Despite being a relatively new developer, DAWJunkie has hit the ground running, and we’re covering them for the second time this month. This time, they have released Padness Jr, a free lush pad synth for macOS and Windows.
Earlier in September, we looked at the limited-time offer providing a collection of five one-knob effects plugins for free (Phase One, Chorus One, Reverb One, Delay One, and Crunch One).
If you missed the offer earlier, you can still claim the freebie; the offer remains active as of the time of writing (22nd September 2025), but act quickly.
You can also pick up the well-received Butter Synth for free (usually $19), but please act quickly, as the offer will end soon.
The latest freebie from DAWJunkie is Padness Jr, a lush pad synth, available in AU and VST3 formats for macOS and Windows.
Padness Jr is a simple yet very effective little pad synth that could find a home in most ambient projects.
Although the cloudy sky background of the interface gives off ethereal vibes, Padness Jr can be slightly edgy too, and I think it works very well for synth-driven pop music.
Across the top, we have Style, Reverb, Size, and Mix controls.
The Style knob cycles through variations that range from lush to slightly grainy to almost synth brass-like.
The two large central sliders are Rise and Tail.
If you take the Rise all the way down, you get a completely different attack, and the initial impact is something you can use for more melodic lines (even as short staccato melodies, rather than a pad). Increasing the Rise gives a smoother and more gradual approach.
Playing around with the Tail amount is interesting. You can easily go too far, and it drones on into eternity, but although I prefer it somewhere around middling, when you shorten it significantly, you get a sort of reverse effect, like it sucks the sound back.
The lower part of the GUI has Unison, Detune, and Wide knobs, which help you shape the pad sound and texture. Slight detuning adds some movement.
Below those controls, you have the Bright and Rez sliders that tweak a Moog-style filter.
If you like the sound, but want more control and options, check out Padness, the big brother of Padness Jr.
Padness retails for $99, but it’s currently on sale for $39.
Alternatively, if you download Padness Jr, you should end up on a landing page offering you the chance to upgrade for a buck!
In what seems like typical DAWJunkie fashion, it’s a limited-time offer, but a good one.
Check out Padness Jr, check out the previous freebies, and if you can grab anything for a buck, you can’t complain.
Download: Padness Jr (FREE)
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Last Updated on September 22, 2025 by Tomislav Zlatic.
