Arturia has just released the MiniFreak 49, taking its six-voice hybrid synthesizer into a bigger format built for hands-on sound design and expressive playing.
It has 49 full-size semi-weighted keys, expanded panel controls and a new pressure-sensitive XYZ touch matrix. Shaping a patch and playing it really do become the same act. We have stock in the shop now, ready to ship.
What's new
- 49 full-size semi-weighted keys with velocity and mono aftertouch, plus aluminium pitch and mod wheels. There's room for chords, melodic lines and proper two-handed playing.
- XYZ touch matrix. Slide across it and press into it: one touch moves several parameters at once, and pressure adds a third dimension. You can also use it to assign modulation with colour-coded feedback, swipe through presets, draw custom LFO shapes and watch reactive visualisers.
- Freak Control. Macros, Gate and Spice, with bipolar and vector layouts that let you blend across four corners of a sound.
- Audio-rate Filter FM from either engine drives the analog filters from smooth to feral, adding harmonics, grit and vocal-like textures.
- Voice Panning spreads individual voices across the stereo field for wide chords and moving sequences.
- More hands-on controls. Each oscillator gets dedicated Type, Wave, Timbre and Shape controls plus three direct engine-access buttons, and each of the three FX slots has its own access button.
The Freak architecture
The heart of the instrument is familiar. Two digital engines offer more than 30 oscillator modes from Arturia, Mutable Instruments and Noise Engineering, covering virtual analog, FM, wavetable, granular, sample-based and physical modelling synthesis. You can blend the two engines, or use Engine 2 to process Engine 1. Every voice then runs through its own analog filter and VCA. Three FX slots, each with 13 algorithms including Self Vocoder and Ext In Vocoder, handle everything from chorus and reverb to distortion.
There's also a 64-step sequencer with four modulation lanes, a performance arpeggiator with ratchets, repeats and Spice & Dice, 256 MB of sample and wavetable memory, and 350 factory presets. It loads presets from the original MiniFreak. The MiniFreak V plugin is included, bringing the same sound and architecture into your DAW with preset management and two-way hardware control.
How it compares
Here's how the MiniFreak 49 stacks up against its Freak siblings and the other keyboard synths it's likely to be shopped against.
| Arturia MiniFreak 49 | Arturia MiniFreak | Arturia MicroFreak | Roland Juno-D6 | Korg Wavestate SE | ASM Hydrasynth Keyboard | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keys | 49 full-size, semi-weighted | 37 slim keys | 25-key touch-sensitive flat keyboard | 61 keys | 61 keys | 49 keys |
| Aftertouch | Mono (responds to poly AT from capable controllers) | Mono | Polyphonic | – | Yes | Polyphonic |
| Voices | 6 | 6 | 4 (paraphonic) | 128 | 120 | 8 |
| Sound engine | 2 digital engines, 30+ modes | 2 digital engines (22 modes at launch, expanded by firmware) | 1 digital oscillator (12 modes at launch, expanded by firmware) | Preset-led multi-part synth (8 parts) | Wave sequencing and layering | Deep digital wavemorphing |
| Filter path | Analog filter and VCA per voice | Analog filter and VCA per voice | Single analog SEM-style filter | Digital | Digital, multiple filter models | Digital, no analog path |
| Hands-on control | Full panel plus XYZ touch matrix, Filter FM and Voice Panning | Full panel plus touch strips | Compact panel, touch strip | Limited performance controls | Joystick, large footprint | Ribbon controller, menu-driven editing |
| Effects | 3 slots, 13 algorithms including vocoder | 3 slots | None onboard | Multiple onboard FX | Multiple FX | Multiple FX |
| Companion plugin | MiniFreak V included | MiniFreak V included | – | No | No | No |
Which one is for you?
MiniFreak 49 vs MiniFreak: it's the same Freak sound with more of everything you touch. You get full-size semi-weighted keys instead of slim keys, the XYZ matrix, more direct controls, Filter FM, Voice Panning and more oscillator modes. If you play with two hands or perform live, the 49 is the one. If you're short on desk space, the original is still a brilliant synth.
MiniFreak 49 vs MicroFreak: the MicroFreak is a fantastic way into the Freak world. The MiniFreak 49 moves you from paraphonic to true six-voice polyphony, from one oscillator to two engines, from a single filter to an analog filter on every voice, and adds onboard effects and a real keyboard.
MiniFreak 49 vs Juno-D6, Wavestate SE and Hydrasynth: those offer more voices. The Juno-D6 is preset-led with limited performance controls. The Wavestate SE is a wave-sequencing specialist with a bigger footprint. The Hydrasynth is deep but menu-driven. The MiniFreak 49 is the only one here that pairs digital engines with an analog filter on every voice, puts sound design on the front panel and includes a DAW plugin.