Minimal Audio's Lucid is a granular multi-effect with two playback engines

Minimal Audio has released Lucid, a granular effect built around two engines called Stretch and Scrub. Stretch manipulates retriggered slices according to the playback controls. Scrub moves the playhead around inside a captured loop, quantized or free, in time and in tune. Both can run free or sync to rhythmic divisions and pitch, including MIDI input.

The notable detail is that Lucid works as a looper first, then applies granular processing to what’s captured. On top of the two engines you get a per-grain filter (with a lo-fi reducer, a modulated comb, and a multi-stage phaser among its modes), a grain imager for stereo placement, and a grain delay where each tap is an independent delay line with its own shift pattern, feedback, and diffused reverb. There’s also an arpeggiator with randomization, chord and scale modes, chorus with stereo spread, and an animator section for modulation, plus a full multi-effect rack for chaining additional processing.

The technique point: most granular tools let grains drift into texture and lose the source material’s rhythm entirely. Lucid’s loop-length control and quantized scrub mean you can keep a recognizable pulse while still spraying grains, freezing, or reversing on top. If you want the identity of the original sound to survive, set loop length to a musical division before you touch the randomization.

This is aimed at people who already own a granular plugin or two and want one with more surface area, particularly if they also use Minimal Audio’s Current synth. The developer draws the comparison to modulation-heavy synths like Pigments and Serum rather than to other effects, which tells you the depth on offer here. No price or platform details were given on the page.

Lucid is at Plugin Boutique.