"Mono might, poly power": Arturia's MiniBrute V plugin reimagines the much-loved analogue monosynth with extra voices, effects and more

minibrute v
(Image credit: Arturia)

Arturia's MiniBrute was the French manufacturer's second ever hardware instrument; previously known for its synth plugins, Arturia first released the Origin synthesizer in 2008 before following that up with the MiniBrute in 2012.

A monophonic 25-key analogue synthesizer with a single VCO and multimode Steiner-Parker filter, the instrument earned a devoted following, paving the way for later products bearing the Brute name, such as the recently-released PolyBrute 12.  

This week, Arturia has announced the release of MiniBrute V, a plugin emulating the MiniBrute in software. The plugin aims to capture the "ferocious" character of MiniBrute's single analogue oscillator, augmenting this with seven additional voices, effects, a unison mode and more. 

For MiniBrute V, Arturia has modelled both the original synth's oscillator and sub-oscillator along with its Steiner-Parker multimode filter. The oscillator offers you square, sawtooth and triangle waveforms, all of which can be augmented with PWM, ultrasaw and 'metalizer' waveshaping, respectively. 

You'll find two LFOs onboard and a multmode arpeggiator along with a drive function modelled on the synth's Brute Factor feedback circuit. There's also an extensive library of 168 presets, something the original didn't offer, and four effects slots that can be filled with a selection of Arturia's effects that includes reverb, tape echo, distortion and a Juno-inspired chorus.

MiniBrute V is available now for a reduced price of $99.

Find out more on Arturia's website.

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Matt Mullen
Tech Editor

I'm MusicRadar's Tech Editor, working across everything from product news and gear-focused features to artist interviews and tech tutorials. I love electronic music and I'm perpetually fascinated by the tools we use to make it. When I'm not behind my laptop keyboard, you'll probably find me behind a MIDI keyboard, carefully crafting the beginnings of another project that I'll ultimately abandon to the creative graveyard that is my overstuffed hard drive.