Arturia MicroFreak Hybrid Keyboard Synthesizer

zZounds Gear Experts Say...
An inspired combo of digital synthesis, analog filtering, poly-aftertouch keys, and more, the Arturia MicroFreak is a budget-friendly, trailblazing synth.

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.

Un Grain De Folie -- 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 Wavetable, KarplusStrong, Harmonic OSC, and 3 granular engines 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 into such a compact instrument, you'll wonder how Arturia did it.

Physical modeling, wavetable synthesis, virtual analog, sample playback; there’s 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. Stimulate your creativity and reward your curiosity with a large, diverse sound palette. MicroFreak features 21 awesome oscillator read more modes, including 7 bespoke Arturia engines, 7 modes from Mutable Instruments, and 3 oscillator modes designed with Noise Engineering.

There's a little freak inside you, and this instrument will bring it out.

"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.

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 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.

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.

Main Features:

- Synthesizer with 512 preset slots and 320 factory presets
- 21 digital oscillator modes, from wavetable to sample playback & granular processing, plus engines from Mutable Instruments and Noise Engineering as well as the Vocoder mode
- Analog State Variable Filter, 12dB/octave, resonant, Low Pass, Band Pass, High Pass
- ADSR envelope
- Cycling Envelope offering two modes: Envelope, LFO
- LFO with Sync: Sine, Tri, Saw, Square, Random, Slew Random
- Modulation matrix with 5 sources and 7 destinations (3 custom destinations)
- Monophonic or Paraphonic modes - Up to 4 voices
- Chord mode lets you program a chord shape and play it on any note
- Scale Quantize lets you set a specific scale for the white notes to simplify the creative process
- 25-key capacitive keybed with polyphonic aftertouch
- Capacitive touch strip
- Crisp OLED display for editing and parameter values
- Powerful arpeggiator: Up, Order, Random, Pattern modes; Spice & Dice Gate randomizers
- 64-step sequencer: 2 patterns per preset, 4 automation tracks per preset
- CV / Gate / Mod outputs
- USB, Clock and MIDI in and out
- 6.35mm master and 3.5mm headphone output
read less

Box contents:
- MicroFreak unit
- Power supply
Registration card
2x MIDI port adapters

Weight & Dimensions:
- Instrument size: 12.2 x 9.2 x 2.2 inches (311 x 233 x 55mm)
- Instrument weight: 2.3 lbs. (1.02 Kg)

Dimensions and Weight in Packaging

Black, with Microphone

  • Shipping Weight: 3.86 lbs

Black

  • Shipping Weight: 3.75 lbs
  • Shipping Dimensions: 17 x 11 x 3 in
  • Manufacturer Part Number (MPN): 570101

For support or warranty questions, please contact the manufacturer:
Web: https://www.arturia.com/support

Reviewers gave this product an overall rating of 5 out of 5 stars. (4 ratings)
Submitted September 1, 2023 by Jame Zel in Olathe, KS

"Quirky unique addition to the family"

Overall: 5 out of 5 stars
(see rating details)
Verified Purchaser zZounds has verified that this reviewer purchased this specific product from us.
I didn't really NEED it, I have both the FL controllers, the Maschine M3, and quite a few other toys - but, something stood out to me with this one. The microphone + vocoder was that special touch that sold it for me. Outside of the vocoder ...there's actually quite a decent library of various leads,pads,percs,fx etc to play with. Just got it recently so haven't explored it too deep but already had alot of fun with it. Even just as a midi controller - it's got TONS of knobs,keys, and such to map for whatever automation exploration your heart desires. Plus, this thing just LOOKS awesome lolIt does take some time to figure out what you're doing and how to use the vocoder and etc if you're used to the plug and play functionality of a midi controller... but once you've figured out how to feed it into your daw and record it...that's when the real fun starts. And thanks to YouTube, that's easy as watching some videos.

Musical Background:

Rapper,Songwriter,Producer

Musical Style:

Underground rap, and experimental hiphop beats.
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Black, with Microphone

Arturia MicroFreak Hybrid Keyboard Synthesizer -  Black
1 Arturia MicroFreak Hybrid Keyboard Synthesizer - Black
($349.00 each)
$349.00
Arturia MicroFreak Gooseneck Microphone
1 Arturia MicroFreak Gooseneck Microphone
($29.00 each)
$29.00
Free
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