— Firmware history
What’s new
The MicroFreak has grown a lot since its 2019 launch — the vocoder, unison, user wavetables and sample playback all arrived as free firmware updates, and 5.0.0 is still the latest. Here is what each version added, linked to where the guide covers it. This guide follows the manual for FW 5.0 — update with Arturia’s MIDI Control Center if you are behind (see updating the firmware).
FW 5.0.0
Samples and grains
- Four sample-based oscillator types: Sample, Scan Grains, Cloud Grains and Hit Grains; SHIFT + TYPE browses samples. In the guide →
- Import your own samples through the MIDI Control Center’s new Samples tab; 52 factory samples included. In the guide →
- Preset slots go from 384 to 512, with a new bank of 64 presets. In the guide →
- A snappier envelope option and a reworked Utility menu. In the guide →
+ 1 bug fix
FW 4.0.2–4.0.3
Maintenance updates
- Two maintenance releases (May and June 2022). In the guide →
+ 2 bug fixes
FW 4.0.1
User wavetables
- The WaveUser oscillator with 16 Arturia wavetables, and your own wavetables (WAV/AIFF) via the MIDI Control Center. In the guide →
- The Wavetable oscillator no longer clicks when its position is modulated. In the guide →
- The sequencer can play chord mode and unison. In the guide →
- Adjustable oscillator knob speed. In the guide →
FW 3.0.6
Noise Engineering oscillators and unison
- Three oscillators from Noise Engineering: Bass, SawX and Harm. In the guide →
- Unison for every oscillator type (SHIFT + PARAPHONIC), with spread control. In the guide →
- Preset slots go from 256 to 384, and chord mode is stored per preset. In the guide →
+ 4 bug fixes
FW 2.1.3–2.1.4
The vocoder
- A 16-band Vocoder oscillator, using the headphone jack as a mic input — the firmware of the Vocoder Edition, free for every MicroFreak. In the guide →
- Mic gain, noise gate and detection settings in Utility. In the guide →
+ 2 bug fixes
FW 2.0.3
Noise oscillator, chord mode and scales
- The Noise oscillator. In the guide →
- Chord mode (hold PARAPHONIC and play a chord) and scale quantisation. In the guide →
- Copy sequence A to B, and clear all matrix routings with SHIFT + a long press of MATRIX. In the guide →
+ 2 bug fixes
FW 1.1.2
Spice & Dice get deeper
- Spice and Dice also vary envelope decay, release and pressure. In the guide →
- Program Change support and better Local Control and CC handling. In the guide →
+ 3 bug fixes
FW 1.0.5
Launch firmware
- The original oscillator types (Arturia’s own and those derived from Mutable Instruments’ Plaits), the analog filter, the 5 × 7 matrix, the arp/sequencer with Spice & Dice, and four-voice paraphony. In the guide →
Full details, including every bug fix, are in Arturia’s release notes and on Arturia’s downloads page .