Arturia MiniFreak 37 Key Polyphonic Hybrid Keyboard

Product Information

For customers in outlying areas of the country, the price of the Extended Warranty may be marginally higher, due to the potential for higher collection and redelivery transport costs. Add texture and colour to your synthesis using the powerful onboard digital FX engine, providing multiple ways to change the overall timbre of your sound. At the heart of the MINIFREAK is a 37-note velocity-sensitive keybed with aftertouch for added expression. The intricate modulation matrix builds on the design of previous 'FREAK' units, featuring polyphonic ADSR envelopes as well as customisable multi-segment LFO shapes. You can also utilise FM and ring modulation alongside the cutting-edge modulation option to create truly breath-taking sounds. The short answer is: the frogs designate the octave range of the arpeggiator. Why frogs? I don’t know and I don’t much care. But I like it.

MiniFreak comes with a dedicated VST counterpart, letting users totally integrate its unique hybrid Per voice: ADSR envelope, multi-segment envelope/ LFO, two LFOs and analogue multimode filter (low-pass, band-pass, high-pass) Two digital sound engines per voice with 22 selectable oscillator modes: Superwave, Wavetable, Karplus Strong, Noise and many more

Key Features

instrument of expression. Its velocity-sensitive 37-note keybed with aftertouch and spontaneous Seq/ Ich bin total von meinem Mini begeistert und freue mich auf die Zeit mit diesem sehr gelungen und wertigen Instrument, das jeden Euro wert ist.

Another big addition is a true polyphonic mode, with six voices to work with as you craft lush pads, arpeggios, and sequences. There's still a paraphonic mode, but because there are two digital oscillators per voice, you have a whopping 12 notes available to you when using this feature. MiniFreak's implementation is fairly unique because you effectively have six groups of two notes given the normally polyphonic architecture, but the same sort of restrictions apply as any other paraphonic synth, such as filter modulations only affecting voices in pairs. That said, paraphonic synthesizers are really cool because of these limitations, and can lead to their own unique musical opportunities that couldn't be achieved with normal polyphonic synths. Big brother to the excellent MicroFreak, the MiniFreak is a hugely impressive hybrid synth, teaming dual digital sound engines with analogue filters for creative approaches to polyphonic sound. The MiniFreak is a small instrument whose unassuming exterior hides a behemoth of a synthesiser. It’s tough to believe the richness and character you can coax from such a compact, almost cute, instrument. Thanks to its cleverly conceived panel layout and performance controls that keep every parameter within reach, playing with the MiniFreak is never frustrating. Being able to connect this excellent control panel with virtual instances of the same hardware adds a deep layer of icing atop an already mouth-watering cake. C’est bon. Image: Simon Vinall for MusicTech Key Features The sequencer engine can also be switched into arpeggiator mode. In this mode, the step controls are repurposed for managing the arpeggiator’s settings – pattern, octave range, etc – and again allow for spontaneous changes. Image: Simon Vinall for MusicTech Control FreakEmbellishing the popular Freak modulation matrix, MiniFreak gives users even more control over shaping, transforming, and evolving their sound, with features like polyphonic ADSR envelopes, customizable multi-segment LFO shapes, FM & Ring Modulation, and the familiar Spice & Dice randomization. Ideal for everything from crafting sounds to out-of-this-world sequencing, the MINIFREAK hybrid synth delivers everything you need to get obtain gravitating sound and perform. premium polyphonic synthesis exploration into a compact & tactile instrument that’s as addictive as On the physical side of things, MiniFreak now features a more traditional piano-style keybed with 37 minikeys. While we love the MicroFreak's touch keyboard, we feel like this change makes sense given the emphasis on being able to play polyphonically, and so MiniFreak will likely feel more comfortable to individuals coming from other traditional synthesizers. To accommodate the additional width provided by the keybed, Arturia took the opportunity to shift controls around, as well as expand the sequencer and arpeggiator functionality. There are also dedicated pitch and modulation touch bars to the left of the keyboard, but these can be repurposed for macro control over multiple parameters, or controlling aspects of the sequencer and arpeggiator as they're running.

What the frogs do tell me is this synth is designed for creativity and spontaneity, and doesn’t take itself too seriously. In fact, Arturia itself calls the Minifreak a ‘Spontaneous Algorithmic Synthesizer’, and fair enough, too. (‘Algorithmic’ refers to the synth’s two digital sound engines, which are coupled to an analogue filter section.) FAMILY FREAKS With over 20 modes to choose from including Virtual Analog, FM, and Additive, the interplay between Some purists might also point out that I’m being seduced by the smoke/mirrors of the three-engine effects engine rather than than the character of the sound sources. That could be said of any digital synth, but I’d suggest the filter has plenty of character and the other modifiers are very powerful sound sculptors. The effects are good and generous, and can provide some welcome fairy dust (or extreme annihilation) at times. I’d suggest the hybrid digital/analogue approach is super-solid but Minifreak is not attempting to compete against a six-voice fully-analogue performance synth. everything they need to push their sound over the edge while keeping it mix-ready. Expression, meet chaos It's not very freaky: keystep mini keys with channel aftertouch, basic expression controls. (Regressive compared to Microfreak)

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MiniFreak encourages users to escape the ordinary and explore the unconventional with a 37-note velocity-sensitive keybed with aftertouch, weave intricate evolving performances with multiple modulation lanes, and discover endless sweet spots with a built-in digital FX engine - a wildly creative experience. The LFOs themselves, of which there are two as opposed to the MicroFreak’s one, offer the expected waveforms – sine, triangle, saw, square and sample-and-hold. The eye-opener here is the ability to create your own entirely original LFO waveforms. The process is a little fiddly but is much easier when you have the hardware synced to the MiniFreak V and its high-res, mouse-controlled interface.