Arturia MiniFreak 4.0 review, new firmware adds 16-band vocoder and Vocoder Edition hardware

Arturia MiniFreak 4.0 firmware turns the expressive hybrid polyphonic Synthesizer into a powerful 16-band vocoder, plus a new White Vocoder Edition. 

The hybrid MicroFreak and MiniFreak Synthesizers share colorful, inspiring oscillator engines. Everything from virtual analog, FM, west-coast, to granular synthesis is included. Most people have probably noticed that an engine is still missing to bring both synths to the same oscillator level.

Now the developers are closing the last gap in the polysynth. Arturia has released the MiniFreak 4.0 firmware today, introducing a powerful vocoder engine.

Arturia MiniFreak 4.0

MiniFreak 4.0 is a free update for existing customers of the hardware and software synths. Arturia MiniFreak 4.0 introduces the vocoder mode and more. However, it’s not the same vocoder as in the MicroFreak. In their hybrid multi-engine polysynth, they take the vocoder to a new level.

For this, Arturia developed a completely new, powerful 16-band vocoder engine that is active on multiple levels of the engine. The new engine can be found in the effects section. Here you can choose between two operation modes. 

Two Distinct Operation Modes

The Ext Vocoder mode transforms any external signal, such as your voice or any other audio source, based on its frequency content. Your classic mode for creating vocoder sounds with your voice.  

You can modify the Ext Vocoder mode with three parameters on the fly: decay (defines how long the sound takes to decay when Vocoder processes sound), formant shift (shift the frequency content), and dry/wet mix. 

During testing, I noticed that you need adjust the incoming signal level depending on the chosen microphone so the engine can achieve its full effect. 

Much more exciting and exclusive to the MiniFreak is the possibility of using and processing the vocoder engine with the multi-engine oscillators. Beautiful soundscapes and textures can be generated in combination with the granular engines from the previous firmware.

However, you must speak or sing for long enough to keep the soundscapes active. If you don’t have a looper and want to achieve a 20-minute texture, then enjoy 20 minutes of non-stop speaking or singing.

In the so-called Self-Vocoder mode, you can use the vocoder FX directly on your MiniFreak synth engine without the need for an external mic. In this case, the vocoder turns into a creative filter bank. Like the other mode, this one can be found in the effects. Once selected, you can use it as an additional effect processor. 

You can adjust the Self-Vocoder mode with three parameters: spectrum (defines how wide the Vocoder analyzes the frequency content), formant shift (shifts the frequency content), and dry/wet. 

Here, you work very much on a scalpel level, and how well the combination works depends heavily on how harmoniously rich the oscillator signal is. For some sounds it’s very subtle, for others, more intense. But it’s a nice extension of the MiniFreak sound spectrum.

Four Vocoder Types

That is not enough voocder power for the Arutria MiniFreak 4.0. Additionally, you can find four presets for each vocoder FX mode, offering different sonic flavors.  

Clean is the cleanest and most modern vocoder preset, focusing on high-definition sounds and voice intelligibility. Then, Vintage aims to reproduce old vocoder gear from the 70s/80s, while the Narrow preset allows for very resonant sounds. Gated, on the other side, generates plucky or droplet sounds.

I liked the last two the most in the test because they deviate from the classic vocoder sounds and introduce new colors. Last but not least, you get 12 factory sounds using the new Vocoder FX. Not to forget: The new vocoder engine is available for both hardware and software, i.e., MiniFreak V.

To celebrate this release, Arturia has also released the MiniFreak Vocoder Edition, a new white version with matching gooseneck microphone. 

Arturia MiniFreak 4.0 First Look Review

The MiniFreak has grown once again and is even more sonically versatile. It’s a fun sound engine that allows you to generate lovely vocoder sounds. The Kraftwerks and Daft Punks of 2025 are waiting. The vocoder engine is the final piece of the puzzle, which makes the MiniFreak and MicroFreak oscillators 1 and 1.

Now it will be exciting to see whether Arturia decides or not to take the MiniFreak on its own way in the upcoming firmware updates with new exclusive engines or not. However, I do have one negative point about firmware 4.0. The sample import function for the sampler/granular engines of firmware 3.0 hasn’t been added yet. 

Arturia MiniFreak 4.0 is a free update for existing MiniFreak hardware and software users. MiniFreak Vocoder with the matching gooseneck microphone will be available in June for $649/629€. 

More information here: Arturia 

Available at my partner 

Thomann Perfect Circuit

Hardware Synthesizer News

Hardware Review 

Plugin Review