Arturia Polybrute: What is a $3000 analog synthesizer like?

[@lemonderangello]

great vid, though the price is more like 2k now

[@TravisRayLive]

Price is still $3000 in the US.

[@evilet1111]

$2699 USD nearly every where I look.. Some places include the $200 wooden legs for the same price, $2699. Cheapest I've seen is a $2000 sale price, new. Used, $2000-2200 USD.

[@TravisRayLive]

@@evilet1111 Yes, it'll be different prices at different places. He and I are both referring to its price on the Arturia website.

[@michelnassarofficial]

It’s a bug on Arturia’s website!

[@robertgarvansnyder4665]

I found mine for $1800 new, plus $180 for the legs. deals are out there.

[@cassidyrenno8596]

I love the idea of how much an instrument wants to be played, because it takes everything into account. You have to consider what the instrument sounds like, how it works, and how it looks. Great way of putting it, and amazing content as always!

[@PurlaneMauve]

Arturia really feels like they’ve been putting in their all with their releases. A lot of companies like Moog and Korg feel like they’re riding from their reputation and don’t feel comfortable taking risks as a result. Meanwhile, Arturia is making a name for themselves by making high quality, innovative, and *fun* products to play with, AND giving them consistent support after release thru firmware updates. They’re doing everything right! I just got a Minifreak as my first synth a few weeks ago and it has been a joy to play with. I hadn’t ever been so inspired musically before I bought it. It’s just so *fun*. Arturia’s clearly doing something right, so I hope they keep doing what they’re doing! (Also hoping for a full sized Freak series synth one day… We shall see 😅)

[@lolilollolilol7773]

It's amazing they can release this many high quality product considering how small the company is (about 130 employees I believe).

[@bveracka]

I'm fairly passionate about Arturia since I'm into them for about $2500 with a diverse range of products, so I'll match you with a rant: The Polybrute is very nice - not quite as sturdy and pretty as a Prophet, but still very solid. They knocked it out of the park with that one and the MicroFreak - the latter is a great way for those on a budget to own a capable synth. The MiniFreak is just a cool expansion upon the MicroFreak, which I like. The MiniBrute 2S is a monster of an analog synth / digital sequencer hybrid… Eurorack-y…thing…😆and I love it. Having said that, their hardware has nowhere near the build quality of most expensive brand synths they're competing with. The KeyLab 61 mkII is a popular MIDI controller, but its quality is mediocre at best. The keybed is almost top-notch, but the faders and knobs are _AWFUL._ The wobbly rubber grips aren't tight or straight, and the resistance is inconsistent. 😬MicroFreak has better knobs, but still not real nice. People buy hardware synths over plugins (which they're famous for selling) to have something they can touch and feel, thus making that hardware feel good is essential. To sum up this rant, Arturia is a bold company. Taking risks and not simply following the crowd has payed-off. Arturia's plugins and tech are excellent, but their hardware is just average. If they improve their hardware quality _and_ continue to innovate, they'll have a cult following.

[@bveracka]

Also: I agree with what you said about Korg, but not Moog. Yes, they both rest on their laurels, but Korg's modern stuff is _terrible._ Moog's synths might seem same-y, but nearly all their synths are top shelf - and prohibitively expensive.

[@ryanpongracz8051]

My friend has this synth and it's the best sounding instrument I've ever heard. The new patches make it sound even better, it's the god of all synths.

[@symbiat0]

Two years: how long it took for me to become a total Arturia fanboy. My PolyBrute has been my main flagship polysynth of choice for over a year now. I’m so happy you made a video about it - I got into your channel because of your Microfreak video from way back when 👍🏽

[@Kung_Fu_Jesus]

It’s a stunning synth, I play it every single day and love it more than ever

[@enygma3d]

I've got a handful of really nice synths in my studio, but I do agree that the Polybrute is the one that begs to be played with more than any other. That synth is a work of art.

[@jondellar]

Hell's bells, it's amazing! Thank you for, as always, explaining everything with such clarity. 🎉

[@alecp6265]

Great video, beautiful synth! Arturia never disappoints

[@rossknowles5608]

for demonstrating reverbs and delays.. a short sound would be much better than the bell like one with a long decay as it masks the effects due to its similarity to an effect

[@DavidHilowitzMusic]

it’s true!

[@mthomas1091]

I agree (I always wish I could here the whole swell-&-tail..in any reverb demo). I got a volcaFM2 (reverb being one of main adds) & was surprised I didn’t even find discussions of “how’s the reverb actually sound?” Still nice demo here though. Love Arturia’s ideas.

[@eulman09]

Thanks for another splendid video and review, David. And, yes, I must agree being a Patreon supporter and being able to download the latest instruments you provide via Decent Sampler is, well, in a word - decent! Thank you for all you do to inspire joyful music making.

[@crtzmo]

I'm a huge Aeturia fan, I've got the minifreak, fuse 2, minilab 3 and pigments as the backbone of my brand new studio.. I recognize the foundational elements of the polybrute from my minifreak, but wow the depth of the tools offered on the brute are extraordinary. tx for showing us around, David!

[@MrDaigoRiki]

Thank you for the demo, I’m gonna get one.

[@MusicalWizardryMarcoIannello]

I had no idea the Polybrute would be that versatile, wow ❤

[@everybodyhasoul5438]

Awesome. Would love to see another sound design video with this synth!

[@guillewtt]

Your channel is truly one of the best things I discovered this year

[@tommyg5095]

Arturia is the new Sheriff on the block.. They have the right kind of foreward thinking... Yes FOREWARD... NOT YESTERYEAR.... THEIR TAKE ON DEVELOPMENT AND LISTENING TO THEIR CONSUMERS,, YES,, ARTURIA WILL BE AROUND FOR A LONG TIME.. I JUST LOVE THEIR PRODUCTS... CANT WAIT FOR THE S U P E R F R E A K ...

[@MattGreerMusic]

Of all the new synths that have come out in the last few years, this one has interested me the most.

[@henkdevries9185]

My compliments for the exquisite presentation in this video. I love how this is both a review and a tutorial (including markings/higlights) in one.

[@andrew6889-p5c]

Everything I have from Arturia is excellent. Can’t recommend them enough. I probably can’t justify spending 3K on one of these, and part of the reason is that I can already do almost anything imaginable on my other Arturia stuff. Pigments alone is absolutely exceptional.

[@TestyLazy]

Seeing these videos makes me happy

[@rasmuswestergren6221]

Finally! A review capturing just the things out of insterest, the concept and the workflow, briefly

[@compucorder64]

Nice rundown. Often in the EU we're clobbered by hefty prices for Moog's Fenders, boutique pedals like Hologram and Chase Bliss. But, at least on this one, it's a really powerful synth, maybe even a modern classic, that can be picked up second-hand here for about 1700 eur second hand. Which is in the ball-park of a new Sequential Take 5; also a really nice synth (maybe I even prefer the Take 5's basic tone). But the Polybrute has an awful lot going for it, full-size keybed, performance morphee and ribbon, better effects, an extra voice, timbral morphing, duo-timbral, more programmability than most analogues, and I think an end to end analogue signal path, apart from the digital Fx (Take 5 is digitized post filter). People have complained of it crashing a bit, and being problematic in that regard; something to be aware of.

[@Leo9ine]

From someone lucky enough to have one - If you really think it's right for you, and can get one, get it. It's a niche. But it's my desert island synth. I have other greats - polivoks, juno, dx7, eurorack, model D, etc - But the Polybrute calls the loudest when you walk into the studio each day. It's so damn inviting. Harder to dial in than others, doesn't have a signature "sweet spot" the way a Moog D does. Those things just fall into place effortlessly. But man, it's fun sitting down and having no idea where you'll end up in an hour. It's so good at "physical modeling" type sounds too. Sounds very present and mechanical. It's a modern CS80, really. It'll never do bass like a Moog, never do brass like a Juno, but if you want etherial Vangelis-y soundscapes and complex textures it's king. It sounds more like a real CS80 than Arturia's own VST clone. Again, a niche, but if that's where you know you belong, then there's no question this is the way.

[@CrazyWaldo100]

This is so freaking cool! God I love synths, the possibilities are endless and the sounds can take you to so many places

[@trickfall8752]

My dream synth

[@indigosnow_]

I can't wait to own one someday. It's such a beautiful synth 💜

[@sonijam]

Your videos are always so great.

[@Gusting.]

This is the only channel where "feel free to like this video" warrants a like from me.

[@Gusting.]

Uncontrollably

[@OG_Mereles]

And at the end of the video! Why do other creators feel like is ok to ask for 'like share and subscribe' to something you haven't even watched yet? How confident are they about their content?

[@zachsarantakes4400]

3:45 sounded like promenade from pictures at an exhibition

[@paulg8729]

Fantastic explanation of how this complex synth works. It blows my mind! But you made it simple to understand and I can empathise with notion of, “do I want to play it?” Thank you David for another great video.

[@darwiniandude]

It's a fantastic synth. Amazing. I've toyed with it in the local music store. Sadly budget doesn't extend that far for me, and my channel wouldn't interest Arturia as much as yours :) I have their little microfreak, which is incredible value. As someone who is fascinated about UI design, one thing I REALLY WISH Arturia and others would bring to modern synths is infinite encoders WITH LED rings, for all parameters. Very few synths have ever had this. But when you were morphing between sounds and showed all the knobs moving in the software - with LED ring encoder knobs you could visualise them all moving directly on the panel of the synth. Nord once had a (relatively unpopular) model with this functionality, the Lead 3. Not just for visualising modulation, the LED rings show the correct position of all controls when a preset is recalled. It's effectively like having motorised faders, without the expense and complexity.

[@darwiniandude]

Exactly my point :) @xerebec13

[@rjy8960]

I did some work many years ago with a few mixing desk manufacturers to introduce LED rings around encoders. They were being made by a small German company way before the low cost things came onto the market. They could place the LED die really accurately and create some beautiful devices but were expensive and didn't really get a lot of traction at the time.

[@darwiniandude]

Radikal SAK-2K controllers by any chance? Anyway I think it's a great style of control that a lot of equipment could benefit from.@@rjy8960

[@Corvixius]

Just smashed the subscriber button, I keep returning to your videos so I thought, why not?

[@Andronicus2007]

My favourite synth is a Kawai K5000, the action is so good, the thing sounds so good, I love it. Very cheap too!

[@fortheloveofnoise]

mine is the 303

[@jimsanger]

Lovely, I like the morph controller

[@tylerdaigle3266]

I got the polybrute in og colors for 1900 on reverb. The navy blue and brown wood is gorgeous too

[@sonsofkojimarip]

I'll probably never own an Arturia Polybrute but this video is rad to fall asleep to.

[@MrDaigoRiki]

Arthurian is like my go to synth company, way better than Korg or Roland, I got this synth yesterday and it’s 20kg and blew my mind.

[@SelfstudioProd]

how dare you not mention the ribbon controller? :P

[@geekingchannel]

great video as always

[@lolilollolilol7773]

It's worth noting that just above the keyboard there is a groove: it's a tactile slider, it's funny that none of the reviewers I've seen mention that, it seems that they all overlooked it.

[@sageDieuvids]

6:00 with the effects getting warped as you push in the plate controller reminds me a lot of Stimming

[@klstay]

It is a great design that gets better with age. Personally I would love to have seen a SEM instead of Steiner Parker and 2140 over transistor ladder. Also, the morphee not sharing mod lanes would have been fantastic and a 2nd set of outs. All individual preference, but I also would rather have seen analog compression and overdrive/distortion with no digital effects. Still a great design...

[@JewelzFin]

I just purchased a Moog One and Matriarch less than 10 hours ago... And I think I'm going to get this to complete the synth core of my studio.I'm just wondering if it's too complex for my brain lol.

[@ManCalledMif]

It's a great synth and respect to Arturia for creating the morph function, but I'm not sure how that is different from assigning aftertouch or the mod wheel to filter cutoff, envelope parameters, pitch, PWM etc.

[@Leo9ine]

In theory it's the same as assigning a couple dozen parameters to one input. But in practice it's about not having to. You can load up two immensely complex presets, with hours of mod matrix work in each, and automatically have one knob to shift between them. There's a cool feature that lets you grab any in-between sound as a new preset. You can very quickly breed multiple generations of presets together. Also, the X and Y on the pad morph "pitches" and "levels" separately, with an additional Z axis of your choice, so you'd need to split the mapping between three mod wheels. By that point it's really just impractical to achieve any other way. Eurorack could do it, but that's a LOT of patching and likely still a paraphonic sound.

[@stephanschuster9106]

Seeing you make music on an actual high-end Instrument has become a bit unusual on this channel. Still a nice video. 😄

[@mi-fu9jt]

this is such a great video thanku!

[@EkimElectro]

Dear Santa, I want one. lol. Love it thanks for sharing David. 😊

[@evilet1111]

The only synth on my list at that price point.. One day I'll pick one up..

[@andycordy5190]

I have seen an exposition of this instrument from all my favourite KZbin presenters and some besides. I have been very close to buying on on more than one occasion but, marvellous though it undoubtedly is, I have too much kit, very capable kit and when I ask myself that very same question, my answer is going to be a resounding no because, unlike you, I lack the will power to resist the "play" aspect when dealing with my urge to make music and my love of boxes that make exciting sounds and respond with LED and data changes, I am distracted like Mr. Toad with a new motor car. Nothing productive happens and the disconnect that happens between a musical idea and its instrumental manifestation results in unproductive but scintillating fun. To me, the Polybrute is so capable but also the ultimate toy.

[@Arthur-hg7ny]

When they “send one over” do you get to keep it or do you have to send it back?

[@mgabrysSF]

GOOD JOB - subbed!

[@maxdon2001]

Great video!

[@stanbalje306]

They shouldve added one of the oscilators of the microfreak, a analog-digital synth would be really cool

[@theclutch]

Did these go up in price?

[@connormartin9644]

I have an idea: comparing a DIY kit for a synth or guitar with a pre-built of the same price

[@bluebane8422]

I would love for there to be a discord server around you and this channel. I'm sure so many great minds watch your videos from just a quick glance at the comments and I have no doubt it'd be an amazing community!

[@01taira]

これは価格相応の価値があるよね。すごい説得力と満足感

[@bobfrog4836]

I like that hardware mod matrix.

[@cartoondesignrevealed]

Excellent sonic soundings 🤩🎶‼️

[@michelvondenhoff9673]

A serious amount of money but also a serious synthesizer 😮 As a happy owner of a Moog Subsequent a.o. I can totally relate 😊

[@JessePlays3434]

Is there any chance you will make the credits song available? If so, that would be awesome!

[@robertgarvansnyder4665]

Did the orange and teal cutoff filter knobs come stock on the black version?

[@DavidHilowitzMusic]

yes!

[@thedouble1269]

“just over 3000” was my entire budget for a keyboard

[@LoserDub]

So it's pigments 4 with real buttons and dials

[@luisitooo1067]

is there a collection of the music you created as background on your videos? I'd really love to listen to them!

[@DavidHilowitzMusic]

no, but i definitely should make one soon

[@luisitooo1067]

@@DavidHilowitzMusic you should!

[@pietkonijn5522]

Aan deze video had ik dus echt iets. Vaak zie je de Polybrute langskomen en dan lijkt alle uitleg Abacadabra. Maar deze is echt goed. Bedankt.

[@Banoffeeee]

this might be a very stupid question...but i never own hardware synth, I only use Serum...if I were to ever get my hand on this god-tier synth....how hard would it be to use?

[@Comrade_Stalin]

If you’ve never worked with a synth before it will 100% take some getting used to. you’re going to get really lost, but you could definitely learn it and figure it out. this is an absolute complex unit of a synth designed to be the main synth in a studio- it’s not exactly for beginners, however you’d never regret buying it and learning it if you have a genuine love for synths.

[@Herfinnur]

$3000 for a polybrute? I thought things in America where always cheaper than in Europe. I love the sounds you're getting with it though. Are you going to do any presets for it?

[@LocaliLLocano]

2699 retail in the US. It’s a good price for what you get in an instrument. The modulation matrix alone is worth it’s weight in gold

[@Herfinnur]

@@LocaliLLocano whether it's worth it is not at all contested, but it goes for around $2100 here including taxes. It used to be that instruments cost double in european countries compared to the USA

[@jouebien]

for 3K I'd want to see rotary encoders with LED position indicators. It does a digital param recall so it's not like it's actually running sound through any of the surfaces pots. it was dub when Presonus did it on the studio live in 2008, It was still dumb when Digidesig did the same thing on the 11 rack in 2009, and it's still dumb in 2023 on this synth.

[@AidinZolghadr]

Do you get to keep it?

[@lolilollolilol7773]

@lolilollolilol7773 It's worth noting that just above the keyboard there is a groove: it's a tactile slider, that's another input in addition to the Morphée. Iit's funny that none of the reviewers I've seen mention that, it seems that they all overlooked it.

[@DanieruXwX]

I said once to someone, that in the future, we'll get the instrument out of other instruments.. Something like this thing, wow

[@bendixmax]

Do you need the software to save and load templates in the device?:)

[@vaiman7777]

If you want to import a new bank/sound yes. Otherwise it’s all on the synth. It’s used to backup your synth too & update firmware . I rarely use it tbh.

[@DavidHilowitzMusic]

Same. I prefer to make my changes on the synth itself. I do like the software for naming presets, though, because scrolling through every letter of the alphabet to name presets can be tiresome.

[@DonAmos_stories]

3rd wave is this plus another synth... worth it? Or just pro's playground?

[@pbasswil]

Compelling design, promising interface. But nothing I heard here particularly stirred my loins. (Maybe a hands-on try would make me feel different, but I've heard _plenty_ of YT synth demos that got me excited...)

[@getsomebud]

I WANT THIS BADLY

[@jona_KardCiv1]

You didn't touch on the touch strip along the keys.

[@IntertemporalTraveler]

Well, maybe Audiopilz is right...the Minifreak might just be the gateway synth to the Polybrute...just don't tell him I said that. Besides it will be a while before I can justify a polybrute anyway.

[@Shaderdiceblock]

I love the poly brute but I have build an entire Dawless home studio for like $1,500

[@dr.emilschaffhausen4683]

Make no mistake, Enya would have had at least one of these in her aresnal back in the day!

[@InvalidUser18]

Well thats 2 synths to save up for. List: Moog One - $10k PolyBrute - $3k Total - 13k

[@yesseru]

Omg, the music in this video sounds straight out of boneworks/labs

[@audiolego]

Great video very good channel. Subbed❤❤❤❤❤. I had the Matrixbrute from 2017 to 2019. It was traded one on one for a Darkstar TI2. I don't have a digital synth so might as well. B2600 and TI2 combo , the one two punch. Thanks to the EMU sampler, I can capture and then layer.

[@final_mile_music9713]

Wow. It’s gone up a LOT. I paid nowhere near $3k when it first came out b

[@DEADLINETV]

This synth is something else! Love it! Can't afford! Arturia should make it into a plugin! 😂

[@MrSiquell]

How the firmware update for analog synth be like? A bag with transistors?)

[@chinmitten]

God the black one is so pretty

[@orangejuiceaudio227]

Hi David, AKAI released MPC Key 61 earlier, what if you reached out to them and maybe partnered to implement Decent Sampler support into their keyboard? Arturia is great, but they have some catching up to do in making software for their hardware.

[@JoseNajera-x5o]

Super cool

[@dyscotopia]

Nice. It's like a more powerful and refined version of the deepmind 6

[@Kung_Fu_Jesus]

It actually sounds and plays very differently to the Deepmind

[@dyscotopia]

@@Kung_Fu_Jesus the mod matrix is where I sensed some kinship

[@curtisfromlantanaland]

I would love to hear a sci fi soundtrack written on this

[@cristianbatelli5873]

$995 would be more than acceptable to pay for a synthesizer like this, for the sounds it brings and its 'average' quality, it's nice but come on man!, nothing spectacular. $3000 ???? wth

[@ChasedRabbit]

I’ve decided that you’re like the Malcolm Gladwell of music tech

[@mutedsounds2k]

Question: Whwere do I find 3000 bucks?! Anyone gives me as a free gisft?!?!

[@gbaker9000]

a price tag like that and the keys arent even weighted or anything.

[@TravisAvey84]

Only 6 voices too

[@murkish]

Feeling like $3k would go further spending it on a computer, monitor, audio interface, DAW, and even have some money leftover for a pair of studio headphones and some plugins/samples

[@DavidHilowitzMusic]

oh, absolutely. :) I’m guessing most people who will buy this already have all of that stuff.

[@scamculture]

I have a polybrute and it’s my least favorite synth, so I like to hear perspectives from people who really enjoy it. I find it really boring sounding, but seeing it as a workhorse for basic sounds seems like a good mindset.

[@ParkerCharlesGabriel]

The Polybrute is a Juggernaut

[@martywhiskersdoggity9392]

only 6 voice?