These days it’s not necessary to go to a giant studio with overpriced, pro-grade gear to record a Grammy-winning record. You can do it right from the comfort of your own bedroom in fact, using tools priced for even the most casual of hobbyists. It’s no…
When Arturia launched the MiniFreak, it also promised that a plugin version, MiniFreak V would also be available soon. Originally it was only available to those who purchased a hardware MiniFreak, but now it’s being offered to anyone who wants access to the dual digital sound engines and 22 oscillator modes without eating up any more physical space in their studio.
MiniFreak V brings all of the features of the hardware synth to your computer, save for the analog filters. Instead the V version gets modeled analog filters. Arturia has long history of delivering excellent emulations of analog hardware, so this isn’t a cause for concern. The software version even has the same limitations, like six-voice polyphony. So if you’ve been tempted by the MiniFreak, but haven’t pulled the trigger yet, this is an excellent way to take it for a test drive.
You still get a robust mod matrix, customizable LFO curves, two LFOs per voice, four lanes of modulation sequencing, a 64-step sequencer and 10 effects with three slots. It doesn’t quite have the raw power of Arturia’s Pigments, but it does have a number of features that lacks — most notably those nearly two dozen oscillator modes.
In addition to putting the power of the MiniFreak in your DAW, the V version can also sync with the hardware instrument. So you can control it straight from your computer. Of course that’s been available to owners of the synth for a while now, but it’s just icing on the cake if you pickup the VST now and decide to snag the real deal down the road.
The UI largely mimics the physical instrument, down to the orange highlights and patterned mod / pitch strips to the left of the keyboard. It does offer a lot more visual feedback, however, including animated wave shapes for the oscillators, LFOs and envelopes. Arturia’s MiniFreak V is available now at for $99 or bundled with V Collection 9 for free. After the intro period is over the price will go up to $199.
Update 12:08pm ET: The original version of this article incorrectly stated the price of MiniFreak V as $149. It has been updated to reflect the correct pricing.
2022 marked the 50th anniversary of storied instrument maker Roland. But, even though we’ve switched over to our 2023 calendars, the company took the opportunity at CES to take one more victory lap by showing off its 50th Anniversary Concept Piano. It’…
Well CES is officially underway. The floor is open and hordes of PR reps, journalists and eager entrepreneurs are coursing through the arteries of the Las Vegas Convention Center. Of course even before the LVCC opened its doors today there’s been plent…
A few years back Expressive E swung by the Engadget offices to show off its first standalone synthesizer, the Osmose. That was late 2019, and the instrument was originally expected to ship in the Summer of 2020. Well, as we all know, almost nothing has gone as planned since 2020. And it’s only now, nearly three years later, that Osmose is actually ready for consumers. Today the first units started shipping those who placed a preorder all those many moons ago. Expressive E is also reopening preorders for the next batch and are expected to start shipping soon.
While I can’t pass full judgement on the Osmose from my short demo over three years ago, it still is shaping up to be a very unique and exciting instrument. The core synth engine is borrowed from MPE pioneers Haken Audio and delivers a combination of FM, virtual analog and physical modeling. That physical modeling engine is particularly big deal since it really shine’s on Expressive E’s unique keybed.
The 49 full-sized keys don’t just move downward, but also side to side. This gives you an additional dimension for exploring sounds, the most obvious case being to add vibrato just by wiggling your fingers back and forth. And since the Osmose is built expressly for MPE, that means each note is controlled individually, so you can play a chord, then bend only the highest note while keeping the bass notes the same. That makes the Osmose the first traditional keyboard (at least that I’m aware of) that supports MPE.
While there is a builtin sound engine with 24-notes of polyphony, the 5-pin MIDI dins and USB connection mean you can control any soft or hardware synth with the Osmose too. That includes passing along MPE data to compatible instruments.
To the left of the keyboard are an array of controls and a color LCD for navigating the synth’s interface. There will also be an app for both Windows and macOS that allows you to create and edit sounds. The Expressive E is available for preorder now at $1,799.
Drop might be best known for its mechanical keyboards, but the company has also built out an impressive portfolio of audio gear as well. Usually those take the form of headphones and headsets made in partnership with other brands like Sennheiser and Hi…
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South Korean authorities believe North Korean hackers, working for the government, have targeted at least 892 foreign policy experts in the country. The efforts focused on members of think tanks and academics, dating back to April. The attacks began with spear phishing emails, often claiming to be from figures in South Koreas political system. These usually included either links to fake sites or viruses as attachments. The ploy, while not particularly sophisticated, was enough to fool at least a handful of victims.
The result was that several prominent experts had their personal data stolen, email lists compromised (exposing more people to the hackers), and 13 companies (primarily online retailers) were victims of ransomware. Although police believe only 49 recipients actually handed credentials over to the fakes sites and only two companies paid the 2.5 million won ($1,980) ransom, it’s difficult to judge the full scale of the fallout.
It’s unclear what non-financial resources the North Korean hackers may have gained from this latest campaign. But it’s certain this will not be the last cyber attack on its souther neighbor. The county has previously targeted security researchers to discover unpatched vulnerabilities, and even used the tragedy on Halloween in Itaewon as a tool to target South Korean citizens.
Cyber warfare has been a major focus of North Korea for years, even as it seeks to deter foreign militaries with more traditional methods, like building nuclear weapons. It has also been a major source of revenue for the country which is in perpetual financial crisis and largely cut off from the world’s markets. It’s estimated that North Korean hackers have stolen $1.72 billion worth of cryptocurrency since 2017. And it doesn’t appear that it’s letting the recent crypto crash scare it off, as the recent ransoms were also paid in BitCoin.
Though the hackers covered their tracks reasonably well, the targets, tactics and IP addresses have led police to believe this is the same group that hacked the Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power in 2014. They also believe that the hackers will not cease their activity just because their efforts have been discovered. Authorities have urged people, especially those who work in sensitive areas like technology and government, to step up their security measures and be extra vigilant against fishing and human engineering attacks.
Elon Musk has said that he will step down as CEO of Twitter once a suitable replacement can be found. On Sunday he ran a poll asking if he should leave the role, and Twitter users overwhelmingly told him to go. He didn’t immediately respond to the results, but by Tuesday he seemed to have accepted the will of the people, after originally suggesting that he might instead change it so that only paying users could vote in Twitter polls.
Of course there’s no timeline for Musk to hand over the reins yet. And as his tweet says it will require finding “someone foolish enough to take the job.” Following a chaoticstring of badpress and thegutting of its staff it might be hard to attract high quality candidates to the position. But, the bar has been set exceedingly low under Musk’s tenure and a simple change of face at the top could do a lot to improve Twitter’s image in the short term.
I will resign as CEO as soon as I find someone foolish enough to take the job! After that, I will just run the software & servers teams.
Of course, there is a chance that the change could be largely cosmetic. Musk tweeted that he planned to stay on and run the software and server teams. And there’s no indication that he plans to sell the company, which he bought in October for $44 billion and quickly took private. So it’s clear that he wants to still be involved in the company’s operation, but it’s unclear just how much.
It’s hard to imagine the hard driving businessman who made a major spectacle of firing Twitter’s entire executive team and dissolved the board when he took over simply stepping aside at this point. But he has also in his short reign allowed the whim of polls to make several major decisions.
Regardless of who eventually takes over as CEO, they’ll be taking over a company that is almost unrecognizable compared to just a few months ago. Roughly 70 percent of the staff have either been laid off or quit. Advertisers have fled the platform as hate speech and trolls have thrived. And the content moderation and safety efforts have completely stagnated. The company is also now facing increasing pressure from the government on a number of fronts.
At this point it’s easier to list the features that Arturia’s Pigments doesn’t have than ones it does. The company has been rolling out regular updates for a few years now, and each new version adds something worth getting excited about. New synth engines, new effects, whole new utility sections – it’s both a place for Arturia to experiment with new ideas, and show off some of highlights from its lineup of vintage emulation.
At first blush Pigments 4 seems like a comparatively minor update. There’s some new effects, a handful of enhancements to the various oscillators, but there’s not much to reach out and demand your attention from a simple headline. This seemingly subtle upgrade hides a lot of quality of life enhancements, though.
For one, now you can simply drag and drop modulation sources to their target. Granted, clicking LFO one and then clicking on the filter cut off wasn’t particularly difficult. But now you can just drag the little tab over an LFO to whatever you want to modulate. It should make Pigments a little less intimidating to those just learning how to navigate the synth. There’s also now left and right arrows on multimode modules, like the filter, that lets you quickly change types, where previously you had to click and open a drop down menu to select a new option.
Arturia
The most dramatic UI changes are thankfully optional. First is the new Play tab, which strips away most of the sound design options and focuses on a core set of tweakable parameters. You can’t change effects here, or set modulation preferences. It’s designed to just get you making noise without too many distractions. It’s fine for live performance or if you prefer to stick with the presets, but hides a lot of the depth that makes Pigments so compelling.
The other major interface change is a bit of a head scratcher. See, while most companies are rushing to implement dark mode to save your eyes, Arturia has decided that Pigments is too dark and added a light mode. I’m sure there are those out there who will enjoy its bright gray panels, but I’m personally not a fan. Not only do I think the original theme is easier to stare at for prolonged periods of time, but it’s also just more consistent. There are many elements of the interface that remain dark even in light mode and it looks a bit cobbled together.
That’s a pretty minor nitpick though, considering that once you get past the UX, there’s a handful of new toys to play with in Pigments 4. There’s a new filter borrowed from the company’s MS-20 emulation, ring mod in the wavetable oscillator, super unison in the analog oscillator, a dedicated mod oscillator, an improved bit crusher and (wait for it) shimmer reverb!
Arturia
The MS-20 filter might seem unnecessary considering Pigments already had 10 different filter options, many with multiple modes, but it does bring something special to the table. Rather than using it as you would any other lowpass filter, the MS-20 begs to be run at extremes. Crank the resonance and turn on keyboard tracking, and you can transform simple white noise into a delicate plucky key sound with a subtle crackle. Or just crank the volume on it and hit it with the hottest signal you can (though make sure to turn down the master volume or you’ll risk blowing out your ears) to get some crunchy saturation.
Ring Mod delivers some nice icy timbres. Though, this is not something that Pigments was exactly lacking before. It’s a welcome addition, but definitely not something that you’d miss too dearly if it quietly disappeared. The more exciting changes are to the Bit Crusher effect (as opposed to the one built into the sample engine). The addition of jitter, scale and new decimator options really let you fine tune the exact flavor of digital destruction you’re looking for.
Oh, then of course there’s the shimmer reverb. It does what it says on the tin. Personally I think it’s an essential effect, and I’m shocked Arturia hasn’t added one until now. There’s nothing about it that stands out particularly, but if you’re using Pigments to create granular soundscapes or ambient plucks, then you’ll be thankful it’s here.
Arturia also added 63 new wavetables, 67 new samples and 36 new noise types, plus a pile of new presets. And, if the new library of included patches isn’t enough for you, there’s also three new sound packs: Wavelengths Lo-fi, Wavelengths Neuro Bass and Wavelengths Cinematic to broaden your sonic palette.
Pigments 4 is available now as a free upgrade for existing owners. New customers have a chance to pick it up at an introductory price of $99 until January 4th, after which the price will go back up to $199.
