They really went for it here, you get plenty of patching possibilities, though I for one missed a mult - I guess you can always use stackable type patches, though you do get 8 included cables to get you going. My only gripe is that the VCO 2 tuning knob is right next to the VCF Frequency and as such can be knocked easily if you are not careful Which again allows more mellow tones to be found.

Like the MiniBrute, the MB2 has two envelopes, though the VCA envelope has been cut down to an AR style, but with Gate and Trigger modes which essentially makes it an ASR, It also loops way into audio rates.Īrturia say that they’ve given the VCF a little more headroom and also tweaked the resonance response - it's a multi-mode affair - LP, BP, HP, Notch - and the harmonics seem more musical to me, overall I would say it's less angry. Build quality feels pretty good to me, no untoward wobbly bits or scrappy finishes. In the keyboard version, the keyboard also has aftertouch, which can be routed to mod1 bus via a dedicated switch, though not accessed directly via the patchbay, as does the 2S with pad pressure. The BruteFactor also has a gentler effect until you get to 50% and up. Gain structure is also different, with aggression kicking in a little later in the VCA and VCF. Probably the most notable difference is a smoother more mellow Metalizer (wavefolder) on the TRI wave. They’ve also added a second VCO, way more comprehensive patchbay and a Keystep type sequencer on the 2, or a 4 track, more comprehensive sequencer on the 2S.Īt the core of the MB2, are the oscillators, Steiner Parker filter and the Brute Factor - these remain largely the same, but have been refined with a more mellow tone to them - there’s a second oscillator with switchable waves (sine, ramp, square) but with switchable range - fine (+/-13 semitones), All (wide tuning) and LFO - this Oscillator is hard wired to FM OSC 1 too for some handy FM action. Now Arturia have released the MiniBrute 2 and 2S which take the basic building blocks of the earlier synths and refine, tweak and enhance. Since then, we’ve had the microBrute - even more affordable and the massive MatrixBrute - not much, but impressive. It was also a great synth, with plenty of character. Arturia's Brute range started with the MiniBrute ( see our review) and kind of blew the price/feature rules out of the window for an analog synth at the time.

Minibrute