All user reviews of 4/5 for the Arturia brute

I had seen the demos online and after talking over the phone with jean michel jarre he convinced me of buying it.
It isn't 256-voice polyphonic but you can use two fingers at the same time, which produces the same sound as my cousin's Ford Escort when it blew up on the highway 12 years ago.
No need for a sampler.
The finish of the product is superb for the price, arturia has faithfully reproduced the ivory coating of my aunt's '73 moulinex toaster.

UTILIZATION

The 400-page manual is well written, but it's in British English.
Nevertheless, it is very well written.
Plus, there's a PDF in American English as well.
That's fair play from arturia.
And the American version is also very well written!

SOUNDS

The sounds are very realistic:
It's the first device that allows me to reproduce, with one single finger, the famous sound of my cousin josé's 1978 2L Ford Escort.
The problem is that it's a rather exclusive device:
If you are more sensitive to the sound of the audi 80, you'd better take a moog, although, if you push it a bit you can come close to an opel kadett.
What I really regret is that it doesn't have more modulations:
A step sequencer would've allowed to comfortably reproduce the rising of the piston that presses the fourth cylinder.
On the other hand, when I plugged it to my playstation, it was a delight to be able to reproduce the solo of gran turismo in HDMI.
It's definitely the device's main strength!

OVERALL OPINION

I really love it but I'm thinking about reselling it.
I play in a martin solveig tribute band and we have a concept song where we do a medley with the concert for flute, harp and orchestra by mozart in the middle of the song.

I asked the salesman before buying it and he promised I would be able to play a B flat.
When I first got it I was stuck at the E and we tried to play the song stopping at the E but it didn't work.

I called the store but they wouldn't refund me.
However, they offered to give me a gift certificate instead because they would soon be having a special offer where you'll get a round table when buying 10 arturia brutes.

I'm not sure, though, so I'll wait a bit more and then I'll update my review...

A synth that fits in your hand, pocket or a small lunch box. Personally, I use my kids' Spiderman pencil case to take it everywhere with me.

Rather limited in terms of sound, because you cannot adjust anything. On the other hand, you have 5 notes available, which cover a sound palette ranging from hiphop to EDM. It's a bit limited for more symphonic things. You'll have to buy several.

Be careful, the pitch bend and modulation don't work. They are only there for decoration, according to Arturia it's only a "wink to his brotherz."

No connections, so you won't tangle your feet.

UTILIZATION

My user manual must have been truncated during printing, since I can only read the first and last letters of every line. But it's not indispensable.

SOUNDS

As I said before, it only features 5 notes without any settings. However, it will blow you away! It's only 5 notes, but they sound really good. To describe the sound I'd say it's between the monoDX and the macrokorg. But fatter. To cut it short, when it comes to the sound of the key springs, there's nothing like it.

5 very distinctive sounds. Guetta could easily lay 10 tracks with it.

OVERALL OPINION

I just came back from buying it, but it's my sixth already. It is so small, that I have already lost five. Its value for money is unbeatable, it certainly is worth the $130 per note.

Its main advantages are that you can't get lost with multiple options, you won't tangle your feet and that's it's very eco-friendly, because it doesn't use any energy at all.

I highly recommend it.