MXR M310 Textures Granular Synth Engine

With the power of granular synthesis and dynamics processing, the MXR Textures Granular Synth Engine records what you play and reshapes it into a shifting blend of tones and timbres: shimmering pads, glitched-out rhythms, lush reverberations drifting back through themselves, and much more.

The MXR Textures Granular Synth Engine pulls your sound apart and weaves it into wondrous new forms. With the power of granular synthesis and dynamics processing, this pedal records what you play and reshapes it into a shifting blend of tones and timbres: shimmering pads, glitched-out rhythms, lush reverberations drifting back through themselves, and much more. It’s a sandbox in pedal form, and every grain is yours to shape.

GRANULAR SYNTHESIS

Like a delay pedal, the Textures Granular Synth Engine records your audio and plays it back. But instead of just delaying the audio, this pedal plays it back in small snippets called grains and hands you the controls to shape them. Play them in reverse, shift their pitch, freeze them in place, feed them back into cascading shimmers, and add the chaos of randomization to unlock new frontiers of sonic discovery. And if that wasn’t enough, on-board reverb, filter, and vibrato effects shape your sound even further. You'll be exploring realms of expression that pro soundscapers have been chasing for decades.

EIGHT WAYS IN

The MXR Textures Granular Synth Engine does a lot, but don’t get overwhelmed. It features eight different presets to get you started with the press of a button. You’ll find a huge variety of sounds here, from regenerative octave loops to warbly polyphonic synthesizer and glitchy blips to sub-octave pads with stuttering vibrato. Find one you like and stick with it, or use it as a foundation for experimentation.

DELAY, AUTO-FREEZE, OR LAYERS?

If you decide to dig deeper, the Mode button determines how the Textures Granular Synth Engine captures and replays your audio input. Delay Mode will be a familiar starting point for most, continuously chopping up notes and chords into grains as you play. Clean repeats, smeared trails, and pitch-shifted echoes are all on the table. In Auto-Freeze Mode, the pedal listens for what you play, captures it, and sustains it as lush, evolving washes of tone. Layers Mode samples up to four notes or chords into independent buffers, each with its own fade-in and fade-out shape—perfect for stacking harmonies, building polyphonic pads, or composing tiny orchestras. It's a granular take on the MXR Layers™ Pedal. Want to add even more depth and dimension to your pads? Run the Layers Pedal into this one, especially in Delay Mode.

SHAPE EVERY GRAIN

After you select your mode, a suite of controls stands ready to transform the sound of your instrument. The Size and Overlap knobs set the length and number of grains. Pitch and Reverse knobs set the playback speed and direction. Delay and Regen control how grains move through time. Mix sets the final blend, all the way from clean signal to fully granular. These are the tools that turn the sandbox into a carefully crafted soundscape, and each changes character according to your chosen mode.

KEEP DIGGING

For players who prefer to delve deep, the MXR Textures Granular Synth Engine has no bottom. Simply holding the Reverse or Mode button while turning any knob unlocks a second layer of parameters. Dial in randomization for passages that never quite repeat, fine-tune the on-board reverb, filter, and vibrato, or tap in tempo to lock grains to the beat. You can also plug in an expression pedal to morph between heel and toe states, hook up an MXR Split + Tap for hands-free preset scrolling, tempo tapping, or freezing, and configure the pedal for full stereo I/O with mono, wet/dry, or true stereo output.

STEP INTO THE SANDBOX

Whether you're a bedroom noodler chasing the ambient tones of your favorite record, a noise rocker layering dreamlike chaos under riffs and solos, or a sound designer scoring a film, the MXR Textures Granular Synth Engine is a sandbox with no boundaries. It's a self-contained universe of musical potential that sits right on your pedalboard. Plug in, and see where it takes you.

SPECIFICATIONS:

Controls:

- REVERSE button plays sampled grains in reverse. The probability of a grain playing in reverse is adjustable (see Secondary Parameters).

- SIZE knob adjusts the size, or length, of each grain. Delay and Auto Freeze modes: 60 milliseconds to 2 seconds.

- Layers mode: 60 to 500 milliseconds.

- TIME knob

Delay mode : sets the delay time of each grain from 50 milliseconds to 2 seconds.

Auto Freeze mode : same as Delay mode but also sets length of recording before the freeze engages.

Layers mode : sets the attack, or fade-in, time of each layer.

- REGEN knob

Delay mode : sets the amount of feedback or regeneration. By default, feedback is generated in both the delay output and the grain output. See Secondary Parameters for how to adjust this blend.

Auto Freeze mode : same as Delay mode. Note that no feedback is generated when the buffer is frozen.

- Layers mode : sets the decay, or fade-out, time of each layer.

- JACKS

Input : TRS, allows for stereo input.

Output : TRS, allows for stereo output.

CTR : Expression/tap input or right-channel output.

- FOOTSWITCH

Engage/bypass effect : Tap to turn the effect on or off. Blue LED above footswitch will illuminate when the effect is on.

Freeze : Holding the footswitch will freeze the audio buffer(s) in Delay and Layers™ modes. In Auto Freeze mode, holding the footswitch will unfreeze the buffer.

Scroll presets : To configure preset scroll functionality, hold the footswitch down, and rotate the PITCH knob fully counterclockwise. After configuring, hold footswitch to enter preset scroll mode. Tap footswitch to advance through presets. To exit, hold footswitch again or simply wait for timeout.

- MODE button selects operation mode:

Delay mode : Notes and chords continuously recorded and played back as grains.

Auto Freeze mode : Sustains each note or chord while continuously processing it as grains according to pedal’s other settings. If a new note or chord is played, the pedal will adapt accordingly.

Layers mode : Like Auto Freeze mode but will sustain up to four notes or chords at a time. If a fifth is played, it will replace the oldest of the current four. This button’s LED flashes when the effect is frozen.

- OVERLAP knob sets the number of grains to play simultaneously, from 1 up to 30.

- MIX knob sets the output signal blend from full dry to full wet. Mix happens pre-reverb, so even with the MIX knob fully counterclockwise, it’s possible to apply reverb to just

the dry signal.

- PITCH knob sets the pitch of the grains, from two octaves down to two octaves up.

- PRESETS button selects one of 8 different presets. No need to get overwhelmed—each preset offers a way to experience the best of what this pedal has to offer with the press of a button. For an explanation of how each sounds, and how to create your own, see Presets section.

Input Impedance : 100 ohm

Maximum Input Level : +5 dBV

Noise Floor : -97 dBV

Current Draw : 300 mA

Power Supply : 9 volts DC center negative