8.4Great
Sugar Bytes Graindad is a real-time granular effect that records incoming audio and rebuilds it from up to 64 grains, driven by transients, clock or MIDI.
Plugin comparison
Sugar Bytes Graindad vs Portal
Specs, price and the Dubspot Score, side by side — with our verdict on which effect 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.
Technical matrix
Specs compared
| Signal | Sugar Bytes Graindad | Portal |
|---|---|---|
| Price | €99 | $149 |
| Dubspot Score | 8.4 | 8.4 |
| Formats | AU, VST2, VST3, AAX, Standalone, AUv3 (iPadOS) | VST, VST3, AU, AAX |
| Type | Real-time granular effect | — |
| Grain engine | Up to 64 simultaneous grains, 12 main controllers | — |
| Grain actions | Loop, stutter, time-stretch, pitch-shift, reverse, harmonize | — |
| Triggering | Host clock, MIDI note, or transient detection | — |
| Modulation | Harvester system, step sequencers, LFO, envelope, wide randomization | Scale-based pitch modulation, Time Stretch, Pitch Shift, and Humanize controls |
| Effects | Filters (LP/BP/HP/band-reject), reverbs (HQ, spring, shimmer), delay, chorus, flanger | — |
| macOS formats (64-bit) | AU, VST2, VST3, AAX, standalone (Intel and Apple Silicon) | — |
| Windows formats (64-bit) | VST2, VST3, AAX, standalone | — |
| iPadOS | AUv3 | — |
| Operating system | macOS 10.13 or later; Windows 7 or later | — |
| 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 |
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