Arturia MicroBrute – first impression

If a “Mini” model is followed by an even smaller “Micro” model, expectations might be very low. You could easily overlook the new Arturia synthesizer, but … boy, that would be a mistake! This instrument does not only sound fantastic, it also has a very clever concept. More than that, it is – thanks to the new performance opportunities – even more attractive than the original MiniBrute.

MicroBrute-01

MicroBrute-03

A quick MicroBrute overview:

+ Meaty, inspiring analog sound
+ VCO – mixable waveforms with extra modulation possibilities
+ VCF – multimode filter LP / BP / HP
+ VCF – filter-frequency-performance via modulation wheel
+ Sequencer: a great tool, easy to use, 8 memories
+ CV/gate panel, MIDI and USB

– Minikey keyboard
– “Hold” is only available via software (no dedicated button)

MicroBrute-02

MicroBrute-04

MicroBrute-05

The Arturia MicroBrute rocks, it jams, it’s alive. An indepth review with comprehensive soundfiles will follow soon …

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“Es genügt, einen Ton schön zu spielen” sagte der Komponist Arvo Pärt im Jahre 2005. Diese Aussage ist ebenso einfach wie ich auch exzellent: Es braucht kein Meer an Tönen, denn entscheidend ist der Klang. Dass so mancher Vintage-Synthesizer der 70er und 80er Jahre teils unerreicht hochwertige Klänge liefert, steht außer Frage. Doch tatsächlich leben wir “heute” in einer nahezu perfekten Zeit. Einerseits hat man – mehr oder weniger – noch Zugriff auf die Vintage Analogen, andererseits wird auch bei Neugeräten die wichtige Komponente des hochwertigen Klanges wieder zunehmend berücksichtigt. Doepfer, Cwejman, Synthesizers.com, MacBeth, Moog, GRP, Studio Electronics, COTK, John Bowen und andere Hersteller bauen hervorragende Synthesizer, die den “Klassikern” in nichts nachstehen. All diesen (alten wie neuen) “großartigen” Instrumenten ist Great Synthesizers gewidmet. _________________________________________________________ In 2005 composer Arvo Pärt said: “Playing one tone really well is enough”. In other words, it is sufficient to play one tone 'beautifully'. I agree with that. All musical efforts are focused on the sound itself. Although I studied classical music (piano and drums), it’s the electronic sound that inspires me. Synthesizers are the epitome of new sounds and exciting tonal spheres. Today, many companies produce high-quality - excellent! - synthesizers: Doepfer, Cwejman, MacBeth, Moog, GRP, Synthesizers.com, COTK, Studio Electronics, John Bowen and others. It's their products I'm really interested in ... apart from Vintage Synthesizers, which I have been collecting for 20 years. Subsequent to our former websites Bluesynths and Blogasys, Peter Mahr and I have now created GreatSynthesizers. We hope you like it.