ORU Audio released Petrichor, a granular effect for creating stuttery, glitchy, ethereal sounds. It’s free using the code “NEONRAIN.”

The plugin, compatible with macOS, Windows, and Linux, runs in the plugdata environment as either VST3, LV2, CLAP, or AU. Plugdata is both free, open-source, and easy to install.

Petrichor features three different sound engines that run in parallel: crush, vibe, and shift.
The developer has included a solo button for each of the separate modules, making it easy to monitor processing in real-time.

• Crush is a bit crusher and sample-rate reducer with an anti-alias function to reduce artifacts.
• Vibe lets you apply wow, flutter, and tape-like saturation to give your sound anything from subtle movement to full Lofi vibes
• The last module, called Shift, is an octave pitch shifter with controllable grain size to infuse your sound with otherworldly shimmer or dark octave-down effects.

Check out a demo of Petrichor here to get an idea of some of the things it can do:

Petrichor also has some global controls, like highpass and lowpass filters for the wet signal, feedback control, and diffusion to create reverb sounds

Choose input and output gain, wet and dry amounts to gain stage, and blend the effect to your desired amount.

Each module has its own gain control and can also be operated separately.

The “speed”, “smooth” and “pan” knobs let you create glitchy, stuttery effects and are pretty much self-explanatory. Control how fast the signal is chopped, make the action more or less smooth, and then pan the audio to an appropriate spot in the mix.

As all parameters are automatable, you could have a lot of fun with this.

I can see this plugin being a useful tool to embellish melodies, establish rhythmical counterpoints, create huge ethereal pads, crazy sounds, and a slew of other things.

It could also be used subtly to create an almost unnoticeable atmosphere and space in a mix that you feel rather than hear.

Each of the modules is interesting in its own right and while the parallel configuration makes Petrichor very flexible, it would be cool with selectable routing in serial configuration as well.

Are you on the lookout for another free granular beast? Take a gander at Daniel Gergely’s plugin Emergence.

Create ever-evolving loops, morphing soundscapes, glitches, and screaming overtones. I simply can’t recommend this plugin enough.

If you like plugins in the experimental domain with a huge range of possible sounds and a streamlined UI, Petrichor is an obvious addition to the list. The asking price of $24.99 is reasonable in itself, but getting it for free is even better.

Petrichor is free until the 1st of May with the codeword “NEONRAIN” at checkout.

Download Plugdata here: Plugdata (Windows/macOS/Linux)

Download: Petrichor (FREE using code “NEONRAIN” – requires Plugdata)

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