HARDWARE vs SOFTWARE MiniFreak and their FILTERS (analog vs digital). Seriously nobody did this?!

[@classicarcadeamusementpark4242]

I'm glad you have "bionic ears" to not only be able to hear the difference, but.......to actually care of the difference between them. I found them so close, whatever difference there may be didn't seem to matter. The memorable parts of the sounds remain the same. And while you can hear a difference and care, you can bet 99.5% of music listeners would not care which of these two instruments were used with exactly the same patch in the recording of a song of them.

[@marekjanocha9195]

He just tries to justify to his own consciousness spending 500EUR for the hardware...

[@hereticvice3397]

The hardware is bit dirtier in its sound . In my system anyway . Probably better conversion with my Motu interface

[@gibsonflyingv2820]

Nobody cares about KZbinrs or any gear nerds music anyway, so hearing a difference will matter yeah because it's not like any of us are going to become famous anyway.

[@gibsonflyingv2820]

That filter sounded the same to you? You don't need bionic ears to tell the difference between the two filters, the two are night and day. Just admit you're sour that youre broke.

[@petewigley9985]

You're right, analog filters sound better than digital, plus software the oscillators do actually sound grainier and more airy than oscillators running through an amplifier. It's never been a debate to me.

[@Rhythmattica]

Individual Track Null Test would be interesting....

[@-KingOfKhaos]

I listened to each test multiple times. While I did end up getting the correct answers each time, it was by all accounts very very close. The difference DOES come down to “warmth” overall… which is good, since that can be achieved in DAW. That’s assuming one wishes to do that… frankly I think the VST held its own against the hardware version and to nearly any listener enjoying the full composition, none would say “I really wish they used the analog filter hardware synth instead of the vst.” That almost never happens, even when it’s musicians listening to a piece. We are all hyperfocused on it here, because that is the purpose of the vid. Mind you, the test itself was well done, and this channel is a gold mine of information… so my comment isn’t against the channel at all. I come here all the time 👍🏻👍🏻 I am merely saying these two instruments are extremely close… but yes, there is a microscopic difference :)

[@FoliaSound]

So great to hear that :) Thanks!

[@classicarcadeamusementpark4242]

@EBeggarsKOP Extremely well said.

[@synthphilosophy]

Makes me feel even better about my choice to buy the hardware as it's just such fun to make music without software. That it sounds better is a plus, allthough I did try it myself in a much more limitted way ehen I got it and came to the same conclusion. The fact that the vst is now included in the V collection did make me more excited as the device will even get more attention and we get easy access to so many presets. And presets are such fun to dismantle and learn from. I like your content; you run well established tests, share information and bring it on a fun to watch way. Thank you for that. Much ❤ from belgium.

[@FoliaSound]

Hey, Belgium, cheers from Warsaw! Nice to have you as my viewer!

[@adamwetterhan]

Thanks for posting this, ive been musing about thus mysekf and only have the VST MiniFreak. My ears detected most of the same differences you did, but some of the tracos i actually preferred the clinical sound for some reason. I dig the track too! Question: I wonder if any of the warmth and character comes down to a) your audio interface slightly coloring whats coming in, in a nice way, and certainly b) the actuak circuitry oushing the siund out of the hardware Freak. Not to be too crazy about it, but i wonder what would change if you ran the MiniFreak vst output out of your sound card and back in. I realize that probably sounds crazy but it is what came to mind. Looks like a fun synth to have in hardware for sure, and the fully integrated vst gives you maximum options

[@FoliaSound]

VST is way cleaner than the hardware. Why? Because I have RME interface, which is pristine clean. Most of noise behaviour of the hardware comes probably from the filter design. Cheers!

[@CGDreamsTutorials]

Very interesting, I too got 100% correct even with rather standard earphones. Would you consider trying to use additional VST compression emulation bus compression to try to gain that little bit of cohesion and warmth back?

[@FoliaSound]

Yep, very good idea!

[@Gilwtt]

Hi PAul and a Big thanks to you!!!! I got Minifreak since it just came out!!! The thing I always wonder what you come with because what I always do in my template to use Minifreak is in Logic: Midi track with external instrument with Minifreak cabled to my IN3-4 of UCXII. I also use the MNfrk VST linkes to the hardware without any output on the track for recalling presets and wrtiting Automations in the £DAW. I also have a third track below, which is Audio to record in real time the MnfrK coming in input 3-4 of my RME. Thanks to share this video it confirm to me that I prefer working like this.... more glued and also alive to me ;-)

[@FoliaSound]

Nice to hear that. Cheers!

[@rabbitnoizemusic]

When I crank up the resonance on the Minifreak, add classic distortion with max gain, 100% wet, and then close the filter cutoff on low pass I get all these weird noises, digital artifacts right at the top when the resonance starts affecting the filter. Weird since it’s supposed to be an analog filter. Oddly, the Minifreak V behaves like that some times, other times it’s just a clean filter sweep. It comes and goes, but it’s always there on the Minifreak. The first few days I had it that didn’t happen on the Minifreak and one day it just started behaving like this. Could you try on yours and see if you have the same issues? My last video on KZbin I show the settings I mean and at that time it didn’t have this problem. I wish that could be fixed in a software update :(

[@andivax]

Amazing test! Software is punchier, Hardware is more organic. Well done, Arturia!!!

[@FoliaSound]

Yea, Arturia guys made an amazing delivery with Minifreak, both HW and VST...

[@ultimateXsounds]

There are no comparisons because many people say there is no difference.... On one of the forums, when I wrote that I could hear the difference between the filters, they laughed at me. Recently I created another library on MINIFREAK called "DYSTOPIA 2". I recorded sound from two sources simultaneously. Software version of Minifreak and Hardware. It turns out that the sounds played in chords on Hardware are even more dominant. At first I thought that the Filter between Soft and Hardware was not synchronized. Ultimately, this analog filter sounds really cool and I like it. I even wanted to make a comparison between Software and Hardware and present the differences in sound, but I ran out of time for this comparison. Good material as always! Regards

[@Adsol]

Exactly what I was thinking, why no one is talking about that? It's an obvious question for a popular synth which is unbeatable at that price btw. There's obviously a difference as it is expected, even going through electricity, cables and converters will make a difference.

[@jeffreyhanc1711]

Hey Paul - Czech-American here. Really enjoying your content! Would love to see (if possible) a similar test with G-Force plugins vs their analog parents as imho they’re analog modeling is superior to Arturia’s. ✌🏼

[@FoliaSound]

Heeey, Jeffrey, greetings from Eastern Europe! GForce is surely better in VA synthesis to my ears, too. I'd compare it against HW, but, for example, against my favourite Cherry Audio!

[@jeffreyhanc1711]

@@FoliaSound Paul, my Slavic brother: somewhat random suggestion but at some point I’d love to see you try Bitwig. I was on Cubase - then Studio One - for years. Both great DAWs. But for an electronic musician and synth junkie like yourself there’s nothing quite like Bitwig - which from one angle functions as a sort of modular synth disguised as a daw. Lol. Made the switch about a year ago and haven’t looked back. Just a suggestion (and if nothing else would make good content!). 😊

[@FoliaSound]

@@jeffreyhanc1711 , what you see is not Cubase, but Nuendo, and I use it, because it does all I need - from music to film post and VR spatial audio. The only real competition for it is Pro Tools Ultimate, but I'll never switch to it. Cheers!

[@jeffreyhanc1711]

@@FoliaSound Nuendo is great, but a Completely different tool than a daw like Bitwig. Sort of like comparing Diva vs Phaseplant - 2 entirely different beasts. No better or worse. The only reason I mention Bitwig is because it’s structured like a modular synth in many ways and has loads of modulation (ie) capabilities that lends itself to loads of experimental productional fun - and that synth enthusiasts usually love. The ideal daw to mix and do post on? No, certainly. But from a creative productional POV - especially with electronic music - has features neither Nuendo or ProTools could touch imo.

[@FoliaSound]

@@jeffreyhanc1711 , I totally get it, but still - my ultimate choice is Nuendo :) I'll try Bitwig one day just for fun, same with S1 probably ;)

[@MarvelJAM]

Another great vid. I am curious if the analog emulation would have done better at higher sample rates

[@FoliaSound]

Probably not really. The sound.would get even more clinical and instruments more.separated :)

[@ElectroPanPipes]

Interesting, and I'm mostly hardware. I'm not hearing it though. We tested without watching the screen, as watching them switch does fool the brain, this has been demonstrated in other videos. I'd rather the hardware either way. Can you upload the files?

[@FoliaSound]

I'll do it today!

[@Magnus_Loov]

I don't think the difference was that big. For the ones I could hear a difference between, I actually thought that the vst-version sounded just a tad better for all the individual sounds (Guessed it wrong all the time since I thought the "better sounding one" was the vst. Or perhaps that was still a right guess since I "separated them" the "right way" all the time. But not by much since I thought they were very close. But for the final mix I somehow preferred the analog one. I didn't have the best headphones for it though (My normal PC:s headphones are different from the ones I use when using my DAW).

[@HalfGodHalfBeast]

for a long timer Arturia seemed to be the best at modelling analog in software but lately, imo, not so. I'd say, imho, that the best analog sounding soft synths at the moment come from u-he (diva, repro, ace, bazzille), and G-Force (minimonsta, axxes, oddity, imposcar).

[@syneman1]

Softube...sounds quite real IMOP

[@FoliaSound]

Helllooo! What do you think about my test? Planning to go hardware? Fine with software? Lemme know down below!

[@paulluckey6997]

Hardware has balls that software doesn't reproduce.

[@Joshua_Griffin]

Would love an analog bandpass filter, and a spring reverb like the knas moisturiser. Too expensive at the moment for me. I'm fairly happy with digital oscillators. But maybe when behringer finally release the Ems vc3...

[@FoliaSound]

@@paulluckey6997 , nice and short essence of the review!

[@jaypkock]

Ok, i really want this synth as hardware, but heres the thing, im on a tight budget since im building my first home-studio and just got unemployed. And this VST is INCLUDED in the Arturia V Collection X, wich u can "rent-to-own" for very cheap on Splice... So... I just got myself a Arturia Midicontroller instead, that way i have tons of more VSTs for a fraction of the price. Its totally insane that u can actually do this. I will get the real deal, eventually, meanwhile i will jam with not only this but... Insane...

[@jamesrutherford]

keep it up my friend

[@FoliaSound]

Sure I will, James, cheers!

[@wwoodard8]

Ok, great vid! Here are my results, three different speaker sets. I chose my favorites using the question, which did I *like* the best? Stereo system (Celestial SL8, No Processing) Senn HD 206 Sony 7506 1 2 2 2 2 No Diff 1 1 3 2 1 1 4 1 2 2 5 No Diff 2 (barely) 2 (barely) Not exactly the same as you, but close. Things to discuss further: What are the expected playback parameters? If I expect my music to be played back mostly through KZbin on phones, etc., I really think either would be perfectly acceptable. My background consists of a lot of live performance experience (I used to play bassoon, now mostly into synths) and cost was always a consideration. The diffs between analog and digital remind me a LOT of trying different basooons and deciding whether to get the next step up in quality (a lot of cost, maybe what I have is fine, etc.). I always longed for the step in quality, but wasn't always financially feasible :) What about other digital synths that have a history of people considering them to have good "analog" sound - I'm thinking of DIVA especially. Would a hardware version of DIVA sound better? I guess we'll never know? Finally - would there be a more affordable hybrid option - use digital where it works fine and hardware where it is superior? If so, what pieces of hardware would get you there? In other words, if I used a digital synth and a hardware saturator, which saturator would I buy? Etc. Thanks again! A great video that really got me thinking!

[@FotoxBr_nl]

What is the importance of difference ? I am indifferent.

[@FoliaSound]

And it's completely fine :)

[@arturpolonski6234]

Cześć teraz rozumiem czemu mówiłeś bym zrobił upgrade do X collection oj ten Freak jest mega freak ale myślę że wezmę i kupię hardware i w przyszłości będę miał i wtyczkę gdy Upgrade będzie dla mnie bardziej uzasadniony choć jak słucham dłużej filmiku mam coraz to większe wątpliwości nad tym czy tego nie zrobić i to w tej chwili

[@FoliaSound]

Daj sobie chwilę, Artur, ale MiniFreak to maszyna zdecydowanie warta swojej ceny!

[@georginikolov1141]

Just add the culture vulture vst and u get it same if not better but however the hw remains the better instrument because well is instrument it triggers you to be creative

[@thorstenweimar1190]

The only thing this “proves” is, that the vst and hardware sound a tiny bit different. But to be honest, that doesn’t say much. A good track is a good track, regardless “analog” or “digital”. No one will ask that question in the end, exceptions apply 😅 This analog vs digital gets boring…sorry for that.

[@FoliaSound]

I'm absolutely fine with that, Thorsten. Don't worry, my chan won't become one huge "analog vs digital" thing, but I'm recently really into it, as I'm switching slowly yet surely to a couple of analog areas. The thing with analog (or anything else) is this for me: if it improves your creative process and your music for the listener, it's good. The first one is very easy to verify, the latter - not really. I still believe analog tone being simple more interesting and engaging and influencing your tracks. The listener won't be able to say, what's that thing that makes this particular track "wow", yet my discovery is that, in many cases, analog sound, stacked up from small elements in the mix, can create really big and emotional sound picture that helps your music and becomes part of its deepest identity. That's it. Cheers and hope to see you soon anyway!

[@thorstenweimar1190]

@@FoliaSoundThanks, yes I can hear you. It’s in the ear of the beholder 😉, anyway. Analog is nice to have for me, but not necessary to get the aimed results. Maybe it can be more fun, but I appreciate the colors on my NI Komplete Kontrol, and it also gives me an analog feel. Sure, analog sounds different, to me it’s like you have to set up analog instruments differently than digital vst’s, that’s all. But it’s just my opinion 😊. Cheers.

[@FoliaSound]

@@thorstenweimar1190 and this is the way to discuss things with proper manners and respect, nice to hear your opinion, Thorsten! I promise - there will be plenty things without analog/digital shootouts on my chan, because you're also right here: I can overdo it sooner than later. Have a great day, too!

[@connerogrady5035]

Interesting why had so few people thought of doing this

[@FoliaSound]

Right? I discovered a cool niche this time!

[@lorcazola]

Just add a VST pre-amp or a real pre-amp to get that analog boost.

[@kw7865]

Could not tell the difference in any of the examples. Maybe I am getting old.

[@MACRONOne]

There is a difference, sure. Does it matter though, that's the real question.

[@MaxwellBlue]

Told myself I only need a good midi controller and great quality soft synths such as pigments, Diva and Spire. This video is not helping me save money.

[@imun1ty]

After some searching I found the hardware version has MODELED ANALOG FILTERS and not true analog filters, therefore the V and hardware are identical period. I have good ears and own every single vintage analog on the earth my ears cannot hear the difference. The difference would be the DACs on each that could play a role in the minor differences.

[@canipoable]

This is bullshit. I own a Minifreak and I couldn't tell the difference.