One thing I’d really like to know: is there anyone who has actually owned and used both the Easel and MicroFreak who can comment on their actual user experience? Aside from the obvious (different sound, difference in portability) I’d be curious about an informed opinion as to what the Easel can offer in a live performance that the MicroFreak can’t, and vice versa. I’d post at Muff, but I’m not confident there’d be enough productive responses.
I think the only similarities are that they are synthesisers with similar ‘keyboards’
I don’t know why somebody would even compare the 2 ?
Totally different in many ways
Have you actually owned and used both the Easel and MicroFreak?
Yep.
Sold them both.
In terms of playability for live performance,–how easy, inspiring, etc. it is to take them to different sonic places that are worth taking them to–can you give your opinion about how much satisfaction you had with either, keeping the comparison in mind? It’s interesting to see how such a relatively cheap device compares to the expensive one.
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I’ve got the Microfreak, but I have only some information of the Easel from internet sources and after receiving a virtual Easel with the Arturia V collection I spent some time to explore it, without the keyboard though.
Concerning the sound I wouldn’t compare the two. The Easel creates sound by wavefolding and by FM with Buchla circuits. The algorithms of the Microfreak provide both to, but AFAIK they can’t be used at the same time and sound a bit different. IMO the Microfreak offers quite different sound creation options with all it’s different algorithms, if compared to the Easel.
Concerning the operation I would say that the Easel shines with sliders and it’s semi-modular hands-on concept. This allows to go very different ways for sound creation and performances.
IMO there is some similarity, indeed, but both concepts are very different too and create totally different beasts.
I hope this made some sense … 
Well I don’t play live but for getting stuff done id go for the Microfreak. Its very tweakable, with good interfacing with other gear. I wrote loads with that and a Machinedrum in one weekend. It is quick to make patches too and the mod-matrix is ace when you get used to it. The mod-matrix is the ‘patchable modular’ side of it.
I would get another. But like a lot of people mention it would be great to have a little onboard reverb or delay in there… maybe in the Freak2?
The Easel was great at the time and superbly experimental to patch. You need to know where you’re patching the cables too though and in my opinion, you don’t want to be patching live…!
I had one on loan from a mate which led me down the Eurorack hole when I gave it back… Eurorack got close but not really.
The costs - I think Arturia could’ve charged more for the Microfreak and it would’ve been well worth it! Considering all the synthesis options, the analog filter (also wished it had an audio input!!) the mod-matrix and the sequencers/arpegiators. £265 .
The easel is about £3k… It’s not worth that. And to take that out live - No way!
Yes, this matches my experience with the MicroFreak and Arturia Easel using external MIDI controllers. I’m now interested in people’s actual hands-on experience. For example, the MicroFreak is so compact that using hand technique you can do lots of interesting moves. The Easel is bigger and more spread out, plus big and heavy. I just wonder how they compare as players.
Yes, no doubt, when you take the price into account, the Easel is economically irrational. It used to be that it was the only way to do that and get that sound , so it was easier to ignore cost, but now the Arturia Easel gets the sound and the MicroFreak plays sort of similarly as an instrument. But I’m still trying to get a sense of how the Easel is in your hands, and how it responds to the moves you can make with it, that is, move in a musical way through different timbres and sonic textures in one organic performance. People with hands on experience of both seem to be few and far between.
I’ll try anything and then re-sell, writing off the “experience cost,” but due to my location, I’d have USD 250-300 shipping charges, and 20-25% customs duties. Re-selling, I’d take a loss of USD 1500-1800 even if a buyer paid me what I paid, so that puts this kind of purchase in another class for me.
IMO the Microfreak is not too tiny. The spacing between the knobs is okay. The keyboard is quite reactive for interesting modulations and very fast.
But there is a big difference between using sliders and knobs. From my experience with different synths I would say that sliders work much better for me in a live situation. It’s one glance only and I know where I am and where to go, because sliders give me a better indication of the actual setting. Knobs are only round with a tiny tip or mark to give away their position. But this would not justify the cost of an Easel for me.
BTW … try the Arturia Easel with a midi-controller having enough faders. That could at least give a certain feeling, how it works. There are also touchplate keyboards available, resembling the Easel keyboard.
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Like what Soundrider mentioned actually ‘playing’ the Easel is very nice because of the sliders… This applies to any synth with that interface - SH-101 for example.
IF you really needed that interface you could set up a midi controller like the LaunchControl XL to control the MicroFreak.
The Microfreak is good to play though. Its small but not ‘volca small’ and the screen is informative to see envelope shapes and the filter shape.
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Yeah, good point about the sliders, I forgot about that. I have some modules in my rack that get more attention than they deserve precisely because of their slider interface.
I’ve had the MicroFreak for a while. It’s so compact that two hands hovering over it pretty much access the whole thing, all the time so that it’s easy to do two things at once. Yes, it’s knobs, but the screen feedback is nicely implemented, so there’s that even if the surface doesn’t present a simple graphic snapshot of what’s going on. When I see people playing the Easel on YT, it’s big enough that they kind of reach into it to make a single adjustment, and the hand on the keyboard can’t reach anything else. On the MicroFreak, a pinky easily reaches up tp the pitch bend, spice, hold button, etc. It looks like on an Easel, you wish you had three hands, but on a MF, a third hand wouldn’t fit.
I’ve operated the Arturia Easel with different MIDI controllers, which is far better than mouse and keyboard, but still could be rather different than the actual item.
Buchla easel is amazing and you’ll never get bored of it, microfreak is also amazing but in a modern way, and they work like a charm together.
If you’re asking for feel of the keyboard they are quite different. MF has given more issues if weather is very dry. I like the feel of MF but I definitely don’t love it. I’ve used it live quite a lot. You can make really good sounds with it and the Keyboard is very responsive when it’s not too dry. Dry hands can be an issue in an interesting way because you can get stuck notes, and keys that stop working and then you have to turn it on and off. Haven’t happened a lot but it can happen.
Easels keyboard has a very different feel. It’s obviously bigger but it also feels better to me to touch. I seriously can’t stand the sharp edges on the flats/sharps though. Personally I would not feel confident to use easel live unless it was just very basic sounds I was planning on using throughout the set. It is an amazing live instrument but it takes quite a lot to switch between complex patches live I would say. At least if they are supposed to still be kinda melodic patches. It does depend on what music your making of course.
The futureretro vectra is another to consider… Much cheaper then a easel and can do way more then both.
ahh… but doing way more may not be what you want, certainly not in the live performance arena .?!!
This is where the Easel shines - Don Buchla designed it with the express purpose of improvising & performing live electronic music. I’ve never played anything else that comes close to that experience. It’s all I take with me now for 90% of my gigs.