Field granulates a buffer of audio. Everything in this guide is a way of getting sound into that buffer, or of keeping what comes out. The diagram below is the whole story; the following pages walk each path in detail.
Load a file, or record straight into the buffer from the mic (standalone) or from whatever audio reaches the plug-in (hosted). Page 2 covers the record modes; page 3 covers hosts.
A fresh capture lives only in memory. Export it as a WAV or save it into a preset before you move on. Page 4.
The granulated result (grains, reverb, your gestures) exists only at the output. Capture it by recording Field’s channel in a host. Page 4.
The standalone app takes input directly from the device’s microphone or line input. The record button sits at the right of the top bar, next to Play: a circle when idle, a filled stop square while recording. A red write head sweeps the waveform at the live capture position, and a REC badge shows in the corner.
Below the record button a small badge always shows the current mode: ONE-SHOT LIVE-LOOP LIVE. Tap it to check or change the mode without starting a recording.
With AirPods or any Bluetooth output connected, Field runs playback-only and the record button dims. Recording over Bluetooth would push iOS into its hands-free profile, collapsing the sample rate to 8 to 16 kHz. Switch to the built-in speaker or a wired output and recording comes straight back.
A single clean pass, left to right. Each recording replaces the buffer. Auto-stops at the 90-second cap, or stop it by hand. No feedback, no wrapping.
A wrapping loop of fixed length. Each pass overdubs into the last; the feedback slider sets how much of the previous pass survives, so layers build up or decay.
A continuous rolling capture over a fixed window. The buffer always holds the most recent input, with no feedback. Field behaves like a real-time granular effect on whatever is playing.
| Control | Range | Default | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loop length / Window | 0.25 s to 10 s | 2.00 s | One slider sets the wrapping length. It reads “Loop length” in Loop mode and “Window” in Live. Hidden in One-shot, which has no window. |
| Feedback | 0% to 98% | 50% | Loop mode only. One-shot and Live always record with feedback at zero, so they never overdub. |
| Mix · wet | 0% to 100% | 100% | Visible in every mode. At 100% you hear only the granulated buffer; lower it to pass dry input through alongside the grains, essential when Field is an insert effect in a host. |
One download installs both the standalone app and an AUv3 plug-in. In a host, Field is an audio effect, not an instrument; it registers as type aumf (Audio Unit music effect). If you look for it in the instrument list you won’t find it; open the host’s audio effects / FX list instead.
Only Live mode and recording need audio feeding the slot. Loading a file or preset and granulating it works fine in an empty FX chain.
| Plug-in identity | |
|---|---|
| Type | aumf |
| Subtype | GiP1 |
| Manufacturer | Grnu |
| Listed as | Plastic Factory: Grainsmith Field |
The recording feature is identical in both. Only the input source changes: standalone captures the mic or line input through its own audio pipeline; hosted captures whatever the host routes into the FX slot. Everything downstream (modes, buffer, grain engine, export) is the same code.
AUv3 hosts destroy and rebuild the plug-in UI each time you open it, while the engine keeps running underneath with your recorded audio intact. The view re-reads the live engine state on reopen; nudge any control if the display looks stale. Your audio was never lost.
The buffer is not the performance. “Export audio…” saves the raw audio in the grain buffer: what you recorded or loaded. It does not include grains, reverb, pitch or anything you played. The granulated result exists only at Field’s output, and you keep it by recording that output in a host.
A new recording is held only in memory. Field tracks it as unsaved until you either export the audio or save it into a preset. Saving a preset embeds the buffer audio and clears the unsaved state. Presets land in the Files app under On My iPad → Grainsmith.
Field has no built-in output recorder; recording writes into the buffer, never out of it. To capture what you hear:
| I want to… | Do this |
|---|---|
| Record the mic into the buffer | Standalone app → grant mic permission → tap record. Wired or built-in output only (Bluetooth disables recording). |
| Granulate a track live | Host → load Field in the track’s FX slot (audio-effect list, not instruments) → pick Live mode, set the window. |
| Layer overdubs into a loop | Loop mode → set Loop length (0.25 to 10 s) and Feedback (how much of each pass survives). |
| Keep the raw recorded audio | Long-press the waveform → “Export audio…” → WAV into Files. Or save a preset, which embeds the buffer. |
| Keep the granulated performance | Record Field’s channel in the host (AUM recorder, Logic track record / bounce). |
| Check signal is arriving | Watch the IN meter left of the record button. Ember = near clipping. |
Full manual: the Recording, Install, Presets and Troubleshooting pages of the Grainsmith documentation. Grainsmith Field requires iOS/iPadOS 16 or later; one App Store download installs the standalone app and the AUv3 together.