Arturia MiniBrute – the new Roland SH-101?

In many ways the Arturia MiniBrute is an exception to the rule. First, it’s French, a rarity on the analog synth market. Second, it’s something really special. THE analog synth of the year 2012 (and probably also 2013). In the lower price segment, in any case …

Arturia MiniBrute

Most remarkable is the fact that a product of this high quality could be produced with such an exceptional price-performance ratio without any great sacrifices.

Arturia, up to now primarily involved in the development of software synthesizers, seems to have managed the impossible.

The MiniBrute is well-made, sounds great, is versatile and – at 500 Euros – very affordable. An analog synth with MIDI, USB and CV/Gate. You might expect that you’d just be getting what’s absolutely necessary in basic sound design, but the opposite is true. The MiniBrute is full of little extras that total up to enormous flexibility. We’ll explain this in detail in the course of the following report.Arturia MiniBrute

We have also taken the liberty to compare the MiniBrute with the similarly designed Roland SH-101. But let’s start at the beginning …

On availability, the manual and other stuff …

The MiniBrute comes with a couple of suprises. First, concerning delivery times and availability: these can be sticky. Arturia has too few MiniBrutes available around the world. So, you may have to be patient at the moment.

Arturia MiniBrute

The original user manual is written in English, French and Japanese

Second, the manual: well organized – good printing quality, very informative … everything’s great, except … you’re limited to English, French and Japanese! For other languages (German, for example), please put on hold. They’ll get there in the long run. In any case, this is a manual you can browse in, great bedside reading.

Arturia MiniBrute

The MiniBrute comes with a generous pile of sound sheets

Forget about the language. The instrument comes with a generous pile of sound sheets … nice, thick cardboard templates which fit perfectly over the control panel to visually record favourite sound positions. Analog in the truest sense! Arturia’s MiniBrute comes with 10 “presets” and 5 “blank sheets”.

The quality of the handiwork is very, very good. The MiniBrute doesn’t look impressive, that’s true. But just pick it up. It’s a whopper. Absolutely solid, a thick chassis, high quality knobs and faders. Nothing wiggles. Fantastic! Arturia didn’t stint on the hardware … and not on the sound, either, just to be clear on that.

And you see at a glance that the MiniBrute is another wonderful product from Axel Hartmann’s Design Box …

Arturia MiniBrute

Elegant design … bearing the signature of Axel Hartmann

It goes to say that a whole arsenal of people were involved in its realization. The following list reflects an intensive French-Japanese-German cooperation.

Product and Project Management
Frédéric Brun
Romain Dejoie

Electronics
Yves Usson
Bruno Pillet
Francois Best
Laurent Baret
Robert Bocquier
Antoine Back

Design
Axel Hartmann (Design Box)
Daniel Vester
Morgan Perrier

Industialization
Nicolas Dubois
Suzy Zhu (Huaxin)

Manual
Yves Usson
Craig Anderton
Antoine Back
Yasu Tanaka
Noritaka Ubukata

Yves Usson, above all, deserves mention. He is a senior scientist responsible for creating some of the most amazing analog modular systems. He started designing and building his first modular analog synthesizer back in 1977. Today, he freely shares his acclaimed designs and indepth knowledge with the worldwide community of SDIY (synthesizer do it yourself).

Arturia MiniBrute

A wide playing range which you wouldn’t expect with a 2-octave keyboard

But let’s get back to the MiniBrute. That it has an external PSU is not suprising considering its small size (recollections of the Roland SH-101). Signs of the times. The 2 octave keyboard may seem minimalistic at first glance. But: the keys are normal sized (“big” – not kid-sized à la Micro-Korg) and, thanks to the octave range switches, you really have access to a full six octaves. So – minimalistic, yes, but also well thought through.

Arturia MiniBrute

The keyboard may indeed have its week points

Something to watch out for on the keyboard: those metal plates under the keys may come loose. They were put there to enhance the playing feeling through additional weight. But some of these plates have been known to go loose. In that rare case there’s even a danger of them falling inside the instrument … in which event the MiniBrute shouldn’t be turned on. The manufacterer is indeed aware of this problem, so we are expecting a permanent solution in the very near future.

Specifications

The MiniBrute contains …

  • … a Voltage Controlled Oscillator (VCO) with sub-oscillator. The VCO is well designed. It offers sawtooth, pulse, sine and noise, each individually mixable via fader (signal mixer), so, in fact, you end up with an endless amount of waveform possibilities. The sub-oscillator can be pulse or sine, 1 or 2 octaves below the original signal. The main waveforms (saw, pulse and sine) offer some extras: Ultrasaw, for example, builds two phase-shifted copies of the basic sawtooth signal. What you get is a very thick sound, something you’d expect from a 2-VCO synthesizer. It’s sort of a supersaw, similar to what we know from the (virtual) Roland JP-8000. PWM is possible via LFO and envelope and the unique metalizer function turns the sine-wave into non-harmonic waveforms, something very useful, as there’s no ring-modulator. The VCO is, strictly speaking, an extremely versatile analog oscillator. Compliment!

Arturia MiniBrute

  • … a Steiner multimode filter. There’s lowpass, bandpass, highpass and notch. Not bad! The filter resonance is very aggressive (maybe that’s the typical “Steiner” sound?), so the MiniBrute is perfectly usable for raw, dominant, hard analog sounds. The VCF has its own ADSR and keyboard tracking is available from 0 to 200 (!) %. Filter frequency modulation is also possible by LFO (of course …), by modulation wheel, aftertouch (via MIDI or directly through the internal keyboard) and finally by an external CV-source. There’s an audio-input, too, enabling filtering of any external audio signal. If the gate source switch on back of the instrument is set to audio, you don’t even have to touch the MiniBrute keyboard … the external signal will trigger the synth.

Arturia MiniBrute

  • … a main LFO with lots of waveforms. Frequency ranges from 0.05 bis 100 Hz, so this LFO is perfect for very slow as well as for ultra-fast (ok, let’s say: fast) modulation purposes. 6 waveforms (including sample & hold) and multiple modulation destinations (VCO, VCF and VCA) turn the main LFO into a powerful sound design module. Last but not least, it’s possible to synchronize LFO clock and arpeggiator clock … something both useful and elegant.

Arturia MiniBrute

  • … a second LFO for vibrato. The special vibrato-LFO is controllable by modulation wheel or aftertouch. The aftertouch factory setting is very strong, so the vibrato might be more “jumpy” than smooth. But no problem, there’s the MiniBrute Connection software. It allows for personal aftertouch adjustment and for other goodies (such as selection of the MIDI channel, …).

Arturia MiniBrute

  • … two envelopes. Classic: two ADSR. Basic envelope time may be switched from fast to slow. That’s great, since it allows you precise control over a sound’s shape. This feature would do credit to a lot of analog synthesizers on the market.
  • … the Brute factor. The Brute factor is an extra knob that enhances the filter resonance. It makes the sound more aggressive and wild … if that’s what you’re looking for.

Arturia MiniBrute

  • … a versatile arpeggiator. An arpeggiator is generally a useful tool. And this one is  comprehensive as well. The MiniBrute arpeggiator has various playing modes (including random!) and octave range settings. The basic note length is selectable (quarter, eighth, sixteenth, …) and a swing factor gives you various groove options. The arpeggiator has its own internal clock, but may also be synched to MIDI clock. You can even tap in your own tempo … just hit the TAP button to adjust. Ah yes … arpeggio lines are transmitted via CV/gate to any external synthesizer … to your Roland SH-101 or ARP Axxe, for example.

Arturia MiniBrute

  • … glide, bend range and audio in. Glide (portamento) is always welcome. It’s that little extra that turns your simple arpeggios into groovy patterns or gives your solo lead lines that special human touch. Adjustable pitch bend range. Great. Another feature that would do credit to a lot of the analog synthesizers currently on the market. Finally, there’s audio-in, for processing stuff like vocal lines, drum patterns, polyphonic synth pads.
  • … lots of INs and OUTs. Flexibility is one of the MiniBrute’s key words. This little monster can be hooked up to any modular system, to any (1V/octave) analog keyboard, any step sequencer, MIDI keyboard, computer (via MIDI and USB). Its connections are just as versatile as its sound design potential.

Arturia MiniBruteConnections:

      • audio in / out
      • headphones out
      • CV/gate in / out
      • MIDI in / out
      • USB
      • CV-in for pitch, VCF and VCA

Sound

There is no question about it. The MiniBrute is a stunner. Small and beautiful. Just consider that low-budget aspect – 500 Euros – for which you get a new analog synthesizer with all those extras and a convincing sound to beat.

That’s a completely different picture to the used vintage synth market (those monophonic machines from the 70s and 80s are definitely overpriced). It’s very gratifying to find a low-priced new instrument with excellent sound. To be honest, Doepfer Dark Energy, Vermona MonoLancet, the Moog MiniTaur, tomoberheim SEM and the MFB Dominion X were quicker on the draw here. But none of them has a keyboard …

Arturia MiniBrute

Lots of in- and outputs … ideal!

In any case, the MiniBrute sound is excellent. Rich oscillator waveforms, versatile filter modes, snappy envelopes … it’s all there. Basically, the MiniBrute sound is cheeky and aggressive. Filter resonance overdrives quickly, so sounds with higher resonance settings tend to be very similar in character.

This is no criticism. As a matter of fact, for cheekiness, …

… the MiniBrute tops the Roland SH-101 (?)

Whereas the 101 sounds are meaty, they are more mild than aggressive. Which also means that the Roland SH-101 is a perfect fit in a mix. This is a small (a very small) sore point with the MiniBrute. It tends to want to be the center of attention. Which is not to say that this isn’t exactly what modern musicians are on the look-out for: a sterling stand-out in a crowd.

Arturia MiniBrute und Roland SH-101

Arturia MiniBrute and Roland SH-101

Comparisons can be misleading. And it was just out of curiosity that we ended up comparing the MiniBrute with the SH-101. So it wasn’t at all suprising to determine that they actually can’t be compared. They do have a lot in common, theoretically speaking … a single VCO with mixable waveforms and sub-oscillator, a lowpass filter, an arpeggiator … But in reality, the Arturia MiniBrute beats the legendary Roland SH-101 in many ways.

Which is not to say that we’re about to kick the 101 over the edge. It’s really a draw: each of the synths has its assets, a character of its own. The Roland SH-101 is not the MiniBrute, but it’s certainly not scrap iron either …

Arturia MiniBrute and Roland SH-101

Arturia MiniBrute and Roland SH-101

Arturia’s MiniBrute …

… is a remarkable synthesizer. Versatile, performance- and sound-design-oriented, flexible, good sounding, well-made. The compact monophonic may lead to temptation, at least in your dreams: “Wouldn’t it be nice to have two of this synths right next to each other? … side-by-side …?” You’d get the equivalent of a 4-octave keyboard while having two complete and independent analog synthesizers (with all those MIDI- and CV/gate possibilities) in one package. For just under a 1000 Euros … unthinkable a few years ago.

Arturia MiniBrute

MIDI and USB …

We can congratulate Arturia – and all those involved in the development of the MiniBrute – on the realization of this exemplary musical instrument. A surprising step for a software producer. Let’s hope that Arturia keeps its sites set on the development of unique hardware. We’re looking forward, one day, to THE Brute …!

PS: December 2013 … Arturia just released the new MicroBrute synthesizer. We tested it and really fell in love with it! Read the full review, listen to the soundfiles and compare the Mini- and the MicroBrute …!

One special note concerning the sound files (to be found not only here but also in the Listening Room). Compare the MiniBrute to the SH-101 and you’ll see that both instruments have their worthy assets.

Arturia MiniBrute

Arturia MiniBrute and Roland SH-101

Despite their similar architectures, each has its own distinctive sound. We’ve set up the files with the MiniBrute first in each sample.

Update 01/2018: Arturia releases MiniBrute 2 and MiniBrute 2S. These synthesizers are a mixture of MiniBrute, MatrixBrute and DrumBrute. They are slightly more expensive than the original MiniBrute – 649 USD / Euros is the price – but come with a huge patch field and many other cool features.

Arturia-MiniBrute2-01

Arturia MiniBrute

Monophonic Analog Synthesizer

Price: 399 Euros

Website manufacturer:
www.arturia.com

Links:
Arturia MicroBrute Review
Arturia MatrixBrute Review

Filed under 2012, Reviews

“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.

37 Comments

  1. Hi Theo

    Thanks for this in depth review of the MiniBrute and the brilliant demos you provide. I am very found of Demo 3 in particular.

  2. Theo Bloderer

    Hello Yves!
    Thanks a lot … and, once more, congratulation to the great job you did! The MiniBrute is a wonderful music instrument …
    Regards, Theo

  3. Thanks for the attention you put in preparing this review, and thanks for the audio demos. There are some aspects of the MiniBrute sound palette that I had not heard before. The ethereal style of demo 2 and even Arpeggio 2, where sounds remain aerial while grazing sometime the rugged parts of MiniBrute, is very nice.

  4. it seems that all the soundcolour is coming from the filter, the osc itself sounds to flat , in comparison the 101 sounds a lot warmer and beefier , i would say lose the keyboard, multisaw , 2nd lfo and arp , and put in 2 redesinged oscillators , osc sync , the movement you try now to get into the sound with all the modulators cant disquise the lack of good oscillators and only 1 weedy one like it is now, overall a nice first attempt but get it right in mk2 arturia

  5. Hi,
    I was wondering if it’s possible to sync the LFO or rythm of demo 1 for example to a MIDI or some kind of click.
    We’ve been using a lot of similar equipment in our music (check out my sig) and this might be an interesting addition.
    Thanks.

  6. andrew brown

    I can’t play the demos can anyone help, why can’t I play them?

    Cheers

  7. Theo Bloderer

    Hello Andrew!
    I’m sorry for that. A working flash plug-in should be enough for playing the demos. They are also available in the Listening Room … please give it a try … And, eventually, try a different browser …
    Regards,
    Theo

  8. Love this so much

    Is there a link to buy it?
    I want this now.

  9. Javier Z

    Excellent Review! I can´t wait to have mine!

  10. Theo Bloderer

    Hello Javier! I’m sure you will enjoy this instrument! Cheers, Theo

  11. Very musical demos! I enjoyed your review and demos very much.

    I have to say that it seems impossible that someone would go to all of the trouble to build a synthesizer of this class and then not have the manual available in German! Of all of the languages on the planet.
    Every synth manual should be required to be in German.
    By international law.

  12. Nice review and sound clips. This vco wonder is really amazing considering it’s 2012 – never thought I’d see another true VCO key synth especially in this price range.

  13. Man, love the those fast clicky sounds on demo 1. That filter ENV is serious business.

  14. Tom Rio

    I’m a little confused, are the demos called SH 101 Pulse Bass / Saw Bass actually the Minibrute replicating the sound of an SH 101 or are they actually just an original 101?

  15. Theo Bloderer

    Hello Tom,

    all soundfiles are explained in detail in the Listening Room:

    – Saw Bass. Comparing both synth’s sawtooth bass sound. MiniBrute first, then SH-101, followed by the MiniBrute with sub-oscillator and once more the SH-101 (fade out).

    – Pulse Bass. MiniBrute first, then the SH-101. Each pattern is repeated four times. The Arturia sounds a little more aggressive, the Roland sound is softer …

    So, what you hear is both the MiniBrute and the Roland SH-101.

    Hope that helps,
    regards,
    Theo

  16. Just took delivery of my Minibrute and after one days solid playing I have to congratulate the Arturia team. It sounds are thick and can be very easily made aggressive but importantly there is control there. Its the sum of the small details that make the MB such a good machine, like syncing the LFO with ARP, aftertouch to cutoff, brute factor distortion all makes it more than a sum of its parts.
    The only minor gripes I have is that the octave switch doesnt activate until the next key is pressed, I would like it to work instantly on the sound thats being produced and I found that the wait for 5 mins to warm up almost unbearable when I want to get going! :D These are very minor factor to major plus points, if you can get one it is worth the £400 of anybodys money.

  17. smoinync

    The Mini B has already taken the place of SH101 (at least for me if u disagree). The only thing that Mini B could disappoint me would be the lack of battery slot. Just forget about SH101 if u couldnt find the 101 under $500, Yeah Im talking about the fully operating 101 with acceptable condition.

  18. Theo Bloderer

    You’re right. Prices of the SH-101 are crazy. I never understood why the blue coloured version costs twice as much as the grey model. Anyway … it’s hard to compare the MniBrute and SH101. Just discovered the extremly wonderful 101 pulse with modulation sounds. Very elegant, very soft, very human. But the Arturia has tons of interesting possibilities and a character of its own. And it’s a very good buy regardings the low price. I’d go for two MiniBrutes, sitting side by side … playing them in stereo, guess that might sound absolutely stunning …

  19. Arturia is French….seems kind of obvious to me why there is no German!

  20. Theo Bloderer

    Sure … (o: But well, it’s ‘possible’ that times are changing …

  21. Yves is a great designer and an all around great person, very friendly and eager to help those in the DIY synth community with any questions regarding his designs (I know because he’s helped me with my minimoog VCF build). Although I’m not crazy about the aggressive sound of the minibrute (Team 101 here), it’s pretty awesome to see Arturia teamed up with him to make a high-quality, low-cost & versatile true analog synth for the masses. They couldn’t have picked a better person to work with. Thumbs up to Yves!

  22. newbie synth hobbyist

    I’m going to say, when I first got it I was little confused what was the fuzz all about. Let’s just say that when I played it in parallel with my other synth, the minibrute would sound a little thin.. I guess I’ve got over that problem (happened to buy a synth module to complement my “main synth”, also a module lol). The only big problem I have right now is, I cannot use the arpeggiator to arpeggiate my main synth, atleast not midi because arpeggiator doesn’t send midi notes. If arturia can address this with some firmware update it would be nice. Alternative would be to sequence my main synth with some sequencer, but that’s not the same deal as an arpeggiator..

  23. Theo Bloderer

    … arpeggiator (note) output via MIDI would be “very” useful, indeed.

  24. Hi guys, I just started playing around with the Minibrute I recently bought. I also have a sequencer software (Ableton) on my laptop. Ideally, I would like to get the sound from the Minibrute into my laptop to create multi sound tracks, a bit like you did in your demos. Could you recommend a decent converter that converts the analogue audio output from the Brute that I can feed into my laptop via USB?

  25. Theo Bloderer

    … I’ll ask, will be back soon …

  26. akindo

    Thanks for a great review! Found the audio sample comparison to the SH-101 very interesting. Also enjoyed the close-up photos. Think I’ll have to purchase this, the Minitaur, and the Pulse 2, and then use all of them for a while to see which two I really need. Though I’d probably end up keeping all three, hmmm…

  27. cormac

    Iv’e just ordered a minibrute and am looking forward to running it in tandem with my 101. S’all textures at the end of the day.

  28. Theo, have to say (again) you make the best reviews & demos. Minibrute looks very interesting. Comparison to SH is great idea. More these!

    -deadzonemusic.com

  29. Theo Bloderer

    … thanks. Hope to be busy in writing this year …!

  30. I love my Minibrute. I added the Microbrute as well. The Microbrute will sequence the Minibrute via CV. BOth are beautiful to look at. Just beautiful. I like the sounds as well but I don’t use the Brute feature. I also don’t use the Metalizer feature as well(not yet). I use it for regular synth sounds(bass, kicks, snares, synth, synth fx). If you have a MINI, definetely add the Microbrute as your second Oscillator(external input). both are fun together.

    mark

  31. I wouldn’t buy anything French. Plus the leads on this synth suck. Go with a Bass Station 2 because It’s the better synth. Also, why does Arturia put tooth paste caps on all of its control, ha.

  32. Theo Bloderer

    … we will test the Bass Station II soon … :o)

  33. I have a Minibrute myself, would be lovely to see the patch sheets for your demo sounds, they are some of the best I’ve heard of this synth. I have mine hooked into my modular system so I can both CV sequence the Mini and play the modular from its keyboard. Amazing versatility.

  34. Emerson

    I would like to congratulate the excellent review, you could compratilhar us presets that created it are really cool

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