MusicRadar

NAMM 2012: You can't fail to spot the irony in the news that Arturia, a company that made its name replicating vintage analogue synths in software, has just announced the Minibrute - a true analogue hardware synth of its own.

Click here for a gallery of Arturia Minibrute photos

Coming with a two-octave keyboard, this sports a multi-wave oscillator, classic multimode filter and a range of modulation options.

Other feature include the Brute Factor, which is designed to add saturation and rich harmonics; the Ultrasaw, which generates "shimmering" sawtooth waveforms; and the Metalizer, for extreme triangle harmonics.

An arpeggiator has been thrown into the mix too, as has CV, Gate, MIDI and USB MIDI I/O.

The Minibrute will cost you €499, and a full spec list is below. Check out the Arturia website for more.

We're hoping to bring you video of this thuggish synth very soon.

Arturia Minibrute main features

• 100% analog audio signal path
• Steiner-Parker multimode filter
• Voltage Controlled Oscillator
• Oscillator Mixer with sub-osc, sawtooth, square, white noise, triangle, audio in.
• LFO1 with 6 waveforms and bi-polar modulation destinations
• LFO2 with 3 vibrato modes
• Brute Factor™ delivering saturation and rich harmonics
• Ultrasaw generating shimmering sawtooth waveforms
• Metalizer bringing extreme triangle harmonics
• Two ADSR Envelope Generators
• 25-note keyboard with aftertouch
• Pitch-bend with 1 octave range, Modulation wheel
• External analog audio input
• CV In controls: Pitch, Filter, Amp
• CV Out controls: Pitch
• Gate In/Out, MIDI In/Out, USB MIDI In/Out
• 1/4" audio output, 1/4" headphone output

Full function arpeggiator:

• 4 modes of arpeggiation
• 4-octave range control
• 6 time divisions
• Swing control

Stay tuned to MusicRadar.com's dedicated NAMM 2012 hub for more info and other highlights from the show.

Around the web:

• JØhnny Chaveznot bad for $645 USD! ^_^
• Charles Henry JamesI think you can still snag a Sequential Circuits Pro One for that money. The new more stable technology is tempting, though. I bet street price will be around $500.
• Michael Widomskivery cool, and very unexpected from a company like Arturia. If someone finds a Pro-One for $500, let me know haha :P
• Adrian Brownha! while korg have been cautiously dipping their toe in the water, arturia have dived in! come on korg, you know you can do it too?
• Darren Douglas DanahyI've been waiting for something like this to come out since the 1980's ended! Analog modeling just doesn't cut it...
• John David PeerThe Pro-1 is a mile above this synth...There is only one oscillator, with a fake "sync" reprocuction. You're right, the stability is there...as is I expect, a far more playable keyboard than the SCI. But I doubt you can find a Pro-1 for under a grand, in any condition.
• John David PeerNow, two of them would be neat. I see there is control volt and trigger.
• John David Peer...and some of the LFO effects on this unit are neat. I hate the custom names though "brute factor" "metalizer"? ick. No, listening to the speel, it does sound a fun little synth. If only another even half octave. I guess you can't please eveyone! I think I like it.
• Franz KellerI got to try it here. Great! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xA8udGq_uDM
• Eric McDonaldThere's nothing ironic about Arturia making an analogue synth. It makes perfect sense that a company looking to grow and capture new clients and a larger market share would expand into making their own instruments. It would be ironic if they started making guitars or desk chairs. I'm surprised it took them this long. Good for them. I can't wait to get my hands on one.
• Peter KadarThey are going to sell a LOT of these. I wish the CV on the back was on 1/4" instead, and maybe a longer keyboard, but you can't have everything... especially at that price! Real sync would have been cool, but the Metalizer effect is pretty cool nonetheless... and subtly different. I can't wait for this to ship!