Arturia Minifreak VST

[zerocrossing]

Would people be willing to pay $600 for the vsti version? Not many people would buy the hardware version if a cheaper vsti version was available.

Edit: I'm guessing that would be part of the thought process. I wouldn't bother with the hardware version if I could get the vsti version cheaper.

Well, Korg is selling the Wavestate and the Wavestate plugin. OpSix too. I think I just read a guy’s post that said he recently bought both on GearSpace. There’s a whole world of people out there that appreciate hardware, even if just for the dedicated interface. There’s another world of people who’d rather have a hot poker in the eye than make music using a computer.

[briefcasemanx]

They'll probably give it as a bonus to early hardware buyers and then a year from now offer it to the unwashed masses once the novelty of the new hardware device has worn off somewhat

[trusampler]

Anyone have clips of audio or videos of the hardware vs plug-in ? Curious how close they are

[Cuauhtli]

Good question. Since the hardware has analog filter(s), the vsti will probably sound different if not outright inferior.

[SHall1000]

Good question. Since the hardware has analog filter(s), the vsti will probably sound different if not outright inferior.

Also, won’t this largely depend on the D to A converters in the hardware vs those in your audio interface?

[foosnark]

Modern converters are a smaller factor than a lot of people seem to think. Nobody's going to be using shitty DACs, it's not 1988 anymore.

Filter modeling in software can be excellent -- there's video of the Doepfer Wasp filter for VCV 100% matching a hardware one on a spectrum analyzer and an oscilloscope. When someone says they've modeled a specific analog filter in software, you can't automatically assume that it's unlike the real thing, but you also can't assume that it is without proof.

By making the VST one of the selling points of the hardware, Arturia put themselves in kind of a weird place. They probably don't want people saying the plugin doesn't sound as good as the hardware. I predict they won't sell the VST separately until sales of the hardware fall off... and then they're going to want to have an upgrade path from the software to the hardware, selling the idea of using it as a dedicated controller. Which will be a little tricky since it's not a fantastic controller and the UI is probably less annoying in VST form

[Cuauhtli]

If this experiment by Arturia is successful, might we see software versions of the brutes and future hardware synths in future? A way to keep the v collection growing.

[briefcasemanx]

Modern converters are a smaller factor than a lot of people seem to think. Nobody's going to be using shitty DACs, it's not 1988 anymore.

Filter modeling in software can be excellent -- there's video of the Doepfer Wasp filter for VCV 100% matching a hardware one on a spectrum analyzer and an oscilloscope. When someone says they've modeled a specific analog filter in software, you can't automatically assume that it's unlike the real thing, but you also can't assume that it is without proof.

By making the VST one of the selling points of the hardware, Arturia put themselves in kind of a weird place. They probably don't want people saying the plugin doesn't sound as good as the hardware. I predict they won't sell the VST separately until sales of the hardware fall off... and then they're going to want to have an upgrade path from the software to the hardware, selling the idea of using it as a dedicated controller. Which will be a little tricky since it's not a fantastic controller and the UI is probably less annoying in VST form

You're probably talking about this:



And no, the software doesn't 100% match the hardware, which sounds more screamy and alive.

[gExpectations]

that cytomic guy did an amazing job tho, i personally can hear almost no difference in this demo, would need it more in context and some sweeps and more complex material to see how and if they are different.

[tha_man]

I don't use hardwave because of it's sound, I use it because I get dedicated tactile interface (way nicer than midi mapping generic midi controllers), which is fun and inspiring to use and to get away from a mouse and screen when making a patch or recording a melody. I don't care for software editors of hardware, I would rather just use a plugin then, it can also work without hardware "dongle" and most of the time sounds the same or maybe even better than (especially when comparing it to digital, or even some digitally controlled analog hardware).

But hardware setup can also be quite limited and annoying to work with in certain ways (all the cables, interferences, polyphony limitations, state saving etc.). And no hardware sequencer can quite compare to the power of DAW, when needed. This is why I think hybrid setups with synths like Minifreak, which are fully integrated with a plugin and either hardware od software counterpart can work fully standalone (at least that's how I understood it from a presentation), could be the future. All the tactile feel and control of hardware, with none of the limitations and annoyances (e.g. full project recall, portability etc.). Opsix and Virus are kind of half way there (opsix missing integration, virus missing standalone software operation), but Minifreak has both, and I'm really looking forward to see it in action.

[gExpectations]

if you like plugins with vsts and havent looked at it, all elektron overbridge gear is handy for the exact same reason. you dont even need free ins on your interface!

[AdvancedFollower]

They'll probably give it as a bonus to early hardware buyers and then a year from now offer it to the unwashed masses once the novelty of the new hardware device has worn off somewhat

That makes the most sense from a marketing perspective, though my guess is it will be sooner than in one year.

Having the VST version ready to mass market as a standalone product is also smart in case the component shortages and/or inflation worsens. It's currently showing 5 - 7 weeks for the next batch of units on Thomann. If you can't make enough units to meet demand, launching the VST is a good way to meet some of that demand. Profits per unit would probably be lower for the VST (since the VST will probably have to sell for under €199 to be competitive) but if you're already selling all the hardware units you can manufacture and there's still demand, VST sales won't cannibalize on hardware sales.

[zerocrossing]

Good question. Since the hardware has analog filter(s), the vsti will probably sound different if not outright inferior.

Charlie Clouser, formally of NIN, posted examples of his Prophet VS compared to Arturia’s Prophet VS V and they were nearly identical. I can get Prophet 5 V to sound identical to my Prophet 6, and I’m talking about the difficult stuff like oscillator sync, and audio rate modulation via osc 2. If they could swing those emulations, you don’t think they could get their own synth right?

[Greenstorm33]

IMO rather than release MinifreakV to the masses they should add a Freak engine (2x freak osc with crossmod like Minifreak) and the Freak filter emu to Pigments. It's less likely to cannibalize hardware sales since it's not identical to the hardware and it's easy since they've already got code for both those things that runs on PC and Mac.

[SHall1000]

IMO rather than release MinifreakV to the masses they should add a Freak engine (2x freak osc with crossmod like Minifreak) and the Freak filter emu to Pigments. It's less likely to cannibalize hardware sales since it's not identical to the hardware and it's easy since they've already got code for both those things that runs on PC and Mac.

Great idea. I don’t think it’s likely as will be less of a revenue generator for Arturia. All Pigments updates so far have been free.