Arturia has announced the availability of MiniFreak V – a software version of their recently introduced MiniFreak keyboard.
There’s a catch, though. MiniFreak V is only available as a freebie for owners of the MiniFreak hardware.
MiniFreak V is described as a “like-for-like software emulation of its hardware polysynth counterpart”. It features identical digital engines, paired with modeled analog filters, plus a plethora of wildly creative modulation, sequencing, and expression controls.
Arturia also shared an in-depth demo by sound designer Matt Pike, embedded above. It covers MiniFreak V’s features, how it sounds, and how it integrates with the hardware synth.
See the Arturia site for details.
Finally! And +1 on having the manual too. The minifreak is so freaky! The sequencer is pretty great too with the modulation lanes and the slice N Dicer. If only my hydrasynth had a sequencer.
You could always add an external sequencer. I find the Arturia Keystep-37 to be an ideal sequencer and auxiliary keyboard for use with my Hydrasynths. It lacks polypressure, but in use as a sequencer, that hasn’t been an issue that I couldn’t deal with/fix by editing the MIDI stream.
Yeah, I know. Was using the Deluge for that but its not the same. And I have the 49 key version so having a big ol keyboard with a little keyboard next to it to control it. I’m just not that dude with a room full of stuff all connected and convoluted. Nothing against the hydrasynth, its the best, but an integrated sequencer is always a great bonus a la polybrute and matrixbrute.
Make a soft synth and only offer it to people who already own the hardware version and no one else. That doesn’t make any sense at all.
Lol yeah it does
Very strange decision indeed. Understandable that it is free for hardware owners but why not make a paid version available for the rest of us?
I would buy it in a heartbeat
Frankly, makes a lot of sense to me. Since they already had a bulk of the code, the investment for this was probably reasonably low. I would guess they are aiming to incentivize hardware sales and don’t want to create a competing product / alternative that might cut into their profit margins overall. This will be a purchase reason for some (more customers) and it’s unlikely they will lose any/many previous customer. Think of it this way: If they did release the software version, people might hold off on the next digital synth they release in hopes of a VST only release down the pipeline. If the hardware version tanked right away, different story (example: Korg Opsix)
This Minifreak plugin is just ‘Pigments lite’. Anything this plugin can do, is easily done in Pigments and then so much more. Going further not sure if the polyphonic analog filters and VCAs in the hardware would be enough to make me get this synth. If I was going for a digital synth for sure I would get a Hydrasynth for the polyphonic aftertouch and the ribbon. It has an arp but if a sequencer became a must I wuld just get a keystep 37. Yes the Hydra is a $1200 synth but the Explorer is the same price as the Minifreak
Was waiting for everyone to be upset about it. I mean why not, its the internet. I’m sure they will be selling it after they sell enough of the Minifreaks. I think Akai did the same thing with the MPC software. Think about it, buy the $599 hardware synth or buy our $99 VST. Just gotta play the waiting game.
“That doesn’t make any sense at all.”
Not for users, true. But it makes financial sense for Arturia.
It will become part of a future year’s V Collection once the hardware’s popularity dies off.
This sounds like a teaser for an upcoming update of the V Collection of soft synths in 2023, where all users might get the MiniFreak V, plus the Augmented Grand Piano instrument as part of the bundle.
Nah, V Collection only contains the vintage emulations. Pigments is not contained either.
Arturia has started including new, non-vintage synths in V collection 9, like Augmented STRINGS and Augmented VOICES. So entirely possible this could show up.
This catch was advertised from day one on this device, so it’s really only a catch if one hasn’t been paying attention.
I get the feeling that once Minifreak sales dip to a certain point, they’ll offer the software version separately, to soak up any additional money to be had from DAW-focused types and people who don’t have a square inch left for more hardware.
I don’t like mini-keys. They make it look like a toy.
Arturia’s slim keys are larger than regular mini keys and very usable.
If I was the king of the world, my first edicts would be to ban country music and mini-keys.
The world would be a better place.
I’ve had a MaxiFreak plugin for a while now. It’s called VCV Rack Pro.
aaargh I’m a bit of a pirate myseld
I got both the hardware and software and it’s great! The plugin is identical minus the analogue filter. It will be available for all users at some point according to Arturia.
The hardware integration workflow has a fatal flaw, but it should be fixable. You have to click in the GUI of the plugin instance you want to select to be controlled by the hardware. I want to be able to control multiple instances and select which one I’m on at the moment FROM THE HARDWARE WITHOUT EVER TOUCHING A MOUSE OR LOOKING AT THE SCREEN. Might seem like a small difference, but having to take your eyes and hands off the hardware even just for a couple of seconds breaks the flow. If you could keep unbroken focus on the hardware while controlling multiple instances, it would truly feel like a power-multiplier.
Can anyone post a sound from the freak that’s actually worth the effort? From what I heard so far a million other plugins will do just fine.
Arturia says only for hardware owner “at the moment”, so no catch here, just have to be patient…..
That demo dude’s music totally sounded like Depeche Mode three quarters of the way through. It sure would be nice if a Super Freak was made and presented soon, offering more polyphony and the famed modulation matrix.
This makes perfect sense.
Obviously Arturia doesn’t want cheap software “knockoff” imitations of genuine hardware cannibalizing the hardware synth market.
To do that you’d have to be some kind of greedy synth-hating monster with zero morals. Even worse would be if you didn’t even make the original hardware synth yourself and made absurd claims like “the patents have expired so they are free for anyone to use” – now we’re descending to the depths of a certain company starting with the letter B.
Right, synthtopians? 😉