Synthesizer Arturia MicroBrute

Arturia MicroBrute

Compact analog synthesizer, younger brother of the MINIBRUTE. Full analog signal path. 25 keys. Controllers: 19 rotary knobs and 4 faders, volume control, octave up / down buttons. Pitch and modulation wheels. Envelope generator: ADSR-envelope (4 faders: Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release). Inputs for external analog audio; CV / Gate - interface; MIDI input (5-pin DIN connector); USB / MIDI-interface. Outputs: CV / Gate - interface; USB / MIDI - interface; 1/4 "- audio output and 1/8" headphone output. MIDI output, built-in USB-MIDI. 

MicroBrute - LOOKS TINY, SOUNDS MASSIVE

MicroBrute is pure analog sonic powerhouse of a synth. Small in size but loaded with features.

Packed with mixable waveforms, a new sub oscillator design, the famous Steiner-Parker multimode filter, super fast envelope, syncable LFO and the new step sequencer, not to mention the patchable mod matrix the MicroBrute is a landmark new synth at an incredible price.

Available in Grey and Red.

Artists speak about MicroBrute

«MicroBrute takes me back to the joy I felt when I pushed that first key and a saw wave spoke back to me. MicroBrute allows for more than 100% values of such things as keyboard tracking. MicroBrute melds the best in a compact little powerhouse.», -
Terry Lawless (U2)

«This mighty little machine runs the gamut from metallic, brutal bass to velvety bleepy, bloopy goodness - and is a sheer joy to play. The single oscillator is wildly diverse (wait till you meet the "Metalizer & Ultra Saw") and I love the sequencer and Mod Matrix which is vicious fun. Very inspiring!», -
Tara Busch (I Speak Machine)

«The small form factor is disproportionate to the massive sound you can get out of MicroBrute. Having used many Arturia soft synths, this is a great piece to transition from a laptop. Turn the switch and go.», -
Sandra Vu (Dum Dum Girls)

«Once again Arturia has given me the best of both worlds with MicroBrute. It's blowing minds at both my recordings session and in concert. The perfect compliment to my already diverse rig.», -
Roger Manning Jr. (keyboardist)

«There's nothing like having the touch of knobs and buttons under your fingertips.. Makes it an organic experience. MicroBrute working right along with the MiniBrute just takes it over the top. It's already started to inspire new ideas with my writing and production.», -
PJ Morton (Maroon 5)

«If there is a keyboard name that suits well, it is the MicroBrute. Mini keyboard for big warm tones. Intuitive, fast, fun. A really good CV.», -
oLI dE SaT (Indochine)

«The craziest part about it is that I can put it in my backpack and yet it's a true analog synthesizer. That's what I was waiting for. I microsized my all setup. Microsized ! That's not even a word !», -
Keith Shocklee (Public Enemy)

«Its a SMALL GIANT! I love the MicroBrute!!», -
Hideki Matsutake (Sound Engineer)

«For me, a Synthesizer that has no presets is an adventure every time. MicroBrute is a recipe for audio joy. MicroBrute soon becomes a real electronic instrument, that develops with your knowledge and expertise.», -
Chris Cross (Ultravox)

Press Clipping

«The MicroBrute - with its own characteristic sound - is one of our favorites.», -
Estrada i studio/Poland

«If you’re an analog head, the Arturia MicroBrute is definitely the way to go.», -
Keyboard US

«The sound is anything but “pretty” compared to other contemporary analog synths, but that aggressive character is what makes it essential to my sounds. This synth is meaty and macho like nothing else. If you don’t already own a ’Brute, it’s clear that you will. At this price, practically everyone will.», -
Keyboard USA

«You get plenty of synth for not a great deal of money», -
Music radar magazine

«MicroBrute should be the first synth students use to learn the basics of analogue synthesis. Thi synth can probably go to more places than any other single-oscillator machine out there», -
Music Tech magazine

«A modern analogue single oscillator, multi-waveform monosynth that avoids just being a retro clone.», -
Future Music

«The MicroBrute is a landmark new synth at an incredible price», -
Rekkerd.org

«Is love too strong a word to use for an inanimate object? Perhaps. But I really clicked with the MicroBrute. It has real character, plenty of sonic scope , even as only a single Osc mono with its limitations, and the patching and interfacing is really brilliant», -
Sonic State

«The MicroBrute is a pure analogue synth, and it sounds like one. The MicroBrute will become a significant success in its own right.», -
Sound on Sound

«Genetically gifted! We have here a full-fledged synth that ought to bring down the last barriers and seduce die-hard opponents of real electronic instruments.It has earned a well-deserved 2013 Best Value for Money Award! It's unbelievable! This modest investment allows you to have an analog sound with a strong character.», -
Audiofanzine

«I have to admit to falling for the MicroBrute almost immediately. It is compact, powerful, flexible and fun», -
Futur Music

«the MicroBrute is designed to provide all the essential elements of an analog classic synth in a convenient and fun to use package.», -
Ask Audio magazine

«Would I own one? Yes sir-ee. The MicroBrute punches well above its weight in terms of sonic performance- so very retro. A brutal darling indeed.», -
Audio Technology magazine

«A great little synth that you can have a lot of fun with and use as the hub of a bigger network of gear. Superb value, too.», -
Music Tech magazine

«This synthesizer has a whole bunch of new characteristics as interesting as unique», -
Meet Music Magazine

«An inexpensive monophonic instrument with flexible modulation routing and a Steiner-Parker multimode filter that provides vintages tones without sounding like an ARP, Moog or Oberheim», -
Electronic Musician

«With the MicroBrute, Arturia has a winner, and along with a few other gear manufacturers, they seem to have tacitly acknowledged that we have come back to "days of future past" in search of the visceral thrill of "real" control over a wild and untamed sonic palette.», -
Tape Op

Pure Analog

The MicroBrute is new but carries the award-winning heritage of its big brother, the MiniBrute.

The MicroBrute was designed to be small but still retain an amazing sound quality. With a 100% pure analog voice path and advanced interconnectability via MIDI, USB, CV/ GATE, this machine is a true powerhouse synthesizer that takes your sound to a new level.

Hands-On Heaven

If you’re new to synths, you’re looking at one of the easiest to use and most unique sounding synthesizers we think money can buy. And if you’re a synth veteran, we think it won’t have escaped your attention that MicroBrute is also a seriously capable semi-modular sequence-able beast. Wait till you hear how it sounds.

No presets, no menus, nothing to get between you and the ability to sculpt your sound live. Not only does MicroBrute give you the means to create, perform and be completely original every time you power up, it does it with astounding sound quality.

Brutal Potential

Process audio. Sequence analog gear. Give your modular a new LFO and Envelope Generator. Hook up to your DAW and make whole tracks. Hook up to your Drumtracks, open your door, and play a whole gig.

Tiny in size, tiny in price, huge in sound, and vast in potential. We’ve had so much fun with MicroBrute: Now it’s your turn.

A modulation beast

A synthesizer is a musical instrument that is meant to be played. However, playing a synthesizer is more than just playing some notes on a keyboard and recalling someone else’s presets. If that was the goal you could be looking at accordions or going to a department store to buy your keyboard (along with socks, milk and toilet paper)…but you aren’t because you are more creative than that.

No presets, no menus, nothing to get between you and the ability to sculpt your sound live. Not only does MicroBrute give you the means to create, perform and be completely original every time you power up, it does so with astounding sound quality.

The largest Oscillator sound around

VCO
The VCO on the MicroBrute is unique in the synthesizer world. It features the ability to mix waveforms in variable amounts as opposed to simple ON/OFF switches that are found on many synths at four times the price. The sound possibilities don’t stop there. Each waveform has wave modifiers that allow even further tonal variations. While many synths need two or three oscillators to get a somewhat big sound, the MicroBrute is able to achieve a much wider tonal range with its one oscillator.

OVERTONE
For the MicroBrute we redesigned our sub-oscillator from the ground up. The new OVERTONE sub allows for the typical -1 octave square wave that thickens up the bottom end but goes beyond this with the Overtone control. The Overtone control allows you to bring in more complex harmonics that when turned all the way up result in the oscillator changing pitch to a 5th above the root. This allows for some classic sounding leads and fatter basses. This control can even be modulated with the ENVELOPE or LFO via the mod matrix which creates some amazing new sounds never heard from a synth oscillator before.

Ultrasaw
The Ultrasaw builds two phase-shifted copies of the basic sawtooth signal. This effect, when turned up, gives you a slight thickening of the sound as it udplicates the sound of two saw oscillators close to the same pitch. You can then use the MOD MATRIX to route the LFO to the SAW which will add a third saw sound and allow to simulate a wider detuning effect. This one saw wave can now sound like a three oscillator synth by itself.

Metalizer
The Metalizer takes the basic triangular waveform and “warps/folds” it to create very complex jagged waveforms that are rich in high harmonics. This results in a hard sync sweep type of sound that is perfect for hardcore bass sounds or tearing leads. The ENVELOPE has a default routing to this parameter via the MOD MATRIX. Just turn up the ENVELOPE amount control, adjust your envelope to an interesting setting and you will hear the effect take hold.

Modulation Beast
The MicroBrute comes with a full featured LFO and a standard ADSR type Envelope. The routing of these modulation sources are configured in the MOD MATRIX. No other synth in this price range allows for this kind of flexibility.

The MOD MATRIX allows you to control many aspects of the voice for different internal sources as well as opening the door to controlling them by external synths and modules. The MOD MATRIX has two default routings:

ENV > Metalizer 
LFO > PITCH
This allows you the typical LFO/MODWHEEL vibrato control as well as having the envelope add modulation to the Metalizer.

NOTE that the ENV is always routed to the filter and there is a separate ENV AMOUNT control in the filter itself.This default routing can be overridden by simply inserting one of the patch cords into either the mod output or input jacks. You can then patch in your own routings.

The mod wheel allows for manual control of either the filter cutoff or the LFO amount. This allows you to play the modulation in real-time adding character and interest to your musical passage.

A standard ADSR (Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release) envelope can be used for controlling the filter cutoff and the amplitude directly. You can then patch the output via the mod matrix and use the AMOUNT control to effect the pitch, Metalizer, pulse width or any other control destination in the MOD MATRIX.

Steiner-Parker Filter
So what does MicroBrute sound like?

MicroBrute embeds the legendary Steiner-Parker multimode filter.

Introduced for the first time in the Synthacon synthesizer, back in the 70’s, this marvellous filter not only gives you a Lowpass mode like most other synths, but also Bandpass, and High-pass, making it a highly versatile and praised boutique filter.

The MicroBrute filter is based on the core of the legendary Steiner-Parker multimode filter and has been improved to deliver an even wider range of cutoff and resonance. Nyle Steiner himself has validated and approved these improvements.

Many synths at well over twice the price of MicroBrute come with only a single low pass filter and many modular synth companies sell their version of this classic filter for more than the total price of the MicroBrute.

Brute Factor™

The Brute Factor™ was inspired by a patch made on a famous vintage synthesizer. User would connect the headphone output to the external audio input resulting in a kind of feedback loop that is ideal for raspy and grungy sounds. This patch has been adapted and implemented internally first in the MiniBrute and now in the MicroBrute.

With low Brute Factor™ settings, you will hear a gradual depth and roundness to the bottom end. When turned up above about 65% however, the MicroBrute can go berserk and produce barely controllable, crazy feedback sounds.

Note: the Brute Factor™ feature alters the filter characteristics, so expect highly unpredictable results at extreme settings. You have been warned!

Microbrute as an Audio Processor?

MicroBrute is more than a synthesizer. It allows a return to audio experimentation by giving you the ability to process external sounds though it. The MicroBrute has an audio input with a pop-up trim pot for level controls on the rear panel. This will allow you to process any other sounds like voice, guitar or other synths through the MicroBrute’s filter, Brute Factor™, and final output stages.

Step Sequencer
We have added a new step sequencer for the MicroBrute. The step sequencer harkens back to some other step sequencer designs of the 80s but updates them in a way that goes beyond belief.

The step sequencer allows for eight different sequences. These sequences can have up to 64 steps each and are stored in internal memory so that when you power down, they are retained.

You input the notes that you want one at a time and can insert rests using the TAP TEMPO button to create rhythmic patterns. Once you have your sequences, you can choose between many different ways to trigger and play your sequences.

NOTE: On or continuous play modes allow you to choose whether the sequence will only play when a key is pressed or to start immediately when the control switch is moved to PLAY.

When you change sequences while playing there are options to choose an immediate change to the new sequence or to have it play the current one to the end before changing.

There are even more controls that are accessible via the free editor software that allow you to tailor the sequencer to your particular likes.

So now you have your eight sequences but you want to make more AND you don’t want to lose your current ones ? Simple. Using the editor software you can import and export your sequences to your computer for archiving.

CONNECTIVITY

MIDI/USB
The MicroBrute allows full connectivity to the modern world. We are seeing a wealth of new low cost analog products that are leaving this critical functionality off, which relegates them to the toybox and not the professional studio.

The MicroBrute features USB 2.0 MIDI input and output and responds to MIDI notes, modwheel, pitch bend and will sync to MIDI clock.

The 5 Pin DIN MIDI Input allows you to use the MicroBrute as a sound module with a full sized keyboard giving you a wider range of playability.

CV/Gate
MicroBrute supports the standard 1 Volt per octave format found on most modern modular synthesizers, but also on the MiniBrute. This make the MicroBrute a great addition to both modular users and MiniBrute users.

MiniBrute users can have the sequencer of the MicroBrute drive the MiniBrute via CV/GATE. They can use the envelope and LFO CV outputs to add a third env and LFO to your MiniBrute via the Filter, Pitch or VCA inputs.

Modular users can use the MicroBrute's sequencer, keyboard, envelope and LFO to add a vast amount of functionality to their modulars. Modular users would typically spend more money for a Steiner-Parker filter alone (which you could also use via the audio input) much less the other controls that are available.

Audio In
Audio processing of external sources is possible with the Audio Input.

You can run your drums through the MicroBrute's filter and Brute Factor™. Shape the sound or modulate a vocal part. Use the external input along with a sequence that is modulating the filter to get some great rhythmic tonal changes to a guitar solo or bass line. The possibilities are endless.

Sequencer details

8 Patterns
The built in step sequencer allows for quick and creative pattern making. It has 8 sequences that can be up to 64 steps each. They are remembered on power off so you won't lose them.

Simply put the mode switch to REC, start pressing notes on the keyboard and entering rests using the Tap Tempo buttons. When you are finished, just move the mode switch back to OFF or PLAY when you are finished. It is that easy.

Multiple Modes
The Step sequencer allows for a number of trigger modes and playback modes. These are set in using the free editor software that you can download from the Arturia web page.

You can choose the time base from the following step sizes 1/4, 1/8, 1/16, 1/32. You can have the sequences trigger from the Keyboard or start playing right when you select PLAY.

You can have the sequences play to the end when you switch them or have them change immediately... and more.

Import/Export
So now that you have your sequences, you want to save them and clear them out to create some more. Using the software editor, you can import and export your sequences to your computer.

Why did you leave off batteries?

When you see the small size of the MicroBrute it is natural to say “They should have made it use batteries ; I can’t believe they didn’t think of this”.

Well, we did think of this but decided to leave this option out for really good reasons.

Sound quality was key. Using high current parts with larger voltage rails to get real sound means that more power is required. This is why so many battery powered synths sound like toys and not like speaker destroying monsters of sound.

After looking at battery options and realizing that most people have accessible power, want to protect the environment and don’t want a small synth that weighs 20 pounds, we decided that it was not worth the sacrifices needed to have it battery powered.

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