8.6Great
Grainferno is Baby Audio's granular synthesizer that turns any sample into a playable, in-tune oscillator using an audio-rate grain engine, two morphable sample slots and deep modulation.
Plugin comparison
Grainferno vs Portal
Specs, price and the Dubspot Score, side by side — with our verdict on which synth to buy.
Independent score / workflow fit / buying signal
Contenders
The side-by-side
8.4Great
Portal is a granular synthesis FX plugin from Output that transforms any audio input into playable, musical granular effects.
Score verdict
Which should you buy?
On the Dubspot Score, Grainferno comes out ahead (8.6). That said, the right pick depends on your workflow and budget — read both reviews before deciding.
Technical matrix
Specs compared
| Signal | Grainferno | Portal |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $129 | $149 |
| Dubspot Score | 8.6 | 8.4 |
| Formats | VST, VST3, AU, AAX, Standalone | VST, VST3, AU, AAX |
| Engine | Granular synthesis with variable grain rate up to audio rate | — |
| Sample slots | Two independent sources with seven real-time morph modes | — |
| Per-grain processors | G-Filter (multimode filter), G-Comp (dynamics), G-Blur (feedback) | — |
| Modulation | 3 envelopes, 3 drawable LFOs, 3 random generators, envelope follower, drag-and-drop | Scale-based pitch modulation, Time Stretch, Pitch Shift, and Humanize controls |
| Tuning | Sample auto-pitch to nearest C; per-grain pitch mapped to MIDI | — |
| Polyphony | Mono, poly and legato with variable glide | — |
| Content | 325 presets, 378 royalty-free samples, 1.5 GB total | — |
| Systems | macOS 10.11+ (Apple Silicon), Windows 10+ | — |
| Presets | — | 250+ presets for instant playability |
| Control | — | Circular XY control linked to granular parameters |
| Built-in FX | — | 7 built-in FX plus a master compressor and filter |
| Time manipulation | — | Powerful time manipulation engine with tempo-synced grain delay |
| Apple Silicon | — | Native Apple Silicon compatibility (M1, M2 and beyond) as of v1.2.0 |
See the full plugin database for more comparisons.