Arturia MiniFreak 37-key Hybrid Synthesizer Reviews

I love this 'little' synth so much. The more time I spend with it, the more I enjoy it. It was a little overwhelming at first, but it has given me so many options for sonic exploration. I love how easy it is to build new sounds using the two oscillators and the three effects - that alone can be a rabbit hole. Then there's the arpeggio/sequence patterns, the matrix options, the dual slides... This thing offers so much. The included Minifreak V VST has also been fun to play with. I would definitely recommend this for anyone looking to get into synths.

I have a pretty decent digital synth collection... an Iridium, a Hydrasynth and a Wavestate, so finding another synth to fill a niche was a bit difficult, given how much those do. I was playing around with the VST of the Minifreak and started to realize that this thing had some sounds I wasn't getting from my others, and also had a really cool step sequencer/arpeggator.

After someone gifted me a Sweetwater card, I took the plunge and bought this, I'm so glad I did. It is way more synth than you'd think for the price. I have a lot of fun tweaking the arpeggiator in real time, there's some really interesting oscillator choices, and the effects sound great. The only thing I wish it had was a separate envelope for the filter, but even without it, this is still a great synth, and is hardly some kind of toy. Arturia did a great job on this one.

The sound design possibilities on this synth are pretty amazing and the menu diving is very easy to understand due to the physical layout of everything. The keybed is very nice feeling (coming from someone who mostly used to play on the microkorg). The sequencer is powerful and easy to understand as well, I do recommend watching Arturia's tutorial on the sequencer to learn everything it can do. Editing the parameters on this synth live is very easy due to the physical knobs assigned for most of the parameters. The VST makes sound design a lot easier and also gives you access to wavetable synthesis. That said, you don't really need to pair up with the VST, even for designing more complex sounds. All in all, amazing synth especially at this price range. Tons of fun to jam with and syncs very well external gear.

This is my first synth. I think it might be hard to top this one. The presets are many and give a great sampling of the wide variety of sounds the Minifreak is capable of. I have yet to crack open the manual as this thing is very intuitive and it's so great to be able to just grab a knob and create all new sounds without having to dive into menus. I feel like I've already figured out what 95% of the controls do just from playing around. The possibilities seem endless.

Shout out to my favorite sales engineer, Richard Whittington.

If you hear that this is a microfreak with an extra oscillator…that is just an understatement.

If you want to learn some synthesis, want to experiment with synths, or just want a great little synth for sound design Minifreak is it.

The second oscillator is not conventional at all, it can be added to effect the first oscillator! The addition of effects was grand! The fact that the editor is also a plug in instrument is over the top!

I love this synth!

I watched dozens of synth reviews before choosing this as my first synth.

It inspires creativity and is a sonic rabbit hole. From acid bass to long floating ambient pads, from pure to freak.

It's intuitive and approachable for those who've not used modular but want some similar routing techniques used in modular synthesis yet it's not limited in its capability.

I can't recommend it more highly.

This Synthesizer does everything it promised & then some! When looking for an instrument, purchasing that instrument, and making right with your Clientel, well this is what you want! Something that gives more than expected, without a hefty price tag!

-Isreal D

There are few synths on the market as feature laden as this one at this price point. However, what really makes the minifreak shine is the obvious care that was put into the user interface. With this keyboard, Arturia created a very deep synthesizer that manages to keep menu diving to a minimum. Small details like the way sequences can be transposed while staying in key by designating a scale make the sequencer so much more useful for live performances. Another small detail that was really thought out was the inclusion of a dedicated vibrato oscillator that has a preset mapping to the mod wheel. There are many times when making a sound, that you have used both LFO's for other perimeters, but for expressivity you would like to have a third LFO available for vibrato. Both of these features are rarely spoken about in reviews because they aren't necessarily the most attractive features, but the fact that their included show how much time Arturia must have spent working out the user experience of this synth.

Was asked to share my thoughts about this product by Sweetwater. As of now, I see 7 (seven) reviews and they are all 5-star. So on that note (just another opinion for what it's worth)... I also feel this is a 5-star rated instrument (regardless of experience: beginner or advanced). I also like the quality of this synth, along with other instruments branded Arturia.

Can't believe how fun this thing is! You can deep dive if you want but don't need to. Lots of great presets too! Only wish the screen was a little bigger. Can't wait for another Arturia release. Alden is always great to work with. A true professional!

Intuitive, and a good learning synth. I like the sound of 80's horror movie analog, and with some adjustment you can get close. One of the reasons I chose this was the minimal menu diving and ton of presets. Only caveat, I wish it would have come with a printed manual in the box. It's a keeper.

While the MicroFreak has proven to be a modern classic with its amazing capabilities in a highly affordable package, the MiniFreak essentially doubles-down on everything the MicroFreak did great, along with added effects, metal casing and great build quality, physical keybed, and much more. There were a few legitimate gripes with the MicroFreak such as a weak low end/bass, but the MiniFreak sounds fantastic in that department. In short, Arturia knocked it out of the park with this one, and it's affordable! Highly recommended.

The price point is a steal honestly for what you get out of this synth. Very fun and easy to use, has a lot of untapped power and potential waiting to be harnessed. I truly don't think I will ever sell this synth and it's not even that expensive compared to some, but the overall enjoyment of this thing is great! Im having an awesome time with it. If you could marry a synthesizer I would have 5 wives.

Hands down the best synth I own. For the price I don't know of anything that can beat it. If you like experimental, industrial, or anything in between. This thing delivers. The sounds with the onboard effects and actual keys instead of touch keys like on the microfreak. The step sequencer, the midi in out and thru, with actual midi ports, the stereo out, and the audio in, the metal body, the efx, these are just a few things which are a major upgrade from the microfreak. The microfreak has a few good percs which this doesn't have. But definitely not missed. It's good to have both. But if I had to choose one synth that is my number one top pick out of all the synths I own this thing is just the absolute best especially for some gritty sinister industrial music. The folks at Arturia knocked it out of park with the mini freak.

I'v only had mine a short while, but I own a lot of synths, and this one is the most fun to explore.
If you color inside the lines, then it isn't much different than any other good subtractive synth. BUT if you start experimenting and even just randomly twist knobs, you'll be surprised and delighted at every turn. Sounds range form soft and ethereial to very harsh and "industrial. I'm not impressed by most of the factory parches, but they do make good points of departure for your own. With 512 slots, there's lots of room. For ambient, I pair this with a 1010 Lemondrop and a Boss RV500 reverb. You can get lost for hours...

So many great patches and modulations you can quickly apply. I have a ton of recent synths but wow I now find myself grooving endlessly on the Minifreak. It's very easy to understand the overall workflow with tons of hidden depth when you're ready to explore. Get your freak on!

I do not play guitar but always envied the portability of the guitar. This was my solution as a synth guy.

This is my first hardware synth. I normally program Phase Plant. I wanted a portable device I could play in the same room as my wife as she watched TV. I wear headphones and can play music and still spend time with her.

One thing I didn't realize from the picture and all of the videos I watched on this product was that the keys on the keyboard are mini. Not a deal killer since I'm not a great player and I don't have large hands. Even so, it took some getting used to for me.

As I write this review, I haven't delved too much into programming this device yet. But based on the little bit of dabbling I've done, I think having all the physical controls and not having to menu dive too much is really nice.

Jay Diehl was super helpful (as always) in the purchase of this and it turns out that he too owns one and loves it too.

The Minifreak goes way beyond what I expected, its capabilities are simply amazing, providing unlimited fun!
I think Arturia has a major winner with this instrument and highly recommend it.


Thanks to Kevin for all his dedicated help and customer service!!!

Dave

I really enjoyed this synth in the beginning. Very expressive and powerful. The first unit died after a firmware update...
Now the 2nd has been in repair for several weeks, since Sweetwater isn't an authorized Arturia repair dealer.
The right channel stopped working after a few months of very light use. It appears that little to no new units have come in from
Arturia in a month or more. Maybe a supply chain issue, or maybe something worse... Currently I can't find another brand with all the
features that this unit has. I just wish it was more dependable. It gives you a lot for the price, and really appeared to be built well, but
I'm concerned about the longevity of this product. Maybe I just got 2 bad units. I own several other Arturia products, from their flagship, to both drum machines, and a few keyboards in between. And have been impressed the quality of their product line for many years. Hopefully, if and when I get my MiniFreak back, or replaced it will last for many years to come.