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Arturia MICROFREAK, User Manual

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1. WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION

Congratulations on your purchase of the Arturia MicroFreak!

The MicroFreak is a compact, versatile, semi-modular synthesizer with many unique

features that will spark your imagination and creativity in a new way. It enables you to

experiment with modular sound construction without the hassle of patch cords.

Its core is an advanced digital oscillator with newly developed control options. The classic

Analog Filter guarantees a warm sound. Together they offer the best of two worlds: digital

and analog.

In addition to a standard envelope, a cycling envelope provides you with modulation options

only found on high-end modular systems.

The center point of the MicroFreak is a versatile matrix patchboard that has options similar

to the matrix of its elder brother, the MatrixBrute. The Matrix allows you to take control and

route modulation sources to a great number of destinations.

Another unique feature of the MicroFreak is an expressive touch capacitor keyboard that

responds to your finger pressure. Couple this with the paraphonic playing option, an

arpeggiator, and assignable matrix destinations, and you will understand why the

MicroFreak will soon be your favorite performance synthesizer.

Last but not least: the MicroFreak features two paraphonic sequencers, each with four

modulation tracks. Paraphonic means that they can record and play back up to four voices,

sharing the same filter, simultaneously.

Be sure to visit the

Arturia

website and check for the latest firmware, download the MIDI

Control Center, and check out the tutorials and FAQs. Get ready to explore synthesis in new

ways.

Musically yours, The Arturia team.

1.1. A fascinating adventure

As soon as you start experimenting with the MicroFreak, you'll be faced with many

questions: How do I make connections, what does the Filter do, what is an Envelope

Generator?

The answers to these questions come slowly: by reading forums online, comparing user

experiences and most importantly, by diving in.

Whatever you do, take the time to get to know the MicroFreak inside out. It will help you to

avoid a situation where you sit in front of your system tweaking knobs randomly, without

understanding what's happening, but hoping that something magical will happen. This is a

certain recipe for losing interest very fast.

To sustain the fascination you feel, learn the functions of the MicroFreak one by one and test

your knowledge continuously. It's the only way to experience the reward that comes with

being able to create the sounds as you imagine them.

Arturia - User Manual MicroFreak - Welcome and Introduction

4

Summary of Contents for MICROFREAK

Page 1: ...USER MANUAL...

Page 2: ...US Cl ment BASTIAT Jean Michel BLANCHET Joey BLUSH Maxime DANGLES Ken FLUX PIERCE Simon GALLIFET Tom HALL Victor MORELLO Ed TEN EYCK TESTING Arnaud BARBIER Florian MARIN Germain MARZIN Benjamin RENARD...

Page 3: ...ment The software license agreement specifies the terms and conditions for its lawful use No part of this manual may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any purpose other than purchaser s p...

Page 4: ...ify any of the specifications without notice or obligation to update the hardware that has been purchased IMPORTANT The instrument when used in combination with an amplifier headphones or speakers may...

Page 5: ...he sounds tweak a few controls skim through the features or dive as deep as you like you will never reach the bottom of it We are confident that MicroFreak will prove to be an invaluable companion as...

Page 6: ...ding Digitally Controlled Analog 27 5 Making Connections 28 5 1 Control Signals 28 5 2 The Matrix and its encoder 29 5 2 1 Sources and Destinations 30 5 2 2 Assigning destinations 31 5 3 Freaky ideas...

Page 7: ...63 11 1 The Key Hold Button 63 11 2 Sequencer and Arpeggiator 64 11 3 The Touch strip 65 11 3 1 Spice Dice 65 11 3 2 Bend 66 12 The Arpeggiator 67 12 1 Using Patterns 67 12 1 1 Creating Pattern Varia...

Page 8: ...Control voltages Pitch Gate and Pressure 91 15 1 2 MIDI and CV Gate signals DAW configuration 93 15 2 Clock sources destinations 93 15 3 The MicroFreak and your Modular System 94 16 Cheat Sheet 95 17...

Page 9: ...e performance synthesizer Last but not least the MicroFreak features two paraphonic sequencers each with four modulation tracks Paraphonic means that they can record and play back up to four voices sh...

Page 10: ...te of your knowledge as something that needs to be maintained and expanded Reading a manual again and again causes a shift in what you absorb from it You are building a living model of the instrument...

Page 11: ...er service charges incurred due to a lack of knowledge relating to how a function or feature works when the unit is operating as designed reading the manual is the owner s responsibility Please study...

Page 12: ...be informed of Arturia related news as well as promotional offers Connect to your Arturia account go to the section My Registered Products and add the MicroFreak synthesizer by entering its serial num...

Page 13: ...te matrix modulation knob the connection indicator LED moves to different patch points Once you ve reached the last point on the last row then the LED cycles back to the first point of the matrix whic...

Page 14: ...the Main Envelope Pressure the Keyboard and the Arpeggiator When you apply these polyphonic sources to polyphonic destinations such as the Oscillator parameters Type Wave Timbre and Shape each voice r...

Page 15: ...maining presets are empty for you to fill with your presets When empty their default name is Init and the default category is Bass Note By default the Factory settings are protected against overwrite...

Page 16: ...1 1 7 Master Volume The Master volume sets the Global volume of your MicroFreak If you need one preset to be louder than another you can set its relative volume in Utility select Utility Preset Preset...

Page 17: ...nstant Turning this knob clockwise increases the glide effect For a more detailed explanation of Glide refer to chapter 10 p 60 3 1 2 2 Digital oscillator The Digital Oscillator is the heart of the Mi...

Page 18: ...Filter LPF a Band Pass Filter BPF and a High Pass Filter HPF The Low Pass Filter attenuates weakens or removes frequencies above the cutoff frequency The Band Pass Filter attenuates weakens or remove...

Page 19: ...sheet p 95 Toggle between Arp Seq activates either the Arpeggiator or the Sequencer Set a swing rate Control the shape of the Attack stage of the Cycling Envelope Control the shape of the Fall stage o...

Page 20: ...later chapters Arp Seq lets you toggle between the Arpeggiator or the Sequencer Oct Mod sets the range for the Arpeggiator When the Sequencer is active it enables you to select one of four sequencer...

Page 21: ...switch When you press it the Sync LED will light up to indicate that LFO Sync is activated In synced mode the LFO rate is slaved to the Sequencer Arpeggiator tempo clock Seq In unsynced mode the LFO r...

Page 22: ...also be used as a fully polyphonic MIDI controller for other devices via the USB and MIDI out connectors on the rear panel 3 1 3 7 The Icon strip Right above the keyboard you ll see a strip with eigh...

Page 23: ...ck will improve the signal to noise ratio 3 2 2 Pitch Gate Pressure outputs These are typically used together to send electrical signals to an external device such as Arturia s powerhouse monophonic a...

Page 24: ...patible devices 3 2 5 USB DC IN This connector provides the power and data connections to a computer It can also be used with a standard USB mobile phone charger 5V 500mA allowing you to use your cont...

Page 25: ...MicroFreak are so low that you can power it with the same power bank you use to recharge your phone or tablet when you re in a place without power outlets 3 2 7 Power Connector The power connector co...

Page 26: ...signal controls the VCA In Paraphonic mode with Amp Mod ON the envelope is duplicated several times depending on the number of voices you have specified in Utilty These envelopes control a number of i...

Page 27: ...e encoder to load another preset you ll lose the changes you made to the original Preset So use the encoder with care by default switching presets clears any modifications done on the previously loade...

Page 28: ...r To quickly scroll through the characters options hold shift and turn the encoder Click to make a letter selection final this brings you to the next field in the name where you can repeat your select...

Page 29: ...set will always have the same length Changing these settings can make all the difference For example you ve created a sequence and used one of the modulation tracks to add a varying amount of glide to...

Page 30: ...mode Aftertouch Velocity Selects Pressure mode x 0 Velo amp mode 0 10 Sets how much velocity affects volume output x 0 Glide mode Time Sync Rate Set either a time based a synced or a rate based glide...

Page 31: ...with the sound you hear Or you can press the Panel button to copy all knob positions to reinitialize the preset with the current knob positions To give an example of updating a single knob You ve loa...

Page 32: ...resents in Hook mode you must sweep the knob until it catches its actual position before it has any effect Jump mode means the voltage jumps to the knob position as soon as you move it and Scaled mode...

Page 33: ...When you connect an envelope to the pitch input of the oscillator you will hear a sudden rise in pitch followed by a slow descent The Cycling Envelope can be set to repeat In this mode it becomes a s...

Page 34: ...no exception here but there is one major difference Matrix enables you to break the standard connections and create new ones that override these connections The thing that makes a synthesizer flexibl...

Page 35: ...the encoder This will change the screen to show MATRIX AMOUNT The amount value in the screen will highlight Turn the encoder to set a positive or negative modulation amount 3 To disable a routing and...

Page 36: ...or Icon buttons Spice Dice etc An example You want to modulate the Shape of an oscillator with the LFO Wave and Timbre are already fixed destinations on the Matrix Shape is not To add Shape as a dest...

Page 37: ...e CYCLING Envelope AMOUNT amount of CycEnv send to the Matrix Matrix Modulation Amount Sets the modulation amount of a Matrix point This last option deserves a bit more explanation Once you ve setup a...

Page 38: ...create a complex envelope that can control the filter or arpeggio rate in unexpected ways Another summing idea When you sum two modulations to control one destination the result will usually be unexpe...

Page 39: ...fore you get dizzy It s easy to make circular routings using the Matrix for example let the LFO modulate the Rise or Fall time of the Cycling Envelope and then let the Cycling Envelope control its own...

Page 40: ...lters on the other hand have something special to them The MicroFreak offers you the best of both worlds a digital oscillator and an analog filter 6 1 The oscillator as a sound generator When you hear...

Page 41: ...l list the oscillator types with their screen name in parentheses What makes it musically exciting is that you can select each of these parameters as a modulation destination in the Matrix Animating t...

Page 42: ...between the two copies of a sawtooth wave There is no effect when Wave is at 50 sawtooth Sub Adds a sine wave sub oscillator Tip If you need a sine wave you can use the filter to remove all harmonics...

Page 43: ...e the wave parameter with the LFO or the Cycling Envelope This modulation technique is called wavesequencing 6 3 4 Harmonic OSC Harmo Description Harmonic oscillators recreate sound by creating and su...

Page 44: ...e creates a decaying tone Position This controls where and how hard the resonator is struck it has no effect on the bowed part of the sound Decay Sets the amount of resonance by controlling the decay...

Page 45: ...avefolder A waveshaper acts on the rise and the fall stage of a wave It can make the rise time of a triangle wave steeper turning that triangle into a falling Saw wave It can also change the curve of...

Page 46: ...ll capable of creating a wide range of sounds It consists of two sine wave oscillators each modulating the phase of the other Ratio Sets the frequency ratio between the oscillators Amount Sets the mod...

Page 47: ...re voices to a chord you are essentially fine tuning and shaping the minor and major feel further Note If you want to know more about this fascinating subject search for music theory on a search engin...

Page 48: ...en through libraries of colors numbers letters and words Timbre The timbre knob will act on the speech itself It shifts the formants up or down Word The shape knob will scan through subsets of words t...

Page 49: ...behavior of real world instruments The extraordinary thing about the Modal Resonator is that it can change the shape it mimics on the fly when you turn a knob or modulate it externally with the LFO t...

Page 50: ...s are even some are odd The mix of odd and even harmonics largely determines the characteristic of the sound A filter is a circuit that allows frequencies harmonics to resonate in specific ways It wil...

Page 51: ...to pass will become smaller In the clockwise position the filter will start to self oscillate and can be used as a sine wave oscillator In that position it will block all sound from the Digital Oscill...

Page 52: ...a roll off that is much steeper than two pole filters The MicroFreak filter has a roll off of 12dB per octave The Cutoff knob enables you to control the filter cutoff point manually In its fully count...

Page 53: ...Filter Amount knob the corresponding point on the Matrix will light up As an alternative you can also fine tune the filter amount on the Matrix 7 2 2 Emphasis Resonance Modulation With the Resonance k...

Page 54: ...square random sample hold and random gliding or smoothed random Note The square wave has a 50 duty cycle which is tech talk for saying that it is on high for 50 of the time The last two LFO waves are...

Page 55: ...k could either be the internal clock of the MicroFreak the clock of your DAW or an external MIDI source The most common way to count time is 24PPQ 24 pulses per quarter note 4PPQ is the smallest count...

Page 56: ...ising Sawtooth can be useful to modulate the decay time of the Standard or Cycling envelopes It will add realism to drum or bell like sounds Remember that you can change the shape of the envelope atta...

Page 57: ...set the Cutoff to minimum and Resonance to maximum set Amp Mod on the Envelope to ON on the Envelope set attack to 1 7s decay to 7 7s sustain to 90 and filter amount to 70 You should now hear the fil...

Page 58: ...Release adjusts the time again from 0ms to 13 seconds that it takes the voltage to go from its attack level to the sustain level after the attack stage is completed 9 3 3 Sustain The sustain stage sta...

Page 59: ...rator is a great tool for generating complex modulation signals Unlike a standard envelope that cycles through its stages only once the cycling envelope can retrigger itself after the last stage has f...

Page 60: ...Note To get a feel for the effect of changes you make to the stages of the envelope connect it to the pitch of the Digital Oscillator Move the selection point on the Matrix to the CycEnv Pitch point...

Page 61: ...will seem reluctant to end the Fall stage 9 6 3 Using the Legato options Legato is the name for the most common keyboard playing technique It s when you put your fingers down on the keyboard one by on...

Page 62: ...complex dynamic envelopes An intriguing option is to use the Cycling Envelope to control stages of the Main Envelope Controlling the Attack will change the attack slope Controlling the Decay will vary...

Page 63: ...ing in Utility Preset Press mode A capacitive keyboard creates a sense of connectedness with the instrument that a standard keyboard cannot When you put your finger on the keyboard that finger becomes...

Page 64: ...e mentioned above To change from Aftertouch to Velocity or vice versa go to Utiliy Preset Press Mode and select either Aftertouch or Velocity Changing this setting will result in a different dynamic r...

Page 65: ...ure Range The selectable range is 0V to 10V The keyboard voltage is available at the back of the MicroFreak at the Pressure output You could use it to open up an external filter modulate the speed of...

Page 66: ...glide shape applied to it Increasing or decreasing the LFO rate will cause the LFO to sync to varying rates of the internal clock This will also affect the speed of the glide effect Freaky tip Glide...

Page 67: ...of your finger is in contact with the keyboard more contact will result in more pressure voltage and vice versa To achieve this with the MicroFreak define one of the Assignable destinations on the Mat...

Page 68: ...Freak with both hands Note The HOLD state is not saved with the preset Pressing it once activates Key Hold Whatever keys you hold down on the keyboard will remain active even after you lift your finge...

Page 69: ...an automated way without the use of a sequencer for example by modulating pitch with several sources simultaneously such as the LFO and the Cycling Envelope If the LFO and Cycling Envelope each have a...

Page 70: ...he touch strip You can also do this the other way around set an amount of Spice then select Dice and roll it by tapping on the touch strip Repeatedly tapping on different positions will change the kin...

Page 71: ...h different from bending with a wheel Unlike with a wheel you can place your finger directly on another point of the strip The pitch will then jump instantly to that pitch Another thing that makes the...

Page 72: ...oard Up will play the notes of your chord from left to right or bottom to top depending on your point of view The order in which you press the keys does not matter The arpeggiator will always play the...

Page 73: ...ou lift your fingers from the keyboard the pattern is gone forever 12 1 2 Transferring Arpeggios to the Sequencer Arpeggios are great for discovering melodic grooves that work The MicroFreak has a nif...

Page 74: ...n tempo divisions The Division Rate tells you how the arpeggiator is currently synced to the clock For example if it reads 1 2 one over two it will play a note with a length of two beats If the displa...

Page 75: ...ix straight notes with swung notes To activate Swing hold the blue SHIFT button and press Rate The swing range goes from 50 75 By default it is 50 12 5 Arpeggio Range By default the Arpeggiator will p...

Page 76: ...n arpeggiator s best friend 12 6 1 Spicing up your Arpeggios Use the Bend strip to change the pitch of your arpeggio Note If you need strong pitch variation you might want to change the default bend r...

Page 77: ...e has been implemented in many DAWs and now also in the MicroFreak More about the modulation recording tracks p 77 later The sequencer of the MicroFreak allows you to record two patterns A and B In pl...

Page 78: ...uring step recording to extend gate time of a note or enter a silent step A B Select one of the two sequencers O Turns on step recording when seq is stopped Toggles between Play and Stop stops step re...

Page 79: ...show Sequence X Loaded on the display You can play sequence pattern A and B alternatingly When play is active you can switch from pattern A to B by pressing the A or B icon The two pattern will alway...

Page 80: ...then advance to the next step without recording note data To hold a note or a chord over several steps hold the note chord and press the Tie Rest icon The sequencer will advance to the next step and...

Page 81: ...ts blinking the track is ready and waiting for you to play notes or knob movements into it Note When recording notes will run continuously and record whatever you play replacing what you have recorded...

Page 82: ...ou want to record events Make certain play is off and turn on step recording by pushing the record button Turn the Sequencer Rate knob until you are on the first step of the sequence or select another...

Page 83: ...ates the cutoff frequency of the filter Filter Resonance modulates the bandwidth of the filter Envelope Attack modulates the attack stage of the Standard envelope Envelope Decay modulates the decay st...

Page 84: ...of knobs parameters that can be recorded in a modulation track refer to the table in the step time recording paragraph above 13 2 3 Smoothing Smoothing also called slew makes modulation transitions l...

Page 85: ...the Matrix for that The fun starts when you also connect the LFO to the pitch input The two control signals now share the same input to the oscillator and will be summed If you select a rectangle wave...

Page 86: ...equencer to step mode by pressing the record icon Turn a knob of your choice to record a modulation Repeat this with other knobs if you want to apply multiple modulations Use the Rate knob to advance...

Page 87: ...quence snappier Try changing the settings at Utility Preset Envelope legato Will changing the sequence smooth settings create a different mood Change the settings at Utility Preset Seq 1 4 smooth The...

Page 88: ...Mod 0 10 Determines how velocity will affect volume output x 0 Glide mode Time Sync Rate Defines whether the Glide knob introduces a time based a time synced or a rate based glide effect x 0 Seq Lengt...

Page 89: ...Clock Auto defines the tempo source of the MicroFreak x x Clock One step 2PPQ 24PPQ 48PPQ allows you to adjust the Tempo setting to other PPQ standards x x Global Tempo Off On When set to On the temp...

Page 90: ...ription Utility MCC Misc Mem protect Off Factory only On Off enables you to overwrite all presets If set to Factory only you cannot overwrite factory presets If On your presets are also protected agai...

Page 91: ...r to settings specific to the MicroFreak 14 2 1 MIDI Control Center settings The MIDI settings are all using the MIDI Control Center s Device tab Again download the software from www arturia com MIDI...

Page 92: ...ming MIDI data echoes to the MIDI Out port Knob sends CCs ON Off Defines whether knobs send CC data CC data enables you to control external synths MIDI Merge USB KBD MIDI KBD BOTH KBD Defines how keyb...

Page 93: ...nt setting to catch hook it before sending anything Scaled increases or decreases the actual setting regardless of the knob position So if the actual value is 12 and you move the knob from 3 to 4 the...

Page 94: ...nse across the dynamic range Log requires the least amount of force to play louder notes but it s harder to control the dynamics at lower levels Exponential is less jumpy at lower dynamic levels but i...

Page 95: ...own that there may be times when you want to use it without a computer attached In this case you can use a standard USB mobile phone charger or a power bank to power the unit and connect everything el...

Page 96: ...ch Gate and Pressure The pressure voltage can either be velocity or pressure depending on what you have selected in the Utility section or the MIDI Control Center Some analog synthesizers have unusual...

Page 97: ...the control voltages that appear at the output adhere to the 1v per octave standard It s a standard defined in the early days of electronic music history It simply means that it needs one Volt to mak...

Page 98: ...ay the information it receives on MIDI channel one and send the things you play on the MicroFreak keyboard to the DAW on MIDI channel two This is set in Utility Midi Input chan and Utility Midi Output...

Page 99: ...or complex Ambient music you ll find Eurorack modules to match your music style Arturia has recently created a high quality Eurorack case the RackBrute With each new product generation Arturia added i...

Page 100: ...Creates a routing between the assign2 column and the selected knob Assign3 any knob Creates a routing between the assign3 column and the selected knob AssignX matrix point Creates a routing between th...

Page 101: ...old repeatedly if you want to clear all modulation tracks Shift Key Transpose sequence Shift A B Reload pattern A B as it was previously saved in the memory Sequencer Step record mode active Shift Rat...

Page 102: ...s other than storage purposes You shall have no further right or interest to use the software other than the limited rights as specified in this Agreement Arturia reserves all rights not expressly gra...

Page 103: ...apply to you All programs and accompanying materials are provided as is without warranty of any kind The complete risk as to the quality and performance of the programs is with you Should the program...

Page 104: ...in all the installations If this product is found to be the source of interferences witch can be determined by turning the unit OFF and ON please try to eliminate the problem by using one of the follo...

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