Bad Gear - Arturia Microbrute

It's not Friday without Florian. Thanks for being a rock in these uncertain times.

When it first came out, the Microbrute was practically a no-brainer for anyone who wanted a cheap, compact analog synth. Its oscillator structure is similar to that of the SH-101, in which you can combine square, triangle, sawtooth, and suboscillator together, with the Microbrute giving you some extra tweaking of each type. The Supersaw, for instance, is kinda cool because it gives the saw wave a sort of "detuned oscillators" sound, making the single oscillator sound... well, like more than a single oscillator. Likewise it has the ability to mix in a fifth which is an awesome trick for a single-oscillator synth. It can make lots of sounds that belie its small stature! I think it's also an excellent starter synth, as it's easy to use, with a very nice layout, but gets more complex the more you dig into it. On the surface level, this can seem like a very boring synth, but the more you learn about it, the more it surprises you. Even the simple little patch panel is enough to open up a number of options with how you make sounds with it. No doubt one of the biggest complaints will be with the oscillator and filter, which everyone loves to complain about on Arturia synths, until they hear someone use them properly. Don't get me wrong, it doesn't make Moog sounds and it can be harsh at times, but I'm just not an oscillator or filter snob, and I don't buy a Microbrute expecting to get Moog Grandmother sounds out of it. I expect a Microbrute to be... well, a Microbrute! And that's an apt name for this thing. This little thing can sound very gnarly! For anyone that has one of these and wants to learn more about it, I highly recommend Marc Doty's 6-part dive into the Microbrute. I learned quite a few things about it by watching. It can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3R_b2f74uZE&list=PLHGZsq10nFV-t-wv9NiUd_Db6uuXaO0Ha Great video! The Microbrute isn't my favorite synth that I own, but it's one I'll never get rid of, in part because it's a lot of fun to just pick up and play with. I like to think of little ones like this as a sort of "scratchpad synth," something you can play around with to work out song ideas before taking a seat in front of a larger, more complicated synth.

People dislike this!? It was great for it’s time and it sounds nice. I liked the all white one with the stackable patch cables. I miss mine actually.

Microbrute is not my jam but I can see why people love it. Didn't expect it to appear here!

I am now officially addicted to your videos. They are hilarious! I love that you stick to the exact same formula for each video. Probably some of the most entertaining, honest and to the point synth review videos out there. Keep it up!

I have to admit.,..... I am totally addicted to watching these videos. Great Job

You made me get one…. I love the show!! I had a bad year but you have made it special thanks!! Keep the gear rolling.. ⚡️⚡️⚡️

Didn’t know the Romans had synths - the MinimeBrutus. Arturia copied that. This is why I love this channel - it’s entertaining, relaxing and educational. The way television was meant to be.

this was my first synth! it was a gift from my dad and it completely changed the way i thought about music and made it possible for me to explore the types of music production i do now, and for that im super grateful to it, and i still use it in my music from time to time since its the only analog synth i have

Love my microbrute!! It taught me about analog synthesis and signal flow!

This was my first synth years ago. I still come back to it whenever i wanna crank the metalizer and it’s always satisfying.

I was waiting for a microbrute bad geat episode for AGES thank you so much audiopillz!

Ah! The MicroBrute... It was my first all analog synth and i loved it. It also helped me through a stay in a hospital. 🙂 Sadly, i had to sell it, cause i needed some money not long after these 6 weeks in hospital... And that "nod of approval" after the last shoutout made me laugh more than it probably should. 😂 Nicely done!

Always great to hear the texture of Arturia analog synthesizers. I love what chorus and echo do to the different waveforms . I looked for one of these when I bought my Korg Monologue . Glad I went with the monologue instead (arturia stopped making the micro ) . Got Arturia Minibrute 2S years later and the Monologue are very powerful together .

The difference in quality between your newer and older videos is incredible!! Bad Gear just keeps getting better.

Just got one recently, I love it. It isn't what I expected but glad I have it.

Love the Micro - I think people forget it came out in a pre-Clone-The-Planet Behringer world. For the price, simple mono, midi-to-cv, mini seq, different flavour of filter... it was killer!

I always thought that the unique timbres of the brutes were their main selling point. Great work, as always!

I just pulled mine outta the cupboard and started putting it to work again after years! Still love it , love the video too

Always a pleasure to watch your videos. So much "second degree" ! And many times a synth I wanted to get or really had part of my gear once... Keep up man! ✌