Minibrute? the og?
Do people like its sound?
seems to me like its good for the upper bass layers and weird stuff, maybe hihats and fake snares.
the margins for envelop usage are really slim in the amp. and the wave mixer seems to overdrive right below the middle??..
brute factor is nicely weird tho.
the sinewave is cool for subs when on its own, but combined with the other waves it seems to lose power for thick basses.
at some point i tried to make some kicks, but they all seemed to lack knock.
its bizarre coz its been like 10 years since it was released, but if you look for any packs for sounds/samples/drums made on it, you find nothing on the web, why is that?
there was a big hype back when it was released but after that people were not really happy with it…
now microfreak has probably far surpassed it in all aspects, no? even if its a digital synth.
Seriously, this video sold me on getting one and it was the first analogue synth I owned.
Damn you, “Alex from Source Distribution” (never seen him and Mylar Melodies in the same place at the same time )
Re: the Microfreak. I had one a couple of weeks, at most. Sounded great as long as I ran it through something else, but the Minibrute sounded great all on its own.
I had one for a while when it first came out. Didn’t really wow me, the sound wasn’t anything that unique either IMO. I mostly used it as a midi controller.
I think it’s one of those cases of a manufacturer designing an all new synth circuit and it just not really catching on the way they had hoped.
As long as you be gentle on the osc mixer it’s quite nice. You may like or disklike the filter but it still one of the first analog revival synths brought to the market. i think it’s a bold move to bring something on the market with a distinct sound. Often It doesn’t quitte match with other synths in the mix unfortunately but i like it can be soft and brutal 303 ish in a different register. It does has that analog sound to it that can’t be replicated with VST’s easily. Fx really like to have and process the output signal in my experience. It’s one of those synths that have likes or hates and less in between.
I bought one from the first batch with the keybed issues. Until the keys broke I was quite fond of it. It is way more flexible than usually given credit for. I would have kept it if the quality didn’t leave such a bad taste in my mouth at the time.
I’ve since gone on to buy a number of other monos but I still think of grabbing a mini brute from time to time. I think it occupies a rather unique aesthetic space despite its rather conventional makeup.
Its my third though…they kept breaking still under warranty…but Arturia admitted shonky QA and came good.
I dont mind the filter at all, its a different flavour but sometimes it just works. The Osc mix section lacks headroom so once you start adding multiple they drown each other out so its best with a mix of 2 oscs…or just one…
My favourite thing is feeding it other OSCs from my modular and blending that in for some paraphonic tones…its does good things to my Braids by MI…
I would have loved to upgrade to the Mini but between the micro and BSP i have decided against Arturia purchasing until they can improve on build quality…
I had a Minibrute years ago, and I still think about how much low-end growl it had; really great for basses. I see them used for very cheap prices, and one day, I will impulse buy another, I suspect.
I liked the Osc mix section. It’s so nice to mix the waveforms and come up with different sounds all the time. If you keep the mix level around the middle, it can sound very vintage. The whole brute and aggressive drive options including the Steiner Parker filter was really never my thing. Bought three Minibrutes and four times a Microbrute along the years. Nice synths. Not as good as the Microfreak, imho, but… they get the job done. Used it mostly in our live jam series a couple of years ago. Perfect on stage.
Had the Micro for a while. Found the sound similar to the knobs. Rubbery and not terribly satisfying.
Though as a utility device with the patch-points, it was superb. I had a ridiculous chain of CZ101 triggering the Brute, and blending its oscillators, sending an env to an Acidbox and creating all kinds of mayhem only a CZ-micro-vox could.
I had a MicroBrute and a DrumBrute didn’t hate them, but ended up selling them. I find Arturia’s analog hardware to very “dry” sounding. They really want some external FXs to bring them to life; however, that being said, they take FX’s really well. Like anything you slap on that is half way decent suddenly brings them to life.
I read that quite often on forums about s/h *brutes. And had a couple of them myself, i experienced it myself. The special color edition of the Microbrute is also quite sensitive. I always wanted a white one, but the plastic reacts quickly with something like smoke/nicotine, and the whole thing gets quickly nasty looking. “Mint” condition…yeah right…
The newer models, the Minibrute 2 and 2S offers much more patch points, two oscillators and in case of the 2S a nice step sequencer. The sound is less aggressive, more mellow, but also less characteristic. For 469€ a good package, but there are other synths in that price range that are just as good. Novation Bass Station 2, Korg MS20 mini, Dreadbox Typhon, Korg Monologue/Minilogue, Moog Mother 32, Roland SE02, Roland System 1m, Behringer Neutron, Deepmind 6, Odyssey, 2600, etc., Moog Minitaur, Döpfer Dark Energy MK3…and so much more.
)
