Arturia MatrixBrute Noir

MatrixBrute: Retro meets modern

The stand-up control panel is modeled after the Godfather of Synth, the Minimoog, and gives the Arturia Matrixbrute a classic retro look. Nevertheless, the Matrixbrute is a much more flexible analogue synthesizer, whose sound possibilities can make the good old Minimoog look pretty pale. While the Minimoog has fixed waveforms, a single waveform of the MatrixBrute can be made more flexible. The whole thing becomes very interesting in combination with the LFO modulation of, for example, the square waveform - very similar to the UltraSaw, this again creates fat floating sounds with just one Matrixbrute oscillator. And it sounds extremely powerful at the same time.

This is sound-screwing on a very high level! The sound of the MatrixBrute is also convincing - a very noble analogue synthesizer with a modern approach. It can also sound classic, but also very wacky sounds - but always combined with a high-quality sound.

Classic and Experimental Synthesizer Sounds

And once the many possibilities of audio modulation come into play, the Matrixbrute unleashes the most bizarre synthesizer sounds - an inexhaustible source for experimental sounds in electronic music. The 16x16 modulation matrix allows for a wide variety of synthesis approaches. Cross-modulation of the oscillators, FM sounds, filter FM - for sound experiments the MatrixBrute is an inexhaustible source of the wackiest synthesizer sounds and almost as versatile as a modular synthesizer. By the way, linking to modular systems is no problem at all, because the Arturia Matrixbrute offers numerous inputs and outputs for analog control voltage via CV/Gate.

Only real with the Brute Factor

What made the MiniBrute famous is also present in the Matrixbrute - as in the oscillators in two versions: The Brute Factor. This is a kind of feedback circuit of the analogue filter, of which there are two in the Matrixbrute. If you increase the value of the Brute Factor, the filter produces a sharper sound until it sounds completely distorted in the maximum range and gets a chaotic sound behavior. Very nasty and brute synthesizer sounds are the result of this unique filter circuit that makes the sound of Arturias whole Brute synthesizer family so special. Here is another wide field of experimentation for synthesizer enthusiasts and sound researchers.

Matrixbrute: Flexible sound processing

After the oscillators, the next sound-shaping element is the filter of a synthesizer. The Marixbrute combines two filter concepts for maximum sonic flexibility: the Steiner-Parker filter and the classic Moog "ladder" filter. Both filters are analogue and can be connected in series or parallel. Each filter of the Arturia Matrixbrute is individually adjustable in cutoff frequency and resonance, with different filter types to choose from: Lowpass, Highpass, Bandpass and for Filter 1 also Notch. In addition, the filters can be adjusted in slope (12 or 24 dB per octave). The cutoff frequencies can be set separately and controlled via the central Master Cutoff control - this means: maximum freedom in shaping sound progressions. Arturia's Matrixbrute can thus reproduce much more complex sound progressions than is the case with conventional analog synthesizers.

Making electronic music with step sequencer and arpeggiator

The step sequencer of the Arturia Matrixbrute allows sequences with a maximum of 64 steps and is controlled by the 16x16 matrix. The illuminated buttons make working with the step sequencer very comfortable and intuitive, even with more complex grooves. Each step can be adjusted in modulation and accentand also has a slide function, which creates the typical Roland TB-303 glide effects to the following step. In addition, the synthesizer sounds can be set in motion using the arpeggiator - a very classic means of expression in electronic music, whereby chords played on the keyboard are converted into sequences of notes with a steady rhythm.

The Arturia MatrixBrute Noir:

• 256 memory locations
• 2 analog exponential Brute VCOs: Sawtooth + UltraSaw, Square + Pulse Width, Triangle + Metalizer, Sub
• 1 analog, linear VCO/LFO
• Noise Generator: White, Pink, Red and Blue Noise
• Steiner-Parker filter with 12+24dB per octave; drive; brute factor; lowpass, highpass, bandpass, notch filter
• Ladder filter with 12/24dB; Drive; Brute Factor; Lowpass, Highpass, Bandpass
• 2 LFOs, 3 envelope generators
• Matrix with 16x16 modulation rows
• 64 step sequencer
• Analog effects section: stereo delay, delay, flanger, chorus, analog reverb
• Arpeggiator
• 12 CV / Gate inputs respectively outputs