Arturia is coming out with an analog beat maker that is an all-in-one beat machine made for performance and sound-design. The Brute product line is centered around hardware synthesizers – you might know the MiniBrutes, MicroBrutes, and MaxiBrute. They’re introducing DrumBrute – an analog drum machine and sequencer. Read more about the analog beat maker below.
Arturia’s DrumBrute: An Analog Drum Sequencer
- Product: DrumBrute
- Manufacturer: Arturia
- Price: $449.00
- Availability: November 17, 2016
The Arturia DrumBrute comes packed with 17 distinct, fully analog drum and percussion instruments:
- 2 Kicks
- Clap
- Snare
- Rim
- Clave
- Closed Hat
- Open Hat
- Low Tom
- High Tom
- Cymbal
- Reversed Cymbal
- High Conga
- Low Conga
- Maracas
- Tambourine
- Zap
The core of the DrumBrute is the 100% analog instruments that can fit into many different projects. Each drum sound can be adjusted using 24 different parameters, giving producers more control over the beat. There are 4 different banks where the user can store 64 different patterns using a 64 step sequencer. Patterns can be recorded using the sequencer and in real-time. At any point, the parameters for each instrument are adjustable.
Effects and Grooves
Swing and randomness are available to add more of a human feel to the beat. The DrumBrute also contains a Steiner-Parker Filter that can be set to low-pass, high-pass, or bypassed mode. There are also controls from the cutoff and resonance. This filter is great for toning drums or adding sweep effects to a beat.
The beat can become even more dynamic with polyrhythmic control, giving each instrument a different pattern, step repeat for fills, accents to give certain hits more emphasis, and a roller to accelerate a sound in 1/4, 1/8. 1/16, or 1/32 fills.
Ultimate Connectivity
The DrumBrute offers multiple ways to connect the DrumBrute to different systems. There is a USB MIDI interface as wells as MIDI Ins and Outs with multiple sync options (Internal, MIDI, Clock, 1PPS, 2PPQ, DIN24, and DIN48). For audio, there are 1/8″ outputs for each instrument plus a metronome as well as a 1/4″ master output. There are two headphone jacks, a 3.5mm and a 1/4″ jack with a level knob.
The DrumBrute has two modes: Looper and Song Mode. Looper is for repeating patterns from 1/4 to 1/32 increments to give an edgy, breakbeat feel to a song. Song Mode allows a user to create up to 16 unique songs with 16 patterns from 64 patterns across 4 separate banks. The amount of control, space, and outputs on this unit makes for a really comprehensive beat piece in any studio. The connectivity also makes the case for taking this unit out on the road. The DrumBrute is a creative addition to the Arturia product line and will make for some interesting performances.
