Arturia Minifreak VST

[rezoneight]

Now that Trump had been invoked, the thread needs to be locked or those comments filtered to their own HPC.

The more we relegate a thread to it, the more miasma it flourishes in.
We're dealing with a list of deficiencies and disorders here and any engagement with it is their only reason and desire of being here.

And please leave any political figure or belief out as well?

Just scroll past its troll bait. A lack of engagement is the only thing that will make it move on to another feeding ground.

Oh please. Stop being a drama queen. Nothing was "invoked", a comparison in behavior was made.

And btw, you're the guy calling a person "it". That is better how exactly? Oh wait, its a comparison in behavior yes?

[kylie]

Its a f**king plugin, it's not going to colonize Mars or cure cancer. Arturia does a nice job but like anything else not everyone is going to like what they're doing.

Word !

[Scotty]

Another option for people with Plugin Alliance accounts is Thorn. It is $19.99 with the voucher which expires in another day. I like Thorn a lot and it has many advantages over the MiniFreak VST but they are not mutually exclusive as I see it. This is the Thorn voucher code... THORN-1999 .

There is a declick button at the top middle edge of the plugin and an oversample option in the settings. I usually keep the declick button on as it is prone to clicking without it engaged. I'd demo it first. I haven't tested it on Mac and don't know if it is M1 Native. It did win several industry awards and I can hear and see why.

For me, it doesn't replace any synth I have but the way it's designed and what kind of sounds it makes, it would add new ideas and spices. It can make excellent intro or a lo-fi kind of sounds. So, it's kind of excellent companion to beefy sounds from other synths.
It worth $49 but compared with $99 discounted synths like PhasePlant or Dune or Massive X, there is no chance as the mentioned synths can make beefy sounds I don't think MiniFreak is capable of.
So, as a secondary synth for twisted sounds and effects, it's an excellent synth for $49 IMO.

[EnGee]

Another option for people with Plugin Alliance accounts is Thorn. It is $19.99 with the voucher which expires in another day. I like Thorn a lot and it has many advantages over the MiniFreak VST but they are not mutually exclusive as I see it. This is the Thorn voucher code... THORN-1999 .

There is a declick button at the top middle edge of the plugin and an oversample option in the settings. I usually keep the declick button on as it is prone to clicking without it engaged. I'd demo it first. I haven't tested it on Mac and don't know if it is M1 Native. It did win several industry awards and I can hear and see why.

Thorn is a great synth! I always forget about it! Thorn is easily worth $99, although I got it for $39 I think a year or so ago.

I have it on M1 Mac, but not sure if it is native or Rossetta based. I'm on Windows right now, so I will check it later. Thanks for reminding me about Thorn!

It might off topic, but I have compared PhasePlant, Massive X, Icarus, Modwave and MiniFreak (all soft synths). After some careful listening, I liked mostly PhasePlant overall, second Massive X then Icarus then Modwave (which was weaker than the others). MiniFreak can't stand a chance against those, but it can accompany those with its simple but effective sequencer. It is very easy to have nice noise (artisan noise! ). Thorn is up with the mentioned synths, also Dune 3. Those are top big guys, but MF is a little brother compared to them. Still it has nice tricks and easy to program interface (MF).

[BBFG#]

Now that Trump had been invoked, the thread needs to be locked or those comments filtered to their own HPC.

The more we relegate a thread to it, the more miasma it flourishes in.
We're dealing with a list of deficiencies and disorders here and any engagement with it is their only reason and desire of being here.

And please leave any political figure or belief out as well?

Just scroll past its troll bait. A lack of engagement is the only thing that will make it move on to another feeding ground.

Oh please. Stop being a drama queen. Nothing was "invoked", a comparison in behavior was made.

And btw, you're the guy calling a person "it". That is better how exactly? Oh wait, its a comparison in behavior yes?

The post I was referring to was edited. Maybe as a result? And "it" was simply to enlarge the scope in a non personal/non gender way to include others that don't realize they're eligible too. As we all are.

Ready to get back to the topic now?

[BONES]

It's a VST version of a very inexpensive synth with some cool features but sound-wise I'm not sure that it's doing anything that you can't get out of other pieces of gear or VSTs.

Firstly, the hardware is not inexpensive. There are much better buys to be had out there. At Thomann, it's the same price as an Argon 8 and only $40 or so cheaper than a Cobalt 8 or Hydrasynth Explorer, all of which are better instruments and way better value for money. At my local music shop, Hydrasynth Explorer is $100 cheaper than Minifreak (although they don't have either in stock).

Soundwise, to my ears it is measurably worse than most similarly priced VSTis. It's got a very weak bottom end, which makes it sound thin and weak in that very "digital" way that most of us don't like. I don't just think there is nothing special about it, I think the core sound is actually very poor. I'm sure it's nothing you couldn't fix with some heavy-handed EQ but what's the incentive to bother, when there are so many better softsynths out there, many of which are cheaper?

What's more interesting is that some of us can hear it but a lot of people don't seem to notice (or are happy to forgive it). It's one thing to argue about GUIs and features and that sort of stuff, but surely when it comes to what you hear, it's not hard to be objective, is it? Is it because it's Arturia, are brands really that powerful?

[rezoneight]

Now that Trump had been invoked, the thread needs to be locked or those comments filtered to their own HPC.

The more we relegate a thread to it, the more miasma it flourishes in.
We're dealing with a list of deficiencies and disorders here and any engagement with it is their only reason and desire of being here.

And please leave any political figure or belief out as well?

Just scroll past its troll bait. A lack of engagement is the only thing that will make it move on to another feeding ground.

Oh please. Stop being a drama queen. Nothing was "invoked", a comparison in behavior was made.

And btw, you're the guy calling a person "it". That is better how exactly? Oh wait, its a comparison in behavior yes?

The post I was referring to was edited. Maybe as a result? And "it" was simply to enlarge the scope in a non personal/non gender way to include others that don't realize they're eligible too. As we all are.

Ready to get back to the topic now?

Uncle E was attempting to make a joke. It was a bad joke but a joke nonetheless. Not sure why he edited it. There was nothing bad about that post either.

One does not refer to a person as "it" as a means to remove gender. They/them. And don't try to blow smoke up anyone's ass. You were talking about Bones.

[BBFG#]

One does when referring to an undetermined singular entity.
Now that you chose to discuss this and not the actual topic, I'll scroll past you as well now.
(Thank you for identifying your reason in being here.)

[rezoneight]

It's a VST version of a very inexpensive synth with some cool features but sound-wise I'm not sure that it's doing anything that you can't get out of other pieces of gear or VSTs.

Firstly, the hardware is not inexpensive. There are much better buys to be had out there. At Thomann, it's the same price as an Argon 8 and only $40 or so cheaper than a Cobalt 8 or Hydrasynth Explorer, all of which are better instruments and way better value for money. At my local music shop, Hydrasynth Explorer is $100 cheaper than Minifreak (although they don't have either in stock).

Here in the US the Cobalt8/Argon8 ($869-ish) is almost $300 more than the MiniFreak. Hydrasynth Explorer is the same price. This is at Sweetwater. Likely the prices are similar elsewhere. I consider $599 inexpensive for synth hardware. I would definitely buy the Explorer over the MiniFreak at the same cost.

Soundwise, to my ears it is measurably worse than most similarly priced VSTis. It's got a very weak bottom end, which makes it sound thin and weak in that very "digital" way that most of us don't like. I don't just think there is nothing special about it, I think the core sound is actually very poor. I'm sure it's nothing you couldn't fix with some heavy-handed EQ but what's the incentive to bother, when there are so many better softsynths out there, many of which are cheaper?

I can't argue with you here. I like it. You don't. Doesn't make either one of us more right than the other. So that definitely makes a difference as to whether you'd spend money on it. For $49 for me there aren't many cheaper but as I said in another post I don't find enough special to spend even $49. I think it sounds fine. Has some cool features. But nothing I can't get elsewhere at the moment so why bother when it will be in V Collection 10 which I definitely will be buying? I already have a billion plugins and plenty of hardware (Subsequent 37, Cobalt8, System8, Pro-One, SH-2, an Uno Synth Pro, and a CS-6x from Yamaha I've been holding on to forever because its a great controller).

What's more interesting is that some of us can hear it but a lot of people don't seem to notice (or are happy to forgive it). It's one thing to argue about GUIs and features and that sort of stuff, but surely when it comes to what you hear, it's not hard to be objective, is it? Is it because it's Arturia, are brands really that powerful?

There is no such thing as objective when it comes to listening, its all preference. You don't like Moog ladder filters for instance. I do. I think the MiniFreak could fit in well for some things and stuff like the polyphonic effects make it real easy to get movement in the sound. Why does it need a bottom end? It seems to me it could be very good at certain types of sounds. It certainly shouldn't be someone's only synth.

[rezoneight]

One does when referring to an undetermined singular entity.
Now that you chose to discuss this and not the actual topic, I'll scroll past you as well now.
(Thank you for identifying your reason in being here.)

Except you weren't referring to "an undetermined singular entity". Your'e just being a jag dude. And you don't even have a big enough pair to admit it. But feel free to scroll past or ignore or whatever. I won't lose any sleep over it

[Pytchblend]

... so why bother when it will be in V Collection 10 which I definitely will be buying?.

This is conjecture, Arturia haven't said this yet, though I agree it's likely.

[rezoneight]

... so why bother when it will be in V Collection 10 which I definitely will be buying?.

This is conjecture, Arturia haven't said this yet, though I agree it's likely.

Quite true. They still haven't added Pigments and MiniFreak isn't an emulation like SQ80V or the OB. If it doesn't end up in V10 I'm personally OK with that too.

[Scotty]

I can forgive its shortcomings and still acknowledge they are there. Why would I bother with it?

I find the obsession with a big beefy bottom end and the cliche, "PHAT '' is over-rated for my style of music making. In a mix, I wind up EQing a lot of that stuff out to make room in the audio spectrum. I work with a lot of tracks, light orchestration, guitars, piano, acoustic drums, background vocals etc. I'm not looking to have every synth or acoustic instrument I own occupy that much room in the audio spectrum. If I want snappy envelopes the Minifreak likely isn't going to cut it. I'll pick something else.

If I am doing electronic types of arrangements and want a really big bottom end I dial up one of my mono analog synths and grab the audio. The Pro One or one of Moogs usually fits the bill. I don't need preset recall on those. They are simple and intuitive and enjoyable to work with from my perspective. I like hands on as PART of my workflow and getting my eyes off the screen from time to time. As mentioned to you previously I am mostly a studio nerd. Playing live requires accommodating another set of constraints. I get that. No argument.

In my studio I don't need one synth to have it all. If I have something that has a narrow range of functions but I connect with it that is all I need to value it. I like the original Minilogue for that reason for one hardware example. It doesn't get used often but I'm glad I have it here. I like the Minifreak VST for similar reasons. I also like Thorn, which you have mentioned favourably. Sometimes I enjoy just exploring the technology, creating patches and uncovering its tricks. It fascinates me even if it is a distraction at times. It is all part of it for me.

I can and do get overwhelmed by "do it all software synths". I own Pigments and Massive X. I don't use them. They don't suck and the people that choose them or rationalize their use are not pathetic. For me they just have too many options to grok for my particular brain to manage. People have different needs , workflows and capacities.

These are just preferences and I can afford to indulge them. I don't begrudge the choices of others. They don't need saving and I don't ride a white horse. They certainly don't owe me an explanation. Life is short. Play on.

What's more interesting is that some of us can hear it but a lot of people don't seem to notice (or are happy to forgive it). It's one thing to argue about GUIs and features and that sort of stuff, but surely when it comes to what you hear, it's not hard to be objective, is it? Is it because it's Arturia, are brands really that powerful?

[thecontrolcentre]

It worth $49 but compared with $99 discounted synths like PhasePlant or Dune or Massive X, there is no chance as the mentioned synths can make beefy sounds I don't think MiniFreak is capable of.
So, as a secondary synth for twisted sounds and effects, it's an excellent synth for $49 IMO.

I agree, and the "full price" is just ridiculous.

[tony10000]

... so why bother when it will be in V Collection 10 which I definitely will be buying?.

This is conjecture, Arturia haven't said this yet, though I agree it's likely.

Quite true. They still haven't added Pigments and MiniFreak isn't an emulation like SQ80V or the OB. If it doesn't end up in V10 I'm personally OK with that too.

I bought Mini Freak V and it doesn't even show up in Analog Lab. I wonder when/if it will?