Start here · MicroFreak guide

1.1BasicsManual §1 p.3, §1.2 p.4

What the MicroFreak is

The MicroFreak is Arturia’s compact hybrid synth. A digital oscillator makes the raw sound and a real analog filter shapes it, so you get the range of digital synthesis with the warmth of an analog filter. Everything is patched without cables: a modulation matrix on the top panel lets you send the envelopes, the LFO, keyboard pressure and the sequencer to almost any knob.

What’s inside

A digital oscillator with many synthesis models — some based on open-source designs by Mutable Instruments, three (BASS, SAWX and HARM) by Noise Engineering (The 22 oscillator types).
An analog filter with low-pass, band-pass and high-pass modes (Filter types and cutoff).
A standard envelope, plus a cycling envelope that can loop like a second LFO (The envelope, The cycling envelope).
One LFO with six waveforms (The LFO).
A 5 × 7 modulation matrix with three destinations you choose yourself (The matrix).
A 25-key touch keyboard that responds to finger pressure, with a touch strip for bend, Spice and Dice (The touch keyboard).
Four-voice paraphony: four notes at once through the shared filter (Paraphonic mode and chord mode).
An arpeggiator and two paraphonic sequencers, each with four modulation tracks (The arpeggiator, The sequencer).

There are two models: the standard MicroFreak and the white MicroFreak Vocoder Edition, which comes with a gooseneck microphone. A standard MicroFreak can take a headset microphone through its headphone socket instead — see How the vocoder works.

Over USB the MicroFreak is a class-compliant MIDI device, so computers and other class-compliant hosts recognise it without drivers. An iPad needs a camera connection kit or a USB-to-Lightning cable.

New in firmware 5.0.0

Four sample-based oscillators: Sample, Scan Grains, Cloud Grains and Hit Grains (Sample).
A Samples tab in the MIDI Control Center for managing them (Loading your own samples).
A new bank of 64 presets and 52 factory samples, delivered through the latest MIDI Control Center.
Preset memory expanded from 384 to 512 slots (Loading presets).
A reorganised Utility menu (Utility: preset settings).

From the community

Arturia MicroFreak Review and Tutorial: Everything you need to know, including all 12 sound engines
loopop
The definitive overview: every original engine, the filter, touch keys, matrix, cycling envelope and Spice & Dice, fully chaptered.

Tutorials | MicroFreak - Episode 1: Introduction
Arturia
Official tutorial 1: a run through the oscillator types and what Wave, Timbre and Shape do, plus a first taste of paraphony.

MicroFreak | ARTURIA
Arturia
Arturia’s original NAMM 2019 launch film introducing the synth.

Arturia Performance | MicroFreak
Arturia
Short official performance video of the synth being played live.

MicroFreak Stellar Limited Edition | Interplanetary synth explorer | ARTURIA
Arturia
30-second teaser for the 2023 Stellar limited edition that launched alongside firmware 5.

Arturia MicroFreak Hybrid Synthesizer - SonicLAB Review
sonicstate
Sonic State’s in-depth launch-era review with plenty of sound examples.

The Microfreak in 2026...Worth It?
Free Beat
A 2026 look at whether the synth still holds up after all its free updates.

1.2BasicsManual §1.1 p.4, §1.3 p.4

How to read this guide

This guide is written from Arturia’s manual for firmware 5.0.0, rearranged for learning and cross-linked so you can jump between related features. Every section cites the manual section and printed page it is based on, so you can check the original.

How controls are written

You’ll see	It means
`SHIFT`, `SAVE`, `ARP \| SEQ`	A button on the panel. Shared buttons are shown the way they are printed, with both names.
`HOLD`, `SPICE`, `DICE`	A touch icon on the strip above the keyboard.
`KEY`	Any key on the touch keyboard.
CUTOFF, MATRIX	A knob or encoder. “Turn MATRIX” means rotate it; “Press MATRIX” means push the encoder down.
`SHIFT` + `ARP \| SEQ`	Hold the first control and press or turn the second.
`Utility > Preset > Press mode`	A menu path or text on the display, starting from the `UTILITY` button.
The matrix	A link to another section of this guide.

A route through the guide

Start with Connections, Signal flow and the panel explorer.
Learn to browse and keep sounds: Loading presets and Saving presets.
Then the sound itself: Oscillator basics, Filter types and cutoff, The envelope and The LFO.
The matrix is where the MicroFreak opens up: Control signals and The matrix.
For playing and performing: The touch keyboard, The arpeggiator, The sequencer and Playing in a scale.
For other gear: CV, gate and pressure outputs, Clock and sync and MIDI channels and computers.

From the community

1.3BasicsManual §2.6 p.7, §3.2 p.19

Connections

All the sockets are on the back. The audio is mono throughout, MIDI uses 3.5 mm mini-jacks with adapters to 5-pin DIN, and three CV outputs let the keyboard and sequencer play modular gear.

Rear panel

Socket	Connector	What it’s for
Headphones	3.5 mm (⅛-inch) jack	Mono signal — stereo headphones hear the same sound on both sides. It also takes the Vocoder Edition microphone, or a TRRS headset mic on a standard MicroFreak (Connecting a microphone).
Line out	6.35 mm (¼-inch) TRS, balanced	Mono output to a mixer or amplifier. A TS cable works; a TRS cable gives a better signal-to-noise ratio.
Pitch, Gate, Pressure	CV outputs	Pitch CV for an external oscillator, a gate to trigger external devices, and pressure — or velocity, depending on `Utility > Preset > Press mode` (CV, gate and pressure outputs).
Clock in / out	Jacks	Sync with other synths or a modular system. A TRS cable carries clock and start signals; a TS cable carries clock only (Clock and sync).
MIDI in / out	3.5 mm (⅛-inch) TRS	Use the grey adapters in the box to connect standard 5-pin DIN MIDI cables (MIDI channels and computers).
USB	USB type B	Power and MIDI to a computer, and the link to the MIDI Control Center. A 5 V, 500 mA phone charger or a power bank can power it too.
Power switch	Recessed switch	Turns the unit off without unplugging anything. It switches between off and USB/DC power.
Power	DC input, 2.1 mm inner, 5.5 mm outer	Arturia’s supply, which also provides the ground the touch keyboard needs.

From the community

The ¼-inch line output is balanced mono: use a TRS cable into one mono mixer channel, panned centre, for the best level and noise. Don’t feed the headphone jack to a mixer — it doubles as the mic input. via Arturia forum

Tutorials | MicroFreak - Episode 5: Connectivity
Arturia
Official tutorial 5: hooking MicroFreak up to computers, MIDI gear and modular via USB, TRS MIDI, CV/gate and clock.

MicroFreak: Episode 2.5 (Connectivity)
Undulations
Demos CV/pressure out to another synth, playing MicroFreak from a MIDI keyboard, and DAW sequencing.

Microfreak AudioArturia Forum — How to connect the mono balanced output to a mixer properly.

1.4BasicsManual §2.1 p.5, §2.6 p.7, §3.2.6 p.21, §3.2.7 p.22

Powering up

The MicroFreak runs from Arturia’s power supply or from USB. Its touch keyboard senses your fingers electrically, so it needs a proper ground to work fully — which is why Arturia supplies a three-pin wall adapter.

With all your gear switched off, connect the line out or headphones and any MIDI, CV or clock cables.
Turn the volume down on everything, including MASTER.
Connect Arturia’s power supply, or a USB cable.
Switch the MicroFreak on with the recessed power switch on the back.
Switch on your amplifier or monitors last, then bring the levels up to a comfortable volume.

At startup the MicroFreak loads the preset you saved most recently.

From the community

Get started with MicroFreakArturia — Registration, MIDI Control Center download and the tutorial playlist in one place.

1.5BasicsManual §2.7 p.8, §3.2.5 p.21

Firmware updates

Firmware updates add features — version 5.0.0 brought the sample oscillators and 512 preset slots. You install them from a computer with Arturia’s MIDI Control Center, the same app you use to manage presets, samples and settings (MIDI Control Center).

Go to Arturia’s downloads and manuals page.
Find MIDI Control Center in the sidebar, then download and install the latest version for macOS or Windows.
Find MicroFreak in the same sidebar and download the latest firmware file.
Connect the MicroFreak by USB, switch it on and open MIDI Control Center.
Choose MicroFreak from the DEVICE menu at the top left.
Click the Firmware Revision button below it.
Click Upgrade, then select the firmware file you downloaded.

From the community

MicroFreak - Firmware Update 2.0 | ARTURIA
Arturia
Official walkthrough of the free firmware 2 update, which added the Noise engine, Chord mode and scale quantisation.

How to Update Arturia MicroFreak Firmware | Quick Tutorial
Synth Codex
Three-minute step-by-step firmware update through MIDI Control Center.

The MicroFreak Has No Effects. So I Added Them (Free Firmware + Web Synth)
Freakier Firmware
Demo of SuperFreaker 0.1.2, an unofficial community firmware adding drive, echo, reverb and legato glide; not endorsed by Arturia.

1.6BasicsManual §3.3 p.22

Signal flow

The audio path is short and fixed: the digital oscillator makes a waveform, the analog filter shapes it, and an analog VCA sets its level. What makes the MicroFreak flexible is the modulation around that path, most of which you patch on the matrix.

The audio path

Digital oscillator — generates the sound (Oscillator basics).
Analog filter — removes or emphasises harmonics (Filter types and cutoff).
Analog VCA — sets the volume. With AMP MOD on, the main envelope controls it; with AMP MOD off, the keyboard gate simply opens and closes it (Amp Mod).

Connections that are already made

The main envelope is wired to the filter cutoff. FILTER AMT sets how much — turn it and the envelope-to-cutoff point on the matrix lights up (The envelope).
Notes from the keyboard and the sequencer set the oscillator’s pitch without any matrix connection.
The cycling envelope, the LFO and keyboard pressure reach the sound through the The matrix, which can also add to or override the fixed connections.

In paraphonic mode with AMP MOD on, the envelope is copied once per voice — the number of voices is set in Utility — and each copy drives its own digital VCA. These per-voice VCAs only come into play in paraphonic mode (Paraphonic mode and chord mode).

From the community