Arturia MiniBrute 2

When Arturia’s original MiniBrute arrived in 2012, it was an unexpected first step into the realm of analogue synthesis for the French brand, which had previously dealt exclusively with analogue emulating software and digital controller hardware. 

On a wider level too, the MiniBrute was a welcome anomaly - a monosynth pitched at the affordable end of the market yet touting an all analogue design and CV control inputs. 

Six years later, neither of those things seem so noteworthy. Arturia’s analogue Brute line has now swelled to encompass three synths - including the behemoth MatrixBrute - and a drum machine, while the Beat- and KeyStep devices are go-to controllers for many hardware synthesists. 

The affordable analogue market has grown remarkably rapidly too - a boom arguably kickstarted, at least in part, by the release of the MiniBrute. Given this, it’s not surprising that Arturia has significantly stepped things up for the follow up. Where the original was a fairly straightforward monosynth with a few unique touches and some CV control, the MiniBrute 2 is now semi-modular, boasting a beefed- up synth engine and a comprehensive mini-jack patchbay. 

The MiniBrute now comes in two varieties too: the standard keyboard version, now equipped with a Keystep-style sequencer, and the 2S, which swaps the keys for a pad-based step sequencer similar to the BeatStep. Today, we’re looking at the MiniBrute 2.

Leaving the patchbay and sequencers to one side for a moment, the core synth engine is very similar to that of version 1, albeit with a few noteworthy adjustments. As before, the primary oscillator can generate saw, triangle and square waves simultaneously, the outputs of which are blended via the oscillator mixer, where they’re joined by a white noise source and external audio input. 

Each wave type also has a modifier control, for more detailed and unusual wave-shaping. The saw is accompanied by an Ultrasaw mode, which mixes in two phase-shifted copies of the saw waveform. The triangle wave features a Metalizer function, which ‘folds’ the triangle waveshape for a more metallic quality. Finally, the square wave features a pulse width control. 

The difference here is that these modifiers can now each be modulated with considerably more flexibility either via pre-routed connections to the LFOs/modulators or via whatever you decide to feed in through the patchbay. 

The Osc 1 section also gains a glide rotary, for adding up to three seconds of portamento, plus an FM rotary for modulating Osc 1’s pitch, which is routed by default to the second oscillator. This second oscillator is a new addition for the MiniBrute 2. 

The 2 can be played and sequenced and packs a multi-pattern arpeggiator and 64-step sequencer, capable of saving and recalling patterns. 

It also offers control over things like tempo, swing and sequencer gate length, along with tap tempo and a variety of sync options. This model can be manually played too, with velocity and aftertouch for controlling various synth parameters. 

On the whole, the MiniBrute 2 is a real success. It takes everything we liked about the original - the analogue grit, interesting oscillator shaping, Brute factor - and expands on it considerably. 

The addition of the patchbay really does massively expand the flexibility and potential. Where the original was a great tool for gritty leads and basses, this follow-up is equally well-equipped for evolving drones, inharmonic FM sounds and out-there SFX. 

The MiniBrute 2’s closest competitor is probably Moog’s Mother-32 and much like that synth, which is housed in a Eurorack friendly chassis, Arturia clearly wants the MiniBrute to act as a base for your modular system - it has even launched the RackBrute synth-top case to accommodate this. 

On this front the MiniBrute probably has the edge over the Moog, thanks to the excellent keyboard/sequencers onboard, along with the flexible MIDI, USB and patchbay connections. Particularly in the case of the 2S, with its flexible modulation tracks. 

There are a couple of slight design quirks and minor omissions. On the layout front, Arturia has place Osc 2’s pitch rotary right next to the - identically sized - filter cutoff control. Personally we find it a little too easy to grab the wrong rotary. 

In terms of capabilities too, while the supplied SP-style filter can be characterful and gritty, its maximum -12dB slope means it isn’t the most flexible of VCF designs. The MatrixBrute pairs its Steiner-Parker filter with an additional ladder-design VCF. 

Clearly it’s a little unfair to compare the MiniBrute to its £1600+ sibling, but having used that synth, it’s hard not to feel that the addition of that second filter here would have pushed the MiniBrute 2 to the next level. 

Failing that, a -24dB mode for the existing filter would be nice. This is kind of nitpicking though, and not really a major problem.