ARTURIA MINIFREAK 4.0 VOCODER: First Look & Walkthrough!
The Arturia MiniFreak Vocoder at a glance
The MiniFreak Vocoder is a polyphonic hybrid keyboard synthesizer with 31 oscillator models and vocoder function. The very neatly designed instrument is based on the MicroFreak from the same company, but offers a few extras compared to the desktop device. The slim keyboard with 37 keys, which also generates aftertouch and velocity, immediately catches the eye. A second oscillator, three effects processors and the extended sequencer complete the "big brother". The Arturia MiniFreak Vocoder can be played with 6 polyphonic voices and also offers mono mode, paraphony and a unison mode. This means that the instrument covers the most important variants of voice distribution and is therefore suitable for sounds that lend themselves to fat lead sounds, typical rave basses, monophonic sounds of all kinds, Chords and radiant pads.
A firework of sounds
The core of the MiniFreak is the hybrid sound generation, which consists of two digital oscillators and analog filters and VCAs. The two oscillators draw on 31 different oscillator models, some of which originate from the Mutable InstrumentsPlaits Eurorack oscillator. But that's not all, these models cover classic synthesizer sounds, virtual analog, Karplus Strong, wavetable, FM, ring modulation, Additive synthesis and much more. Oscillator 2 can also process oscillator 1 in different ways. The tone generators are followed by an analog 12dB multimode filter that corresponds to the Oberheim SEM VCF. The SEM filter is known for its soft sound, which is not too aggressive or intrusive even at full resonance. In combination with the overtone-rich sound generation, this filter is the perfect tool for rounding off digital facets. The last element in the signal path are the three effect processors, which generate 11 different effects. Delay, a wafting stereo chorus, a rather surgical 3-band EQ or even hard distortion; this is where you add the necessary salt in the soup to the sounds produced.
Vocoder function
The nickname "Vocoder" sums it up: a 16-band Vocoder including gooseneck microphone now adorns the MiniFreak. The sound generation has been expanded to include sawtooth, square and noise especially for the Vocoder in order to reproduce the classic vocoder sounds in the best possible way. The Timbre and Shape controls are used to adjust the behavior of the 16 frequency bands. The possibilities go far beyond the typical robot speech. 16 new presets provide an insight into what the MiniFreak Vocoder is capable of. A three-voice chord or a string sound, especially when the arpeggiator is integrated, opens up an unimagined range of sounds. The gooseneck microphone included in the scope of delivery is simply connected to the audio input.
Movement!
In addition to the two BPM-synchronizable LFOs, there are two envelopes to change the sound; one has a classic ADSR structure, while the other functions as an A/D envelope, can be looped or works in the style of a slope generator. The range of movements is completed by a modulation matrix that connects 7 sources and 13 destinations and displays them visibly. Pitch bend and the modulation wheel are designed as ribbon controllers with LED strips for visual control. A glance at the buttons above the keyboard reveals that the MiniFreak's arpeggiator and sequencer have been significantly expanded compared to the MicroFreak. Most of the functions are directly accessible and make operation much easier. A pattern can have a length of up to 64 steps. The popular chord mode and a practical dice function for randomly generated new sounds round off the sound shaping options. So that you can get started straight away and have enough space for your own creations, there are 256 factory and 256 user sounds available ex works.
MiniFreak V
The scope of delivery includes the free VST counterpart MiniFreak V, which, as the name suggests, is part of Arturia's V-Collection and is nothing less than the plug-in version of the Arturia MiniFreaks synthesizer. The analog filters and VCAs of the Hardware have been accurately reproduced digitally, so you can enjoy this synthesizer twice as much. The software is only available for registered MiniFreak hardware users and can only be installed via the Arturia Control Center (ASC).
Manufacturer information
Sonic Sales GmbH Liebigstraße 24 33803 Steinhagen Germany info@sonic-sales.de www.sonic-sales.de
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