MXR Textures Granular Synth Engine

The MXR Textures Granular Synth Engine is a granular synthesis effects pedal: it records what you play, chops the recording into tiny fragments called grains, and replays those grains to build sounds your guitar cannot make on its own. MXR describes the result as "shimmering pads, glitched-out rhythms, lush reverberations drifting back through themselves, and much more"¹. Alongside the granular engine it carries built in reverb, filter and vibrato effects to shape the output further².

MXR positions it as a granular take on the MXR Layers Pedal, and its Layers mode is directly based on that earlier pedal²¹. It launched in late July 2026 and was available at Thomann from July 30, 2026, priced at $279.00 in the US, with UK and EU pricing reported variously as £257.00/€299.00 and £255.00/299.00€ by different outlets³.

What granular synthesis does to your sound

Granular synthesis works by slicing audio into very short pieces, grains, and playing many of them back at once, at varying sizes, pitches and positions. On the Textures, the SIZE knob sets each grain's length from 60 milliseconds to 2 seconds in Delay and Auto Freeze modes, and 60 to 500 milliseconds in Layers mode². Because the grains can be reversed, pitched, filtered and randomized, a single sustained chord can turn into a shifting pad or a stuttering texture rather than a simple echo.

The pedal adds dynamics processing plus reverb, a 4 pole dual filter and vibrato on top of the grain engine². The filter's cutoff frequency is one of the secondary parameters: below noon on its control it acts as a low pass filter, above noon as a high pass².

The three modes: Delay, Auto Freeze and Layers

The MODE button selects between Delay, Auto Freeze and Layers operation, and the LED flashes when the effect is frozen².

In Auto Freeze mode, MXR says the pedal "listens for what you play, captures it, and sustains it as lush, evolving washes of tone"¹. Layers mode is the direct descendant of the MXR Layers Pedal, using four smaller buffers, and GearNews described its orchestral textures as inspired by that pedal²³.

The main footswitch engages and bypasses the effect. Holding it freezes the audio buffers in Delay and Layers modes and unfreezes them in Auto Freeze mode, and it can be configured for preset scrolling². The REVERSE button plays sampled grains in reverse, with the probability of a grain playing in reverse adjustable from 10% to 100% as a secondary parameter².

The controls and secondary parameters

The front panel keeps things simple, but holding the REVERSE or MODE button while turning another control opens a second layer of parameters².

Primary controls:

• REVERSE button: plays sampled grains in reverse²
• SIZE knob: grain size, 60 ms to 2 seconds (Delay and Auto Freeze), 60 to 500 ms (Layers)²
• TIME knob: mode dependent, as in the table above²
• MODE button: selects Delay, Auto Freeze or Layers²
• FOOTSWITCH: engage/bypass, hold to freeze or unfreeze²
• PRESETS button: selects one of eight presets²

Secondary parameters (hold REVERSE or MODE while adjusting)²:

• Time random, size random, overlap random and pitch random, which set the randomness of grain timing, size, overlap and pitch
• Reverse random, the 10% to 100% probability of a grain playing backward
• Reverb mix and reverb decay
• Delay/granular regen mix
• Cutoff frequency of the 4 pole dual low/high pass filter
• Quantize pitch, snapping pitch shifts to 4th, 5th and octave intervals, off by default
• Vibrato rate and vibrato depth

That randomization set is where much of the pedal's character lives: size random and overlap random determine how irregular the grain cloud sounds, from a smooth pad to a glitchy scatter².

Presets and live mode

The PRESETS button selects among eight presets, four green and four red, plus a live mode that simply represents the current knob settings and automatically saves switch and secondary parameter states². The manual names the factory presets²:

The CTR jack accepts an expression pedal via a TRS cable, and live mode and each preset can store its own expression state².

Tap tempo and the MXR Split + Tap

Tap tempo is available onboard: hold REVERSE and tap MODE to sync delay time, grain position and grain spacing to the tapped tempo². An external tap switch connected to the CTR jack does more than keep time. A press scrolls presets forward and a hold scrolls them in reverse; in Auto Freeze mode it can latch or unlatch the audio buffer freeze, or act as a momentary freeze when held².

The pedal also integrates with the MXR Split + Tap controller for hands free preset switching and manual freeze activation³.

Power, connections and stereo

The Textures runs on 9 volts DC, center negative, and draws 300 mA².

The IN and OUT jacks are TRS and allow stereo input and output, with a MONO/STEREO input switch under the bottom plate². The CTR jack serves as an expression/tap input or as the right channel output in stereo². In STEREO output mode, fully clockwise on the output control, the pedal creates a stereo image by randomly panning the grains across the stereo field, and the reverb effect also creates a stereo image². Maximum input level is +5 dBV and the noise floor is -97 dBV².

Bypass depends on the output mode: MONO is true bypass, while WET/DRY and STEREO are buffered².

How it compares

MusicRadar's Phil Barker reviewed the Textures alongside the Walrus Audio Lum Texture Engine and found the two overlap: "this texture pedal also boasts three modes with perhaps an easier to use design," noting that you can produce similar textural soundscapes on either, and that the Textures gives reverse its own button rather than using up an entire mode slot, for slightly more flexibility⁴.

For players weighing it against other synth pedals, the Textures sits on the textural end of the spectrum, closer to freeze and pad machines like the Electro Harmonix Superego Synth Engine or the Hologram Electronics Infinite Jets than to tracking synths such as the Boss SY-300 or Meris Enzo.

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