Things you should know about the Polybrute
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- Опубліковано 12 лют 2023
- If you're looking to grab a shiny noir edition of the Arturia Polybrute, here are some things to know about it before you buy. I really enjoy the Polybrute overall, but as with any synth, there are things I wish were different. Hopefully this video will help you determine if it's right for you.
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I've wanted a Polybrute since it's release, and have always wanted a solid black design- now that Noir exists, I want a Polybrute even more.
I love going deep with my Polybrute, such a rewarding synth if you’re really in to sound design. Pair it with a Matrixbrute and you’ve got a whole world of exploration.
I'm gonna do it after I drive my Bugatti s
@@Ariel1Dominguezthese aren’t that expensive…they’re not exactly cheap but it’s not like you’re buying a Yamaha CS. 😂
I appreciate this - those shared functions and the keybed - I couldn't agree more. You've addressed two of my biggest annoyances with this synth. Not to mention the fact that the feet on mine are up to 2mm off so it rocks up and down on my (glass super flat) table and bugs the hell out of me. I've also got a tiny imperfection on both the ribbon and the morphee which feels like running your finger over a tiny grain of sand - I've cursed a few toobers who enthused about its premium build quality. Several times per session, I'll load a patch and it won't play across the keyboard so I have to load it again - did anybody else have that problem? It's not all bad; still blows my mind every time I play it and the expressivity is incredible. It's a keeper!
I love this machine, and was quite excited to learn about the noir. Your feedback is useful.
Very useful video for me. I found myself considering a Polybrute in place of my beloved Matriarch to have a 5-octave master keyboard and primary synth. What you said about the keybed puts that to bed for me
Yesterday I´ve got my Polybrute (2nd hand but absolutely perfect condition for a price I can´t resist). A wonderful instrument, sounds excellent and the controls are great.
The keyboard is much better than I thought (there were some critics out there about a "cheap" keyboard). The only thing being a bit strange is that the keys are slightly smaller than the keys of my other synthesisers. But I think I will get used with them.
Nevertheless it´s fun to use this instrument and it might be extremely powerful for sound design.
I'm old school, so I'm happy with the original; I love wood finish on synths so they look like a piece of furniture in my bedroom :) The Polybrute was one of my best decisions ever, now I'm about to get myself the mighty Matrixbrute!
Of interest, did you get the Matirxbrute and how do the two compare?
@@Vim-Wolf
Hi Vim-Wolf, thanks for your interest... yes, I bought the Matrixbrute second hand just a few weeks after the comment, and I wouldn't let it go!
One thing that first surprised me about the Matrixbrute was how "moogish" it can sound! It's very difficult for me to answer the question of how it compares to the Polybrute though, because in short, both complement each other wonderfully and what one can't do, the other can. The first thing I had to learn was that the similarity of the two control surfaces is quite deceptive, there's a bunch of small differences with quite different effects... There are a few YT videos that describe the technical differences in great detail (and better than I would) but also those that describe the sound differences; It would take far too long to list it all here... I can only say this: if I had to choose just one of the two, I would probably be forced to flip a coin, really! 🤷🏻♂️
@@maval4537Thanks very much, I think that kind of answers my question. I was contemplating either a Matrixbrute or spending the extra to 'upgrade' to a polybrute but it sounds like they're different animals so I may have to research more to see which would work best for me. Or get both 😁
@@Vim-Wolf 😄👍🏻
love it. Don t even have a polybrute but I have the mini brute 2s, and yes it s true, crackling knobs, faders not that fancy but considering the price I m down with it, I mean it delivers premium sound quality. I also have beat step pro and I know that an Arturia owner has to compromise and work around, but I don t mind, I love my gear, sounds amazing
always a pleasure, doctor jones. I'm hoping to see this sweet machine make an appearance in your synthesis course some day... (polite, but not-so-subtle request for you to do more work. haha!!)
The fact is that I love the sounds you design, no matter what synth you use......
Finally someone who is not blinded by general hype and has a lot of keyboard/piano playing experience to judge a synthesizer. You are my man.
Great chat on the brute dude,
Jameson- I bought Polybrute because of your videos. I hope Arturians see this and you'll get some perks/synths!
good video. thank you
After watching this I’ve made my mind up and I’m definitely buying the Polybrute Noir 🤗
I appreciate your videos! Helps me with learning more about the Polybrute which I have considered recently. Have you tried the Sequential Take 5? If so, do you know how the Polybrute sound compares to the Take 5?
Don’t have a Take 5 but considering you get the Prophet 5’s filter and really good sounding vcos, I’d give it the win over PB in the sound department. Probably can’t go quite as far with sound design and modulation, but it seems like a great sounding synth.
Oh weird, legitimately on my "too do" list was to program a patch that tries to emulate an Ondes Martenot (Z on Morphee pressure being assigned to volume, and ribbon assigned to pitch)... but if Morphee Y axis is automatically also assigned to pitch if the ribbon is too, then that's impossible.
Thanks for the video. One of my concerns was the lack of Premium keys especially at this price point. If I can ask, what is your preference for a synth that does have High Quality Premium keys. Cheers
If only we had a Summit with the Polubrute matrix and morphee
I'm waiting for mine to arrive, a couple more days, and much much better wood for my taste!
Does this quote help the stereo panning of the filters?
"I was missing the ‘Stereo’ control that’s above the Effects section… also delighted to learn that
this control lets you gradually pan the filters hard left and right. "
Thanks god they do not go with black first, I love blue better, so would need to rebuy it :)
Totally agree separating control would beneficial, morphy do it’s own things only. One key on my PB is funky when you press deeper. I would have this on cheaper $200 midicontroller, but on PB I guess need to live with it, unfortunately….. or would it be covered? Too much hassle either way, I wish it would be more solid/premium for the money.
The polybrute seems like such a fascinating creature. Perfect? Maybe not, but it's certainly got character! Hoping one of my keyboard guys buys one so I can play with it off the clock lol.
To hard pan the filters without using the mod wheel: Settings + Stereo, choose Voice + Filter Pan mode. Then crank the Stereo knob all the way up. 👍
Ah true. Forgot about that. Doesn’t that apply pan to the voices as well though?
@@JamesonNathanJones Despite the name, the voices do not seem to pan in this mode. I was also thinking, another way to pan them in the matrix would be to use the Mod Env in full sustain as a constant. I do agree, it would be nice if you could apply a voltage offset/constant in the matrix. Seems like something that could be added easily enough.
The voices only pan in series filter mode. If you're in parallel mode the stereo applies to filters only.@@modeswitching
I would be very interested to see someone demonstrate identical patches on the 2 layers with equal mix level where filter cutoff and/or VCA have and LFO mod mapped with depth maybe on the mod wheel and the LFO is phase offset between the 2 layers - maybe phase of one layer mapped to AT or something. UDO Super 6 territory...
Great video as always man!
Would you buy it again if you didn't have one in your studio right now?
Probably not, but that’s heavily influenced by a couple other synths I’ve picked up since and enjoyed more - but they’re older and harder to find unfortunately. Videos coming on them soon nonetheless 😅
@@JamesonNathanJones ooh, can't wait to hear more!
2:44 that hit my soul...
I didn't realize that the mod matrix sources were shared like that. Glad I hadn't bought one yet, thanks! (Every time I catch myself thinking about getting one I remind myself that my Hydrasynth may be digital but it does a lot of stuff really well and covers 90% of my use cases)
I really love the Polybrute and I like the wood and the look of it. So there is no need to go for the black one but I know there are many people that will go for the noir edition. I love my Prophets but this thing is a well thought out modern take on an analog synthesizer
I agree - you can really tell they were pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with analog, and that can lead to some really interesting results.
it's hard to believe that there are people with so much cash and so concerned about looks that they'd get rid of their polybrute to get the noir. . . .
@@russ254 moog: introduces new model D.
Arturia: "let me hold your beer"
@@GeorgeLocke I'd rather have a Matrixbrute if I wasn't allowed to sell it or a Model D. Model D is great sounding but very limited.
@@rgeraldc80s I was mainly poking fun at companies introducing products where the main selling point is aesthetic - my analogy is perhaps a bit strained...
What do you think about Korg Prologue 16? Thanks.
“Things to know about Polybrute”
My warchest: I want it, I got it
You should submit the Morphée problem to Arturia, they may listen to you.
In my opinion it should be possible to decouple Morphée from the other controllers and introduce some new sources like constants, or even digital LFO.
The sources are probably not hardwired, and it should be relatively easy to find a way to select more of them, with the letters row on the left of the matrix and some selections in a new menu. You should ask them if that's possible!
Unfortunately I don’t have Arturia’s ear and have never been able to get a response from them.
@@JamesonNathanJones Too bad :(
@@JamesonNathanJones I've had a response from Arturia - but they make you jump through hoops - suggesting you're the idiot - and not really a problem with the synth. I have three other Arturia hardware products and software too - but the PB can be a nightmare and stops me dead from creating music. Not good enough for the price of the synth.
How does it compare to the matrixbrute aside from polyphony?
When you first uploaded this video you mentioned you didn't like the keybed and how you expected a synth of this prize range should have a better keybed. I wanted to comment on that, but I didn't have a more expensive synth at the time with a keybed. Only a Prophet 5 desktop, but that one obviously doesn't have a keybed. 2 Days ago my OB-X8 came in and that one is more expensive that the Polybrute and Prophet 5, so know I can finally have an opinion as if I know what I'm talking about. I get where you're coming from. The Polybrute has thin lightweight keys with a short travel distance. The OB-X8 has a smooth solid keybed with semi-weighted keys probably objectively the best keybed I have so far. However I'd say it's only slightly better than that of my Native Instruments Komplete Kontrol S61, Subsequent 37 that both have semi-weighted keys with after touch. Personally I prefer the keybed of my Polybrute over the keybeds of my other synths and midi controllers. I like how the unweighted keys with short travel distance allow for faster playing. Even though they're light to the touch, they're pretty smooth so you have a lot of control over them. Especially for softer parts and pads with after touch. I love how the after touch feels like you're pressing a cushion instead of pushing a button like on all of my other keybeds. Some people prefer fully weighted keys, but I'm not one of those people. I prefer synthesizer keybeds over piano's. Maybe if I'd want to play a piano part the authentic piano feel would help with the sound, but when it comes to synthesizer parts; the lighter the better. As long as the keybed is smooth, consistent and high quality, which I believe the Polybrute is. Does anybody know how the Prophet 5 keybed feels and if it's worth getting a full sized Prophet 5 instead of my desktop module? Or does it have the same type of keybed the OB-X8 has?
I don't think the release of the Polybrute Noir will reduce the worth of the original. At first the Noir will be more expensive, but it will drop in prize uittil it's the same as the coloured one. The same thing happened to their other products. Besides, the noir edition looks better than I expected. I like how they just made the wood darker, but not 100% black so you can still tell it's wood. I also like how they changed the the filter cut off buttons from black to orange and mint green, to make the UI clearer and compensate for the colours they lost. Despite all that I still prefer the original. The teal coloured metal with the wood is a nice throwback to 70's analogue, and the rubber buttons with colourful LEDs and crisp display symbolises the more modern features. It's a daring combination, but it works well for me. Best looking synth I have. Nicer than the OB-X8, Prophet 5 or Subsequent 37 and I like those as well.
I'm looking at either a Matrixbrute or a Polybrute, can't decide. What was the announcement you alluded to at the beginning of the video?
I want to like Arturia's lineup, but after buying the original BeatStep when it came out, and it took them over a year to fix a firmware bug where it wouldn't sync to external MIDI clock - I said I would never purchase anything from them again. They are dead to me.
I am dumbfounded that the expression sources share a same functions. I can't fathom why that would be the case and my monkey brain is telling me there's got to be a way to decouple them. If not, that's a dealbreaker for me as it drastically confines their capabilities.
Oh well, I guess the Hydrasynth's right there, huh?
Arturia stuff to me is all very frustrating--amazing control and fun factor, but then the sound is jusssssstt... a biiiiiittt....
I think you're one of the last persons on earth doing a long term - mostly cons or "watch out" video on this platform. I'm tipping my hat
I'm also glad that I am broke and don't like the sound of the thing, still glad you can afford and enjoy it :)
Appreciate the support as always! Definitely not the only one pointing out cons - lots of channels lean negative because it’s a low effort way to get engagement. I think a balanced approach is best for me as long as I’m stating my honest, thought-out opinion.
Yeah, I was never taken by the sound, either - and the morphee and ribbon, whilst kinda cool, are limited versions of these facilities and also locked into this one synth (which I don’t love the sound of, so …). Best I’ve heard it sound was in the Sweetwater demo - but even then, I’d only consider it if I had to make a ‘space sci-fi ambient soundtrack thing’, which that vid left me with the impression is perhaps its strongest suit, so to speak. What I’ve learned here about the keyboard and the mod matrix (better (with menu-diving) and worse (unbreakable associations) than I’d thought) does nothing to endear the PB to me. At one time I was thinking of a PB or a Summit … a brand new Summit came up for a steal, so I considered that decision made for me ultimately. No shortage of menu diving and not the best keybed either, but very versatile, 16 voices, that lovely reverb built-in, etc etc. I’d be interested to hear your opinion/review of the Summit, for sure. These two were competitor’s for my hard-earned for some time … Keep up the good work! 😎👍🏼
One of the deal-breakers for me is that the plugin and Arturia MCC don't run on my machines
So all advanced features, syncing the machine to your DAW project and accessing device settings, are wasted.
Also I already have a Summit and an OB6, so I don't think the Polybrute really adds anything there. Although I really like the mod-matrix and fading between patches.
Good points. I’ve heard several say they’ve had difficulty with the software. Summit and OB6 will definitely cover a lot of ground. Great synths.
I hope they keep going with color options
Yes, who wants things like better keyboards and better modulation options … …
@@kierenmoore3236
Logically, it has to be one or the other, right?🤦
💯
The Polybrute is a monster synth.
untamed monster
No it's crap ! how can 6 voices be a 'Monster' ?
Decisions decisions !!
Huh... another (quite popular) reviewer said that keybed is kinda flagship level 🤔
The keyboard is the only negative about this synth for me when I played it. I suspect that I'm mainly going to be playing the morphee and using sequencers for hands-free noodling. PB feels like more of a synthesist's instrument, rather than a "keys player" dream.
You actually think it sounds good and the reverb ?? jeez ! hahaha
@@markorfila3832 yup, sounds great. You tried it?
Very thorough and seems like you’ve spent some time and sweat on this thing
I have a Matrixbrute and ordered the Polybrute as soon as it was announced expecting a poly version of the MB. What a dissapointment. The most frustrating synth I have owned. It does not connect easily with Polybrute Connect - often sounds weedy and thin - and just becomes a real PITA. I agree about the keybed too. I don't make sounds - I don't have time for that - I make music - happy to tweak a preset but not from scratch. There are better synths around I'm sure. Summit - Jupiter-X - Matriarch? Morphee and ribbon and all the morphing stuff - I never use - maybe if you play live - - - maybe not.
I've been restoring sythesisers for 3 decades now. And I have to say I'm finding the newer versions behaving similarly and sounding the same, no matter what the brand on the box. Even with the Access Virus Ti I have in my rig...If I go to my Korg T2(1990's) its completely different, even against those of same era, D series Rolands, Nord, Yamaha DX etc. Go even further back (70's / 80's) Moog , Arp, Crumar, Oberheim, Sequential, they were all different in behaviour and sound. ...has the innovation bottlenecked? + too often the factory presets are predictable, vapid and useless in a mix.
The number one reason I won't be getting a Polybrute is it weighs 44 lbs.
I had to let my CS-40M go as it weighed 55 lbs.
As I am approaching 60 and I still lug my gear from time to time, I do not want the weigh of this.
It is heavy, but that’s reassuring for what it is. I personally wouldn’t use mine live, so it’s fixed in place in the studio (mine has the wooden legs too)…
I saw a guy using one live recently at a small bar jazz gig. It sounded great, and I realised that it’s no heavier than a lot of keys players tools, like the Nord Stage he had his PB sitting above.
Thanks for sharing your view on the Polybrute. I have to say, I do not agree as far as the keybed is concerned. First of all, I don't know what you mean by "the keys don't feel full size" ... This is really a very subjective statement, that is objectively untrue, as far as I can tell. This is a standard size keybed. To be sure, I compared with my Prophet 6 and my Alesis Andromeda, and they both have the exact same sized keybed. When it comes to how a keybed feels, this is very subjective indeed. But I don't agree that you can say, the keybed of the Polybrute is in any way of a lower quality. It just is not. The keybed on the Prophet feels a little more tight somehow, but I like both. If anything, the keybed of the Andromeda feels less reassuring, in this certainly is or was an analogue flagship synth at the time.
It was a statement purely based on feel and intuition, but upon measuring now, the keybed gives up about an eighth of an inch in width octave to octave compared to my Pro 3, and an eighth in key length compared to the Matriarch. As I stated, they are full sized (not mini) keys, but feel slightly off. Based on my measurements that was accurate.
Another constant mod source: ENV 3 with all sliders down except sustain: 100%.
I’ve always hated the look of the polybrute. That’s what’s held me back. Even black can’t fix it. But I love the sounds you and a few of my friends are able to make with it. Well done - and well articulated analysis.
I actually really like the look of the black one, but considering it weighs like 100 lbs I won’t be trading up anytime soon 😅
Hot take: colors trump b&w
Damn, the issue with controller sharing the mod source is really unfortunate, really weird choice. I think I don’t want it anymore.
Things to know before buying a polybrute noire: osmose exists, soft synths exist, black spray paint exists, it feels really bad to be in debt.
Sure
What's osmose?
@@GeorgeLocke MPE keyboard with EagenMatrix sound engine, very in depth sond engine, but it requires a computer to edit the patch, and it’s all about playing
🫠👍
Why on earth would you compare the Polybrute to the Osmose? Two completely different synths meant for completely different ways of playing. Osmose Vs ROLI Seaboard Rise w/ suitable soft synth, yes, thats a better comparison, they are both MPE. Polybrute and Osmose are just not in a competing market against each other.
Those who are buying a synth like this are well aware that “soft synths” exist, Infact people buying synths like this are likely doing it because they DONT want a soft synth, they want intimate hands on control and hardware analog. Not everyone is going to get into debt buying this either… if you cant afford it you shouldn’t be buying it, same as anything else in life. The osmose you recommend is only £400 cheaper so it’s not exactly cheap either.
I have a load of soft synths and midi controllers, i also have a Seaboard Rise 2, hardware synths like the Polybrute, Behringer Odyssey, Korg Triton Extreme…..It’s great to just pick and choose what you want and not get pigeonholed into one thing or another.
Got one but wish I didn’t.
It’s definitely not for everyone.
as a cheapskate, I love gear videos where people talk about their regrets .. .
I’ll stick to Pigments, thanks.
You’re welcome!
Nope no polybrute for me. It’s expensive and not as flexible as cheaper solutions, especially for a recording artist. This is great don’t get me wrong but it doesn’t provide me anything substantial that I really need for recording.
What’s a recording artist lol If you mean plugins sure, nothing competes in hardware. But no other hardware (price range) competes to the PB for features. That’s analog btw, again, plug-in type synths are different. Voice count is PB’s weakness, especially if you layer for 4 oscillators.
@@vaiman7777 recording artist is someone who doesn't play life and has time to layer parts. And analogue, digital, plugin are no valid arguments. If anything you can model everything in DSPs ;) So if you don't need these tones live it's just too expensive and doesn't bring anything for me.
@@CallousCoder So these DSP synths that have analog filters are wasting their time... ok lol. Why isn't my OB redundant then?
Like I said, if your a recording only, I agree. But saying they can model everything is exactly that, it's a representation of what an analog synth/filter can do. But it's no substitute in many ways. Price is a personal thing, but using both daily I'd certainly not throw away my real versions before my digital counterparts.
@@vaiman7777 I am not asking you to throw away anything :D I don't get rid of any of my hardware synths either because I like the tactility.
But in a mix you can't really tell the difference between hardware, software and DSP or other ways modeled hardware. You can literally profile a filter's effect on a spectrum of sound and capture it in digital technology. It basically becomes a lookup table then -- at that frequency -3dB your ears won't hear the difference and especially inside a mix.
I am just saying that a PolyBrute especially in a mix can surely be approximated and thus it doesn't warrant the price for me personally. But if it does for you, by all means, enjoy it!
@@CallousCoder I'm not throwing anything out :) I love both, like you. Just interesting discussion that's all.
I agree, for the most part, in a song the core of all synths would be very difficult to tell apart.
But I can 100% say, there's no way you wouldn't hear my Oberheim filter in a song. Especially when it's moving through states. If you can produce that, I'd be interested in hearing it.
Same with the PB, you can't reproduce the analog circuits morphing between patches. There's just too many variables. Even the PB sounds different each time haha, it's a the nature of the beast I guess.
Does it warrant $3k or $6k? Probably not lol.
Funny thing is, I rarely hear a PB demo that makes me think it's great. Normally just standard pads whooshhhh. Very rarely bass or plucks morphing into a wide synth cutting line. Shame.
Nah man, the price is pretty insane. A Summit is a better deal.
Summit is great
Terrible sounding synth with a weak headphone input. ...even maxed out it is weedy through my Beyer Dynamic DT770's....Synth sounds worse than my 23 year old Access Virus C which has got 32 Voices and stunning onboard effects. The effects on this are a joke ! Not to mention one of the worst keybeds ever implemented into a synth and note cut off is very apparent ! ...AVOID ! My 'NOIR' edition is back on ebay within 5 mins ! The 'Summit' absolutely DESTROYS the Polybrute ! The Classic 'don't believe the hype' totally applied here... only trust your own ears. I just can't believe all the people raving about it. I just think they can't hear properly or something !