Sonic LAB: Arturia MiniBrute 2 Semi Modular Synth 

The Bass on these things is ridiculous. Exactly what I was after lol.

Very nice demo of the Arturia MiniBrute 2!! Thank you for this!!!

Yay! Been fiending for a new sonic lab!

Brilliant review as always, Nick! Just scored the MiniBrute 2 keys version along with the 6U rack (which is huge, but wanted max expansion). I just love it. It's my first Arturia product, besides a Beatstep Pro still in the box somewhere and having fiddled with a MatrixBrute in a shop (also a fantastic synth!). They really did a home run with this one. It gives off the vibe of Synthi meets Moog with everything in between, sonically and aesthetically. Absolutely beautiful and built like a tank, to boot! AND, a massive setup for well under a grand.

Finally! A new review by Nick and what a lovely little synth. Thank you! BTW, I love the pantomime of the Brute Factor at 4:35! :-)

Superbe review again! Thank you Nick! Already super happy with the microbrute - this is fab!

Sonic State makes some of the best demos. I also love the straight to the point and detailed descriptions :-). The Microbrute 2/2S sounds insane with reverb pedals.

This thing is fantastic after a few lengthy workouts. All the classic techno, fm, space etc tones can be absolute perfection with this instrument.

I like the fact the s.p filter has been tamed , however i think the tendacy as with most synths, people tend to crank the res all the way up. Great review , great synth.

Great demostration as always Nick, Arturia Rocks!

I'm liking the new Arturia line. The old stuff never really grabbed me, but this seems like it's refined what made the Arturia stuff "unique" in the first place.

Guy goes into a music store and says, "I'm looking for a synth." Salesman: "What kind?" Guy: "Something that has a lot of DOOF to it." Salesman: (grins) "I've got just the thing."

Thank you Nick. Yep, I get the Low end all right, something I thought the original "Brutes" lacked somewhat. I can definitely feel the bass in this, no problem at all. I'm loving this, another great video, thank you my friend.

No one touches the reviews here. Thank you!

Very nice review Nick, especially the sequencing part was good.

Thank you Nick, I always love your videos .

This Brute sounds amazing. Fantastic instrument.

was very glad to see a new sonic lab today. not disappointed

Yay... F.F.T. is back! I'm loving the Minibrute 2 and yeah, the pedal makes it glisten. Thanks Nick for the fulsome zen like atmospherics.

Had this synth for a year and love it more every time I use it, just wish I had more time

The looping envelope, the larger patchbay, the keystep-like sequencer..I’m in!

I have 30 guitar/bass fix pedals and 5 amps. I just bought my first analog synth(moog sirin),and I am already on here watching videos. Thanks for acknowledging what I was beginning to suspect, this is some sort of weird addiction.

i really dig it! great review nick :) the first arturia synth that has captured me.. :)

I want this in a bad way! Sounds great, looks cool, priced right.

The time I waited was not​ wasted, gret review!

Love the demo. Meandering...love it!

What a great review, as usual. Mr Batt, please consider also reviewing the Behringer Model D. It's selling like hot cakes. I love mine, and I would review it myself but (a) I haven't the video facilities and (b) I don't know the technical aspects of synthesisers yet ("This knob doesn't seem to do anything"). So a review from yourself would shed a lot of light, I think.

12:03 - 12:07 he got totally carried away and could have played with different patching options for hours. How absolutely precious to see that passion coming through that probably got him into this line of work in the first place. :D :D :D At 12:07 it really looks like he got an external cue "dude...stop fiddling...continue with the review!" and is all like 'oh shit!! yea...where was I". Ah, to do something you truly love is living in the promised land.

Nice, I've been waiting for the Sonicstate analysis of the Minibrute 2. Definitely the 2S for me. Don't really need any more keys. I pre-ordered one and was hoping they would be out by now. I guess it shouldn't be too much longer.

I totally agree with the Oscillator 2 tune knob being too close to the LP Filter knob…I’ve grabbed it by accident 3 times now during a live gig! And gave it a solid twist. Ye Gods!!!

The sonic labs are back! Looking foward to the Quantum and Prologue (16 voice PLEASE) sonic lab reviews!

great overview and a great instrument.

I heard that the minibrute oscillators mixers overdrive halfway up the faders, is ti true of minibrute 2 also? anyway i'm always a little surprised to see demos pushing them to the max..

Very cool review! Thanks for sharing! Love the sound and the low frequencies. Have a question, is there a Oscilloscope version we can use for this or for any other analog device connected to a DAW? I mean, an Oscilloscope that can be used as a "VST"... or outside of the DAW but while the keyboard connected to the computer. Thanks a lot!!!

Nick's back baby!

I think you sold me this beauty!

Fantastic review. Like !

Hello! Does the Minibrute 2 has a HOLD function for drone of just 1 note? I know it can "hold" the arpegiator, but I need to Drone 1 note. The original minibrute had a 3 way switch on the back for this. The microbrute had a trick for this connecting the gate out into gate in. But I cant seem to imagine how to drone 1 note with the Minibrute 2. Thanks ! on this depends if I buy one or not.

lovely pedal

Hey guys, another great review thanks. Will you be reviewing the MFB Dominion Club at any point? Would really like to see that.

Hello! Could anyone please tell me what is the oscilloscope software used in this video?

Question : i want to buy a Drum Machine, but... do you know if this synth can make 909 kicks or 808 kicks? I mean loving this can do and if it can do kicks variations would be just my 1st option

i've never heard of bass described as "doof". I like it. i've had my minibrute 2 for a year now and i'm still just watching because i like nick's reviewing.

Really hope quality control is sorted out on this. I have now had two replacements for faulty drumbrutes and build quality of the two beatstep pros I've owned is appalling, would love to see a BSP that is actually flat and not warped/wobbly. Looks and sounds great but for £500+ hope it's got a lot better build quality than I have experienced. I sold all of my arturia gear last week and will not be spending any more of my cash to give them a second chance! Great review as usual Nick :)

Great vid man,,, i have a Mini and a Micro. they both sound different. not a fan of the Brute factor really, so i use them the way i like them ,this thing has really mellowed out the sound some more, i love it..... on the to buy list... great vid as always...

Nick says this version allows for a more mellow and less aggressive vibe, but I always picture those who gravitate toward this type of synth as tantamount to the Dave Chappelle rendition of Rick James thrashing about on a couch, yelling expletives. Which I mean as a total complement. Thrash on.

About the issues with Y-tube and audio quality, could you record sound samples as a separate file (and refer to them as sample 1, 2... in the video)?

@ 14:48 - I don't really know about the workings of synths but I'm tempted by the sounds of the MiniBrute 2 and might buy one as my first hard synth. When you say that the MiniBrute 2s doesn't have a keyboard, I do have a MIDI keyboard controller that I've used with my soft synths in Studio One, so could I use that keyboard to play a MiniBrute 2s? My MIDI controller is an Alesis VI 49 (I think) and has 49 keys instead of the Arturia's 25 on the MiniBrute 2.....it has decent keys on it, plus a shit load of knobs etc and it'd be handy if I could use it to control a hard synth.Plus I also have an Akai MPK 25 so it seems like a good idea to me if I could save on the wear and tear of a synth that will potentially cost me more money than the MIDI controllers did. or doesn't it work like that? Cheers 👍

You can program 2 independant pitch tracks with the minibrute 2s version, each one addressing a different osc!, even seperate oute wave forms or noise from filter and achieve drums and bass at same time if you want.

How do you guys think, which of the Brutes is the best one to get ? Besides the Matrix Brute that is.

we should also point out that dialing the resonance in doesnt kill the bottom end ;-) this is still an issue with lots of synths these days. very nice to see that Arturia took care of this as well. now these things just have to be available pretty soon :-) im getting the 2S, thats already for sure!

I may be interested in this ...it's a big leap from the original minibrute

MB2 is a perfect gateway drug for Eurorack. Weird that the most interesting stuff from NAMM-time this year happened not during but before and after - this and the TR-8S. There goes the gear budget!

what soft u use for oscilloscoping

Hi , putting the keyboard and sequencer aside, 1) which one sounds generally better: Mimibrute 2 or EreBus 3 (oscilators, filters, etc). 2) which one is more versatile for sound design? Thanks!

Will there be a future video/s demonstrating sounds made with the patch panel?

Watch out for stacked synths starting at 14:44 ! :-)

This is awesome! Que chingon!

How create vibrato mod with lfo to pitch and can play it with keyboard? :)

Thank you for this verry nice review. Would you consider reviewing this synth together with the Drumbrute?

Seems to be slightly Buchla inspired = Easel, 259 vco and AD loop

Excellent review Nick 🙂 And top marks to Arturia. The existing 'Brutes were already cool equipment in their own right. But this, particularly with the RackBrute added, seems to be in a league of its own. And yet again a year with Arturia stealing the show. Usually, when people rave about semi-modular patchbays, they seem a bit "meh" to me. For instance the MicroBrute. The MiniBrute actually had far more advanced and capable modulation routings in the form of knobs and toggle switches. So if you weren't gonna actually interface the MicroBrute with some (semi-)modular gear, it was a considerable step back. But the MicroBrute got way more attention. This time it looks like they've put enough thought and effort into the patchbay, that it really makes sense, even standalone. Overall it also comes with enough features that it feels complete and capable on its own. By comparison, when I tried the Mother-32, I was always missing another oscillator, another modulator, another etc. It sounds great and seems high quality, but for me atleast, the Mother-32 feels dependent on interfacing with other gear to truly make sense. It was awesome paired with the Roland System-500, but not really by itself. Note: I know people doing amazing things with it, I just couldn't get it there. The MiniBrute2 seems well raised above such issues. I think it's a stroke of genius to make something as independently strong as the MiniBrute2, and then with the addition of the RackBrute, make it so obvious and inviting to add to it. Rarely have I GAS'ed as bad as I do for the MiniBrute2S + RackBrute. Eurorack have been a long standing temptation, which I've intentionally avoided buying into, although doing several small tests. But this is the first time it's trying for me to avoid it. Arturia would do well to bring out their own line of modules, or at the very least strike some kind of partnership deal with a company already making interesting modules.

That patch bay really sets it off.

How would this compare to the bass station 2?

Nick has all the best adjectives

Good review. You mentioned the weighty bass several times, and I notice the Sub Oscillator of the Mini/Micro is gone altogether on the Mini2. Did Arturia add low-end to the wavesforms instead...?

Awesome!

I'm a complete noob to this stuff, but can you record sound samples lets say water puring in a cup and then assing this to a key, and change it with all the different modes?

i was genuinely surprised with the build quality of my microbrute, after i had my hands on it i started paying more attention to arturia

My fav synth explorer 😊

Just threw the 2S right on top of the patch cables like an absolute savage

Sounds huge on the studio monitors. RU-vid has better sound than you think :) or at least the weight of the sound is coming thru !

Arturia’s purist approach to (sound) quality makes this a challenging and intriguing instrument

How would this stack up against a Sub 37? Sounds warmer than previous brutes, and loads more modulation options (and second osc). I guess it would be fiddlier live, but so much cheaper - and more expandable

I love envelope looping. It should be a standard feature on every synth. Also, resonance modulation.

for live performance: the MiniBrute2S is better ???

20:47 ...I think something has fallen...2S ??? Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo !!! Great demo !

Would this be an added and beneficial addition to a Gaia ?

10:13 I hear a little bit of Depeche Mode "New Life" trying to come through there. :p

WANT i love my microbrute, but god this looks fantastic

Have you done a video on how you connect the Brute to the guitar pedal? I've always been a little fuzzy on this... does it go right into it with no problems even though it's Line level? Does Line level come out the other end? I've seen vids where the hook it right into it and I've seen vids where people solder a capacitor(I think) into the cable to get it to work safely. Too much non clear information. I'd greatly appreciate it if you would do a video(if you haven't already) since I love your vids and respect your opinion and clear way of explaining things. Thanks in advance :)

what oscilliscope is he using or can someone tell me which one i should get for my minibrute2\

Soft bass & lead sounds using the original Minibrute, with careful programming it can be really warm. I was looking for as much "Roland SH" as possible when doing this. Live tweaking of the lead / solo synth. bitley.bandcamp.com/track/artyrua

how do use sosauge fattener with this ???

damn ive thought about getting a bass station 2 for years but now im not sure

How do I get that oscilloscope that you've got running on that tv?

This is the first youtube demo I've seen that doesn't suck. All the rest make it sound like R2D2.

Picked up a second hand 2S. It is a fabulous bit of kit. Now, if I can just find a second hand 3U or 6U ............

Was hoping they added presets to make life easier like companies started to do back in the 80’s. It has become different enough from the competition that now one might hesitate deciding between this and a BSII. I’d still rather have a BSII but maybe this as well in the other format.

Please tell me you're doing the Neutron soon too! I've never been so torn between two pieces of gear in my life!

Waiting for the silver version

the burning question I have is: what is that gaping hole on the left side of the instrument??? It's bothering me not knowing what it is

I'm finding the "rounded" waveshapes a bit surprising, because I'm not seeing that on my scope. Stupid question: What's the audio path used? Could the pedal be "rounding" the waveshapes i.e. the pedal's bypass mode not being transparent enough (if still used on that audio path to the scope)?!

Is there a sequencer like the one that has the minibrute 2s made by Arturia that is sold separately?

10:27 HAHA took the words right out of my mouth

The modified filter sounds different than the original Minibrute that wouldn't self oscillate below 600Hz (not as squelchy?)

I bought one of these and the thing that I am disappointed with is that the mod wheel only modulates the pitch with a slight vibrato rather than going into the wild range that most mod wheels can add.

What is the "pedal" to the left of the synth?

I don't see a KBD filter tracking knob, how do you regulate that? Does that mean it's always on 100% or do you have to use the patchbay KBD into Filter? or something like that? I'm asking because on the Bass Station 2 it's always on 100%.

What’s the best recommended cable for this beast? Anyone