Freak on steroids!

Without having any inside information, I was definitely expecting this release by Arturia. Since they already have a series of Synths, like the Brutes (MicroBrute, MiniBrute, MatrixBrute, PolyBrute), it was a matter of time since we saw a new iteration of the vastly popular MicroFreak. And here comes the almighty MINIFREAK!

Building upon the success of its smaller sibling, the MiniFreak is a 6-Voice Polyphonic synthesizer with Digital Oscillators, an Analog Filter, a variety of Modulation options, and Effects.

With the Minifreak, Arturia took everything that was loved on the MicroFreak and added some very welcomed new features to make it the best value-for-money polyphonic synth in the world! So let’s go through its specs to see what’s the big deal with this one:

6-Voice Polyphony: While the MicroFreak can play 4 notes in its Paraphonic mode, the MiniFreak is an actual Polyphonic Synth with 6 voices! That means every voice is shaped and colored differently and independently unlike a paraphonic synth where every voice goes through the same filter and envelopes. But if you want more notes, it even has a 12 (!) voice Paraphonic mode which is absurd (in a good way).
2 Oscillators: Now you have 2 Engines with 22 oscillator modes. A cool feature is that you can use the second oscillator to process the first one using FM synthesis or by using the second oscillator as a second filter. Feeding Engine 1 into Engine 2 can lead to some very interesting and thick sounds and unexpected timbres.

Steiner-Parker Analog Multi-mode Filter with Lowpass, Bandpass, and Highpass modes. Tame its digital character with its analog filter to add warmth or self-oscillate it to add an extra voice!
2 LFOs: MiniFreak comes with 2 multi-shape LFOs that you can route to anything you want to add movement. There is even a custom LFO shaper onboard where you can design your own LFO shapes to add complexity.
Cycling Envelope: Like in the MicroFreak, you have a Cycling Envelope that you can send to any destination for added modulation.
Modulation Matrix: The amazing mod matrix from the MicroFreak is still here with 7 sources and 13 potential destinations. When I first saw the Mod Matrix on the MicroFreak, I thought it would be a pain to use, but after using it I instantly fell in love. It is the easiest way I’ve encountered to route things inside your synth and you can change things up very fast and intuitively.
Arpeggiator, 64-Step Sequencer, 4 Lanes of automated modulation: The Arp has now a lot of modes to choose from and add randomness. The Step Sequencer has far more features and hands-on controls than the one in MicorFreak like actual step sequencing, length & velocity controls, and overdub. Lastly, there are 4 automation lanes where you can sequence knob movement by choosing anything you want. Spice and Dice feature is also on the MiniFreak for some extra randomization.
Effects: MiniFreak has 3 digital effects engines with Reverb, Delay, Chorus, Phaser, Flanger, Distortion, Bit Crusher, 3-Band EQ, Peak EQ, and Multi Comb as options. You can stack those 3 effects in series and they all sound great! Nothing extra weird but a ton of useful options to enhance your patches!
Keys: That wouldn’t be a feature in most synths, but the MicroFreak had the polarizing MPE touch keybed instead of an actual keyboard. Some people liked it, and some hated it. I, myself, liked the touch-sensitive keyboard since it was something I never had in my studio. On the MiniFreak though, Arturia chose to put an actual 37-key velocity-sensitive keyboard with aftertouch with slim keys.

It is obvious that Arturia made a huge effort to add so much stuff to the MiniFreak but still sell it at an affordable price. Yes, the knobs and plastic housing are not the highest of qualities but for the money that you are paying, you get a lot more than you would expect from any other synth. The true innovation happened with the MicroFreak, and while the MiniFreak does not have any ground-breaking innovative features like its sibling, it is better in every single aspect than the MicroFreak. More Oscillators, more LFOs, Effects, a better Arpeggiator & Sequencer, and more modulation options make the MiniFreak a great synthesizer for years to come. And from Arturia’s history record, I’m sure that it will be updated with even more features, oscillators, and effects in the near future just like they did with the MicroFreak.

Conclusion

Here at Sinesquares.net, we are huge fans of Arturia. We even have a love letter for them published. But objectively, there is no other company that offers so many features and innovations in an affordable package. And the MiniFreak is the perfect example of this. A 6-Voice Polyphonic synth with tons of features for only 600€ is a steal. It completely destroys its competition, and its potential downside, being a mostly digital synth, makes it a strength adding many digital engines to choose from. It is a sound-designers dream to work with such a deep and flexible synthesizer but at the same time, it is so fun to use and play with.

The ratio of features vs price for the MiniFreak is crazy and there is nothing like it out there. Truly another amazing release by Arturia that can be useful for any type of producer. From a starting musician to a seasoned sound designer, the MiniFreak can be a swiss-army knife. Another future classic by Arturia!

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