Find a sound: presets and categories
Browse sounds with the Preset knob, why a tweak vanishes when you move on, and the triple-press that clears a sound to Init.
A preset is a stored sound: all the knob positions, the mod matrix, the sequences and some settings. The MicroFreak has 512 preset slots. Turning the Preset knob loads the next or previous one straight away.
- Browsing sounds with the Preset knob, and what a category is
- Why unsaved edits disappear when you load another sound
- Resetting a sound to Init with three quick presses
- The Click to Load setting, for browsing without loading
The steps5 steps
- Turn the Preset knob (scroll over it, or drag) a few clicks and play a note on each sound. The screen shows the name and the category.
Stuck?
Scroll over the round knob next to the screen, then press a key.
- Pick a sound you like and change it: turn a few knobs (Cutoff, Resonance, Attack, anything). The screen names each one as you touch it.
Stuck?
Any knob counts. Try Cutoff and Resonance.
- Now turn the Preset knob one click. Your edit is gone: the next sound loaded, and the MicroFreak did not ask. Turn it back and the original is as it was stored, without your tweak.
Stuck?
Scroll the Preset knob one click either way.
- To start a sound from nothing, press the Preset knob three times quickly. The sound resets to the blank Init state: everything back to the starting sound. Nothing is stored until you save.
Stuck?
Click the Preset knob three times quickly.
- Play Init and listen. This plain sound is the best base to build from, because nothing in it was set by someone else.
Stuck?
Hold a key and listen: Init is a plain tone with nothing added.
Loading is instant and edits are not kept, so save what you like (the Save lesson covers that). Init is your blank page.
On the real MicroFreak
Click to Load lives in Utility > Global > Controls. With it on, turning the Preset knob only scrolls, and pressing the knob loads the sound it shows, which is safer on stage. An empty slot is a sound called Init in the Bass category. Nothing is written to a slot until you save.
Where the model differs
The model has 64 sounds, written for it. They are not Arturia's factory presets, and a real MicroFreak has many more.
Questions2
I loaded a preset and my edits are gone. Can I get them back?
No. Loading a preset replaces the current sound without asking, and there is no way to bring your edits back. Save a sound before you move on if you want to keep it.
What are the categories?
Bass, Brass, Keys, Lead, Organ, Pad, Percussion, Sequence, Sfx, Strings and Template. They are labels to help you find sounds; they change nothing about how a preset sounds.