Arturia's MiniFreak is one of our favourite synths released in the past few years, a versatile and affordable hybrid analogue/digital poly that gained even more creative firepower following a comprehensive firmware update last year.
Well, the MiniFreak just got freakier, as Arturia drops another free update for existing owners, and an entirely new version of the synth to boot: MiniFreak Vocoder Edition.
Arriving with a fresh new white/orange paint-job and a detachable gooseneck microphone, the synth has been equipped with a 16-band vocoder engine thanks to its 4.0 firmware update.
MiniFreak's Vocoder FX engine has two modes: Ext In can be used to process not only vocals, but any external signals from the synth's 1/4" audio input, while Self Vocoder acts as a spectral processor and filterbank for MiniFreak's internal synth engines.
Each mode has four adjustable parameters, and four sub-types that offer a different sonic flavour, covering Clean, Vintage, Narrow and Gated styles.
Clean is a modern and transparent sound, while Vintage aims to reproduce the warmth of classic '70s and '80s vocoders. Narrow is for geared towards resonant filtered sound design, while Gated is designed to create plucky and percussive effects.
The new vocoder engine is also available in the updated MiniFreak V plugin, a software instrument that can be used standalone or integrated with the hardware instrument.
Priced at $699/€619, MiniFreak Vocoder Edition will ship in June.
Find out more on Arturia's website or check out a walkthrough below.
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