Fors Junior is a new 4-bit Game Boy-based wavetable Synthesizer plugin for macOS, Linux, and Windows + free Lite version.
Wavetable synthesizers have been a recurring plugin topic for many years. It almost seems as if there are no other concepts left. Most plugin developers rely on concepts heavily based on Wolfgang Palm’s original wavetable concept, found in the PPG Wave and other wavetable synths of that era.
Fors, the developer of the Elektron Digitone 1, takes a different fresh approach and presents a very unique wavetable concept in its new Junior Synthesizer.
Fors Junior
Junior is a new 4-bit 16-voice wavetable Synthesizer plugin for macOS, Linux, and Windows. It is based on the original Nintendo Game Boy soundchip, including its limiation and sound characteristics.
Handheld and TV consoles from that era had dedicated sound chips that a distinct sound character, as did the Game Boy.
Fors has developed a new engine for the Junior that uses two unique components: a tone generator and a noise generator. The tone generator plays back a custom wave buffer of 32 4-bit values which gets transformed by different sound shaping controls.
The user can generate its own waveform using the graphical user interface and twist and bend it on the fly. The built-in noise generator is based on a 7-bit LFSR and is closely paired with Junior’s tone generator and form the perfect lo-bit palette.
It gives you the raw and harmonically rich 4-bit sounds you know fron the original hardware. The oscillator section also offers a 2-voice unison functionality. Additionally, you can shape your sound with a built-in filter with cutoff and resonance controls.
Not A GameBoy Strict Emulation
While Junior simulates the Game Boy sound, it’s not a strict emulation by design. It expands upon the original capabilities with a modern feature-set and control while staying true to the original. The balance between accuracy and fun is just right, says Fors.
The retro world also inspires the modulation engine. Junior has four flexible modulators aka tables inspired by modulation sequencers from Trackers such as M8, Defmon, and more. The highlight is that they are customizable.
Each modulation consists of 16 steps and can operate as an LFO, envelope, chipstyle arpeggiator, MIDI input mapper, and more. Alongside these, you can also find MPE as a modulation source with continous pitch bend.
CLAP Note Expressions and ODDSound MTS-ESP support for more advanced tunings is also onboard. There is also a random preset generator that is fun and gives you instant new inspiring sounds.
Yes, the interface is also fully scalable and you can customize it with various color themes.
Junior Lite
As with the beautiful Pivot FM synthesizer, there’s a free Lite version instead of a classic demo with timeout. This is a stripped-down version with fewer features.
Junior Lite features all the same features as the full Fors Junior version minus the 7-bit LFSR Noise Generator and the four modulation tables. So you get a very fun free 4-bit wavetable Synthesizer plugin with 16 voices.
Fors Junior First Impression
We have dozens of classic wavetable synthesizers. Honestly, you don’t need 50 of them. That’s where concepts like this come in handy. They show how wavetable synthesis can be implemented differently in synthesizers that are either nonexistent or rare.
Junior looks a lot of fun, and anyone who likes retro Game Boy sounds will find it hard to resist this charming Synthesizer plugin.
Fors Junior is available now for 39€,, and Junior Lite is a free download. They run as VST3, AU, and CLAP plugins on macOS (native Apple Silicon + Intel), Linux, and Windows. The
More information here: Fors
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