Jordan Rudess’s live granular sampler iOS app BLEASS SampleWiz 2 is now a VST/AU/AAX plugin for macOS and Windows.
Before Christmas 2021, BLEASS released SampleWiz 2 for iOS, a further development of Jordan Rudess’s live, granular sampler app—an app with a long history. SampleWiz 1 was released ten years ago and was one of the first professional iOS apps for live musicians, see Jordan Rudess’ concerts with Dream Theater.
It was one of the first apps besides Animoog that tied me to the iPad as an instrument. The possibility of capturing something with the microphone and then using it as an instrument fascinated me. However, there was no update for a long time. But in 2020/2021, Jordan partnered with the French developers of BLEASS to create SampleWiz 2.
After the iOS version in 2021, the granular sampler is now available as a VST, AU, and AAX plugin for macOS and Windows.
BLEASS SampleWiz 2 Plugin
SampleWiz 2 for macOS and Windows is a 1 to 1 port of the iOS version. This means you get the same features as on the iOS version. Okay, almost. So you can turn your voice, a door crack, or field recordings instantly into a new instrument.
The engine is split in various sections that give you a workflow of a classic subtractive polyphonic Synthesizer. The heart of the app is a live engine hosted on a dedicated page. Unlike the iOS version, where you can instantly capture sounds, you must import your sounds via drag-and-drop. Unfortunately, it takes away from the direct fun that the app has.
Once imported, you can manipulate the samples creatively, from resampling, editing the loop points (start/end), reversing them, or using the granular engine. Plus, you can take them into atmospheric sound fields with the cloud modes.
Yes, SampleWiz is not just a simple playback sampler but also a completely granular synth with the option to set the grain size, speed, turbulence, spread, and position of the granular sample point. From here, it goes in an overdrive section and a multi-mode filter with LP, HP, BP, and notch modes. In the same window, you can also adjust the amp and filter ADSR envelopes.
Modulation & Motion
SampleWiz 2 also has a solid modulation engine with which you can free the sounds from their static prison. It has a pair of freely assignable multi-wave LFOs and another ADSR envelope, so in total three.
A motion sequencer is also available to transport the sounds on a wild ride. It generates rhythmic movement and repeating patterns of modulation values. You can assign up to two modulation destinations to the sequencer. It gives you the freedom to configure the length and randomness of a sequence, add sync option, and more.
FX
Finally, you can polish your sounds using the built-in delay and reverb processor with various parameters. The delay has speed, sync, tone, and mix controls while the reverb has low cut, modulation rate & amount, room size, length, and more. And as a little highlight: it also has a shimmer section making beautiful atmospheric sounds.
Glad to see that SampleWiz 2 is now available for macOS and Windows. A little less playful than the iOS version (no real-time recording), but a nice, creative granular sampler for your DAW.
SampleWiz 2 is available now for an introductory price of 49€ instead of 69€. It runs as a VST, VST3, AU, and AAX plugin on macOS (Intel + native Apple Silicon) and Windows.
More information here: BLEASS
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