Tasty Chips GR-MEGA, initially announced at SB 2023, is a flagship multitimbral granular Synthesizer/sampler: major firmware update 1.7
At Superbooth 2026, the Dutch developers at Tasty Chips Electronics announced the GR-2 granular synth. However, their flagship product remains the GR-MEGA, released in 2024.
It’s a great day for GR-MEGA users because firmware version 1.7 brings a major update. According to the developers, it’s the biggest update yet for the granular workstation.
Firmware 1.7: The Biggest Update So Far
Firmware 1.7 is a free update for all GR-MEGA users. The firmware is not yet officially available and is currently undergoing final beta testing.
It’s an update that adds dozens of new features, making the granular workstation even more powerful. Let’s start with the granular engine that benefits from plenty of new features.
Thanks to granular engine optimizations, it now offers 30% more polyphony in multi-timbral mode, delivering more powerful and expressive patches. There are also plenty of new grain features to discover.
Firmware 1.7 introduces patch spray, which allows you to spray grains not just over a single layer but over multiple layers. A new granular filter lets the grains spawn specified frequency content.
Also new on board are an Akai-style time-stretch algorithm with grain ratio, snap scan, a granular compressor, and a grain clock retrigger. With the latter, the note on synchronizes the grain clock.
Other new granular-specific features include pitch spray that randomizes the pitch of each grain, pan spray distribution, pitch quantization, and an improved slice mode with longer sample support (beyond 350s).
New Effects & More
Tasty Chips aren’t stopping with this in the new GR-MEGA update. There is more to explore.
A highlight for me is the new multi-band resonator. It’s based on 48 bands with scales, (de)tune option, various filter modes, and physical models. That sounds like a lot of fun.
Alongside the new resonator, the effects engine also houses a new saturation FX that spices up your sounds. Handy: you can now work with FX presets to recall factory settings or save your own.
With the hardware FX select knob and Shift, you can change the currently selected FX type. At the end of the signal path is also a new master EQ.
A fun feature of firmware 1.7 is a new patch randomizer in the menu system. It gives you instant new results and maybe inspiration.
Other new features are:
- macro: several updates to set destinations
- new synced rates: normal / dotted/triplet note lengths
- templates (load, save, and set default)
- true multi-presets with four full presets incl. samples
- expert save/load – contextual & simplified save/load dialogs
- multisample – soundfont (SFZ) to slice mode
- tile menu (7×3 tiles) with improved workflow, steamlined navigation, and easy to interpret.
A video about the new firmware 1.7 is not yet available.
An impressive update that adds many new features to the GR-MEGA. The resonator is my favorite because it can give sounds a lovely organic feel. I’m looking forward to hear it in demos.
Tasty Chips GR-MEGA firmware 1.7 is now in beta and available very soon. GR-MEGA is out now for $1899/1899€.
Available from my partner
Update from June 27, 2024
The massive Tasty Chip GR-MEGA granular Synthesizer workstation is now going into production a little later than announced. For now, only the silver version. According to the developers, the black version will be delayed until August.
At the same time as this news, the developers have released a 40+ minute full overview of the GR-MEGA engine with all the details. Looks like a super powerful granular synth.
Update From May 27, 2024
News from Tasty Chips Electronics. The GR-MEGA is in the final development phase, and the necessary components to start production have been ordered.
According to TCE, assembly will begin in three weeks, and delivery of the first units is scheduled for the end of May 2024. So, after Superbooth 24. The first units will be in silver, while the first black units will start shipping at the beginning of June. The full schedule is available here.
Update From December 19th, 2023
A highlight of Superbooth 23 was the Tasty Chips GR-MEGA, a massive further development of the GR-1. It is a granular workstation with a deep engine.
Good news before the end of the year: the GR-Mega is now ready for pre-order. Besides pre-order opening, Tasty Chips also published all the details about the features.
Tasty Chips GR-MEGA
The developers describe it as a sound design powerhouse with live granular synthesis, sampler, effects, sequencer, and spectral time stretcher.
Highlights are:
- multitimbrality with 4 layers
- 20-voice of polyphony per layer
- 5000 grains in total on all four layers (4x more than GR-1)
- 128 grains per voice
- 5 engines: sampler, granular, tape mode, granular/sampler slice mode, and spectral
- maximal sample length of 60 minutes – 3 minutes max in granular (polyphony restriction)
- 48kHz with 32 floating point
- mono/stereo support
- granular engine with various arp, loop, rate and spawn modes
- 3-voice phase vocoder with up to 8192 FFT size
- 12dB/oct LPF/HPF filters per voice
- 4 multi-wave LFOs per layer
- 4 step sequencer modulators
- envelopes with pitch, filter, amp… destinations
- multi-effects processor with 4 effects slots (delays, reverbs, distortion, dynamics, and more
- 64-step sequencer with chords
- internal storage of 512GB with 300 MB/s
- Stereo TRS 1/4 ” balanced inputs and outputs
- USB host and data
- LAN ethernet
- 1x gate out, 2x CV in (-5V..+5V)
- USB audio support
- 5-PIN MIDI
- and more.
Second Impression
That looks like a powerful granular workstation with a solid feature set and a hands-on user interface. I’m looking forward to new demos.
Tasty Chips GR-MEGA is available now for pre-order on the official website. It will cost 1500€ + VAT, and for pre-order, you need to make a down payment of 1/3 of the total price (605€). The first units will be shipped in early February 2024
Article From May 18, 2023
The hottest topic at Superbooth 23 is granular synthesis. That makes me very happy as a granular fan. There is not just a new synth from the Vector developers and the new MicroFreak update but also a new synth from the developers of the GR-1.
The Dutch developers are also showing the GR-MEGA in Berlin. It’s the big brother of the GR-1 Synthesizer, bringing tons of new stuff to the table. e
Tasty Chips GR-MEGA
GR-MEGA will be Tasty Chips’ new flagship multi-timbral granular Synthesizer. But it will be not just a granular synth. The developer tolds me that it will have five synthesis engines: spectral synthesis, stereo granular with slice, tape scratch, and a classic sampler with advanced features.
Unlike the original GR-1 Synthesizer, the new GR-MEGA will support stereo samples on each of its four layers. There will also be a resampling option. It has a built-in dual filter, envelopes, four multi-wave LFOs, and a new step sequencer that can run on all four parts. Plus, you get effects like reverb, and more to refine your sounds.
The developers completely redesigned the GR-1 engine from scratch and the entire interface for this new “mega” version. There are also new window designs, a complete modulation matrix with many slots, etc.
First Look
The Tasty Chips GR-MEGA will be available this year for 1800€.
More information here: Tasty Chips
Does it have line level inputs hate the fact that I had to use an interface with the other one main reason I sold it
yes 🙂
This was something that discouraged me from buying this, not cheap after all, device. It’s nice that they finally fixed it.
@Synth Anatomy
This looks like a very cool synth indeed. I wonder if you could use instruments like guitars as audio input going through stored fx settings. Like an advanced granular effect unit with patches.
I assume so, as even 1010music’s Lemon Drop can be used as a granular effect box for external sounds.
605€ is the deposit, the final is 1500 + VAT. The 1800€ price tag was from Superbooth 23 and part of the article from May. So not the latest news.
I should have read their website with open eyes. I couldn’t edit or delete my useless comment on your site either 🙂
No problem I did for you 🙂
I love granular synths and I love the idea of this, but after years of resisting having an ipad in the studio I still feel that it’s touch interface suits granular best, just not sure this actually gives me more than my collection of Borderlands, Spacecraft, etc., but I do love that this exists and that they went all in in the (huge) machine.