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Int'l Feel
gimme a little kick & snare
Joined: 30 Nov 2008
Posts: 89
Location: Chicago
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Gregg Juke
resurrected
Joined: 12 Jun 2010
Posts: 2317
Location: Buffalo, NY, USA
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 Posted: Mon Feb 06, 2012 1:00 pm Post subject: Re: Arturia MiniBrute |
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I saw that. If I had the 5 C's it will cost, I'd be all over it. There are a couple of good demo videos out there if you want to hear some of the sounds (quite good).
GJ |
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kslight
george martin
Joined: 13 Oct 2009
Posts: 1279
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| Posted: Mon Feb 06, 2012 8:08 pm Post subject: Re: Arturia MiniBrute |
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As far as Arturia's track record, they previously only made soft synths, so...
I saw it and the price is right, but its about 12 keys short of being playable, and the fact that it is called the "Mini"brute leads me to believe that maybe a higher spec'd model is on the way.... Also no patch memory is a bit of a downer for the performer, though at the same time the synth doesn't seem incredibly flexible so your palette of tones is fairly basic, so excusable.
If I thought this would fill a void in my collection and had more keys, I'd definitely pick one up, but for someone starting out you could do worse...but it seems like for a little more money you could get something a lot more flexible either new or on the used market. |
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jgimbel
carpal tunnel
Joined: 08 Jan 2009
Posts: 1546
Location: Philadelphia, PA
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| Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2012 2:34 am Post subject: Re: Arturia MiniBrute |
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| kslight wrote: | | If I thought this would fill a void in my collection and had more keys, I'd definitely pick one up, but for someone starting out you could do worse...but it seems like for a little more money you could get something a lot more flexible either new or on the used market. |
Do you have any suggestions for something like this? I'm not in a place to be buying a synth right now, but I've often wanted to. I like simplicity and don't mind instruments that have somewhat few sounds that you can tweak. I hadn't seen the MiniBrute but it looks right up my alley, though the small number of keys does scare me a bit. I'd love to find something similar to this but with more keys, and I'd love to have the opinion of someone who knows so much more than myself about the subject, for when the time comes!
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Int'l Feel
gimme a little kick & snare
Joined: 30 Nov 2008
Posts: 89
Location: Chicago
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| Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2012 12:51 pm Post subject: Re: Arturia MiniBrute |
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Based on lots of lurking, I've seen the Alesis Ion get high praises. And yeah, I've seen a lot of older stuff get recommended too, but personally I don't really want the potential headache of maintenance when I'm just starting out.
The Dave Smith Mopho keyboard looks particularly interesting, if only I could find a used one on the cheap. |
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The Scum
dead but not forgotten
Joined: 04 Jul 2003
Posts: 2009
Location: Denver, CO
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| Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2012 2:16 pm Post subject: Re: Arturia MiniBrute |
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Wow.
Real analog, brand new, with MIDI & CV , for $500?
In a day where used SH101's go for $700, this thing looks like a bargain.
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"What fer?"
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brew
pushin' record
Joined: 14 Aug 2003
Posts: 280
Location: Brooklyn
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| Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2012 6:57 pm Post subject: Re: Arturia MiniBrute |
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| Int'l Feel wrote: | Based on lots of lurking, I've seen the Alesis Ion get high praises. And yeah, I've seen a lot of older stuff get recommended too, but personally I don't really want the potential headache of maintenance when I'm just starting out.
The Dave Smith Mopho keyboard looks particularly interesting, if only I could find a used one on the cheap. |
Your gut feeling was correct--the MiniBrute would be an excellent synth to learn on, and the price is right.
I would steer clear of a menu based digitally controlled synth like the Alesis and the Mopho for a first synth. The front panel is never what it seems, WYSINotWhatYouGet--this makes them not great for learning. You want knob per function with no shifting and menus--even the Mopho requires a lot of "shifting" to access its deep feature-set.
Also, buy this book http://www.synthesizer-cookbook.com
You won't find a Mopho KB on the cheap (under $600), it just doesn't happen, nobody sells them! I tried. I bought the Mopho as a first synth, and a fully analog would've been better--I just don't like the "soft" interface. No complaints about it's features and sound however, it certainly has the most features of any monosynth under $1000+. |
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kslight
george martin
Joined: 13 Oct 2009
Posts: 1279
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| Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2012 10:25 pm Post subject: Re: Arturia MiniBrute |
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| The Scum wrote: | Wow.
Real analog, brand new, with MIDI & CV , for $500?
In a day where used SH101's go for $700, this thing looks like a bargain. |
And the SH101 is one of the most highly overrated synths out there IMHO. Interesting fact I sold my blue SH101 (with matching mod-grip for keytar action) to KMFDM for $500 several years ago (you can still see it on their website), and a couple years later they emailed me and told they turned it for $1200 (!?!?!). Stupid what people will pay for that stuff...oh yeah I think I paid all of $200 for it maybe 10 years ago.
| Quote: | | Do you have any suggestions for something like this? I'm not in a place to be buying a synth right now, but I've often wanted to. I like simplicity and don't mind instruments that have somewhat few sounds that you can tweak. I hadn't seen the MiniBrute but it looks right up my alley, though the small number of keys does scare me a bit. I'd love to find something similar to this but with more keys, and I'd love to have the opinion of someone who knows so much more than myself about the subject, for when the time comes! |
If you are reasonably technically savvy and these days...know where to look and get lucky, I think something like the Roland Juno 6/60/106 or HS60 or really anything similar by the others is a great synth to learn on, or software such as Reason. The thing about classic analogs is that the cost is generally great...often hyped greater than the functional value IMHO...if you look on eBay. There was a time in the late 90s and early 2000s where they were cheap and plentiful but today its just a little crazy what people pay for a lot of this stuff. And of course if you are not technically savvy and happen upon a "great deal" then you will spend money on a tech bill...but most of these synths can be restored at a reasonable cost if you DIY...I have a pretty serious collection of old synths that I acquired for the purpose of restoration...just a matter of right place/right time.
I would look for a synth with at least 37 keys, and a lot of hands on control. And MIDI is always convenient![/quote] |
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Int'l Feel
gimme a little kick & snare
Joined: 30 Nov 2008
Posts: 89
Location: Chicago
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| Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2012 2:29 pm Post subject: Re: Arturia MiniBrute |
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| brew wrote: |
Your gut feeling was correct--the MiniBrute would be an excellent synth to learn on, and the price is right.
I would steer clear of a menu based digitally controlled synth like the Alesis and the Mopho for a first synth. The front panel is never what it seems, WYSINotWhatYouGet--this makes them not great for learning. You want knob per function with no shifting and menus--even the Mopho requires a lot of "shifting" to access its deep feature-set.
Also, buy this book http://www.synthesizer-cookbook.com
You won't find a Mopho KB on the cheap (under $600), it just doesn't happen, nobody sells them! I tried. I bought the Mopho as a first synth, and a fully analog would've been better--I just don't like the "soft" interface. No complaints about it's features and sound however, it certainly has the most features of any monosynth under $1000+. |
I'll be perfectly honest. Before I read this, I saw the MoPho keyboard for $650 and had to get it. Seemed like a good deal. I guess we will see how it goes...
And that's why I love/hate Bill Me Later. |
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