Opinion: Arturia Minibrute

joechip · 2015-05-21T15:59:36.000Z

Sold it due to the well-documented keybed issues, terrible customer support and no Local Off… then I bought one again.

Not a big fan of Arturia, however the Minibrute really is a nice quirky synth. Basic one osc, but with a different sounding filter and a lot of range in the waveshapes. The recent ability to switch between sequencer/arp through a sysex dump also adds interest.

I found the CV side/tuning a little flakey so i’d do a little research on that side first.

Joe

reeloy · 2015-05-21T16:02:55.000Z

… i prefer the micro brute…

really…

hardwarecore · 2015-05-21T16:17:14.000Z

I sold mine only because I needed the money at the time. But I love the Minibrute and I’m definitely getting another when I get a chance. The greatest thing about it, to me, is the long envelope setting. If you combine that with an LFO’d bandpass filter and go light on the osc levels, you can make some fucking awesome soundscapes with it. Oddly enough, my experiences with the Microbrute have not been nearly as much fun, despite having such a similar architecture.

Grabbing a Monotribe as an inexpensive expander module is something to think about as well.

tedopon · 2015-05-21T16:27:18.000Z

Here’s my personal experience with Arturia:
First experience: borrowed a friend’s V-Collection for a while. I only bring this up because it relates to a point I will make further into this list. At the time license transfer was complicated, and I got a response time of 10 days on a support ticket.
Second Experience: bought a used Spark controller. Took 15 days before I was able to use it…and that doesn’t count shipping time. Both I and the former owner filed support tickets regarding the license transfer almost a full week before I received the item. In total the tickets were sitting for 20 days before they transferred the license. This is after receiving a response within 24 hours that it was in the queue.
Third Experience: bought a brand new Beatstep v1, sealed in the box. License did not work. Took 12 days from filing a support ticket to get the license activated. Luckily, a few days after my initial request, someone on their forums forwarded me the firmware update I needed before the license went through.

The build quality on both of the hardware instruments I owned was excellent. Highest quality encoders I have used on any music device by a long mile. Elektron ones feel like toy grade compared to them. The software for the Spark is buggy as hell and they ignore requests for simple bugfixes that have been around through six(?) revisions of the software. I sold both of these instruments because even though the hardware was rock solid, they seem to abandon products after a short development run then move on to the next best thing. As I mentioned above, they are also either understaffed in the support department or they need to do some housecleaning in that department. This does not inspire confidence in them as a company for me.

A friend of mine (who I know in person, not an internet friend) has owned both a Minibrute and one of the midi controllers (I don’t remember which one, but it was a 49 key one). The Minibrute had a busted keybed right out of the sealed box. It took 7 weeks before he got a replacement, which he sold immediately after he got because he was scared it was only a matter of time before something else would fall apart. He got rid of the midi controller (which he had no problems with and actually seemed to like) because my wife let him indefinitely borrow her Korg R3 and he liked the keyboard better than the one on the Arturia (and the R3’s keybed is one of my least favorite keyboards I have ever used, feels flimsy and cheap).

The Mini and Micro Brutes both look badass on paper, and the guy who designed them is a genius (he posts regularly on the electromusic diy site forum), but very little in my own experience other than cool videos I see on youtube would convince me to ever spend money on another product of theirs again.

andajazz · 2015-05-21T16:41:30.000Z

bass station 2 …

snowcrash · 2015-05-21T17:48:55.000Z

BSII doesn’t have any CV and it sucks to sync it to the A4…

Go for the Brute, keep Waveform-Levels below 50%, enjoy superb organic analog sound.

Elektronot · 2015-05-21T19:01:28.000Z

not bad w/ some digital reverb. the micro is much smaller if your just gonna use CV.

hardwarecore · 2015-05-21T19:15:07.000Z

Just to balance out some of the negative experiences people have had with Arturia gear, I will say that I’ve had one Minibrute and 3 different Microbrutes and never had any issues with any of them.

Not saying you other guys aren’t justified in relaying your experiences, because I sure have heard an awful lot about that kind of thing. Just saying that it’s not all bad. Or maybe some of us just luck out.

Mies_van_der_Robot · 2015-05-21T19:58:33.000Z

The Minibrute and Microbrute are both attractive sounding and attractively priced. I also wanted a CV-controlled companion to my AK, and I considered them both, but in the end I got a Moog Minitaur on a pre-Memorial Day sale deal because:

a) You can save your patches as presets and recall them. Better for gigging.
b) Software editor available
c) Throw it in the backpack size (also true of Microbrute but rules out the Mini)
d) I already have larger keyboards that can send MIDI and/or CV control and a small portable MIDI controller, so what do I need with another 2-octave keyboard?
e) The Minitaur can function as a CV-to-MIDI converter.

I do like the quirky sound of the Brutes, though. Kudos to Arturia for going their own way. If I’d primarily been looking for a studio instrument I could very well have decided to get one of them.

kazio · 2015-05-21T20:02:55.000Z

Bought a Minibrute in 2014.
The already mentioned keyboard issue.

Bought a Microbrute in 2014.
CV wasn`t working.

By the way… both problems out of the box.

Bought a Microbrute again. March 2015.
May 2015… the filter ads some strange noise to the signal.

I personally would never buy some Arturia stuff again.

Janos · 2015-05-21T21:10:57.000Z

I’ve had a Minibrute since its launch. No issue whatsoever (well, it can sound really, really, really nasty, but just maybe that’s a bonus). Grab one, they’re dirt cheap nowadays for what you get. I suppose they’re clearing stock for something bigger.

And for all the licensing transfering arguments…I don’t really understand what that’s got to do with an all analog monosynth. At least they allow it, or don’t charge you crazy money for it.

vneutron · 2015-05-21T22:03:15.000Z

I had a mini and a micro,Found the micro to be better,just seemed to be abe to make better patches even with less controls, and much more interaction with other gear with the cv in and outs.

klerc · 2015-05-21T22:07:48.000Z

""vneutron"":

I had a mini and a micro,Found the micro to be better,just seemed to be abe to make better patches even with less controls, and much more interaction with other gear with the cv in and outs.

+1

jim5 · 2015-05-21T23:03:17.000Z

I’ve had my Microbrute for over an year without any issues. I’ve been also using it with the A4 sequencing on the CV track without any issues. It took little time to get the CV setup but once I did it worked great. I also run it through the A4’s effects.

I love the fact that you can play with all the parameter while it is being sequenced. You can come up with some great unexpected results that way.

udenjoe · 2015-05-22T13:15:45.000Z

Thanks for the replies. I’ve seen people’s reactions that there were some hardware issues with shipping. I’m guessing they’ve fixed these problems since. I’ll look into the micro. I like the fact that it has full key capability (aftertouch, velocity, etc.) in a small size. I really wanted the Korg Arps to have this.

I’m also planning on getting it with the moog 104 delay. The dream delay for more cv experiments.

Dapifer · 2015-05-22T23:31:31.000Z

I’ve had no issues with my Microbrute, it’s very rugged, in fact I’ve had more issues with my Sub 37 I hate to say (thankfully thats now addressed.)

I agree with the above comments on the Micro sounding better than the Mini, I bought the Minibrute and returned it within my return period back when it came out, I ended up getting the Microbrute about a year later. Maybe it’s cos when I got the Minibrute I was new to analog synthesis and didn’t have it long but I’m sure that’s not just the reason, there def seems something different about the Microbrute, not sure what it is, it just seems easier to get it’s sweet spots.

dumbledog · 2015-05-26T21:17:00.000Z

[quote=“” udenjoe""]
Thanks for the replies. I’ve seen people’s reactions that there were some hardware issues with shipping. I’m guessing they’ve fixed these problems since. I’ll look into the micro. I like the fact that it has full key capability (aftertouch, velocity, etc.) in a small size. I really wanted the Korg Arps to have this.

I’m also planning on getting it with the moog 104 delay. The dream delay for more cv experiments.
[/quote]

Ouch and, uh, more ouch. The micro does not transmit or receive aftertouch, and it also doesn’t have MIDI out except via USB, which generally requires use of a bridge.
That said it does make for a good fun synth. I love mine, especially as a feeder for my Moogerfoogers. Speaking of which, the MF104 delay was discontinued last week. I hear they’re already going for 800+ on eBay.

FutureSomeday · 2015-06-03T18:42:26.000Z

My experience:

Bought one twice and sold them. First one worked great but had an output problem so I was sent a newer one. I think mine was one of the first models because the filter sounded better calibrated on the newer one.

As far as modern day mono’s the minibrute sounds really good both from the oscillator and filter section, would have kept it but I much prefer a 24db filter. You have to want that aggressive sound, that being said if you do its great, especially with the arp, for fx, or its pretty good on bass.

Comparing it to the BS2; the BS2 osicllators sound flat in comparison and the filter is less alive, though I like the actual character of the BS2 saw oscillator, it can sound quite vintage, especially running the arpeggio. The minibrute sounds analog, the BS2 not so much. Both sound warmer than the analog four. If you just want bass and a modern synth the minitaur is better than those three.

bandersong · 2015-06-03T19:08:38.000Z

The sound is extremely boring in my opinion. It is very much a bass synth and the Bass Station sounds better to me and you can get one used for about the same.

Christopher · 2017-09-07T13:06:07.723Z

I found this through sonicstate, and I was absolutely blown away with the realism achieved with this synth. As a Minibrute owner I dialed in some of these patches and was surprised to hear it output some timbres I had never heard before. Others, like the string patches left a lot to be desired and I think are more a testament to the guys production skills.

Anyway just a little bit of encouragement to master your instruments!