Arturia MicroFreak from Pad to Arp

In this video, I show how you can easily transform a pad preset into a patch suitable for arpeggiator patterns. In the process, I visit most of the different oscillators on the MicroFreak, and play around with both specific oscillator parameters and the generic envelope, filter and glide parameters.
UPDATE 2020-01-12: My "Silver Glass" album on Bandcamp features the MicroFreak on all seven tracks: waveformer42.bandcamp.com/albu...
The pad preset is from the free Plaisir Pads sound bank from Arturia, available here: www.arturia.com/products/hard...
The MicroFreak is naturally the star of the show, but I also use the Zoom MS-70CDR for some external effects, and the Novation Circuit for some drums and bass during the jam that goes through most of the video.
The pad presets in Plaisir Pads are all excellent starting points for more arp-ish sounds, and with dedicated controls for filter and envelope on the MicroFreak, it's really easy to transform sounds between pads and arps.
The MicroFreak is a lot of fun! Highly recommended.
Gear:
- Arturia MicroFreak
- Novation Circuit
- Zoom MS-70CDR
- Ammoon AM-228 mixer
- Korg Mini Kaoss Pad 2S (just for recording)
Connections:
- MicroFreak - Zoom MS-70CDR - Mixer
- Circuit - Mixer
- Mixer - KP2S
MIDI:
- Circuit - MicroFreak
Effects:
- MS-70CDR: Ensemble - AutoPan - Filter Delay (dotted 8ths) - HD Hall
If you want to support me, consider using these affiliate links when buying gear (or other stuff):
- Thomann: www.thomann.de/?partner_id=65575
- Reverb: reverb.grsm.io/Waveformer
- Amazon: amzn.to/2SfJleI

[@seanmangan2769]

I really enjoyed the format of this video, I knew, moment by moment, what was being changed, and could clearly hear the result. Well done!

[@Waveformer]

Thanks, Sean. I’m quite new to creating tutorials, and it’s nice to get feedback 😊.

[@langstonfelix3668]

InstaBlaster.

[@erudite_beats]

Did you just add text to clarify the parameters being changed? That's such a clever solution to the issue that tiny knobs and dials are just a little hard to make out in videos like this, which is the better trade off to only seeing one instrument real close.

[@electriceyeslide5959]

I love my MicroFreak, most underrated synth on the market Love it!

[@dmcinnis23]

This was an amazing demo! Seeing what you were changing with text really helped. Loved the sounds too! You’re really showing the range of creativity with the Microfreak.

[@shiva007freephenix]

Very cool melody and ambiance ! Bravo !

[@Waveformer]

Alexandre Quaranta Thanks 😊🙏🏻.

[@brianlee6709]

Really well done. Enjoyed this!

[@Waveformer]

Brian Lee Thank you 😊. The MicroFreak is a really cool little synth, especially when paired with some effects.

[@falazarte]

That elevated my spirit. thanks!

[@Waveformer]

Fabian Lazarte Glad you liked it 😊.

[@smokymountainblogger5509]

Masterful use of your tools! Very nice!

[@Waveformer]

Thanks 😊

[@XanderEwald]

Mesmerizing and beautiful!

[@Waveformer]

Thanks 😊

[@spikemoss]

This is great. Glad I stuck around for when the circuit came in and the effects came on. Nice to see someone using multiple features of the microfreak in one track!

[@Waveformer]

Spikemoss thanks 😊

[@thesesmallboxes]

Well done!! I enjoyed the track a lot, and really appreciate the “captions” letting us know what you were up to!

[@Sakunera]

Best use of the Microfreak I have seen so far. Could actually see myself having fun with this one. Thanks!

[@Waveformer]

Lots of fun in a small package 😀

[@themetamorph]

Superb work!Lovely sounds.I have a Circuit and the Microfreak will probably be my next synth purchase!

[@Waveformer]

giddygavin they go very well together 😀.

[@alp93]

Excellent creative sounds

[@Waveformer]

Thanks 😊😊

[@cenapturgut]

best microfreak demo jam

[@Waveformer]

Select Estates International cenap Turgut Thank you 😊. Its a lovely synth, I must say.

[@holotropik]

Fantastic! Thank you for closing the deal 😂👍😎

[@Waveformer]

holotropik I’ve had it for just a few days, and I love it already 😃.

[@randyworby]

So creative and inspiring! Hearing this makes me really want to buy a microfreak and start messing around with ideas! Thank you so much for creating such beautiful music and giving us all tips and teaching us all kinds of stuff! Keep up the good work

[@Waveformer]

Thanks, Randy. I keep coming back to the Freak. It’s such a versatile synth with lots of cool oscillators and a really nice filter.

[@zblofu]

Good stuff OP! That is such a great set up too. You have put together a smart set up and all with relatively affordable gear.

[@Waveformer]

zblofu Thanks 😊. I’m pretty happy with this setup. I like experimenting with different setups. I tend to start with a clean table every second month and then just see where it takes me 😀.

[@meinfs]

Delicious sounds!

[@Waveformer]

Thanks 😊😊😊

[@JonathanRCross]

Darn, brilliant demo.... now I want one.

[@Waveformer]

Jonathan Cross Thanks 😀. I’m really happy with it.

[@thomasekman4548]

Great setup... it really makes me to wanna get MicroFreak together with the Zoom.. Arps give vitality to electronic music....👍🏻

[@Waveformer]

It’s a great combo 😊

[@sklandarok]

reeeally nice ☺ good work ty for sharing ❤

Simply fantastic. Amazing.

[@Waveformer]

😊😊

[@BrunoFinger]

I learned a lot of things just by watching this video. I have a similar setup with a Microfreak, Electribe 2 and a Volca Bass. I am gonna try to apply what I learned here to my music. Thanks :)

[@Waveformer]

Glad you found it useful. Sounds like you have a great combo!

[@Stadsjaap]

Tactile and versatile. Looks like a great little machine.

[@Waveformer]

Joe Botha It’s great for arps! The modulation matrix is a killer feature.

[@KrisBarton432]

Great demo!!!

[@Waveformer]

Thank you 😊

[@eldruidacosmico]

It's amazing how we are in 2022 and the bricks that Jean Michel Jarre, Kraftwerk and Tangerine Dream laid are still there like monoliths. This is a beautiful work man, congrats.

[@Waveformer]

Yes, they were really visionaries, ahead of their time 😊

[@MikeFelkerVideos]

Nice groove going on there

[@Waveformer]

Thanks, man 😀

[@pedrokiles3019]

Beautiful! Thanks

[@Waveformer]

😊😊

[@Musica-Biblia]

My friend, I just heard ... beautiful ! ! !

[@Waveformer]

😊

[@someoneanonymous1]

This is fantastic! just sold me on the MS-70CDR which has been in my shopping basket for the past few days and I've been going back and forth... probably a MF also in the near future :) I really like the interplay between the bass on the novation and the microfreak sounds

[@Waveformer]

Someone anonymous cool! I hope you’ll be happy with the MS-70 😃.

[@joanne16775]

good explanation, great sound, well done :))

[@Waveformer]

Thank you, Michael 😊

[@thedeepblueskys]

@3:00 is when it started to get real! Sounds amazing!!!

[@Waveformer]

😊

[@OwerWild]

great work! Congrat!

[@Waveformer]

😊😊😊

[@blu3ca1]

Wow thanks! Great for learning! 😁

[@harleyproveau]

awesome stuff man

[@Waveformer]

Harley Proveau thanks - glad you liked it 😊

[@dillipphunbar7924]

Really good !

[@Waveformer]

Dillip Phunbar Thanks 😊

[@dwdougherty]

Very nice!

[@Waveformer]

dwdougherty Thank you 😊 😊

[@thevanishingsaxon663]

Damn I really want a Microfreak now.

[@demokanozkok1027]

Superb!

[@Waveformer]

Demokan Ozkok Thank you 😊

[@NicMG]

Reminds me of Vangelis, great track dude

[@Sick1982]

Awesome! Subscribed!

[@stallionmusic750]

Amazing demonstration and performance. I’m sure there’s an incredible visceral feeling from using hardware, but I just can’t justify pulling the trigger when I know can make something similar in serum quickly

[@Waveformer]

Stallion Music for me personally, it’s all about inspiration and actually creating new music. I sit in front of a computer all day as part of my work, so getting away from the mouse, keyboard and screen when playing and creating music has been really important for me. That said, I think DAWs and softsynths are great, and I’ll probably return to that world at some point, but for now, I’m enjoying the limited but very tactile and fun “hardware only” bubble 😀.

[@Waveformer]

The Five Elements Yes you can. Just be aware of the fact that the circuit only has stereo outs, so the effect will work on both synths and drums.

[@Waveformer]

The Five Elements Yeah, that’s easy. A standard mini jack cable from midi out in the Circuit to midi in on the MicroFreak. Enable midi sync send on the Circuit and midi sync receive on the MicroFreak.

[@augustosuarez1642]

Buen trabajo Amigo! !!

[@Waveformer]

Augusto Suarez gracias 😊.

[@mops58]

A realy cool Synthesizer and a cool Performance 😀

[@Waveformer]

Thanks 😊

[@ProfessorSaibertin]

Nice stuff.

[@Waveformer]

ProfessorSaibertin Thank you, professor 😊.

[@donkeevney]

Excellent.....really inspiring. Sold my microfreak....mistake....buying another one.

[@johnpaullovetek1809]

Positive vibes 🎹💯🎼

[@Waveformer]

😊🚀

[@Dionisaf]

very good

[@Waveformer]

Thank you 😊😀

[@MrJackal43]

Super cool.... I’m sold on the MicroFreak. As soon as I pay off my race car parts...

[@Waveformer]

Supreme Commander of the Solarverse 😊😊😊 🏎

[@zugel]

Very nice, I hear some Jarre in there. Thanks

[@Waveformer]

Yeah, I couldn’t resist 😀.

[@carstenherbst2934]

Nice Done!

[@Waveformer]

Carsten Herbst Thanks 😊

[@sugumarankumareson176]

Lovely

[@Waveformer]

Sugumaran Kumareson Thanks 😊

[@vr4ever645]

This is so awesome! 4 people confused up and down buttons...

[@Waveformer]

Glad you liked it 😊. Perhaps those 4 people just don’t have a MicroFreak 😉.

[@couchcamperTM]

now i really want one xD

[@Waveformer]

couchcamper I’m very happy with it 😃.

[@JayTronik1]

really interesting to listen to :D

[@Waveformer]

Jay Tronik thanks 😊. It’s kind of meditative to listen to the arpeggiator on the Freak while slowly changing the oscillator parameters.

[@JayTronik1]

Waveformer yes quite hypnotic :))) great vid!

[@larsgustav.gudbrandsen]

When in doubt: SuperSaw!

[@malcolmbliss777]

The only device here I am missing is the notation (using DrumBrute instead). Big fan of all things Arturia and Zoom. Even the Amoon mixer is a treat!

[@doctorwhyphi]

Excellent!! Inspiring. When you turn knobs, would a DAW record such actions as midi?

[@Waveformer]

Doctor Why Thanks 😊. I haven’t tried recording MIDI from the NTS-1, but according to the MIDI implementation chart, it should transmit MIDI over USB for almost all parameters (possibly not arpeggiator on/off, I think).

[@stephenmurphywilson7294]

this makes me want to make music, :)

[@Waveformer]

Cool! 😀🎛🎹🎶

[@svenjansen2134]

Start!

[@EarlyMist]

I might sell my Summit and pick this up. Its much more in line with what I'm after...plus the oscs are digi and the filter is analogue and sounds it, both of which factors initially drew me to the Novation. Summit is amazing, just overkill for my wishes

[@loophren]

A lovely job and vidéo, you win a New sub ;-) I don’t Know your mixer, you can’t record with this ? Thanks for explains in your description and during your video.

[@verdielg]

This was cool. I'm looking for beginner synth with a desktop/small form factor such as the MicroFreak. Would you recommend this or another? I'm looking for more pad sounds with options for modular connectivity. Thanks a mil for any feedback.

[@fadhilhasoon9248]

Really beautiful demo,could you please explain the connection process between all the instruments as I just bought microfreak , n ovation circuit and korg kaoss and line 6 guitar effect pedal

[@Waveformer]

The connections are explained in the video description. Line 6 effect pedals are on my wishlist :-).

[@fadhilhasoon9248]

@@Waveformer Thanks for coming back, so do you recommend that I should have a mixer for the setup to succeeded or can I do it without the mixer?

[@Waveformer]

@@fadhilhasoon9248 yeah, you need some kind of mixer. I built one myself. See the Community part of my KZbin channel for pictures and explanation.

[@mrwilson5586]

Hi, I bought your album which I'm loving. How much of it is made with the MicroFreak?

[@Waveformer]

Thank you for buying my album 😊. On the Silver Glass album, I used the MicroFreak on all tracks. You can see how I use it in the videos in the album playlist kzbin.info/aero/PLu-C9sgpbOviGyd1KB8F8DNLCGKq6nUMT

[@pasklauriola8216]

Hi, what do you think of the Ammoon mixer? Would you recommend it? Thanks so much

[@Waveformer]

It’s OK, but it does add some noise to the audio. So I guess you get what you pay for. If you can live with a little bit of noise, it’s good value for money :-).

[@legibby]

Dude you are a fucking genius. I consider myself to have fking incredible taste in music...Bc I do...just take me on my word that I do. And you sir...you are a genius.

[@cenapturgut]

more clips with Microfreak pls

[@Waveformer]

Select Estates International cenap Turgut Sure, I’ll keep them coming 😀.

[@ElGeneralX]

I have a really stupid question.. how did you get to keep sounds on top of one another? Like where are the multiple sequencers? Is that what the circuit is for? Like record first sound then move on to the next while first is playing.. how do u do that?

[@Waveformer]

Hasan The Circuit plays drum and bass on its internal instruments. I recorded those sequences before I started the jam. On the MicroFreak, I use the arpeggiator and the hold function, so I can just briefly hold down the keys of a chord and it will happily play a pattern using the notes in the chord.

[@superjubs]

I’ve been able to sync the circuit to the mf using only an aux cable. Not tested sending notes but clock seems to be fine

[@Waveformer]

Notes work fine too :-).

[@zoned7609]

Why the pedal and the kaossilator? Doesn't the kaossilator kind of do everything the pedal does and more?

[@kosinda]

How come you have the light in up mode and pattern mode at the same time while arp is running?

[@klick2destruct]

How do you sync the circuit and the Microfreak exactly? Do you send notes via a drum channel from the circuit?

[@Waveformer]

lightsout midi out from the Circuit to midi in on the Freak and hit play :-). The Circuit transmits midi clock and sends midi start and stop commands. You have to enable midi sync on the Circuit and the Freak in the settings menu on each.

[@mathickling223]

Love what that Zoom is adding to the sound - would it work as a send/return from a mixer for multiple synths?

[@wesmares]

I have a Mackie mix 12 fx mixer, connect fx send to my Zoom ms70cdr and then back in line in, then i connect my arturia MF, Korg volca bass and volca keys to it and have effect on all 3 synth's. The Mackie mixer doesn't have fx return but line in works also.

[@Waveformer]

I haven’t tried, but that should work very well. It accepts both mono and stereo input.

[@fincorrigan7139]

You might have a problem sending to it. It's a digital pedal and some analog mixers don't agree with the way the signals are processed by DSP. I have one Berhinger mixer which will handle it and another which won't (QX2440USB hates it, Xenyx 1002FX loves it) but the problem is not restricted to Behringer mixers. As a corollary my Digitech Polara and Obscura pedals will work as a send for the QX mixer. I first heard of the problem from the Oscillator Sink channel and dismissed his concerns at first until I experienced the problem myself. In short I think the best thing to do is ask around i.e. Amazon Q & A, Reddit etc to get more opinions to find out which mixers will work. Otherwise buy a few CDR's and forget about sends, the pedals themselves are worth it.

[@mathickling223]

@@fincorrigan7139 Cheers, will look around. Starting to shy away from the Zooms after learning they don't have midi in, tapping tempo for delay is annoying as any error will compound over the length of a song. Can you set the tempo manually via a knob or something?

[@fincorrigan7139]

@@mathickling223 On some of the delays there's a millisecond dial setting which allows syncing to BPM if you look up the tables - e.g. 363MS = 3/16 @ 120BPM. I tend to do it by ear (life's too short etc). It is not a perfect unit by any means but I also had an expensive Ventris Dual Reverb which was utterly disappointing from a sound perspective (some will say that's heresy). If I want a perfect delay or reverb I'm afraid I have to use a DAW and I have lots of Eventide, Valhalla, and Arturia plugins as well as the Steinberg and Ableton Suite stuff. IMHO it's difficult to beat the level of quality and features you get with these software based effects if that's what your after.

[@andreavilia8141]

Amazing! How do you record your songs? Is the mixer that little device above the MF?

[@Waveformer]

It’s recorded to the stereo input on the Korg Kaoss Pad KP2S mini. The box above the Freak is a very basic mixer.

[@andreavilia8141]

Waveformer Thanks for the quick reply! Did not know you could record into the Mini Kaos pad :)

[@maltlovetv7263]

Hi there, At 3:30 how did you manage to start the bass and the snare? Because I can’t see you manually trigger it. 🧐

[@drouk22]

connexion problem ? microfreak out to roland jdxi input mono, JDXI output L mono to boss RC505 input L mono, output L mono boss to in L mono stereo reverb redox, redox out L R to minikaosspad korg line in... my head phone connect to minikaosspad,,, everything work, except i dont hear microfreak ? what is wrong ?

[@Waveformer]

Hard to tell. Are you sure the settings for audio in on the jdxi are correct? Try connecting something else to the input and verify that you have sound. And check the headphone output of the individual instruments and verify that you have sound.

[@drouk22]

@@Waveformer I solved my problem...JDXI OUTPUT Lmono to clock IN MICRO FREAK and JDXI R click OUT to INPUT inst R boss RC505 and microfreak OUT to INPUT L mono bossRC505 ( the rest, same setting ) now everything is working well, I hear my 2 synths. :)

[@WillieCarpenter17]

This is the exact set up I want plus my LCXL, is that mixer worth it???

[@Waveformer]

Cool! Well, I’d say that the mixer is exactly worth it, but not more, and it’s very cheap. It’s a bit too noisy for me, so I’ve ended up not using it anymore, unless I have no other alternative.

[@WillieCarpenter17]

Waveformer thanks for reaponding, I need something small like that one that can do the job for all of this minus the zoom, can’t afford that just yet. It’ll be my first mixer, I’m just going for something small and affordable that can do the job just for simple at home desk jams

[@oscillated139]

wow

[@Waveformer]

oscillated 😊😊😊

[@abstractmodule4574]

Well, now I want one. Lol

[@Waveformer]

Sorry about that 🤗

[@jnny7182]

🧡❤️💜

[@Waveformer]

Jnny 718 😊

[@HEC9]

You "sell" equipments! = )

[@Waveformer]

Heitor Sorry 🤗🤗🤗.

[@foundatlantis]

i hate the fact you made this video. it is making me spend money i dont have lol

[@Waveformer]

foundatlantis 😃😂

[@docjfnoel]

Really hesitating between the Monologue and the Microfreak...

[@Waveformer]

Both are very good, but they are very different. The MicroFreak can do chords, and has a built in arpeggiator, and it has lots of different oscillators and modulation options. The Monologue is monophonic, and it has a more limited sonic palette, but makes up for it with more “soul”/character and subtle nuances due to the analogue VCOs. But both are great synths, really 😀. I don’t see myself ever selling either one.