Arturia MicroFreak Stellar Synthesizer
Discontinued, this product can no longer be ordered.
Product no: 9000-0111-5813 Bax Music Warranty: This product comes with a 3-year warranty.
General
Early in 2019, the Arturia MicroFreak first dropped and has since grown into one of the most popular modern synths on the planet. The OG model was remarkable; looked nothing like other synths; and worked like a synth-based fever dream. A few years have passed, so it's high time for a very special, very limited edition: the Stellar. Newly fitted out with a black finish and astronomy themed graphics, the Arturia MicroFreak Stellar takes things back (or forwards?) to the space age. The artwork is packed with references, from a little mars rover to a detailed diagram of our own solar system, so when the keyboard player in the band says something about adding a bit more Spice to Uranus, you'll know what they're on about.
The Arturia MicroFreak Stellar
This is a synth that packs masses of potential, starting with the insane number of oscillator types: virtual analogue, noise, vocoder, wavetable, Karplus Strong modelling, 2op-FM, samples, granular and more - amounting to a total of twenty-one models. The analogue filter offers 12dB LPF, BPF and HPF, and an ADSR and cycling envelope (envelope or LFO) crams the sound with more than enough movement while, via the modulation matrix, everything can be linked to anything you want. In principle, this is a monophonic machine with four oscillators, but those four oscillators can also be set up in paraphonic and unisono and, to really complete the setup, you also get an arpeggiator and a sequencer.
The Keyboard
Perhaps the most striking feature of this synth (Stellar edition or not) is the keyboard. This is no traditional set of piano-style keys but a big touch-sensitive, keyboard-like membrane which can be played like no other keyboard that came before it. Slide across the keys and you gain a similar response to sliding up the string of a violin, and that response is fully backed up by polyphonic aftertouch. Elegantly simple, it's exactly that off-the-wall approach to the controls that made the original MicroFreak so sought-after.
Specifications
Product features
| 19-inch rack size | not applicable |
|---|---|
| Number of keys | 25 |
| Arpeggiator/sequencer | arpeggiator, sequencer |
| Control | monophonic aftertouch |
| Sustainable product | not specified |
| Synthesizer inputs | none |
| Sound source | FM, physical modelling, sample player, virtual analogue, wavetable |
| MIDI & other | MIDI in, MIDI thru, MIDI over USB, CV/gate out, clock in/out |
| Synthesizer options | extensive |
| Synthesizer outputs | line out jack |
| Synthesizer kind | standard |
| Type of keys | touchpad |
| Vintage remake | no |
| Synthesizer type | keyboard |
| Difficulty level | intermediate |
Weight and dimensions including packaging
| Weight (incl. packaging) | 2,0 kg |
|---|---|
| Dimensions (incl. packaging) | 45,0 x 27,0 x 9,0 cm |
Reviews from other countries
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Wrote the following about Arturia MicroFreak Stellar Synthesizer
snelle service maar bij retour werdt er 30 euro afgetrokken voor geregisteerde software die niet geregistreerd was.
microfreak 3/5
de controls via de matrix zijn als newbie in synthesizers geweldig, erg duidelijk en makkelijk en het toetsenbord is ook heel speciaal/awesome aangezien je hier de aftertouch per noot heel goed mee onder controlle hebt (side note ik had al wel een keystep 37 voor "normale" toetsen anders kan dit een min punt zijn)
waarom dan nog steeds slechts 3/5? het geluid is echt heel saai/plat/vlak, dus tenzij je al een goed effecten pedaal hebt is de microfreak niet echt een aanraden, en voor het zelfde geld dat je een microfreak+pedaal koopt heb je ook de minifreak (die ik inmiddels heb) en die zeker wel een aanrader/upgrade is
Wrote the following about Arturia MicroFreak Stellar Synthesizer
