Pining for a MiniBrute

[thealien666]

Ok then, let's talk about my new Virus. Absolutely compliments my Voyager. Beautiful instrument, rich, deep and complex.

...but not analog.

[Kenneth]

Ok then, let's talk about my new Virus. Absolutely compliments my Voyager. Beautiful instrument, rich, deep and complex.

I've always thought the Virus was a neat synth. Not analog, but I like that about it. It definitely does a lot of interesting things not possible with analog gear, and I've always wanted to spend some more time with one. Most of the demos I have heard have been pretty aggressive/dirty sounding. Is the Virus also capable of doing smoother pads and leads?

[Khatru2U]

The pads are to die for. I haven't had it long, and I am only kind of running it through the presets to see what it can do. However, everything you pull up is so intuitively easy to manipulate, that you can soon delightfully mangle the sound and make it your own. Then when you run the Voyager as your lead, the experience becomes marvelous. No it's not analog, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the results are not a delight to listen to.

[thealien666]

...No it's not analog [the Virus], but that doesn't necessarily mean that the results are not a delight to listen to.

Agreed. I have an Alesis Ion, which is also not analog but emulates it, and on a blind test one would be hard pressed to tell it's not analog...

[Khatru2U]

I am sorry that I have kind of moved the topic of the thread, but since we are going this way . . . has anyone had any familiarity with the iStomp?

[stiiiiiiive]

You'll probably have more answers starting a new thread.

[stiiiiiiive]

The reason why I didn't want to crack on a MiniBrute is I hoped there would be a version with a larger keyboard. However the latest Adrian Utley's and Jacobo Abreo's videos got me drooling.

But!... I got over this since I read the Yves Yusson's post on the french AudioFanzine forums, which translation is as follows:

*Cough* let's be patient, the Brute or MaxiBrute is being considered at Arturia, it's not even yet a project and if it becomes a project, there will be much time before an actual realization! The brainstorm is on, that's all.

Now I guess I can hope for a 3-4 octave version...

[Kenneth]

Sorry to revive a somewhat dead topic, but a friend of mine runs a synthesizer shop in downtown Minneapolis called Foxtone Music. He sent me a text earlier saying he'd just gotten a Minibrute on the shelf. I'm going there first thing after work on Monday and picking it up. I can't wait! So many awesome sounds are about to grace my music...

[stiiiiiiive]

Aaah very cool, congrats Kenneth

[nightfur]

I have a MiniBrute and now Sub Phatty. The MiniBrute is now for sale - it feels and sounds like a toy compared to the Sub Phatty. Of course its 50% cheaper so I guess that's to be expected, but if you need high quality sounds with a high quality feel you'll need to stick to Moog. I'm a long time Moog supporter, but honestly I was prepared to sell my Moogs if the MiniBrute was good enough because times are tough recently. But years of working with high quality synths just made it impossible to enjoy the MiniBrute as much as I wished. Its fun, don't get me wrong, but more in a novelty sort of way - IMHO.

[JohnLRice]

hi all,

Have you seen the pictures circulating of MiniBrutes with nice wood endcaps? I think it makes the Minibrute look twice as good! There are even keyboardless versions and recently a keyboard version with a tilt up control panel! Check out the pictures on this GearSlutz thread . . there is even a picture of a keyboardless Minibrute with wood cheeks over the top of a little Phatty! Looks fun!
http://www.gearslutz.com/board/electron ... te-99.html

[dswo]

Agreed. I have an Alesis Ion, which is also not analog but emulates it, and on a blind test one would be hard pressed to tell it's not analog...

A couple nights ago I was auditioning leads on the Miniak and found a Prodigy patch that sounded pretty Moog to me. I checked the source and, of course, it was one of yours.

Kenneth: now that you've had one for a few months, what do you think of the MiniBrute?

[Kenneth]

I actually sold it after only a month of owning it. The Minibrute is a great machine for the price, but I think I was hoping for something with a bit more refinement. There were all sorts of strange little quirks that bothered me about it, like the lack of amount control over the aftertouch sensitivity. I also experienced a bug when switching between fast and slow attack: the oscillator would occasionally trigger upon the envelope speed switch being toggled, and I had to flick the switch back and forth a few times to get it to stop. Of course it was foolish of me to think it would be as sophisticated as the Voyager, and I realized that. I felt that time spent playing it was time wasted that I could have spent playing the Voyager, which is what led me to get rid of it. I had no problem getting my money back for it, and I do miss the unbelievable portability that little guy has to offer. I'm thinking I will most likely buy another one in the future, but I need to be very careful and not let the amount of synthesizers I own surpass the number of synthesizers I use.

[stiiiiiiive]

I need to be very careful and not let the amount of synthesizers I own surpass the number of synthesizers I use

Tough one, huh?

[Brian G]

Owning a bunch of synthesizers us lie a Swiss Army Knife. You ay not need all the stuff in it but when you do, you're glad you have them