Arturia MicroFreak Synthesizer

Arturia MicroFreak at a glance:

• Capacitive keyboard with 25 keys
• 14 different oscillator models, including Mutable Instruments Plaits models
• Noise Engineering oscillator
• User wavetable oscillator
• Monophonic or paraphonic with up to four voices
• Analogue Oberheim SEM filter
• 16-band vocoder
• Modulation matrix
• ADSR envelope
• Loopable contour generator
• Various voice modes
• Arpeggiator
• Sequencer
• Touch controller
• 256 memory slots
• 2 patterns per memory slot
• 64 steps Step length
• CV/Gate/Pressure outputs

Vocoder function

With the latest operating system (2.1 and above), the Microfreak now features a 16-band vocoder as its main feature! If you already own a Microfreak, you can find the update on the Arturia website. A matching gooseneck microphone is available as an optional extra, which simply plugs into the instrument. Specifically for the vocoder, the sound generation has been expanded to include sawtooth, square wave and noise, in order to reproduce classic vocoder sounds as faithfully as possible. The Timbre and Shape controls are used to adjust the behaviour of the 16 frequency bands. The possibilities go far beyond the typical robotic speech. 16 new presets offer a glimpse of what the instrument is capable of. A three-part chord or a string sound, particularly when used in conjunction with the arpeggiator, opens up an unexpected range of sounds. The headphone socket on the unit is a TRRS jack, just like those used on mobile phones and their headsets. This is where the microphone plugs in; an optional adapter can also be connected to make the audio input accessible. Plug a drum machine into this, and the synthesised drums from ‘Members of Mayday – Sonic Empire’ will find their way into your own music.

Movement!

In addition to the BPM-synchronisable LFO, two envelopes provide variation in the sound; one follows a classic ADS structure, whilst the other functions either as an A/D envelope, can be looped, or operates in the style of a slope generator. The range of movement options is rounded off by a modulation matrix that visually displays sources and destinations. Performance aids include an arpeggiator, a sequencer and the extravagant capacitive touch keyboard with 25 keys, which also outputs CV, Gate and Pressure via separate sockets.