ARTURIA MINIBRUTE What a Dirty Brute

MiniBrute is Arturia’s first step into the world of analogue circuitry. A company that’s well known for its soft-synths and MIDI hardware is finally entering a market in which competitors like Moog, Korg and Waldorf have long reigned.

What is it?

The MiniBrute is Arturia’s first fully analogue monophonic synthesizer that features a single Oscillator that makes Sawtooth, Pulse, Triangle and White Noise waveforms. A critical winning factor is that they can be mixed together simultaneously for harmonically rich tones, as well as providing audio in case you want to use just the Filter. The three waveforms are supported by respective wave-shapers. A switchable Filter, dual Envelopes and an analogue LFO provide basic modulation, while an onboard Arpeggiator gives swell motion.

Who’s the Artura Minibrute for?

The MiniBrute is clearly marketed at the entry-level analog synthesizer, with a reasonable price tag. But its ability to generate interesting concoctions of waveforms under the influence of the Filter and LFO makes it a great toy for all ages. So Music Producers starting out will love it.

Style

I’ll be honest: it’s not very stylish, because that’s not its objective. It’s simple, ergonomic, and presents everything you need up-front. Small and slightly heavy, all of which gives it a rather crude character, which I believe works in its favour. It’s dirty! You’ll like it.

Usability

Everything you need is in front of you. It’s the sheer simplicity of this synth that makes it a win for me. The knobs have a nice feel to them. The faders feel a bit fidgety, but you won’t worry about that when you’re making noise.

The MiniBrute Upside

Its simplicity makes this a great synth to understand the sounds of individual waveforms. There’s a great feeling in making visual connections to what you’re hearing, and the lack of a digital interface gives the synthesizer just that. Warm tones and dirty characters are the MiniBrute’s forte, making it ideal for edgy leads and warm bass tones.

Downside

You could say the lack of a digital interface for Envelope and LFO assignments is annoying as that would only increase your sound palette; but then again, the Arturia MiniBrute manages quite well even without. The keys may start to loosen as it ages, so make sure it’s handled with care.

Final Call on the Arturia MiniBrute

The Arturia MiniBrute will surprise you. It’s a simple and good-sounding additive and subtractive synthesizer. It can be a bit limiting at times, but so long as you know that and accept it, you’ll be happy with this machine.

Read about the 2019 Arturia India Meet-Up with Patrice Martin

Big thanks to Arturia and The Inventory for gear support!

Explore more synths with us:

• Moog:
  • Grandmother Moog
  • Moog LittlePhatty
• Arturia
  • Microfreak
  • MiniBrute
• Korg
  • Arp Odyssey
• Waldorf
  • Waldorf Streichfett