Arturia has introduced three limited edition style variations on the MicroBrute SE analog synthesizer, in Blue, White and Orange.
The MicroBrute SE features a single VCO with three waveforms you can mix at will, three waveshapers, an overtone generator, a classic Steiner-Parker filter, and Arturia’s ‘Brute Factor’.
You also get a step sequencer and a Mod Matrix that let the MicroBrute SE connect with other analog devices and even modular synthesizers. The SE model includes messenger-style gig bag and 4 stackable jack cables.
Arturia MicroBrute SE Analog Synthesizer Features:
- A Special Edition of Arturia’s MicroBrute monosynth
- 100% analog signal path, amazing flexibility, incredibly affordable!
- 3-waveform voltage-controlled oscillator with Saw, Triangle and Square waves
- Waveshapers modify and animate your sounds, for a broad palette of sonic possibilities
- Overtone generator delivers additional harmonics, from one octave down to a fifth up
- Oscillator waveshapers: Ultrasaw, Pulse Width, Metalizer
- Steiner-Parker filter gives the MicroBrute SE a unique sound
- Arturia’s infamous Brute Factor lets you dial in dangerous distortion
- Step Sequencer is a source of fresh ideas and endless inspiration
- Modulation Matrix gives you semi-modular flexibility
- 25 mini-key velocity-sensitive keybed
- Special-Edition color scheme
We haven’t seen an official announcement on these yet from Arturia, but the MicroBrute SE Analog Synthesizer Limited Editions are expected to be available at retailers in a few weeks, with a street price of US $329.
via Torgood, Sweetwater
They should have got rid of the keys, made it a desktop unit.
its already “desktop’ size
But the keys kinda suck – not comparably, but mini keys in general. I’d rather have it sit like a Slim Phatty or something.
Its already half the size of a slim phatty and the keys are useful for programing the sequencer!
how about a sixteen step pattern sequencer in place of the keys???
+1 Good idea!!!
Try attaching a Beatstep!!
Special Edition. In color-scheme only.
I mean, Access, Korg and Waldorf do the same thing though. So, whatever.
The Blue and Orange don’t do it for me, but the white version looks really sweet and the price is right.
Anybody have any feedback on how the MicroBrute holds up to use?
I have one on my desk at the moment and it…holds up well 🙂 It’s not mine though, even if I have it for about a month now.
It holds up very well. I’m still amazed ever time how sturdy it feels. The keys are also the most pleasurable feeling mini keys I’ve ever played.
this will likely be unpopular, but i just have to disagree. This doesn’t feel sturdy at all. In fact, playing any of the new gear (ms20 mini, mini/microburte, launchpad s, roland aira series, etc.) has been very disappointing in terms of feel. the only one in the “budget” range that felt like a real piece of gear was the bass station II. everything else felt like a toy under my fingers (which are tiny for a 30 year old man).
It made me happy that I didn’t rush and buy anything online when the new generation of gear was released, because I just thought, “oh well, time to go modular.” I don’t mean to knock the synths per say, because for the price they are quite nice. but they don’t feel like professional tools, even if they ARE professional tools. That may not be a big deal to some or most, but I learned that it is a big deal to me. I felt very uninspired. Microbrute especially felt like I was dialing in a setting on an ez bake oven.
In short, if this is the new “sturdy” then god help us all and don’t expect to see many vintage microbrutes around 30 years from now.
By the way, going DOTcom for my modular rig. Love the eurorack stuff a lot, but I want big ol’ 1/4″ patch cables to get that mad scientist feel. Oh crap it sounds like a may be compensating for something… and maybe I am. So long as it isn’t poor musicianship though then I’m okay with that. 🙂
The orange patch cables that came with the OG Microbrute are crap imho. One already stopped working for me. These stackable cables look delightful though.
The blue and orange don’t work. Can’t see why they chose these pastel colours. White is very cool though, kind of looks like it should have always been that colour.
I think the blue one looks best, personally. Imagine laying down some weird alien/UFO sounds with that thing during a surf-rock set.
That’s not blue, that’s late 50s chem-tone green, a color since abandoned by most sensible people because it leads to blurred vision and vomiting. Thumbs up to anyone brave enough to take a synth apart and repaint the body, period. I’ve seen a fair number of them that were nicely done and a few that turned the controls into lost sheep in the airbrushed melee. If I need to stand out, its easy to find unsane vinyl tape and ribbon at crafts shops, as well as an endless stream of stickers, from skulls to SIMPSORAMA. “Don’t have a shiny metal ass, man!” Most colored synth bodies are too garish. I’d rather DIY it.
Very sturdy. Bought one when they came out and the build quality is spartan, heavy and tough. Gets an amazing range of sounds out of a relatively simple and intuitive bit of kit. Then you have the cv patch bay which gives it a whole other bunch of possibilities which i haven’t even got to yet.
Whats different between this and the original MicroBrute? I love mine and the only difference I read other then the color is the stackable cables.
Plus the gig bag. If they altered the hardware of it, alot of people who own the original (less than a year old) would be quite upset I think.
How about NOooooO? Come on release a Polyphonic synth already.
Ha, I have a little mini amp that retro 50s pale blue-green color. Now I know why I have it. It’s been waiting for this MicroBrute.
I kinda like the Easter egg blue one. Doesn’t seem like an obvious synth color choice but it’s unique enough that I want one.
Yeah, I was like ‘meh…meh…oooh!’ Actually I like the white one a bit too but one tiny blemish would send me into a emo tailspin.
Hm, are the stackable cables the TipTop ones or is there a new source for those?
I saw the white and went yeah! Then I saw the blue and went YEAH!! Blue for president 2016.
Finally a company has the balls to try something new in terms of colour… Pastel is the new black ^^
Mad props Arturia!
WHite looks OK but others just look odd with grey control panel. I think it would have worked better is it was all same colour or a contesting colour to case.
I agree.. The control panel in black with white text would have looked beautiful on the colored ones I think.
the white one is real, the colored ones are colored in photoshop. might result in slightly different colors in the real world.
Yes, you’re right. The colours are much stronger in real life.. you can see them here:
http://files.soniccdn.com/files/2014/10/03/img_1689.JPG
aaah. that’s better. now orange starts looking nice, too… 😉
Oh damn, I prefer the paler pastel orange above, it suits the old casiotone look. Nevermind, I’ll stick with the original and hope the messenger bag appears on the market.
I feel like I shouldn’t like these colours as much as I do. With a studio that consists mainly of black and solve I think a nice little orange unit would go nice .
And got to say anyone who has an organ, I use a farfisa VIP 202, then the new colours will go nicely sitting on top. Nice bass for the manzarek sound without the massive price tag of a rhodes pianobass
Korg’s been hitting it out of the park every time for the last couple years, But man, Arturia’s hardware synths came out of nowhere and are pretty damn sweet for what they cost!
One of them has to have a polyphonic synthesizer in the works, it’s just a matter of time.
Whaaat! No Pink?
As you can see in this thread, I have made Arturia aware of incorrect phase of LFO’s back in January. See this thread: http://forum.arturia.com/index.php?topic=14850.0
They acknowledged the problem stating, “it’s in the bug list, and fixable in Firmware.” After no action on their part, I reminded them of the issue and requested ETA for a fix, In February and AGAIN in May. (and now again today) No response. See this thread: http://forum.arturia.com/index.php?topic=15652.0
NONE of the LFO’s function properly. I have provided details regarding the incorrect phasing in this post: http://forum.arturia.com/index.php?topic=14850.msg41607#msg41607. They have acknowledged that the current firmware is flawed and yet are not showing any interest in fixing it.
Yet here they are pumping out more microbrutes in fancy colors to try to sell more units after the product hasn’t even been out for a year, while the flawed firmware has not been fixed. What the? I feel violated. It’s a shame such a great sounding synth has such a (IMHO) fatal flaw. A synthesizer with wrong LFO’s is like a car with square wheels. and to that i say BOOHISS! Maybe upon release of this product they will also release updated firmware, but otherwise:
Don’t buy the Microbrute until they fix their disfunctional product!
P.S. Yes I am butthurt!!!!
my experience with analogue factory and analog lab/minilab. both never really worked. sold.
Finally someone that’s telling the truth about this fake synth.
Arturia is good in advertising….and that’s it.
The mini brute and micro brute is a disaster.
Just read all the problems on the arturia forum.
When the mini brute came out there was a massive negative respons from customers all over the world about bugs ,broken units etc…
Arturia ‘s reaction was taking the original forum offline and started a new one so that all the complains where gone on the forum and they started all over again.
It didn’t worked because the complains keeper on coming.
Just read the forum of mini and micro brute on arturia’s website.
Don’t buy this thing because it will have bugs and it will be broken after a couple days/weeks.
Would love to see a polybrute, 3 octave keyboard and a Juno 6 style setup
I went to the retailer recently and tried out all those new tiny synths. The one that stood out imo was the Novation Bass Station II – it’s inexpensive and the keys felt very well, while its analog warmth blew me away.
I’d get a Waldorf Pulse 2 over the BS2 for about the same price any day. Actually I’ll do that next.
yeah, I heard about the massive Sound it produces, but the pulse hasn’t got the Keyboard and requires some menue diving I guess. The BSII on the other hand offers Hands-on control, which worked very well (for instance the wobble can be precisely controlled via the wheels).
As we’re idly sharing opinions here I’ll toss mine out as well.
In my experience, the MicroBrute has an extremely solid feel to the knobs, pretty much the opposite of something like the M-Audio keyboards.
I personally don’t really like the sound of the machine though. However, this is definitely a matter of taste. It works well in some genres, maybe others not so much.
I am very glad to see innovative French companies since sometimes I wonder what France has done lately regarding new technology. This, and the one-man band of Absynth, are good examples of French innovation to cite. And not so much things like Renault which seem fairly uninteresting and pedestrian, perhaps only to me personally.
As to these colors, the tacao/orange sherbet and the soft cyan/blizzard blue are absolutely awesome and I am lusting after these devices based on their color alone.
Haha doh! I just bought one yesterday! Definitely want the yellow one, and the messenger bag. It’s not the best synth ever, it tends towards really harsh brittle sounds, this is the first sawtooth wave I’ve found that I don’t like, actually I hate. But the design is very immediate and with the REALLY nice triangle and square along with the sequencer and LFO I can make great CHIPTUNES sounds.
Is Arturia changing their logo?
I don’t know what people are on about, it’s a pretty solid build. And a good weight for the size, makes me wonder if the person above has actually used one.
Although one of my stacked patch cables is very temperamental, I’ve just notified Arturia.
They had better send me a new patch cable free of charge, I only got it today!!