The Arturia Minibrute

Saturday Synth Porn: The Arturia MiniBrute was one of the more surprising introductions from the 2012 NAMM Show.

It was surprising for a lot of reasons. It’s a true analog synth, from a company best known for its virtual analog software synths. It offers a unique sound, because of its Steiner-Parker multimode filter and other aspects of its synth architecture. And as the photo shows, it looks pretty hot.

For details on it, see our previous Arturia MiniBrute posts or the Arturia site.

And – if you’ve used the MiniBrute, let us know what you think of it!

24 thoughts on “The Arturia Minibrute

  1. I like mine. Sure some of the knobs are wobbly, but the size is great, the price is even better, and most importantly, it sounds great . Whenever I lay eyes on it, it just starts whispering to me, “play me.”

    I like that it is about the size of a laptop, because I can pick it up and just start playing it wherever. I’ve run out of room in my studio, so it’s home is right next to the computer. It will be interesting to see in the months to come what mono I use more: my minibrute, LP, SH101, Mopho, CS-5, and a few more. Out of them all, I think the SH101 sounds the best, but there is something very fun about the minibrute, I guess due to the added possibilities, that makes me believe I’ll be turning to this thing the most. That said, they all have their own character, and I don’t deem one the “best.”

      1. I haven’t tried yet, but it’s on my to do list. I’m wrapping up an EP at the moment, so I haven’t had a lot of experimental play time. Just the minutia of f-ing with levels, etc. I’ll try tonight, though, since you asked.

        1. answer is yes. conceivably, I could sell my kenton. my pulse + triggers my cs-5, and the minibrute could trigger the SH-101. Perhaps when I move, in the next incarnation of my studio, my minibrute will get a proper home next to the sh101. They’re about the same size, so that’s incredibly convenient and kinda awesome at the same time. .

          Arp on the minibrute worked fine triggering the SH-101, as did the pitch bend. Pretty exciting stuff.

          For those that don’t know, the minibrute has a gate and pitch out. Kind of astonishing, when I consider I paid close to $300 for my Kenton. $130 more gets me a crapload of stuff!

          1. you people crack me up. someone actually went to the trouble of voting thumbs down on every single post for this story. Sorry you don’t like that the SH-101 can be triggered by the minibrute. Why on earth would you not?

  2. I’m really curious about the build quality. My experience with Arturia’s hardware is that the quality is usually not quite there, but I’m hoping this time they got it right…. If you own it, what’s your impression of the hardware it self?

    1. One knob on mine has less friction than the others, but that’s about it. At first, it bugged me, but I had to remind myself I paid $430 for this thing new. Otherwise, it feels really solid to me.

      I think it adds character, in a way.

  3. Only had mine for a week but love it love it love! It just begs to be played.

    Hardware quality wise? Well at home, not moving it around much I can’t see a problem at all. On the road I’d probably be a bit careful but no more than you would have been with an SH101. I don’t think you can expect any board with a ton of knobs and sliders to be bulletproof when chucked around in a van.

    Saying that, I’ve got an Arturia Player keyboard and that’s possibly the most solid keyboard I’ve got (albeit tiny!) so I guess that bodes well.

    I do have to moan a little about the launch on this one. I’ve ordered it twice (from two different shops) only to have email after email of delivery date delays. I bought mine on eBay in the end. Arturia have ballsed up on that score unfortunately. Still love it though. Get one!!

    1. Interesting. I guess I’ve just had really bad luck. I’ve owned 2 Arturia Factory keyboards and a Spark drum machine. Even just using them in the studio and they’ve all had various problems with knobs, sliders and keys malfunctioning. I have to point out though that Arturia’s customer support really rocks, and the sound of those machines have been absolutely amazing… perhaps time to give them another try…

  4. Got one after hunting it down through a guy at Guitar Center (GASP!) but really it is pretty slick the sound is buzzy and crunchy in it an analog way all of it’s own. It definitely fits my taste and the setup begs me to get a modular rack. It is not a Moog and it does not replace one. But when you compare it to other synths that have been on every track since the 80’s it stands out. The build I find quite sturdy over all and the knobs are decent and I find it dependable. There are some limitations which probably merit the price like what Tom was saying about how the bass is not the greatest but it still fills the speakers in a way that is worth it if you want a certain sound. The filter is really freaky cool and everything else is really good and I am already finding it fits into my music so hell go for it!

  5. Release date April 2012.
    Today it’s still impossible to buy one here in Belgium and the Netherlands,also after they announced on their website that it’s available now in some shops in Europe.
    I know there are some lucky guy’s that bought it in the UK.
    The release date,the wobbly knobs and no preset saving is a dealbreaker for me.
    No matter how cool a synth sounds,I would never accept it when it’s having a knob that not functions 100% or when I’m not be able to save a cool preset .
    It’s almost impossible to get one?
    I don’t want to think about how to get this unit to a repair service of Arturia when I’m having a knob or slider that’s not working well.
    And my experience with the support from Arturia is terrible .
    I know I’m not the only one with that experience ,go look at the forum from Arturia.

  6. I sorta got to play one. Something was messed up internally, and the sound was all distorted. Def felt bad for the shop owner.

    However, I can attest to the build quality – overall, the unit has a nice weight to it – it’s metal, and solid. The knobs aren’t bad. It’s not going to be like a high-quality dj mixer, but the knobs def felt on par with, say DSI stuff, though, they’re chunkier, which is great. The side panels have this texturized / rubber-like coating. That description may sound strange, but I didn’t find it negative. The power supply is one of those two-part, lump in the line style. It feels cheap, and for performances, that’s a bit of a minus in my view.

    The keybed – not the best, not even close. It is plasticky, and makes a fair bit of noise. Those of you who have little phattys, well, it’s a bit like that. It’s also not as bad as say, a first gen m-audio oxygen controller.

    Unfortunately, this particular model was not working right. But the feel of the instrument, well, the $500 seems about right. You def get a lot with your money for it. Just a shame I couldn’t hear it.

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