Why all the hype about the Arturia MicroFreak?

My overview of the MicroFreak by Arturia

#synthesizer
#arturia
#microfreak
#gear review

[Notsram]

The Microfreak was my first step into synthesized music, and it was the gateway into electronic music for me. I absolutely love it.

[tedstahl]

Will - As someone who remembers playing the Emax, the Wavestation, the M1, and the D-50 back when they were released when we used to have local music stores, we knew how important good presets were. The first patch upon powering up an instrument was that chance to get your attention. The next few patches were meant to inspire you to show you that you could make music with that board. I had that experience with the Hydrasynth when I played it at Knobcon in 2019. I know that you're a fan of the Access Virus instruments. (I have a TI2 Desktop.) The Virus has an absurd number of impressive presets that will blow you away. I was really impressed with many of the original presets on the Novation Summit as well. (And you mentioned built-in effects - the Virus and the Summit have some spectacular effects.)

Yet many synths use their presets more to show the functions of an instrument and that potential instead of showcasing useful patches for composition. I think many of the presets on the MicroFreak fall into that category. I got my MicroFreak when it came out for the original price of $299. Since all the upgrades have been free, that turned out to be a pretty impressive investment. My first thought upon pulling it out of the box was that if felt cheap and like a toy. I was truly disappointed holding it in my hands. However, it quickly won me over when I plugged it in and began to explore its sonic palate. Many of those open source Mutable Instruments oscillator engines are exceptional! I already had a MatrixBrute (and I still do). As spoiled as I was with the modulation matrix on that extraordinary instrument, I was blown away with how effective and easy to use the matrix implementation was on the MiniFreak. Turning the knob to select which row/column for your modulation route and then clicking the same knob to access the negative or positive modulation amount was truly brilliant and refreshingly simple to use.

Finally, I have to commend Arturia for the use of the analog SEM style filter. For such a tiny instrument, they packed a tremendous amount of power and versatility in that little board. Heck, one of the things that first drew me to it was the contact keyboard. I was looking for something that could provide me an interesting way to engage with my newly-built Eurorack modular system and looking at a similar touch panel solution from Make Noise would have cost me much more and wouldn't have had a sound engine let alone an analog filter. This little instrument fills several needs and, as you so aptly stated, it INSPIRES!

Always a delight to see you post another video. Keep up the great work!
Peace.

[rayderrich]

All the MicroFreaks on the second-hand market come from people who own no good effects pedals or DAW effects. Great talk, Sir!

[ProfessorSynth]

Great Microfreak demo Will. The Deluge integration is interesting. Thanks for posting.

[AetherEar]

Hey Will, I was thinking exactly the same thing for years about the pitch strip limitation for sending MIDI out. Thanks to you mentioning it, I did a quick search and found a Reddit post showing that in sequencer mode, when Spice (but I guess Dice too) are enabled, the pitch strip sends CC2 (mod wheel). Nice!

[viljamiroivas]

Oh yes, you got one! Exactly same thoughts at first, it sounds terrible... but then.. after some exploration.., it's still my most used synth, and I love it! And when I started to make my own sounds with it, it's so fun! And making sounds without any external effects, and then apply some, it's a new level! Great with sound design and live playing! And combined with modular system! Nice to hear your thoughts about it!

[TheScreamingFrog]

The patch bay alone, is very powerful, and unique.
Use a Zoom Multi Stomp pedal with it, and you are set.

[adeevision]

I use it all the time as my main synth, couple it up with the mod dwarf adds beautiful effects to it . Its also great for taking to gigs as its light .

[jon_gee]

Love it. Your talk videos are so good!! Excellent look at the Microfreak.

[m.g.kroger]

Excellent, now I understand better what a real experience with the MF is. Thanx! All my best wishes!

[the_washington_monument_am]

An excellent and characteristically thoughtful look at the Microfreak. Appreciate the SOUNDS I HATE segment- far too often reviewers will cherry pick only the good stuff. Thanks Will!

[leo]

My first and only synth(for now). Way more funny to play than to listen it, yet still no regrets on buying it

[kurtwestphal]

It’s my favorite synth for sure. To me, it behaves more like an acoustic instrument than any of my others. Make sure to lick your finger tips periodically to get the most out of the keyboard!

[WMSFLL]

Nice video... the preset packs for it from Ultimate Patches makes this synth a lot more fun and useable. Biggest frustration I have is the display and how difficult it is to navigate presets.

[WAVAPE]

I have the mini freak and i LOVE it. It is a stereo synth and has a traditional keybed and a mod wheel

[WrathOfWood]

this thing rules its my first "real" synth. I've been using it as a drum machine by modulating the sample files with the keys, then programming it into the sequencer.

[paularsenault]

While you may not find the presents all that pleasing...they can be instructional in that you can view the mod matrix and determine how they were created...useful learning tool

[kalmarnagyandras]

I love mine. It is the best first synth because it's so versatile. You start playing with it, and find what you're into. You're always using the FM engine? Well your second synth could be something FM based with way more capability and depth. You keep making bass sounds? Maybe get a Moog for a second synth, and so on.
And absolutely combine it with effects!

[eamfos]

This is helpful ...
I find so many "Microfreaks" in second hand sale...and i was curious.
Thank you for sharing your opinion.

[kinetic-cybernetic]

You hit the nail in the head when you explain the rationale behind no FX. Even Trentemoller has a MF video and he showcases it with a bunch of FX pedals. I was like, no, the magic of this piece is not about that.