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 Serum 2
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
9.2Essential
Serum 2 is Xfer Records' wavetable synthesizer plugin with five oscillator engines, flexible effect routing, an arpeggiator, and a clip sequencer.
Score verdict
Which should you buy?
On the Dubspot Score, Serum 2 comes out ahead (9.2). That said, the right pick depends on your workflow and budget — read both reviews before deciding.
Technical matrix
Specs compared
| Signal | Grainferno | Serum 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $129 | $249 |
| Dubspot Score | 8.6 | 9.2 |
| Formats | VST, VST3, AU, AAX, Standalone | 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 | — |
| 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+ | — |
| Oscillator engines | — | 5 (Wavetable, Multisample, Sample, Granular, Spectral) |
| Factory presets | — | Over 626 presets |
| Wavetables | — | 288 wavetables |
| Plugin formats | — | VST3, AU, AAX (64-bit) |
| Platforms | — | Windows 10+ and macOS High Sierra+ (Intel) / Big Sur+ (Apple Silicon) |
| Additional tools | — | Arpeggiator, clip sequencer, flexible effect routing |
See the full plugin database for more comparisons.