Arturia MicroFreak Hybrid Analog/Digital Synthesizer

A synthesizer like no other, MicroFreak is a peculiar, exceptional instrument that rewards the curious musician. It blends wavetable and digital oscillators with analog filters. It features a unique poly-aftertouch flat keyboard. It adds controlled randomness to sequences. This isn't a revolution, it's a mutiny. A touch of Madness Whether you're looking for your first, affordable hardware synth or are a collector looking for original sounds and unique interface, MicroFreak is the synth you need. This out-there little music machine features a versatile digital oscillator so you can create rare and interesting sounds with ease. Modes like Texturer, KarplusStrong, Harmonic OSC and Superwave give adventurous musicians the chance to explore totally new, unheard possibilities. Like having dozens of synths in just one instrument, both wild-eyed newcomers and seasoned professionals will fall in love with MicroFreak's flexible, powerful synth engine. Small but fierce MicroFreak packs so much in to such a compact instrument, you'll wonder how we did it. We'd love to say it was magic, but it was pure skill and passion. Physical modeling, wavetable synthesis, virtual analog, there is nothing as complete and exciting as the MicroFreak oscillator on the market. It's hard to believe from such a small synth, but here it is, ready for you to explore. Excite your creativity and reward your curiosity with a large, diverse sound palette. MicroFreak features 11 awesome oscillators, 4 bespoke Arturia engines and 7 modes from our friends at Mutable Instruments. There's a little freak inside you and this instrument will bring it out. The best of both worlds Even though MicroFreak has a digital oscillator at its heart, "opposites attract" as the saying goes. That's why we've included a lush-sounding analog filter. Inspired by the trailblazing 12-dB Oberheim SEM filter, you can make MicroFreak's filter scream or whisper to taste. The filter is state-variable and can even auto-oscillate! You can use this is any way you like, from taking the edge of the razor-sharp wavetable sounds or automating the cutoff by modulating it with keyboard pressure or the in-built sequencer.Wait. Did we mention that MicroFreak has a sequencer? And a mod matrix? Things are about to get seriously interesting... Taste the spice, throw the dice MicroFreak is packed with unique, exciting features that let you create music with a fresh perspective. Record up to four automations, edit notes per step or use the innovative Spice and Dice sequencer functions to find happy accidents. Add randomization to create evolving, original patterns and virtually rewire and reconfigure its signal chain and controls with the 5x7 modulation matrix. This truly is a budget-friendly synth like no other. "That's a funny looking keyboard" That's right, it is. It isn't really even a keyboard. It's a PCB. Super-flat, with no moving parts. Will it track lightning-fast synth solos? You bet. Better than a traditional keyboard, actually. Will it let you be expressive? Of course, it's not only pressure sensitive, but also offers poly-aftertouch. This means each key can control parameters in a different way depending on how much you touch.You can also use its USB, MIDI and CV outputs to control instruments in your DAW and modular synths. This also means that you can also use MicroFreak as a controller to experience polyphonic aftertouch with cutting edge software instruments. Making sense of madness It might sound a bit wild and crazy, but MicroFreak is easy to understand and quick to master. Every feature is clearly marked and simple to access and control, letting MicroFreak enhances your creativity rather than standing in its way. On this page, we'll cover a few of the things that make MicroFreak a truly unique specimen. Hearing voices The multiple modes of MicroFreak's digital oscillator can be easily switched and directly controlled with the 4 dedicated knobs in the Digital Oscillator section. The Type knob switches between the engines, while the Wave, Timbre and Shape controls let you refine the oscillator to suit your taste. MicroFreak currently contains 11 oscillator types, but we've left room for more to be added in the future! Here are the engines featured in the first firmware version: Superwave Precisely detuned saw, square, sine or triangle waves let you create the fattest synth sounds around. Perfect for Trance and lush dreamy pads. Harmo Synthesize your sound from 32 sine waves by modulating their volume. The clue is in the name, it creates harmonically rich, vibrant sounds which can be shaped with the filter. Karplus Str A much-loved synth method using physical modeling to recreate the sound of string instruments, from soft pizzicato to screeching, zingy chords. Wavetable Scan through waveform snapshots to find new, unusual and evolving sounds. It contains 16 wavetables to explore, with room for more in the future. Mutable Instruments We've also integrated the open-source Plaits oscillator developed by Eurorack legends Mutable Instruments to bring you 7 additional synth modes. While all of the oscillators in MicroFreak are naturally monophonic, you can choose to enable paraphony to play up to 4-voices at once. PI.VA Virtual analog, recreating traditional synth methods digitally for a mix of classic and cutting-edge tones. PI.Waveshpr A triangular wave, processed by waveshaping and wavefolding creating squelchy, aggressive and often metallic tones. PI.FM A simple but powerful twin-operator FM oscillator, with two sine waves modulated each other's phase to create sharp, acidic tones. PI.Grain A percussive, granular synthesis engine that is great for adding huge texture and body to sequenced rhythms. PI.Chords A paraphonic synth engine that triggers duplicates at set intervals, creating defined, static chords with one key, perfect for trance-inspired melodies. PI.Speech An engine that creates vowel, formant and simple word sounds. Automate with the mod matrix and hear MicroFreak come alive! PI.Modal Recreates the unique inharminic vibrations and resonance of a hollow structure. Perfect for adding texture or bizarre overtones to your music. Filtering voices The combination of digital oscillator and analog filter is a powerful one and the often sharp, crystalline sounds of the oscillators can be beautifully tamed or shaped using the tasty 12-dB per-octave filter, based on the legendary Oberheim-designed SEM filter. Low-pass Lets the low end through and kills of the highs. Warm up an aggressive sound or bring everything down to a low, ominous rumble. Band-pass Focus on a particular frequency band to accentuate a particular tone in your sound. The ultimate sound-shaper. High-pass Carve away at the muddy low-end to create bright, zingy sounds or create tension-building rises before a pulverizing drop. Take it step by step Despite its small size, MicroFreak has a modulation matrix and advanced functions that make even giant synths jealous. With 5 sources and 7 destinations available, you can virtually rewire components within MicroFreak to create totally unique sounds, especially as 3 of the destinations are user-assignable! With easy programming using the clickable Matrix knob, a clear light-up display and extra detail shown in the OLED screen, you'll never be left guessing what changes you're making. To route any modulation source to one of the destinations, just browse, click and define an amount. It's easy, fast and fun and gives you super-powerful results that you'd expect from a synth ten times the price. Happy accidents MicroFreak's sequencer isn't just any old synth sequencer, it's a dual mode arpeggiator/sequencer with innovative features that will keep your creative juices flowing. Spice Adjusting the level of Spice in your sequence literally spices it up, altering the parameters of the pattern without changing the pitch and creating something new. Dice When Dice is selected, using the touchstrip randomizes your sequence by the amount you choose, letting you find inspiration from the unexpected. The magic touch MicroFreak's tactile interface is like nothing you've ever used before. A flat, touch-sensitive keyboard with no moving parts may seem alien, but it feels so natural to use. The 25-key printed circuit board not only track the notes you play with lightning-speed, but can also detect pressure and aftertouch on each note individually. This has some exciting applications within MicroFreak itself, but also for MPE and polyphonic aftertouch-enabled virtual instruments when MicroFreak is used as a MIDI controller.The touch-controls above the keyboard also give you access to the key parameters of the sequencer, while the touch strip can be used as a pitch bender or to control the amount of Spice and Dice in your sequences. So much, for so little Just as our debut synth MiniBrute set new standards for affordable analog instruments back in 2012, MicroFreak is set to redefine what low-cost digital synths can do.