[Feature Request] Brute "Link System" ideas

Brute RackBrute
#1

Hey! I love the link system and think it’s super cool. The Rackbrutes are some of the best value out there and quite unique in their approach.

That said, I feel there are some missed opportunities here. I would love to see the following:

  1. Ability to purchase individual components. That is new end cheeks, the actual link hardware to install on custom rack builds, rust the aluminum bar that comes with the Rackbrutes, just the Rackbrutes themselves…

For example right now if you want to build a 2x 6U there is no way to do so without ending up with an extra joiner bar. Then what can you do with that extra joiner bar? Basically nothing because you can’t buy the link locks separately in order to customize a DIY case, build a stand for some tabletop gear, or whatever you might want.

  1. Sell the cheeks in interesting variations. How about a cheek that has 2 locks on it? How about a short bar and a 1U brute so you can add a 1U row atop your 6U? Minibrute 2s on the bottom, 6U above it, and 1U above that! Beautiful. Hell it’s sturdy enough you could throw 3U up top. Of course this could disrupt the foldability of the system but it’d be worth it.

Or how about a cheek that lets you side mount the power switch? Or a cheek that has mults and other utilities.

  1. The Rackbrutes bag was great. I was an early adopter (actually paid full price for the floor model at the local store the day the floor model went out because it’s all they had.) Had I waited a year or so I could have paid just a little more for an MB2S + Rackbrute 6U and that awesome gig bag. I missed out on the gig bag and now it’s been unavailable for years. Why? I would love to still be able to buy one. The Minibrute 2/S/Rackbrute is still only a few years old but it feels like it’s been abandoned for a long time now. The bags were great, the product is still good, the Brute Link system is unique so why not still sell the unique bags that support them? I feel like that should not have been a free bonus for late adopters but a proper product that is available for purchase.

Anyone have other ideas/dreams for the link system and the Minibrute2/S/Rackbrute ecosystem?

#2

Hi @zedius

Good to see you’ve made it here to the new Sound Explorers Forum!

Although not strictly a feature request, i’ll mark this up as one so our team are aware of it.

HTH!

#3

Ha ha well I think it’s as close to a feature request as the Rackbrute forum will get. Yes feature requests are usually synonymous with firmware but the Rackbrute and link system features are all mechanical, and the marketing upon release was pretty clear that it was a system being created with much consideration and to be released openly in the spirit of growth.

I still look forward to that ecosystem, should Arturia choose to foster it again, and I think they ought to even if for no other reason than because it could be very profitable. Rackbrutes lower the barrier of entry into eurorack while providing actual value; it’s not a compromise, it’s a great case. The thing that is missing is the ability to grow within the infrastructure. If I want to expand at this point I feel the best options are to move away from rackbrutes, but I don’t think that needs to be so.

Check out the Sinusoda cases, check out Tristan Sturm’s Rackbrute mods on youtube - very interesting things can yet be done!

1 Like
#4

Yes, +1 from me. It feels the whole RackBrute system has been somewhat abandoned, while it has such a great potential.

  1. New alternative side-panels in nice hard wood materials?

  2. I like the idea of a side-panel with two locks to be able to stack a 3U on top of a set of two 6Us.

  3. The return of the travel bag? That is/was such a great design.

  4. More power options. With some modern power hungry digital modules, it can be difficult to get enough power, and also enough clean power. So, a more powerful power module with cleaner power, and also a distribution power bus with some additional filtering to stop “bad” modules from rippling the power delivery for all other modules on the bus.