The latest synth4ever video takes a look at the Arturia PolyBrute synthesizer, the flagship of the ‘brute’ line of analog synthesizers.
“The Arturia PolyBrute is a well-built instrument with a modern and futuristic analog sound,” they note, adding, “It allows for very deep sound design and has amazing expression capabilities.”
If you’ve used the PolyBrute, leave a comment and share your thoughts on it!
Topics covered:
00:00 – Preset Sounds
01:38 – Overview
02:08 – Oscillators
04:19 – Cross Mod (FM)
04:52 – Filter FM
05:21 – Noise
06:02 – Ladder Filter
07:04 – VCF Envelope
07:38 – Steiner-Parker Filter
09:11 – Parallel Filters
10:25 – Master Filter Cutoff
11:03 – VCA Envelope
11:41 – Loopping Envelopes
12:56 – LFO 1
16:26 – LFO 3
19:09 – Morphing
22:11 – Ribbon Controller
22:40 – Step Sequencer
25:03 – Sequencer – Modulation
26:08 – Sequencer – Accent & Glide
26:50 – Real-Time Sequencer
27:24 – Sequencer – Overdub
28:05 – Arpeggiator
29:36 – Matrix Arpeggiator
31:34 – Chorus
33:57 – Delay
36:07 – Reverb
39:02 – Motion Record
40:20 – Polyphony & Timbrality
41:28 – Wheel & Morphee Control
42:01 – Final Thoughts
47:35 – Presets & Patches
I have a PolyBrute and I love it. It’s a master of past and present. I’d tell people to get one of these before spending insane money on a Jupiter 6 or something (which I did own at one point). Some folks have said these are thin sounding. I would say that starting from an initialized patch, that they are more delicate and precise than what we’re used to in an analog synth but there are multiple ways to get the girth and musical randomness we love about vintage synths.
The PolyBrute is awesome and using it feels like I’m peering into the future.
The ONLY downside IMO is that Arturia needs to use a more substantial feeling keybed. Their keybeds feel like something you’d find in a $200 midi controller as opposed to a $3000 flagship. Their Origin keyboard is an example of an instrument with a great feeling keyboard. Other than that, it’s a masterpiece, and a genius machine.