March 29, 2024, 03:11:22 pm
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register
News:

Arturia Forums



Author Topic: MicroBrute for my son?  (Read 4237 times)

thoskwin

  • Apprentice
  • Apprentice
  • *
  • Posts: 3
  • Karma: 1
MicroBrute for my son?
« on: November 09, 2014, 03:25:37 pm »
First off, I am not a musician.  I am a father looking to get a synthesizer for my musician son.  I have done quite a bit of online research an have all but settled on getting a MicroBrute for my son to cut his teeth on in the wonderful world of synthesizer generated music.  The MB seems to have enough features to be a wonderful learning tool.  I was especially impressed with the straight forward User Manual.

Second, I am aware that negative experiences and quality control issues show up on forums such as this one at a disproportionate level because that’s just human nature.

So, my basic question is:  “Is the MicroBrute a smart purchase for my son to explore the world of synthesizer generated music?”  Or am I in for a hassle of problems?  I am not willing to go much higher price wise.

Bacon

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Posts: 78
  • Karma: 11
Re: MicroBrute for my son?
« Reply #1 on: November 10, 2014, 10:18:26 am »
It's hard to give recommendations when you don't lnow the person, but I'll give my perspective.
The Microbrute is a great tool to learn the basics of synthesis in general and analog synthesis in particular. It is a limited instrument in terms of features compared to a lot of equipment available today, but this also means that it is fairly easy to learn.
I haven't really experienced any quality problems, apart from the sound of the oscillator leaking through at a low level when I'm not playing anything during part of the volume control's travel. Others have different experiences.

You can only play one note at a time on the Microbrute, so it can't be used for playing chords. On the other hand, it's perfect for playing expressive melodies, basslines, lead parts, and solos.
It's an analog synth of the old school, similar to synths from the 70s and early 80s. The closest equivalents are probably the Arp Axxe and the Roland SH-101. This also means that there are no memories; the sound it generates is always directly controlled by the positions of the knobs and sliders on the front panel (there is actually a microprocessor controlling some aspects of how it works, mainly how it reacts when you play notes tied together, the range of the pitch bend wheel, and similar things. You change these setting by connecting it to a computer and running the Microbute Control program).

If your son will create electronic music using the Microbrute as his only electronic instrument, he will have to record each part of a song separately, changing the settings on the synth for each part to get the desired sound. On the other hand, if he'll use it as a complement to other instruments, this won't be much of a problem. It also works well in a band setting, as long as he doesn't need to make drastic changes to the sound in the middle of a song or between songs if there is only a short pause between songs when playing in front of an audience. I use it with my band as a complement to my main instrument ( an electronic stage piano tha I use for pianos and hammond organ), mostly playing solos. I set it up for a basic solo sound and only make very small changes between songs.

Since the Microbrute is analog, it is not very good a emulating acoustic or other traditional instruments. It is, however, very good at making "classic" analog synth sounds typical of a lot of 70s pop, rock, funk, jazz, and disco music, as well as electronic acts of the day, such as Kraftwerk. It also excels at the modern, aggressive synth sounds you'll hear on today's electronic dance music tracks.

For my money, it's been one of the best purchases I've made. Sometimes, I sit with my headphones on, playing the keyboard and twisting the knobs for hours, getting lost in the sonic possibilities of the MB, but this could be because I love the kinds of sounds you can get out of it.

thoskwin

  • Apprentice
  • Apprentice
  • *
  • Posts: 3
  • Karma: 1
Re: MicroBrute for my son?
« Reply #2 on: November 10, 2014, 03:46:33 pm »
Bacon,

Thank you for taking the time to compose such an in-depth response.

Forest’s music life started at age five with six years of piano lessons.  He got a good foundation in reading music etc. but got bored and dropped out at age 11-12.  A few years later his interest in music returned and he picked up bass guitar and formed rock band that lasted about four years before the lead singer moved on; that was the end of BONDED (the name of the band).  They recorded one CD’s worth of original songs that Forest mixed and mastered in Garage Band on his Mac.  Since then he has moved up to Logic Pro and gets lost in composing electronic music for hours and hours without the hassles of band rehearsals etc.  He has a true talent for melody; not just sticking with the skeleton of beat/rhythm.  He still keeps up his bass guitar chops.

A while back he expressed an interest in getting a synthesizer he could noodle around on to aid his composition skills outside of the Logic universe.  The last sentence of your response seems to be right where he is at.

Again, thank you!

 

Carbonate design by Bloc
SMF 2.0.17 | SMF © 2019, Simple Machines