{"id":26497,"date":"2023-05-09T13:37:55","date_gmt":"2023-05-09T17:37:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/?p=26497"},"modified":"2024-07-16T15:39:14","modified_gmt":"2024-07-16T19:39:14","slug":"how-to-use-arturia-efx-fragments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/splice.com\/blog\/how-to-use-arturia-efx-fragments\/","title":{"rendered":"How to use Efx Fragments, Arturia\u2019s granular synthesis plugin"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

From hardware synths and MIDI controllers to powerful software, Arturia boasts a wide range of music production tools, including some of Splice users\u2019 favorites on Rent-to-Own.<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Given their love for hardware, a lot of Arturia\u2019s software products emulate legendary hardware units,<\/a> but Arturia has started to add some new plugins to their collections that fit right into the modern landscape of innovative audio tools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Newly added to FX Collection<\/a>\u2014and available now as a standalone plan\u2014is Efx Fragments,<\/a> an effect plugin that turns the power of granular synthesis into an intuitive and unique-sounding insert effect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Arturia<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In this tutorial, we\u2019ll go through each of the major sections and features in Efx Fragments and show a few ways that it can bring new life to a sound, from subtle texture to drastic modulation. For a refresher on granular synthesis and everything it can do, check our overview article on granular synthesis here.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Note that Efx Fragments also has a helpful Tutorial<\/strong> mode that explains the major controls and their uses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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How does Efx Fragments work?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

First, it\u2019s worth noting that Efx Fragments has a simplified view and an Advanced<\/strong> view, which can be toggled with the button in the top-right corner. The Advanced view reveals some additional controls for the Grain Capture,<\/strong> Grain Release,<\/strong> and Pan & FX <\/strong>sections, plus a Modulation<\/strong> section.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the sake of this tutorial, we\u2019ll run through the plugin already open in its Advanced mode, but you can still access the majority of the crucial controls from the simplified view.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Given Efx Fragments is a granular effect, its main goal is to use an audio source to generate grains\u2014short bits of audio as short as a few milliseconds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most granular synths operate by having the user load in a sample, and use that sample to generate the grains. While we can do something similar in Efx Fragments (we\u2019ll see that in a bit), the plugin mainly operates by generating grains from an incoming audio input. To do this, Efx Fragments stores incoming audio in a buffer, which it then uses to create the grains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The major sections of Efx Fragments<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s run through all of the major sections of the UI, starting at the top with the Buffer.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Buffer<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
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As incoming audio plays, you\u2019ll notice a waveform generating and overwriting itself, with a bunch of lines scrubbing through that waveform. There\u2019s a taller white line, a taller yellow line, and shorter yellow lines scrubbing throughout the buffer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tall white line is the record head,<\/strong> which shows audio being pulled from the channel containing Efx Fragments into the buffer. The tall yellow line is the play head,<\/strong> which shows how audio is being pulled from the buffer into the granular engine, creating grains. The short yellow lines show where in the buffer grains are being created.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In short, the record head retrieves audio from your DAW to fill the buffer, and the play head retrieves audio from the buffer to turn into grains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you hover over the buffer area itself, four controls become visible:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Buffer Length<\/strong> is set relative to your in-DAW tempo. It\u2019s especially important to set this parameter appropriately if you plan to use any tempo-synced parameters later in the plugin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you click Freeze<\/strong>, whatever is currently in the buffer is frozen in place. Without Freeze engaged, the buffer will continue to get overwritten by the white record head as new audio enters the plugin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you want to \u201cload a sample\u201d into Efx Fragments like a typical granular synth, you can set the Buffer Length to the length of the audio you want to sample, and then let the buffer record that audio during playback. Then, hit Freeze at the end of the loop. You should be left with that sample in its entirety, ready to turn into grains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clear<\/strong> pretty simply clears the buffer. By toggling the Play Head Retrigger<\/strong> on, the play head returns to the beginning of the buffer at the start of every buffer cycle, regardless of where it is in the buffer at the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before we get to the granular processing itself, let\u2019s touch on the remaining controls in this top Buffer section.<\/p>\n\n\n\n