Bad Gear - Arturia MiniFreak

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Welcome to Bad Gear, the show about the world's most hated audio tools. Today we are going to talk about the Arturia MiniFreak. Is this hybrid digital and analog synthesizer the long-awaited superfreak? Is it more powerful than its little sibling, the Arturia MicroFreak and can it compete with the other synths in this pricerange like the Korg Minilogue XD, Modal Argon and Hydrasynth Explorer?

Thanks to Tom of Synth Anatomy for lending me another instrument from his collection!!!

Chapters:
00:00 Intro tune
00:57 Overview Arturia Mini Freak
01:59 Synth Engine, Polyphony
02:13 Oscillators (Mutable Instruments, Noise Engineering)
02:58 Display, Frog Animation
03:19 Filter
03:26 Modulators (LFO, ADSR, Cycle Envelope)
03:45 Modulation Matrix
04:00 FX Section
04:22 Chord Mode
04:33 Sequencer, Arpeggiator
05:02 Presets, Patches
05:23 What else??? (Pricing, Thanks!!!)
05:48 Hate
06:09 Jam 1 (Big Bass)
07:01 Jam 2 (Smooth Sounds)
07:56 Finale (French House Subversion)
08:28 Verdict
09:33 Patreon Vocoder Shoutout

[JTPiano]

I bought one as a 50th birthday present for a friend. Thought I’d give him a chuckle by programming some sounds before I gifted it.
I loved the synth.
I gave him a Starbucks gift card instead and kept the synth.
Am I a bad person 😮?

[danjwalker]

Any true Bad Gear fan knows that if you truly watch an episode, it takes 1/2 an hour to view.

Edit: I'm so happy to read I'm not the only
"meme pauser" here. Instead of feeling like it's only me doing this, it's meme.

[maxwellfurman]

Why is "Bad Gear" the series that shows every synth in the best possible light? Florian has a gift for making bad gear sound good and good gear sound amazing. Keep it up! Watching these videos is a highlight of my Monday morning procrastination.

[Ranakade]

The presets in this video are actually really really good ❤
This synth might be on my list for the future 🙌❤️

[Rompler_Rocco]

Dearest Florian,

Thank you for continuously making this wor-orld a better place.

Warmest regards,
Rocco

[BoxPossum]

The sheer amount of synth specific memes this guy manages to shove into a single video is mind boggling

[tbornottb]

The MiniFreak sounded thick. Certainly it's a strong competitor in its price range with state of the art features. Thanks again for another great show!

[Lance_G]

These jams are absolutely jaw dropping and beautiful ❤️ the rest of the video is incredible as always 🙌

[Toolsquatch]

Hey Florian, how long does it take you to put a video together? Between the jams, shooting video, and the **crazy** amounts of memes and clips you put in your videos I'm shocked how consistently you keep up a weekly schedule, you're a consistent beast! Wonderful video as always, you make wallets cry worldwide.

[lqevhgq]

another wonderful episode, and some exceptionally good jams! thx always pilz, your contribution to our community is of immeasurable value

[jboulderct]

I was between MiniFreak and Hydrasynth for my first "real" synth (upgrading from Volcas). Both are great options and now I need a Bad Gear for the Hydra!

[Jack]

I’m so glad that it’s ticking all the boxes at first glance

[danbunge]

Just got mine yesterday. Very pleased.

[matthewcassette]

The VST to hardware syncing is a huge bonus for patch design. I really enjoy using it in my projects.

Danke Synthmeister 😎🤟

[AndyWardpara]

Ive never wanted a synth more! Sounds fantastic!

[synthphilosophy]

You're really going through everything I own eh? :-D. Can't wait to see and hear this one!

[bardofrings]

I got this one a couple of months ago after trying the VST demo. It hasn't disappointed me since, and only gets better the more I get to know it.

[PeterJnicol]

"Polaroids of the Pyramids" is so sample worthy - deserves it's own track.

[crtzmo]

I bought the Minifreak a month ago after watching dozens of videos on it and the competitors -- to me it came down to the Hydrasynth or Mini. My tipping point was the Arturia V inclusion. it's my first synth and my verdict: I absolutely love it.

[kveg]

Bad Gear man has once again sold me on something I wasnt even thinking about.