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Arturia MicroFreak


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I wish I needed this fun little gem. Its likely to be very popular because of its serious range of capabilities. Here's another oddball tool offering poly aftertouch, which you don't see in hardware very often. Its not the type of poly AT you'd encounter with a standard keybed, but I'm sure plenty of people will take to the Buchla feel. The connectivity is comprehensive. 11 oscillator types gives it a big leg up, too. Subotnick would have gone cross-eyed if you'd handed him one of these 40 years ago. Get ready to see this one running a Uno and some Volcas. I ran through several YT demos and the sound is a winner.

 

MicroFreak overview

 

MicroFreak details

 

 "I want to be an intellectual, but I don't have the brainpower.
  The absent-mindedness, I've got that licked."
        ~ John Cleese

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Define "good." Its clearly aimed at the quirky, budget side of the market, but it has an interesting range. With that touch-sensitive a 'keyboard,' you can get a lot of added power from the variety of oscillator types. Its a lot bigger musically than its form factor suggests. I'm too much of an old AGO player to seriously go for touch membranes, but along with string controllers like Roland's GR series, its the most pure way to fully play a synth AS a synth. You can play it on axes which aren't available on any other kind of instrument. If its basic tonal voice is a MEH for you, so be it, that's the game. I'm simply impressed because its like a poor man's REV2.

 

 "I want to be an intellectual, but I don't have the brainpower.
  The absent-mindedness, I've got that licked."
        ~ John Cleese

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Define "good."

 

"Good" is something to my liking. I'm definitely not a piano player, I like experimental music more than I like mainstream, but this just sounds harsh and any demo I've heard seems to be trance/dance oriented. Not my kind of thing. No interesting soundscape/pad demos, or things I've never heard before?

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Define "good."

 

"Good" is something to my liking. I'm definitely not a piano player, I like experimental music more than I like mainstream, but this just sounds harsh and any demo I've heard seems to be trance/dance oriented. Not my kind of thing. No interesting soundscape/pad demos, or things I've never heard before?

Okay, that's legit. Some feel the same about the Steiner-Parker filter employed by Arturia. I love multimode filters for just that reason. I'm way past being tired of EDM-ish demos too, because they only show you the very simplest stylistic uses of a synth. That's what moves the most units during the first sales quarter. However, I think it has higher experimental potential than anything else because its basic sound generation scheme is so non-traditionally broad. Let's see where it is after a year on the market.

 

 "I want to be an intellectual, but I don't have the brainpower.
  The absent-mindedness, I've got that licked."
        ~ John Cleese

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I love it. I love that they've thrown together so many cool, weird ideas together in one box and I love that they're fully embracing all the bonkers stuff you can do with digital synth techniques. It's a sound design paradise! I think my Skulpt 2.0 will be out the door as soon as it arrives in favour of this...
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  • 4 months later...

I somehow missed out on this when it came out, perhaps being put off by the look of the keybed, but in reading an interview with Arturia's founder today, I learned that it has poplyphonic aftertouch, so now I'm thinking of grabbing one during a sale just so I can play around with that concept. Cheap point of entry, after all, at $349 MSRP, and it could serve as a controller when one needs poly-AT for certain soft synths.

 

In fact, both GC and Sweetwater have it for $299 currently. Here are some magazine reviews:

 

https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/arturia-microfreak

 

https://www.musicradar.com/reviews/arturia-microfreak

 

https://www.musictech.net/reviews/hardware-instruments/arturia-microfreak/

 

Regardless of how it sounds, if it sends Poly-AT through MIDI Out, it could be worth it as a controller alone. I'll see if I can find the MIDI spec.

Eugenio Upright, 60th Anniversary P-Bass, USA Geddy Lee J-Bass, Yamaha BBP35, D'angelico SS Bari, EXL1,

Select Strat, 70th Anniversary Esquire, LP 57, Eastman T486, T64, Ibanez PM2, Hammond XK4, Moog Voyager

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I love their slogan for this synth: "This isnt a revolution, its a mutiny."

Eugenio Upright, 60th Anniversary P-Bass, USA Geddy Lee J-Bass, Yamaha BBP35, D'angelico SS Bari, EXL1,

Select Strat, 70th Anniversary Esquire, LP 57, Eastman T486, T64, Ibanez PM2, Hammond XK4, Moog Voyager

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The demos at the product page are way better. AT $299 minus whatever my next GC rebate is from the Gear Card, I'm in. But it'll be a few months from now, as I just spent my current rebate on a new Tascam cassette tape deck (my Onkyo Integra TA-2800 has been broken for years, as is a sympathy gift of a Nakamichi deck, and the parts/motors can no longer be replaced).

Eugenio Upright, 60th Anniversary P-Bass, USA Geddy Lee J-Bass, Yamaha BBP35, D'angelico SS Bari, EXL1,

Select Strat, 70th Anniversary Esquire, LP 57, Eastman T486, T64, Ibanez PM2, Hammond XK4, Moog Voyager

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The Music Radar review clarifies that the 1/4" output is mono and not stereo TRS.

 

I consider that a bonus, actually, as I'm likely to want to apply phasers and other effects post-output, so this allows for more hardware devices to be functional in that regard (many only accept mono input, even if they produce stereo output).

 

Also, the keybed and the front part of the control section, remind me a bit of a Cajun or Zydeco Accordion, so that's part of the coolness factor as well.

Eugenio Upright, 60th Anniversary P-Bass, USA Geddy Lee J-Bass, Yamaha BBP35, D'angelico SS Bari, EXL1,

Select Strat, 70th Anniversary Esquire, LP 57, Eastman T486, T64, Ibanez PM2, Hammond XK4, Moog Voyager

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It's the first new model from any manufacturer in MANY years. A lot of people are in the same boat that I am, with archival material that they can't upload due to broken motors and other parts that can no longer be ordered and repaired. But there are also consumers with old pre-recorded tape collections, and it's making a bit of a comeback with the young set, like 8-track and vinyl.

 

This one has some unique features that I might never use, and which are oriented towards DJ's and karaoke artists from what I can tell. Creative types on a low budget will take it and run with it.

 

No Dolby noise reduction as no one wants to pay those licensing fees anymore. Luckily I recorded everything in Dolby C with a special additional processing feature that made the tapes compatible on more decks (even Nakamichi, which always had their own thing going on), as well as being less problematic with Dolby off. Tascam apparently came up with a substitute approach that is artifact-free but works with all sorts of NR-encoded tapes.

 

I predict some of the same people will buy this out-of-the-box Arturia keyboard who also buy the new Tascam cassette deck.

Eugenio Upright, 60th Anniversary P-Bass, USA Geddy Lee J-Bass, Yamaha BBP35, D'angelico SS Bari, EXL1,

Select Strat, 70th Anniversary Esquire, LP 57, Eastman T486, T64, Ibanez PM2, Hammond XK4, Moog Voyager

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This is what I'm talking about, in terms of some of the design elements and how they match those of a cajun accordion:

 

 

From that angle, it's not as obvious. I'm having trouble finding the Weltmeister website today though, so look at p. 39 in the overall product PDF until I find a better ref:

 

https://akkordeonmanufaktur.de/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Weltmeister_Katalog_2017_EN.pdf

 

Ah, I found their NEW website, which has been completely done-over and no longer has as much info or as many photos:

 

https://www.weltmeister-akkordeon.de/shop/akkordeons-harmonikas/weltmeister-deutsche-harmonika-das-cajunakkordeon/

 

It used to be easy to find all sorts of perspective views. What's unique about the cajun boxes is the upright portion, and though the "keys" on the Arturia synth don't move, the look still reminds me a great deal of this accordion. It's a button box, but it causes those key-like "pipes" to move away from the front, almost like keyboard keys being depressed and released, except in reverse. You can see it in the video above.

 

Eugenio Upright, 60th Anniversary P-Bass, USA Geddy Lee J-Bass, Yamaha BBP35, D'angelico SS Bari, EXL1,

Select Strat, 70th Anniversary Esquire, LP 57, Eastman T486, T64, Ibanez PM2, Hammond XK4, Moog Voyager

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  • 2 months later...

Here's the user manual:

 

http://downloads.arturia.net/products/microfreak/manual/MicroFreak_Manual_1_1_2_EN.pdf

 

Around p. 93 or thereabouts, the CV is described, and it can be verified that PolyAT can be output in this manner. It is less clear whether it can also be sent to MIDI Out, as I haven't worked with MIDI Control Center in a long time, so I don't remember exactly hoe many roles it plays in a computer-based setup when using the MicroFreak as a MIDI input controller.

 

I will only buy the MicroFreak if it can output PolyAT via MIDI (even if via a USB connection vs. 5-pin DIN), as every penny counts at the moment. I'm not sure I have the energy to wade through the PDF that deeply due to multiple learning curves on the purpose of MIDI Control Center, terminology as used by Arturia, etc.

Eugenio Upright, 60th Anniversary P-Bass, USA Geddy Lee J-Bass, Yamaha BBP35, D'angelico SS Bari, EXL1,

Select Strat, 70th Anniversary Esquire, LP 57, Eastman T486, T64, Ibanez PM2, Hammond XK4, Moog Voyager

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It was MUCH easier to find the information I needed once I downloaded the PDF to view on my desktop, making available the more detailed search features.

 

From p. 74 of the user manual:

 

"If you play chords on the MicroFreak, either with the keyboard or using the sequencer, everything will be transmitted via MIDI including aftertouch and velocity. The four note paraphonic limitation does not apply here: if you play a ten note chords all of that data will be transmitted over MIDI. Notes arriving at the MIDI In port have have the same priority as notes you play on the keyboard. If in paraphonic mode there are voices left the sequencer will use them. It has the lowest priority."

 

Note that you can select velocity or aftertouch but not both. Not sure if those who have been waiting for years for PolyAT will find that too limiting, but one has to remember that the keybed itself is not traditional anyway.

 

I see this is a cheap tool to start playing with PolyAT first with the built-in sound engine, and then maybe as a controller for stuff like Arturia's CS80V.

Eugenio Upright, 60th Anniversary P-Bass, USA Geddy Lee J-Bass, Yamaha BBP35, D'angelico SS Bari, EXL1,

Select Strat, 70th Anniversary Esquire, LP 57, Eastman T486, T64, Ibanez PM2, Hammond XK4, Moog Voyager

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Why Mark, you're a doddering old greybeard like me! I have a few hundred cassettes, most of which are over 30 and 98% of them still deliver with clarity. A few have lost some high end, but others seem so pristine, its amazing. Its easy to tell which tapes were rendered with a decent deck and which ones were last-ditch recordings made on old Sears Silvertone abominations. :barf:

 "I want to be an intellectual, but I don't have the brainpower.
  The absent-mindedness, I've got that licked."
        ~ John Cleese

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  • 1 year later...

A thread resurrection, of sorts. I just stumbled upon this instrument on SW's site, and listened to the Daniel Fisher demo. Wow; love the sound of this thing, and its creative potential. Have sold a couple not-in-use small items lately, and am in the process of selling an original Alesis Vortex. So I'd been looking for an under $500 very small synth to experiment with, and perhaps ride 2nd tier to my Stage 3 in 2021. Was starting to settle on a DeepMind 6, but that may be too much synth; and the MicroFreak has a lot of intriguing extras... Love the sounds I've heard in Arturia demos, and am thinking of getting some of their software next year.

 

Those here who have owned/used the MicroFreak: Have you hung onto it? For 2nd tier lead/bass, light duty paraphonic pad tones, fx, etc, would it work for live playing, or is the keybed like playing a roll-up piano? While I wish it had three octaves of regular synth keys, I'm also not planning to due multi-octave shredding leads with it either. The Stage 3 can do that very capably, if need be.

'Someday, we'll look back on these days and laugh; likely a maniacal laugh from our padded cells, but a laugh nonetheless' - Mr. Boffo.

 

We need a barfing cat emoticon!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Those here who have owned/used the MicroFreak: Have you hung onto it? For 2nd tier lead/bass, light duty paraphonic pad tones, fx, etc, would it work for live playing, or is the keybed like playing a roll-up piano? While I wish it had three octaves of regular synth keys, I'm also not planning to due multi-octave shredding leads with it either. The Stage 3 can do that very capably, if need be.

 

I still love my uFreak. I have the older version, the newest version has new software that includes a Vocoder, and a mic. I don't really view it as a conventional synth/keyboard, I see it more in line with my modular stuff, as a small, self contained noise-making unit, where the keyboard acts more as a trigger/controller than a playing surface. If I want to use it for leads and pads, I will control it from an external keyboard, but I generally run it on it's own, into a delay, or, lately, an Eventide H9, as a texture generator. Sonically, it fills an interesting space in my studio, definitely not analog with its brazenly digital oscillators, but not exactly not-analog, because if it's wonderful, SEM-inspired filter. It's a very fun little box, well worth the price.

Turn up the speaker

Hop, flop, squawk

It's a keeper

-Captain Beefheart, Ice Cream for Crow

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I'm tempted, since Pigments has turned out to be so useful, but I'm such an AGO dinosaur, learning to play a capacitance keyboard decently seems daunting. I'd love to give it a try, but it would be time diverted from larger, ongoing things. If I was more avant-garde minded, I'd at least sample a lot of its more stable moments. Various demos make it clear that you could develop a nice folder of those easily. The numerous models are brilliant. I enjoy frozen-formant vocals, for example. This thing is a bouquet of moments like that waiting to happen.

 "I want to be an intellectual, but I don't have the brainpower.
  The absent-mindedness, I've got that licked."
        ~ John Cleese

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The new vocoder is great, and it has a lot of the engines from Plaits, one of my favorite Eurorack oscillators. The funny thing is that I use a traditional MIDI keyboard to trigger it, but I also use the Microfreak touch keys to control my modular setup because the pseugo aftertouch is really nice and controllable in a subtle way.

"For instance" is not proof.

 

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How the F do you play that thing though? It looks like a stylophone! I just don't understand the appeal.

 

Perhaps one day someone will invent a communication protocol whereby you can play the internal sounds of one synth with the keys of another. A man can dream. :idea:

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Some sort of Musical Instrument Digital Interface type thing?

 

Yes, if only......

 

 

Someone should suggest this to Dave Smith and the powers-that-be at Roland; bet they'd be all over it...

'Someday, we'll look back on these days and laugh; likely a maniacal laugh from our padded cells, but a laugh nonetheless' - Mr. Boffo.

 

We need a barfing cat emoticon!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I have nearly pulled the trigger on this thing since it was introduced many times...

 

[video:youtube]

 

I love to see a synth gal. :)

 

Check out Cuckoos results, which really have an interesting sound on my speakers:

 

[video:youtube]

 

Lot of bang for the buck in that thing.

RT-3/U-121/Leslie 21H and 760/Saltarelle Nuage/MOXF6/MIDIhub, 

SL-880/Nektar T4/Numa Cx2/Deepmind12/Virus TI 61/SL61 mk2

Stylophone R8/Behringer RD-8/Proteus 1/MP-7/Zynthian 4

MPC1k/JV1010/Unitor 8/Model D & 2600/WX-5&7/VL70m/DMP-18 Pedals

Natal drums/congas etc & misc bowed/plucked/blown instruments. 

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Sarcasm/ smart-ass mode on hold...

 

A thread resurrection, of sorts. I just stumbled upon this instrument on SW's site, and listened to the Daniel Fisher demo. Wow; love the sound of this thing, and its creative potential. Have sold a couple not-in-use small items lately, and am in the process of selling an original Alesis Vortex. So I'd been looking for an under $500 very small synth to experiment with, and perhaps ride 2nd tier to my Stage 3 in 2021. Was starting to settle on a DeepMind 6, but that may be too much synth; and the MicroFreak has a lot of intriguing extras... Love the sounds I've heard in Arturia demos, and am thinking of getting some of their software next year.

 

Those here who have owned/used the MicroFreak: Have you hung onto it? For 2nd tier lead/bass, light duty paraphonic pad tones, fx, etc, would it work for live playing, or is the keybed like playing a roll-up piano? While I wish it had three octaves of regular synth keys, I'm also not planning to due multi-octave shredding leads with it either. The Stage 3 can do that very capably, if need be.

 

 

It"s a neat little synth for the right person. Based on your post above I don"t think you"re that person. I don"t mean that with any elite exclusive kind of attitude. While I agree its a lot of bang for the buck I think for most conventional keyboardist this synth will be more trouble to use effectively than you want, quickly forgotten about in your day-day once the novelty wears off and relegated to the KC Classifieds soon after .

 

On the other hand if you"re of the mindset it"s only $300, up for something a bit different and you can sell it if Markyboard turns out to be right (for once) ....go for it.

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