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iPad install

Grainulator runs on iPadOS as a single universal binary that provides both the standalone app and the AUv3 plug-in. One install gives you both.

App Store install

Grainulator v2.0 for iPadOS is available on the App Store. Search for Grainulator by Plastic Factory and tap install, or open the App Store link from plasticfactory.com/grainulator.

  • Requires iPadOS 15 or later. Older iPads that can't run iPadOS 15 are not supported.
  • Recommended hardware: M-series iPad Pro / iPad Air, A17 Pro iPad mini, or 2020 iPad Pro (A12Z) and newer. Older iPads may run Grainulator but CPU headroom for two layers with dense grain clouds is tight.

See performance for detailed hardware guidance.

First launch

Tap the Grainulator icon on your home screen. The app opens in standalone mode by default — you'll see the compact 5-tab layout (SYNTH / FX / MOD / GRAIN / TEXTURE).

The first time you open the standalone app, iPadOS will ask for microphone permission. Accept it if you plan to record live audio into Grainulator; otherwise you can decline and enable it later under Settings → Grainulator → Microphone.

Note

On iPad, Grainulator always uses the compact layout (1280 x 560). There's no tall "desktop" layout — the 5-tab structure is how you move between the synth engine, effects, modulation, grain display, and texture view.

Using Grainulator as an AUv3 plug-in

Open your AUv3 host, add a new AUv3 instrument slot, and pick Grainulator from the list. Each host has its own UI for loading plug-ins — the general pattern is:

  1. Create or open a project in your host.
  2. Add a new track and choose an AUv3 instrument slot on it.
  3. Pick Grainulator (Plastic Factory) from the instrument list.
  4. Tap the plug-in slot to open Grainulator's UI.

Grainulator is a MIDI-controlled instrument, so the host needs to feed it note data — either from a MIDI track, an on-screen keyboard, or an external MIDI controller.

Tip

The standalone app and the AUv3 plug-in share the same preset folder, so presets you save in one are available in the other.

Sharing audio files into Grainulator

iPadOS sandboxes apps, so audio files need to reach Grainulator through the Files app. Two routes work:

  • Tap the waveform inside Grainulator to open the iPadOS file browser, then navigate to iCloud Drive, On My iPad, or any configured cloud provider (Dropbox, Google Drive, etc.) and pick a file.
  • Drag-and-drop from Files while Grainulator is open in Split View or Slide Over. Drop the audio file directly onto the waveform display.

Supported formats: WAV, AIFF, MP3, FLAC, OGG, and M4A.

Backup and preset sharing

Grainulator presets live inside the app's container. To back them up or share them with another device:

  1. Open the Files app.
  2. Under On My iPad, locate the Grainulator folder (created the first time you save a preset).
  3. Copy presets to iCloud Drive, AirDrop them, or zip the folder and email it.

Restoring is the reverse — drop the preset files back into the same folder from Files.