When Arturia announced that its new MiniFreak hardware synth would come with an accompanying like-for-like software version, there was some disappointment that the plugin wouldn’t be available to buy on its own.
We’re pleased to be able to report, then, that Arturia has now seen sense and started selling MiniFreak V as a standalone product.
Like its ‘physical’ sibling, MiniFreak V is a six-voice, twin-engine synth. Each engine can operate in multiple different modes, and you can use the engines individually, stacked, or to process each other’s output for “unique compound sonic behaviour”. While the hardware MiniFreak has analogue filters, the V version’s are modelled.
Further sound design takes place in the modulation matrix, which offers the likes of polyphonic ADSR envelopes, customisable multi-segment LFO shapes, FM & ring modulation, and ‘Spice & Dice’ randomisation.
The MiniFreak V’s controls are spread across multiple pages: the front panel keeps things relatively simple with a stripped-back set of parameters (you can tweak the two oscillators, filter and FX), while the Advanced panel adds access to the mod matrix, shaper and more. Finally, there’s a dedicated page for the sequencer and arpeggiator.
We touched on the MiniFreak V in our review of the MiniFreak, noting that some of its UI features, such as oscilloscopes for the synth engines and animated visual representations of the envelopes, actually make it a better environment for sound design than the hardware.
The MiniFreak V comes with the same preset selection as the hardware, and sounds can be exchanged between the two versions. It runs on PC and Mac in VST/AU/AAX formats, and is available now for the introductory price of €99 (the regular price, as of 2 February, will be €199). It’s also currently being given away for free to anyone who buys V Collection 9.
Find out more and download a demo on the Arturia website.
