I think what makes Nick stand out most is that in addition to his great presenter skills, he is a great musician. He knows how to make gear musical. So many folks are just making bleeps, bloops, and noise but not in a musical way. They make sound, even great and interesting sound. He shows how gear can make music.
Ken, always good to see you in any venue! Do you know if the sequencer and arpeggiator output over cv/gate and/or MIDI? I seem to recall the MiniBrute outputting its arpeggiator over cv/gate only. Any insight would be appreciated! Peace.
Splendid, my friend! Excellent (tentative) news! If you get a chance to confirm that, I would appreciate it quite a bit! I am seriously considering acquiring this one if I can use it as a controller for the modular in addition to it's splendid sonic architecture. I especially like the Buchla-esque aspect of that keyboard!
I was against buying this because of the keyboard and the quirky synth types. But now I've heard it, I want it BECAUSE of the keyboard and quirky synth types!
Thank you for all the videos you do. I'm a synth newbie and I really appreciate your coverage of low-cost synths like this, the IK Uno, Modal Skulpt etc.
It seems these days it is an accomplishment in itself to get a review by Nick. Good Job Arturia! Now, on the review: not that I needed too much convincing about the Microfreak, but the short arpeggiator demonstration was heavenly.
Listening to what he has said. In most cases they would need to sent it to him. It should not have a very steep learning curve. The OS has to be relase state, or pretty much release state. And it has to be pre-release or just released, he isn't interested in reviewing units that has been out for a while, especially not if it comes from a big maker, no matter the terms of availability up to that point. In that regard I think he is a bit strict, because some synths has a pretty long life-cycle, and may not be irrelevant just because 8 months or even 1 year has passed. And many would prefer Nick Bat reviews over many others.
@@ReneeNme What is gimmicky? The 2 buttons Spice and Dice? Because EVERYTHING ELSE is standard Synth stuff ... envelopes, looping envelopes, mod matrix, filter ... Did you even look at the thing?
VictorSteiner good point. I think it’s an amazing little synth. Not gimmicky in the slightest. I really love that there are so many great synths out there for just a few hundred bucks nowadays. With my current income I can easily pick up another synth every two months or so if I wanted to. Got to love it.
ReneeNme I got one and the first day I was planning on returning it for sure. But I had the whole weekend to play with it and I gotta say this thing is pretty insane! The workflow is simple as hell and modulation + the synth engines can take you places that would be super difficult and complex to program on anything else. It’s almost like a modular. The insane mod mixtures while holding the keys or using the arp plus playing the envelopes live. It’s hard to describe but I’m kinda in love with it. Definitely keeping it. The keyboard makes it even better. It’s so fast and the “pressure” mod source is awesome. I’ll be using it with my digitakt and digitone set up.
Seems like a long time since Nick had a hardware synth review, very refreshing and wonderful review and why I like Nick's reviews the best. Congratulations to Arturia for again producing another very usable (read musical) synth. That little modulation matrix is genius, all manufacturers should take note of it because we synth folks are going to begin expecting it on all synths. Don't miss the missing effects, rather use my own.
I agree except in the case of the Prologue/XD. Those effects are glorious. If the Minilogue XD also had even a small 5x7 mod matrix, I would already own it.
@@HotStrange Oh yea! I did not think about the XD, yes the XD with a matrix would be Heaven....or at least bliss. And yes, the more expensive synths can afford to put high quality effects in the synth, I just don't like the low priced synths like the Freak attempting effects unless they are very good, I don't like useless features.
I was standing in line at the local musicstore in Amsterdam to buy something, it was taking a while and I started to fiddle with this synth on the demo table. I was sold within minutes and bought it. Such a versatile weird little synth! Instant inspiration.
That's how I looked at it! I bought the launchpad x (still not too sure why I did) and insurance, and after using it with iPad for a bit, I couldn't justify the price with the small amount of things I could do. so I returned it and got this little rock star for a little bit more change and wow is it fun. As a midi controller it rocks, but also the synth is crazy good paired with so many quality iOS FX. Also using my akai mpk222 and launchkey 25 mk3, and 49 to control is sometimes when I want conventional keys. Blown away with it actually for my needs
@@cuezaireekaa You bought the launchpad because you were seeking for external happiness. in depth lengthy version or in other words. something clicked in you when you watched a review on it and you didn't hesitate but bought it right away without putting deep consideration to it. Then you tested it out and found out that it wasn't that good you first thought. That's just human nature and my brain functions the same way and I really have to force myself to think twice. In making any kind of material investment it's always worth to think what you get in return and plan it out well so the impact it has is worth a thousand times of the money you put into it."Fun" and "nice" are very shallow measures of impact a thing can have. Figuring out what value it gives in a long term, can it fill a slot of a need not once or twice but perhaps a hundred times or a thousand times and can it have value to others as well are powerful questions when making buying decisions.
Thank you for reviewing this little guy. I was waiting for your review, I knew you would display this synth’s true potential. All I have heard on prior reviews was basically chaos. Nothing wrong with that honestly but it’s nice to know this can make some purely musical beauty too. As usual your review makes me want to go out and grab one of these ASAP. Then I can bring it home and be frustrated that I can’t make it sound as good as Nick does. Lol. Honestly though just watching your reviews and performances has improved my sound design abilities from learning to emulate what you do. Bravo Nick!!
God I can’t wait until I get mine. Kudos to KORG and Arturia, for blazing the affordable hybrid trail. The same 2 companies that blazed the affordable analog trail 7-8 years ago. The sheer amount of features in this thing for the price is outrageous. 12 synthesis types with more coming apparently, each with their own unique waves and parameters, an analog state variable filter, 2 envelopes/2 LFOs (looping envelope falls into both categories), a very fully featured sequencer and arp, polyphonic aftertouch capability, patch storage, and a 5x7 mod matrix for $299. Absolutely incredible. And to top it all off it’s very close to having 4 notes of real polyphony. Each having its own Amp goes a long way.
It actually is a true polyphonic 4-voice synth. each engine has 4 copies of itself inside the synth and each voice has it's own VCA :0 it's when you begin utilizing the filter that it becomes "paraphonic"
Aaron Ellson True. That’s what I was getting at. If each voice had its own filter that would be incredible. Even still, for the price this thing is awesome.
I have the Arturia Keylab w/all those legacy software V7synths. I have all those options, but this little wacky box sounds like so much fun. Best sounding of Arturia’s small synths. Some really original stuff in that tiny thing.
sonicstate probably size and cost, you can use a thinner and more flexible power cord because the current limit is 2.5A on these IEC C5/C6 connectors. They’re fairly common on laptop power supplies (Lenovo, HP). The regular IEC C13/C14 connectors go up to 10A, so you end up with a fat and heavy power cord. For use with a laptop lighter and smaller is better. Perhaps Arturia has portability in mind as well. Just guessing. Thanks for the review, by the way.
Go ahead and pick up one of these. I was listening to a simple demo of the presets on youtube, when my girlfriend commented; "such beautiful sounds. Who is the artist?" Then I decided to get one and it turned out to be one of the most entertaining and musical devices that I have ever owned. It offers enough to keep you intrigued for hours and will fit into any mix.
The minute I saw it at NAMM, I was intrigued. The amazing thing is the keyboard and the price, only a bit more than a Make Noise Pressure Points module. Great job, Nick. Kudos Arturia.
I want to thank you for this brilliant review of this device which also sells the machine. Many videos on youtube just review the machine without actually selling it. But you've managed to win me over. I was condisering the Yamaha MX49, and even the Behrenger Deepming 12d. But for the money, and for what it does, plus my space issues (can't really cram in any more synths) this fits the bill perfectly.
i'd love to see more great sounding digital synths on the market. hopefully this encourages the industry to bring more interesting innovative stuff to the world of digital synths
The sequencer is reminiscent of the Korg Monologue, with its ability to store multiple parameter changes. In fact, this might make a nice friend for the Monologue...
I've held off till now because I've got more synths than time to play them but I finally gave in. It's unbeatable value for money even at Canadian prices especially with the recent update to the wavetable functionality. I really hope it turns out to be compatible with my Roland AE-30 wind synth. In theory it should because I can send breath as aftertouch CC (that works really well with the Behringer Neutron).
Is the filter really not able to self-oscillate? It was mentioned in promotional materials and in the manual: "Tip: If you need a sine wave you can use the filter to remove all harmonics from the wave - and as an alternative, set resonance on the Filter to maximum. The Filter will then self- oscillate and produce a pure sine wave."
Awesome review Nick, just a small correction, the sequencer is 64 step not 16. and there are 2 of them you can set in each patch. so total of 128 steps.
I agree about not having onboard effects. I prefer using my own effects pedals, anyway. They offer many more sound sculpting/modulating options rather than getting stuck with a few onboard standardized reverb, delay, chorus and phaser sounds that get old quickly.
Yes I agree too..I'm an Ambient Bassist so have a pedalboard with 14 pedals of all the types of reverb, delay and modulation..The Microfreak sounds glorious hooked up to it in stereo...
Nick, fantastic review! Would it be worth your time to do a demo video just doing beautiful sounds? I would like to hear any pads it can do. I love what you do in those demo videos of just doing extended music...
Nice bargain synth, giving those cheeky chappies at Behringer a run for their money, sounds nice with loads of good features on it too. The filter sounds nice and creamy and with that mod matrix who needs cables! 😎👍
sonicstate - the ubiquitous kettle lead seems to be getting less common now unfortunately. Remember when they were actually used for kettles? Scary stuff!!
Why not start with ....... that PWM patch. (: Love Nicks subdued nod to that infamous pulsewith mod meme right there. ((: Edit: Best sounding demo I heared of this thing to date btw.
I've never been queasy re digital synths. You can get waveforms which don't occur in "analog nature" with them, and the differences between analog and digital synths' sounds are entirely exaggerated. And what made me interested in synths to begin with was looking at them in music stores as a teen, and being awed by the very strange sounds one can arrive at by barely touching a knob or slider. Digital affords that aspect even better than analogs do.
Top notch review, and it sounds delicious. But I'm feeling there's more going on in the dev kitchen and I want that instrument. Hopefully, the larger version, with more bloopy ness (bitimbral or multitimbral with more voices and a more familiar keyboard with mod and pitch wheels, with the poly aftertouch.. ), will be out within a year.
Nice I just got myself the uno synth ...after watching your review.....the filter is nice on this machine ...ain’t gonna lie ...but I’ll stick with my uno for now ...thanks for another great review sir👊🏼🎶
A ProfReak ewww. Another omission/ design choice I’m okay with. Mini keys (or whatever) on something like this are less for performance and more for data input. These days with home studio/desktop enthusiasts, everyone has some fx and a midi controller lying about.
Excellent review - thank you! There's something about this synth which is lovely. I think the price-point is great for the beautiful sound, I'd prefer this to yet another mid-priced midi controller. I'd far rather pay for the sound quality and use my own effects. Its an old worn-out cliche, but seriously, sometimes less is absolutely more!
@@superchroma both are interesting, I like this surface area thing for this synth. I do wonder if sweaty hands sound different, sometimes that's the case.
Looks interesting, not too expensive. I have a MatrixBrute and arturia mades a good product. However, Arturia has been way behind in making a software updates for MB to address many problems that exist. Just be warned that once you can buy one (took about a year for the MatrixBrute) do not expect any support from Arturia.
I wish they did a Microfreak PPE, where PPE stands for Patch Point Edition. With a couple of CV inputs for the mod matrix, an audio input, CV-pitch and gate inputs and a few CV outputs from the mod matrix for use with Modular and Semi-modular (they could of course then replace the pressure output with the option of assigning one from the mod matrix to do the same). A PPE would not hinder them from releasing a FREAK, with full polyphony, more than one filter per voice, and velocity + aftertouch + slide. I guess a PPE could be as much as 100 euros more expensive, and it would be a bit bigger... In my mind, worth it though.
Still waiting on Arturia modules... they made a power supply rack, so it only follows. So I’m good with ‘omissions’ like no built in fx, or no input thru filter..... those things could be sold as modules!
That thing looks like an LSD trip gone wrong. Love the keyboard design though. That surface area detection thing would be great for connecting with the synth and playing expressively.
I think what makes Nick stand out most is that in addition to his great presenter skills, he is a great musician. He knows how to make gear musical.
So many folks are just making bleeps, bloops, and noise but not in a musical way. They make sound, even great and interesting sound. He shows how gear can make music.
Christian Wheeler Could not agree more. His Erebus V3 review had some of the best patches I’ve ever heard.
Alex from source distribution is a good musician too ruclips.net/video/cagbBg0TmgM/видео.html&ab_channel=SourceDistributionTV
Am I the only one that's just blown away at this micro machine and it's crazy key pad !? WTF !?
"Let's start with a patch called 'PWM', whyever not?" Don't ever change. :)
Thanks for the kind words Nick :) as always, wonderful video. I'm still very much enjoying making microfreak patches as well.
Ken, always good to see you in any venue!
Do you know if the sequencer and arpeggiator output over cv/gate and/or MIDI?
I seem to recall the MiniBrute outputting its arpeggiator over cv/gate only.
Any insight would be appreciated!
Peace.
@@tedstahl3794 I'm not infront of it right now but I believe in the mcc editor you can dictate how it outputs it's arp/seq. My tentative answer is yes
Splendid, my friend! Excellent (tentative) news! If you get a chance to confirm that, I would appreciate it quite a bit! I am seriously considering acquiring this one if I can use it as a controller for the modular in addition to it's splendid sonic architecture. I especially like the Buchla-esque aspect of that keyboard!
I was against buying this because of the keyboard and the quirky synth types. But now I've heard it, I want it BECAUSE of the keyboard and quirky synth types!
Thank you for all the videos you do. I'm a synth newbie and I really appreciate your coverage of low-cost synths like this, the IK Uno, Modal Skulpt etc.
First time somebody talks about the bottom end of this little synth. And first time I actually liked the sound of it. Thanks Nick!
I could listen to you tblk all day
J Oe I could rded your comments all day. 🙂
@@DFunct905 I could read your replies all day :)
It seems these days it is an accomplishment in itself to get a review by Nick. Good Job Arturia! Now, on the review: not that I needed too much convincing about the Microfreak, but the short arpeggiator demonstration was heavenly.
Listening to what he has said. In most cases they would need to sent it to him. It should not have a very steep learning curve. The OS has to be relase state, or pretty much release state.
And it has to be pre-release or just released, he isn't interested in reviewing units that has been out for a while, especially not if it comes from a big maker, no matter the terms of availability up to that point. In that regard I think he is a bit strict, because some synths has a pretty long life-cycle, and may not be irrelevant just because 8 months or even 1 year has passed. And many would prefer Nick Bat reviews over many others.
I love this synth. Wish they would make the damn thing available already!
Too gimmicky for my taste.
@@ReneeNme What is gimmicky? The 2 buttons Spice and Dice? Because EVERYTHING ELSE is standard Synth stuff ... envelopes, looping envelopes, mod matrix, filter ... Did you even look at the thing?
Ho Hum.
VictorSteiner good point. I think it’s an amazing little synth. Not gimmicky in the slightest. I really love that there are so many great synths out there for just a few hundred bucks nowadays. With my current income I can easily pick up another synth every two months or so if I wanted to. Got to love it.
ReneeNme I got one and the first day I was planning on returning it for sure.
But I had the whole weekend to play with it and I gotta say this thing is pretty insane!
The workflow is simple as hell and modulation + the synth engines can take you places that would be super difficult and complex to program on anything else.
It’s almost like a modular. The insane mod mixtures while holding the keys or using the arp plus playing the envelopes live.
It’s hard to describe but I’m kinda in love with it.
Definitely keeping it.
The keyboard makes it even better.
It’s so fast and the “pressure” mod source is awesome.
I’ll be using it with my digitakt and digitone set up.
Seems like a long time since Nick had a hardware synth review, very refreshing and wonderful review and why I like Nick's reviews the best. Congratulations to Arturia for again producing another very usable (read musical) synth. That little modulation matrix is genius, all manufacturers should take note of it because we synth folks are going to begin expecting it on all synths. Don't miss the missing effects, rather use my own.
I agree except in the case of the Prologue/XD. Those effects are glorious. If the Minilogue XD also had even a small 5x7 mod matrix, I would already own it.
@@HotStrange Oh yea! I did not think about the XD, yes the XD with a matrix would be Heaven....or at least bliss. And yes, the more expensive synths can afford to put high quality effects in the synth, I just don't like the low priced synths like the Freak attempting effects unless they are very good, I don't like useless features.
I was standing in line at the local musicstore in Amsterdam to buy something, it was taking a while and I started to fiddle with this synth on the demo table. I was sold within minutes and bought it. Such a versatile weird little synth! Instant inspiration.
Crazy times... It’s like buying a midi controller and getting an amazing synth for free!
not quite as cheap as a midi controller...not quite as crazy...
Bob TheBuilder Lmao what?
@@theflubba not quite as crazy???
That's how I looked at it! I bought the launchpad x (still not too sure why I did) and insurance, and after using it with iPad for a bit, I couldn't justify the price with the small amount of things I could do. so I returned it and got this little rock star for a little bit more change and wow is it fun.
As a midi controller it rocks, but also the synth is crazy good paired with so many quality iOS FX. Also using my akai mpk222 and launchkey 25 mk3, and 49 to control is sometimes when I want conventional keys. Blown away with it actually for my needs
@@cuezaireekaa You bought the launchpad because you were seeking for external happiness. in depth lengthy version or in other words. something clicked in you when you watched a review on it and you didn't hesitate but bought it right away without putting deep consideration to it. Then you tested it out and found out that it wasn't that good you first thought. That's just human nature and my brain functions the same way and I really have to force myself to think twice. In making any kind of material investment it's always worth to think what you get in return and plan it out well so the impact it has is worth a thousand times of the money you put into it."Fun" and "nice" are very shallow measures of impact a thing can have. Figuring out what value it gives in a long term, can it fill a slot of a need not once or twice but perhaps a hundred times or a thousand times and can it have value to others as well are powerful questions when making buying decisions.
That melody at 15:05 is phenomenal
I'm glad it does random garbled speech sounds rather than reverb, just what I've always wanted.
Me too, nice to see a synth with some adventurous features instead of the same old shit
Can't wait to have my Freak! Combining it with my 0-Coast and my old Casiotones and external FX will be perfect for my ambient project.
I have a casiotone mt86, is there anyway to hook them up together?
It's like a Sinclair ZX81 for synthesis. Brilliant piece of kit.
Let's start with the PWM patch ^^
Hahaha! Great comment!
and then check out the sing-song harmonics of the filter ;)
Right? Shocking Nick
Thank you for reviewing this little guy. I was waiting for your review, I knew you would display this synth’s true potential. All I have heard on prior reviews was basically chaos. Nothing wrong with that honestly but it’s nice to know this can make some purely musical beauty too. As usual your review makes me want to go out and grab one of these ASAP. Then I can bring it home and be frustrated that I can’t make it sound as good as Nick does. Lol. Honestly though just watching your reviews and performances has improved my sound design abilities from learning to emulate what you do. Bravo Nick!!
Petition to rename podcast to: Sonic Tblk
Tomasz Giba Tblk?
@@zakramsey3508 05:08
Let the Man tblk!
Sonic PWM more like lol
Stop tblking bollocks
God I can’t wait until I get mine. Kudos to KORG and Arturia, for blazing the affordable hybrid trail. The same 2 companies that blazed the affordable analog trail 7-8 years ago. The sheer amount of features in this thing for the price is outrageous. 12 synthesis types with more coming apparently, each with their own unique waves and parameters, an analog state variable filter, 2 envelopes/2 LFOs (looping envelope falls into both categories), a very fully featured sequencer and arp, polyphonic aftertouch capability, patch storage, and a 5x7 mod matrix for $299. Absolutely incredible. And to top it all off it’s very close to having 4 notes of real polyphony. Each having its own Amp goes a long way.
It actually is a true polyphonic 4-voice synth. each engine has 4 copies of itself inside the synth and each voice has it's own VCA :0 it's when you begin utilizing the filter that it becomes "paraphonic"
Aaron Ellson True. That’s what I was getting at. If each voice had its own filter that would be incredible. Even still, for the price this thing is awesome.
This may be my jump to analog
paradroidx it’s mostly digital. Only the filter is analog.
@@HotStrange Gotcha, well my jump to hardware Lol. Crazy they are becoming so affordable. Almost like a top notch vst
finally a review that adds effects to the little freak. Sounds sooo much better! Good job!
The 3 pin power lead is in order to ground the pcb keyboard to prevent loss of capacitance or something along those lines
J Horrobin
I have the Arturia Keylab w/all those legacy software V7synths. I have all those options, but this little wacky box sounds like so much fun. Best sounding of Arturia’s small synths. Some really original stuff in that tiny thing.
A note: they probably use the 3-prong cloverleaf connector to provide a ground which helps the capacitive keyboard work better.
Sure but why not use an IEC instead? Much more available
sonicstate probably size and cost, you can use a thinner and more flexible power cord because the current limit is 2.5A on these IEC C5/C6 connectors. They’re fairly common on laptop power supplies (Lenovo, HP). The regular IEC C13/C14 connectors go up to 10A, so you end up with a fat and heavy power cord. For use with a laptop lighter and smaller is better. Perhaps Arturia has portability in mind as well. Just guessing.
Thanks for the review, by the way.
There is nothing I want more atm than MicroFreak =)
'I will have you
Yes, I will have you
I will find a way and I will have you ' =))
u happy with very little... just for a stupid useless synth? REALLY???
I am happy with very little, yes, that’s the goal, otherwise you will constantly be unhappy 🤓
like a butterfly...a wild butterfly
Go ahead and pick up one of these.
I was listening to a simple demo of the presets on youtube, when my girlfriend commented; "such beautiful sounds. Who is the artist?"
Then I decided to get one and it turned out to be one of the most entertaining and musical devices that I have ever owned.
It offers enough to keep you intrigued for hours and will fit into any mix.
For some reason the look of it reminds of my ZX81 :-)
You’re showing your age... as am I! 🤓
Uuuh. Right!! And I loved my ZX. Size is almost the same and the shape. Great.
Well spotted.
Originally, I was thinking it looked like a George Formant Grill, but, yours was better.
More like the stylophone..
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stylophone
blackcountryme na. Smaller.
That sequence at the end was brilliant! You always play great stuff.
The minute I saw it at NAMM, I was intrigued. The amazing thing is the keyboard and the price, only a bit more than a Make Noise Pressure Points module. Great job, Nick. Kudos Arturia.
I want to thank you for this brilliant review of this device which also sells the machine. Many videos on youtube just review the machine without actually selling it. But you've managed to win me over. I was condisering the Yamaha MX49, and even the Behrenger Deepming 12d. But for the money, and for what it does, plus my space issues (can't really cram in any more synths) this fits the bill perfectly.
Nick is great, I saw this at Synthplex but the booth guys didn’t know anything about it and it sounded terrible, glad to see it properly shown
I'm so impressed by this. Totally excited by the design, ingenuity and ...weirdness!
Great demo. Looking forward to Nick’s next demo: the Maxi-Freak with true 8-voice polyphony and built-in FX !!
Lush beauty, sonically and design wise.... limitations are vital , keeps us thinking musically.
Here's hoping for an "Fx Freak," which takes a similarly creative approach to effects.
enter the Zoia...or MOD DUO (X) ...check em out!
Kaoss pad
I'd like to see a MacroFreak big brother of this with 8 full voices with 2 LFOs each and lots of FX built in :)
This is a little gem of a synth. Im really impressed by this.
I didn't know this freak could play such a sensitive arpeggio at 15:04. I may just buy this thing now..
agree'd - having param changes on top is... soooooo nice.... 😎 👍🏼 Fantastic for live stuff.
this engine in the digitone keys would be my dream synth :)
i'd love to see more great sounding digital synths on the market. hopefully this encourages the industry to bring more interesting innovative stuff to the world of digital synths
There's a lot to like about this machine and for that price. There isnt much on the market that sounds quite like it.
Great review. Nice sounds. Love formant sounds. makes me happy.
Perry Pelican Hello Perry😎
The sequencer is reminiscent of the Korg Monologue, with its ability to store multiple parameter changes. In fact, this might make a nice friend for the Monologue...
I was thinking the same thing. I wish Arturia offered them in different colors like the Monologue.
Best synth reviewer on youtube .no bullshit and tells the hard truth
Thanks Nick! Just got mine yesterday.
Their only mistake is that they announced it too early and now we’re all suffering from envy! 🤪 GET IT IN STORES, Arturia!
And replace that useless MIDI dongle with a proper socket !
Nick, I enjoyed your review of the microfreak synth! Thanks for the coverage of this hardware.
Excellent review! As always!! I preordered one of these and it’s arriving tomorrow!! More psyched than ever!! Nick, you’re an inspiration!
Tomorrow!!?? Preordered from who/where?
From “Music Store Live” through Reverb. They’re in California
I have lots of good synth's, like Elektron's, JDXA, Mother 32, but i have to admit, this is something very, very good!!!
The more I see and KNOW about it's spec's - the MORE I like it! Great review, as always. 😎
I've held off till now because I've got more synths than time to play them but I finally gave in. It's unbeatable value for money even at Canadian prices especially with the recent update to the wavetable functionality. I really hope it turns out to be compatible with my Roland AE-30 wind synth. In theory it should because I can send breath as aftertouch CC (that works really well with the Behringer Neutron).
How could anyone, let alone 31 ppl, thumbs down a review? Especially a Nick Batt review? Must be 31 misplaced opinions.
Or maybe they were giving thumbs down to the keyboard and neccesarily the review. Either way, opinions are like assholes commenting on review videos
To say it clear.... there is a 64 step sequencer inside and you can save two versions of this ....so 64 step X 2.
Thank you, this was as clear as mud.
Is the filter really not able to self-oscillate? It was mentioned in promotional materials and in the manual: "Tip: If you need a sine wave you can use the filter to remove all harmonics from the wave
- and as an alternative, set resonance on the Filter to maximum. The Filter will then self-
oscillate and produce a pure sine wave."
Nick, you’re the best! Would you mind reviewing my car?
XD
It’s a 5.
Yeah, I have a new Charvel DK24 electric guitar, would love a review of it from Nick. :-)
It's got those sing-song carmonics.
does it have PWM?
Seems really really cool to me. And that keyboard opens up for some new playing styles and variation and inspiration i would assume.
Really good overview and review - thanks! Looks great fun.
Okay I so need this. Gives kinda aphex twin like sounds!
Awesome review Nick, just a small correction, the sequencer is 64 step not 16. and there are 2 of them you can set in each patch. so total of 128 steps.
I agree about not having onboard effects. I prefer using my own effects pedals, anyway. They offer many more sound sculpting/modulating options rather than getting stuck with a few onboard standardized reverb, delay, chorus and phaser sounds that get old quickly.
Yes I agree too..I'm an Ambient Bassist so have a pedalboard with 14 pedals of all the types of reverb, delay and modulation..The Microfreak sounds glorious hooked up to it in stereo...
Nick, fantastic review! Would it be worth your time to do a demo video just doing beautiful sounds? I would like to hear any pads it can do. I love what you do in those demo videos of just doing extended music...
Ay I've been so excited for this video ever since I saw the MikroFreak in NAMM videos xd
It's digital with an analogue filter.
Very interested in this - thanks for the excellent review Nick! Looking at this and the 2 new Volcas - should make a very capable mini-setup!
Nice bargain synth, giving those cheeky chappies at Behringer a run for their money, sounds nice with loads of good features on it too. The filter sounds nice and creamy and with that mod matrix who needs cables! 😎👍
Philly Tee Crave would like a word with you.
Apparently it's a three-prong PSU because the keyboard and pitch mod strips work better when the unit is properly earthed..
Yeah but the IEC connector would also work and that's way more common. ( kettle lead)
sonicstate fair enough, but that style connector is pretty standard on laptop PSUs..
sonicstate - the ubiquitous kettle lead seems to be getting less common now unfortunately. Remember when they were actually used for kettles? Scary stuff!!
Why not start with ....... that PWM patch. (: Love Nicks subdued nod to that infamous pulsewith mod meme right there. ((:
Edit: Best sounding demo I heared of this thing to date btw.
Always love Nick's reviews, but Stimming's review is pretty effin' amazing I must say.
@@willdahbe thx i'll check it out!
through effects this could sound incredible, why would you not want one ;-)
The new firmware (1.1.2) makes the spice and dice functions more "active"/noticeable. This thing is amayyyzing for the $. I love it.
10:08 Shut up and take my money! That trance patch is awesome! 😃😎
I've never been queasy re digital synths. You can get waveforms which don't occur in "analog nature" with them, and the differences between analog and digital synths' sounds are entirely exaggerated. And what made me interested in synths to begin with was looking at them in music stores as a teen, and being awed by the very strange sounds one can arrive at by barely touching a knob or slider. Digital affords that aspect even better than analogs do.
I was quite certain of getting one anyway, but seeing Nick start the demonstration with the Pulse Width modulation.. i gotta have one.
Didn't think much of this when I saw it at the show, didn't try it. Now I really want one, so good job as always. Tblk later!
Top notch review, and it sounds delicious.
But I'm feeling there's more going on in the dev kitchen and I want that instrument.
Hopefully, the larger version, with more bloopy ness (bitimbral or multitimbral with more voices and a more familiar keyboard with mod and pitch wheels, with the poly aftertouch.. ), will be out within a year.
Great range of sound design for resampling. Would be a nice pairing for a Digitakt.
Damn. I mean I was buying it anyway but ... you‘re right!
Nice I just got myself the uno synth ...after watching your review.....the filter is nice on this machine ...ain’t gonna lie ...but I’ll stick with my uno for now ...thanks for another great review sir👊🏼🎶
Thanks for doing a decent demo review👊🏻
Another brilliant review! Thx Nick. Yours are the best. It's what I check before buying any synth.
Cheers Nick, great review, cheeky little synth. :)
Should I wait for the MiniFreak? DrumFreak .... Or MatrixFreak!?
why not go software? there should be Arturia Freak Colleaction 7 coming soon :)))))
I'm waiting for the pro freak with one extra octave.
A ProfReak ewww. Another omission/ design choice I’m okay with. Mini keys (or whatever) on something like this are less for performance and more for data input. These days with home studio/desktop enthusiasts, everyone has some fx and a midi controller lying about.
@@blanitz 3 Freaks You'll Actually Use
Drumfreak sounds awesome!
Excellent review - thank you! There's something about this synth which is lovely. I think the price-point is great for the beautiful sound, I'd prefer this to yet another mid-priced midi controller. I'd far rather pay for the sound quality and use my own effects. Its an old worn-out cliche, but seriously, sometimes less is absolutely more!
Absolutely have to agree. No fx are much preffered for me as I have amazing fx in my daw anyways :)
Fabulous review! Thank you for sharing this
In the right hands (and faraway from those euro rack one tone monotonous nerds) this synth can be an enormous creative instrument!
Fiiiiinally somebody adresses if it's actually touch sensitive or based on surface area and conduction. Thank you!
Which is your preference?
@@superchroma both are interesting, I like this surface area thing for this synth. I do wonder if sweaty hands sound different, sometimes that's the case.
What a Beast. Nick as well.
Missed you Nick! I love you guys to review the Volca module¿?🎹🎧💫👍
Okay, now I can finally make a decision if I want to buy one.
Great review, Mister SonicState
Looks interesting, not too expensive. I have a MatrixBrute and arturia mades a good product. However, Arturia has been way behind in making a software updates for MB to address many problems that exist. Just be warned that once you can buy one (took about a year for the MatrixBrute) do not expect any support from Arturia.
Listed my Microbrute on ebay after about 10 minutes of this.... gotz ta get me a Freak!
I wish they did a Microfreak PPE, where PPE stands for Patch Point Edition. With a couple of CV inputs for the mod matrix, an audio input, CV-pitch and gate inputs and a few CV outputs from the mod matrix for use with Modular and Semi-modular (they could of course then replace the pressure output with the option of assigning one from the mod matrix to do the same).
A PPE would not hinder them from releasing a FREAK, with full polyphony, more than one filter per voice, and velocity + aftertouch + slide.
I guess a PPE could be as much as 100 euros more expensive, and it would be a bit bigger... In my mind, worth it though.
At 12:53 it sounds like one of Look Mum No Computer's recent box creations.
The fart box? xD
@6:35 Wow that is totally TI Speak 'n Spell territory.
Lovely floral blouse 🐣
A year late to the party, but: Spice & Dice for me is one of the best features for the arp (not the seq) I’ve ever seen.
General purpose lead; MicroFreak vs. Modal Skulpt. WHO WOULD WIN?
Modal Craft 2 ;-)
Good review with useful tips! Thanks.
Still waiting on Arturia modules... they made a power supply rack, so it only follows. So I’m good with ‘omissions’ like no built in fx, or no input thru filter..... those things could be sold as modules!
Nick, for sound design and general sound quality would you recommend this or a Reface CS, DX, Roland JU-06A or something else that I have overlooked?
That thing looks like an LSD trip gone wrong. Love the keyboard design though. That surface area detection thing would be great for connecting with the synth and playing expressively.