Fors Junior - 4 bit wavetable synth

[ess_m]

Very happy with the reception of this! I wasn't sure what to expect given that it's probably quite niche. Personally I've been making music with Game Boys for 20 years now and just for the longest of time wanted to have access to the (very unique) sound of the wave channel in a more synth-like shape.

The filter is indeed not quite a filter as you'd expect, it filters the data in the wavetable buffer and then "embeds" it in the 4-bit 32 sample buffer. I'm however toying around with the idea of making a "realtime" version of this filter where it updates per frame, could be a cool setting.

Glad to hear that y'all are enjoying the theme options too, I also love being able to change that myself and wish more software would let you. :–)

With every new release, it seems less likely there will be an Opal VST/AU.

I'd say it's quite the opposite! Making something like Opal (or a sequel...) is a huge project and I don't want to approach that without releasing a couple of native plugins first. I try to go at a pace where things increase in scope naturally so that everything gets the attention to detail it deserves. :–)

[Korg Supporter]

Someone just made this using Junior.

[Korg Supporter]

Very happy with the reception of this! I wasn't sure what to expect given that it's probably quite niche. Personally I've been making music with Game Boys for 20 years now and just for the longest of time wanted to have access to the (very unique) sound of the wave channel in a more synth-like shape.

The filter is indeed not quite a filter as you'd expect, it filters the data in the wavetable buffer and then "embeds" it in the 4-bit 32 sample buffer. I'm however toying around with the idea of making a "realtime" version of this filter where it updates per frame, could be a cool setting.

Glad to hear that y'all are enjoying the theme options too, I also love being able to change that myself and wish more software would let you. :–)

Thank you for this great product. Unfortunately, it's a bit of a cpu hog, even on the M1 Macbook air. As I said before, I love the sounds of those 32-step waveform chips (also see Konami SCC and PC Engine). It would be nice if you can edit the waveforms using harmonic additive synthesis. A 2-operator FM (or ringmod) transformation feature would also be dope.

[Uncle E]

I'd say it's quite the opposite! Making something like Opal (or a sequel...) is a huge project and I don't want to approach that without releasing a couple of native plugins first. I try to go at a pace where things increase in scope naturally so that everything gets the attention to detail it deserves. :–)

Thank you! That's great to hear! I bought Opal from you but I've been stuck because I just can't get my head around Live.

[pekbro]

I'd say it's quite the opposite! Making something like Opal (or a sequel...) is a huge project and I don't want to approach that without releasing a couple of native plugins first. I try to go at a pace where things increase in scope naturally so that everything gets the attention to detail it deserves. :–)

Thank you! That's great to hear! I bought Opal from you but I've been stuck because I just can't get my head around Live.

I'd have guessed you would take well to live, since it's like an instrument interestingly suited to the creative remixing thing that I know you are into.

[kraster]

I'd say it's quite the opposite! Making something like Opal (or a sequel...) is a huge project and I don't want to approach that without releasing a couple of native plugins first. I try to go at a pace where things increase in scope naturally so that everything gets the attention to detail it deserves. :–)

Thank you! That's great to hear! I bought Opal from you but I've been stuck because I just can't get my head around Live.

I can't stress enough how much this video helped me get my head around Live:



I had Live from version 6 and kept dipping in but it never clicked. Eventually I had to use it for a project I was working so I had to learn it. This was around Live 10.

I was recommended the video above and I've never looked back. It really helps demystify the whole thing.

Loopop is incredibly clear in his delivery so there's no fluff or meandering nonsense.

Coming from linear DAWs I think the thing that helped me most is the concept that Live is realising that it's essentially two Sequencers. The traditional linear one (Arrange) and a loop based one (Session). They can interact and coexist at the same time but they are fundamentally separate.

Now Live is probably the DAW I use most. I use Pro Tools too but that's mainly for work. Live is for fun!

[pough]

While I appreciate being able to make higher-contrast themes to help my aging eyes, I have to object to it being too much fun. I've spent more time making themes than music.

[ess_m]

Thank you for this great product. Unfortunately, it's a bit of a cpu hog, even on the M1 Macbook air. As I said before, I love the sounds of those 32-step waveform chips (also see Konami SCC and PC Engine). It would be nice if you can edit the waveforms using harmonic additive synthesis. A 2-operator FM (or ringmod) transformation feature would also be dope.

Can you send an email to hi@fors.fm with more details like samplerate, buffer size and CPU usage measurement from your host? That'd be helpful. Polyphony will drive up CPU usage the most, unison will also have some impact - just something to keep in mind.

There's quite a bit of oversampling due to the pretty extreme waveforms it can output, but there is probably room for optimization.

I actually had an FM transform in the first few iterations but I felt like there was not enough resolution to make it interesting – Fold reached most of those areas for me anyway. Populating the buffer via additive synthesis is an interesting idea! Again resolution might be too coarse (can barely represent one sinewave nicely, heh!), but I'll give it a shot and see how it feels. :–)

[Korg Supporter]

Thank you for this great product. Unfortunately, it's a bit of a cpu hog, even on the M1 Macbook air. As I said before, I love the sounds of those 32-step waveform chips (also see Konami SCC and PC Engine). It would be nice if you can edit the waveforms using harmonic additive synthesis. A 2-operator FM (or ringmod) transformation feature would also be dope.

Can you send an email to hi@fors.fm with more details like samplerate, buffer size and CPU usage measurement from your host? That'd be helpful. Polyphony will drive up CPU usage the most, unison will also have some impact - just something to keep in mind.

There's quite a bit of oversampling due to the pretty extreme waveforms it can output, but there is probably room for optimization.

I actually had an FM transform in the first few iterations but I felt like there was not enough resolution to make it interesting – Fold reached most of those areas for me anyway. Populating the buffer via additive synthesis is an interesting idea! Again resolution might be too coarse (can barely represent one sinewave nicely, heh!), but I'll give it a shot and see how it feels. :–)

Sure thing! I think being able to have a wave bank or wavetable mode a la PPG (see Minibit) wpuld be cool

[ess_m]

Sure thing! I think being able to have a wave bank or wavetable mode a la PPG (see Minibit) wpuld be cool

Thanks! And yes, that's absolutely something I want/plan to add.

[gunark]

Would love to drop a sample in and get a grotty 4 bit rendering of it too. Lower-fi.

[Korg Supporter]

Would love to drop a sample in and get a grotty 4 bit rendering of it too. Lower-fi.

You can do that with the wavetable editor in Icarus. First, convert a sample to a wavetable. Then, highlight the waves and apply downsampling (a notch from the right makes them 32-step). You can also bitcrush them so some noise is added.

[emef]

just bought it, love it