Trace Sequenced Sample Box vs GranSample
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Trace Sequenced Sample Box
Create music with this versatile sample-based creation tool. It functions as a drum computer, groovebox, and sample animator with built-in effects and live performance capabilities. Generate unique rhythms and soundtracks using its priority-driven sequencer and extensive sound library.
- Sample-based music creation
- Drum computer and groovebox
- Sample animator
- Priority-driven sequencer
- Onboard effects
- Live performing skills
- Internal recorder
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WELCOME TO TRACE Trace is a versatile tool for sample based music creation presented by immons audio tools. It´s a drumcomputer, groovebox, sample animator and metronome with onboard effects and live performing skills. Use it intuitively to achieve unexpected, inspiring results and produce rhythms, complete playbacks, atmospheric soundtracks, etc.. It comes with a really special sequencer which is priority driven, means: One channel trigger at a time to create unusual patterns with automatic generated death notes. Do not have to preprogram any sequence. Just dial in the pattern length and tempo, choose a sample and divisor for each channel and let it swing. Create a song with the arranger and synchronize your patterns and selected channel delays to the global song speed. Play your animated samples, patterns and songs live with multiple realtime FX options per channel/group and use the internal recorder to tape your session to wav. Share your recorded wav´s via social media, e-mail and cloud, or drag and drop them, patterns and songs to your computer. Trace comes with more than 160 carefully created sounds. Each sequencer channel includes: Beat Divisor/Trigger 18 divisors/trigger points, including different subdivisions of 1/4 note. Changes happen on the fly, with preview. Sound Make your selection out of the provided onboard sounds and import your own samples and soundbanks to dial in your favorite tone. Changes happen on the fly, with preview. Volume Set the volume for each channel. Solo/Mute Select channel solo or mute a various number of channels and control this group with just one button. Swing/Probably Bring your beats up to life and build spacy rhythmical sculptures, jazzy grooves and audio landscapes. Includes negative swing. EFFECTS & PERFORMANCE Mixer is the integrated effects and performance tool of the sequenced sample box. It is intuitive operable without any menu scrolling and performance ready with the groupable options. You can shape the sound for each channel with: Delay 1 Every channel has it´s own full featured delay plus tap tempo, ms/bpm input and the possibility to sync the delays to future pattern speed changes. Delay 2 Rhythm delay with eighth dotted, quarter triplet, eighth and eighth triplet time presets relatet to delay 1 or pattern speed. Ring Modulator Add and subtract the dialed in oscillator frequency to your sample frequency and bring them together again for some really weird results. Bit Crusher Reduce the bit depth to add noise and sustain, works great in cooperation with the ring modulator. Varispeed Speed up or slow down the samples read speed, like a pitched tape recorder. Panorama Place sound in the stereo field. Mute With group option for assigned channels. RSP Reverse sample playback with group option for assigned channels to swap the status quo. Shortener Divide the sample length by factors 2/4/8 with group option for assigned channels to swap between your choice and full sample length. NOTE: All of the blocks listed above can be assigned to the master toggle switch to swap the status quo.
GranSample
This app offers a 16-pad sampler with a powerful granular engine for sculpting unique audio textures and sequencing patterns. It functions as a standalone application and an AUv3 plugin for popular DAWs. Unlock advanced features with a one-time purchase.
- 16-pad granular sampler
- AUv3 plugin support
- Step sequencer
- Modulation matrix
- Sample chopping
- Kit sharing
- Per-pad effects
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A 16-pad sampler with a granular engine underneath. Standalone app + AUv3 plugin for GarageBand / Logic / AUM / Drambo / Loopy Pro. Tap pads, sculpt textures, sequence patterns, chain songs. Same instrument either way. Free to try. One purchase unlocks GranSample Pro — everything listed at the bottom. No subscription, no ads, no telemetry. NEW IN 1.5 Swing, in the app and in your host. Choke groups: hi-hats that cut each other off. Resample (Pro): record your beat back onto a pad as a bar-locked loop. A rebuilt AUv3 plugin editor. PATTERN BANK & SONG MODE Eight patterns per project (A–H). Switch live — the change waits for the bar end so the groove never stumbles. Then chain them into a song: tap letters to build, set repeats per section, loop or play once (song mode is Pro). Patterns, song and BPM save with the project. MODULATION MATRIX (PRO) LFO + ADSR envelope on 8 destinations per pad: grain position / size / pitch / density, volume, pan, pitch, playback start. Drag the envelope chart, set depth per lane — host-automatable in AUv3. SAMPLE CHOP (PRO) Slice any sample across the pads — equal grid, transient detection, or manual markers you drag. Audition before you commit; the grid shows where every slice lands. KIT SHARING Export any kit as a single .gskit file — samples, settings, effects, patterns. Send it anywhere. Importing is free for everyone; exporting is Pro. PAD NAMES, COLORS & CHOKE GROUPS Name your pads, pick from 8 colors, set one of 8 choke groups. AUv3 PLUGIN Load "nono.audio: GranSample" under AU Instruments in any AUv3 host. Same grid, Kits and engine, with Sound, Grain and Sequence tabs. 900 host-automatable parameters. Load your own samples without leaving the host. Sequencer locks to host transport; everything persists in the host project. LIBRARY Factory Kits + your Projects in one place — load, tweak, save. GRANULAR ENGINE Eight knobs per pad. Position scans the sample; grain size + density set the texture from pebbles to glass. Pitch + jitter, spray + stereo spread, four window shapes, an ADSR cloud envelope, Freeze for infinite sustain. 128 grains per voice — and you can watch them fire. CHROMATIC MODE Any pad becomes the root; the grid plays chromatically. STEP SEQUENCER Per-pad patterns at 16/32/64 steps, per-step velocity, drag-to-paint, swing. SAMPLE EDITOR Waveform view — drag the grain region, trim playback range, loop, reverse, normalize per pad. LINEAR or GRAN preview. Works inside the plugin too. EFFECTS Per-pad AND master bus. Reverb, Delay, Distortion, EQ, Compressor, Chorus, Filter — up to 8 per chain, automatable from any DAW. Hand-tuned presets; save your own. IPAD Pads bigger than an MPC; recorder, properties and sequencer get their own column. MIDI USB, Bluetooth (built-in browser), or virtual MIDI. MIDI Learn on every knob standalone, per-pad channel routing. The plugin routes MIDI in through the host and emits MIDI out for pad taps. RECORDING 60 seconds from the mic straight into a pad with a live waveform. Resample the master onto a pad, free or locked to 1–8 bars (Pro). Master bounces to WAV/M4A (Pro). 10 FACTORY KITS, 16 SAMPLES Late Night Room, Outer Space, Neon City, Midnight Dub, Tape Machine, Crystal Cave, and more — each with bespoke granular settings. FREE TIER Pads 1–8 — drums and melody, enough to finish a track — with the full granular engine, effects, pattern bank, mixer, MIDI in/out. Same in standalone and AUv3. Kit import (.gskit) is free too. GRANSAMPLE PRO — ONE PURCHASE, NO SUBSCRIPTION All 16 pads unlocked everywhere — standalone AND AUv3 plugin Song mode — chain patterns into an arrangement Modulation matrix — LFO + envelope on 8 destinations per pad Sample chop to pads Resample to pads Kit export (.gskit) Per-pad ADSR envelope editor Custom backgrounds — wallpapers or your own photo, with dim and pad-opacity WAV / M4A export Made by one person who wanted a granular beat pad that fit on a phone — and in their DAW.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Trace Sequenced Sample Box at 5.0 against GranSample's 4.6. Trace Sequenced Sample Box also leads on monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). GranSample's advantage is update cadence (every 5 days vs monthly) and ratings volume (16 vs 1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Trace Sequenced Sample Box sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and GranSample sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Trace Sequenced Sample Box holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: GranSample has 16 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Trace Sequenced Sample Box ships an update monthly, GranSample every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 2, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Trace Sequenced Sample Box | GranSample |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better | 4.6 (16 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | — | 40.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 16 — better |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Every 5 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 — better | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 215 MB | 17 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Grohe & Giannakakis Applications GbR | Chih Han Lin |
Customer experience
Trace Sequenced Sample Box
GranSample
In-app purchases
Trace Sequenced Sample Box
- Pro$7.99
- Storage and Recoding$7.99
GranSample
- GranSample Pro$3.99
Questions
Is Trace Sequenced Sample Box free?
Is GranSample free?
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