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Gridshift works with your own sounds and the Audio Unit plugins on your Mac. If you are starting from nothing, these are worth installing first. Each is free, runs on Apple Silicon and works in Gridshift.

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Instruments

  • Vital: a wavetable synth for basses, leads and pads. The free Basic tier is the full synth with fewer presets. Needs a free account.
  • Surge XT: an open-source synth with thousands of factory patches. No account.

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Effects

  • Kilohearts Essentials: about 30 everyday effects (EQ, compressor, delay, reverb, distortion, filter). Needs a free account.
  • Valhalla Supermassive: huge reverbs and delays.
  • TDR Nova: a dynamic EQ for cleaning up and shaping a mix.
  • OTT by Xfer Records: the classic multiband compressor behind countless electronic tracks.
  • Squash by Minimal Audio: a modern take on OTT-style compression with a tone control and a dry/wet mix. Activates online once.
  • Formant by Minimal Audio: a simple tone shaper for vocals. Activates online once.

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Samples

  • 99Sounds: dozens of free packs, royalty-free for commercial use, no credit required.
  • Cymatics: free packs for trap, house and bass music. Asks for an email.

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After you install

  • Plugins: Gridshift finds new Audio Units on its next scan. Run Command Palette → Scan for New Plugins. See Load Instruments and Effects.
  • Samples: import the folder you unpacked them into. See Sample Library.
Next: Your First Track: 1. Make a Beat with the sounds you just added.
Last modified on October 23, 2026