Zic Grain

[apiel]

Zic Grain is envisioned as a polyphonic granular synthesizer designed for expressive playability and compact form. Its core is built around the ZicBox architecture, reusing familiar features such as the multi-FX engine and filter section, while introducing new performance-oriented controls and modulation options.

Playability

At the heart of Zic Grain lies a capacitive touch keyboard, arranged in a Harmonic Table layout. This hexagonal note grid makes it intuitive to explore scales, chords, and harmonies, offering a much more fluid and musical experience than a traditional piano-style layout, while still fitting within a 10×10 cm form factor.

• 24 capacitive hex pads (driven by two MPR121 controllers).
• Notes clearly differentiated by natural (white) and sharp (black) pads.
• Optimized for both chord playing and melodic runs.

Control & Interface

Zic Grain offers a balance of tactile control and streamlined navigation:

• 6 rotary encoders for immediate access to granular parameters (grain size, density, position, spread, pitch, envelope shaping, etc.).
• 4–5 dedicated buttons for UI navigation (menu access, page selection, ...).
• A compact color display (240×240) providing waveform visualization, granular playback indicators, and clear parameter feedback.

Sound Engine

• Core derived from ZicBox with granular processing as the main engine.
• Polyphonic voice handling for layered textures.
• Multi-FX and filters reused from existing architecture for consistency and sonic versatility.
• Potential for modulation sources (LFOs, envelopes, maybe random generators) to shape grains dynamically.
• Inspiration from Korg Wavestate for ideas such as evolving sample playback, not full multitrack sequencing (due to complexity), but possibly sample chains or step-based grain position shifting for evolving textures.