM CPUs and freeze automation. A legacy mode keeps presets from version 2.3 and earlier working. A demo is available; in demo mode the plugin outputs 3 seconds of silence every minute.
Source: Audiority product page
When to use it
GrainSpace turns the input into clouds of pitched, stretched grains before the reverb, which makes it more of a sound design tool for pads, textures and glitches than a mix reverb. Unlike Blackhole and Supermassive, which create vast reverb spaces but are not granular, it cuts sound up rather than smearing it in time. Reviewers praised how intuitive and controllable its grain engine is compared with other granular effects, while finding its reverb the weaker part. For a plain hall or plate on a vocal, VintageVerb or Audiority's XenoVerb are more practical.
- Best for: ambient textures, pads, frozen drones and evolving sound design from any source.
- Genres: ambient, cinematic, experimental and electronic music.
- Look elsewhere if: you need a conventional reverb for a mix (VintageVerb, Pro-R 2 or XenoVerb) or huge clean washes (Blackhole or Supermassive).
- Tip: use Side mode to granulate a drum bus around the edges while the centre stays intact, and use Distance and Smear for subtle tonal change without obvious granulation (Computer Music).
What producers say
Reviewers of the early version rated it one of the most intuitive granular effects around, with the reverb as its weak spot.
- Computer Music (via MusicRadar, 2017) called it "something of a flawed gem" and one of the most intuitive granular effects it had seen. It praised the detailed grain control, time-stretching and Mid/Side options, but criticised the reverb, single-target LFO and knob-based Freeze.
- Bedroom Producers Blog (2017) rated it 90%, praising the grain control, workflow and price; it found the reverb disconnected from the grain engine and the GUI not resizable at the time.
- Note: both reviews date from 2017; the current version has two LFOs rather than one.
Where to buy
- Plugin Boutique: $45
- Audiority: $49
Tutorials and reviews
- Audiority GrainSpace Walkthrough
- Audiority GrainSpace v2 - Granular Reverb Processor - Demo
- GrainSpace by Audiority | Granular Reverb Plugin VST Tutorial…
- Checking Out : Grainspace by Audiority
- Audiority Grainspace Presets
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