First video in a series about the Arturia MicroFreak. This is the longest video I've ever made - mostly because the MicroFreak has a LOT of synthesis modes. Make sure to check out the timeline if you'd rather just investigate something specific about this versatile synthesizer. Thanks for watching!
SPECIAL NOTE: I really apologize that the phasing/intensity of the synth panel lights is super annoying with my camera/settings. I tried just blocking the lights in editing, but that was annoying to watch too. It's probably less of a thing on smaller screens, but still. I will fix it in the next one (by muting the lights irl). Also, there were a couple of brief video rendering glitches in one of the sub-renders (static screen for like 8 seconds) - I 'fixed' that but then the video was completely broken. Investigating the cause and how to fix in the future. - Nim
TIMELINE
00:00 STARTER. I did the fancy rotating shot by putting the synth on my oscillating fan and placing it at different angles... so pleased that it worked that I forgot to dust the synth ;-;
00:23 INTRO. some general stuff about Arturia and the MicroFreak.
04:05 ESSENTIAL CONTROLS & FEATURES, KEYBOARD, ETC. (oof those panel lights. will fix for next video.)
14:45 the microfreakbirthdaychallenge - this is pretty bad. what's worse is how many tries it took to get it!
15:20 The Digital Oscillator, modulation matrix stuff, saving a preset
SYNTHESIS MODES
19:25 Mode 1 - Basic Waves
22:45 Mode 2 - Super Wave
24:55 Mode 3 - Wavetable
27:10 Mode 4 - Harmonic Oscillator
28:30 Mode 5 - Karplus Strong (whoops, I edited out a part where I turned the Amp Mod back on...)
32:10 MUSICAL INTERLUDE. I really like to play a synthesized Persian Santoor a lot (plug-in from the GarageBand World Music Pack, also on my daughter's Casio). This is something kind of close, done using synthesis Mode 12 (Modal Resonator). The preset uses pressure to get that timbre/pitch change.
33:25 Mode 6 - Virtual Analog
36:20 Mode 7 - WaveShaping Oscillator
38:24 Mode 8 - Two Operator FM
40:10 Mode 9 - Granular Formant Oscillator
42:45 Mode 10 - Chords
45:20 Mode 11 - Vowel and Speech Synthesis
46:55 Mode 12 - Modal Resonator (I mistakenly said I used this in the Intro; used it in the Interlude)
49:50 OUTRO. So, I say that the next video will be in a week and the following one in 2 weeks. That schedule might sag a little bit. There is a potential that hurricane Dorian will cause issues this week, and then I've got a short trip planned for the following week. I also have an idea for an in-between video that I might do. BUT, rest assured, I will come back to the MicroFreak asap.
51:30 ENDER. This was all done in Granular Formant mode - BECAUSE SAND, RIGHT! I also sort of broke tradition for this type of video - I ran the MicroFreak through a delay (pretty basic and nice delay, Donner Yellow Fall Delay pedal). One wonders if this synth should have a delay - but a lot of people have a delay - possibly a delay that they really like - so it's not such a critical issue. Regardless, I thought it ended up sounding nice with the Yellow Fall. I recently got the sand sculpture in this part on Amazon. I think the U.S. seller is Pitkin Stearns, but the actual maker is Klaus Bosch, a.k.a. the Sandman. I had a really nice toy like this as a kid, used it a ton, and finally decided to try to find a nice one. This one is pretty amazing. I will put a link below.
LINKS
www.arturia.com
www.kbthesandman.com
www.movingsandart.com