Arturia

[tiny_tove]

I own both and I find myself to work more with Micro due to portability, the cv input and the sequencer, that is perfect for repetitive parts.

Said this Mini is defibnitely superior, more features, noise filter (which I would have loved on micro), arpeggiator, etc.

[Leatherface]

besides i really dont like the idea to be the 100th guy with a ms20.

You will be the 100th guy with a Minibrute, or the 300th with a Microbrute

[calaverasgrande]

I got to go to a synth expo thing last year in New York. A lot of the usual suspects where there. Arturia and Novation both had large presences.
It was revealing to me to try out both the Basstation II and the MiniBrute.
Nothing I did on the BassStation could get away from this big dancey kind of sound.
Well I would not say absolutely nothing, when I got it into the weeds it sounded horrible and not in a deliberately horrible way that noise or PE sounds.
The MiniBrute OTOH was a lot more rewarding. I really liked the various things you could get it to do without even fucking with any CV.
It seems to be more adept at sound designy things than the Novation or the newer Roland offerings.

I'll almost certainly end up with one at some point, simply because it is a natural fit for anyone with a modular set up.
I am a little offput by the kind of flimsy feel of it. But I've yet to hear anyone say they had a knob or jack break off.
Maybe I'll get one of those red ones. I like red.

[vomitgore]

Microbrute is certainly a fun machine. Of course, some of the features the MS20 offers, most of all the rad oscillation and patching possibilities, aren't to be found in the Microbrute, but the MS20 is the MS20. The Microbrute may not knock your socks off when you first play it, but with the right setup (like a good Flanger and / or a non-fuzzy, sharp distortion) and with the right fiddling and experimenting, it can create great and pretty unusual sounds. Pretty clear but with the right punch. For dirty PE, it may work best when it is teamed up with more free flowing noise, but that's up to the creator.

[Feber]

I got to go to a synth expo thing last year in New York. A lot of the usual suspects where there. Arturia and Novation both had large presences.
It was revealing to me to try out both the Basstation II and the MiniBrute.
Nothing I did on the BassStation could get away from this big dancey kind of sound.
Well I would not say absolutely nothing, when I got it into the weeds it sounded horrible and not in a deliberately horrible way that noise or PE sounds.
The MiniBrute OTOH was a lot more rewarding. I really liked the various things you could get it to do without even fucking with any CV.
It seems to be more adept at sound designy things than the Novation or the newer Roland offerings.

I'll almost certainly end up with one at some point, simply because it is a natural fit for anyone with a modular set up.
I am a little offput by the kind of flimsy feel of it. But I've yet to hear anyone say they had a knob or jack break off.
Maybe I'll get one of those red ones. I like red.

I think the Bass Station II is really useful for some things. Together with the right effects it is excellent with bass rumblingsand drones. I usually play it through a Boss ME-70 (mostly for the pre-amp and looping) or just through an EQ. Adding an EQ can really turns this machine useful. Also very intuitive and easy to work with In my opinion. 

The microbrute took me some time to get to like. Had it for more than a year before I actually got ANYTHING useful out of it. But now it's come around and I manage to squeeze good things out of it. Glad I didn't sell it.

[Zodiac]

besides i really dont like the idea to be the 100th guy with a ms20.

You will be the 100th guy with a Minibrute, or the 300th with a Microbrute

Thank you for destroying my illusions. I hope you like that moment of truth.

[calaverasgrande]

Interesting update for folks that have a modular or plan on getting an MS20 as an entre into modular.
I was at the "Control" retail store in Brooklyn last week, being a gear nerd (and also returning an FXD for an LXD, I said "LXD!").
This kid comes in asking how he can get his MS20 to talk to some modular stuff that he just bought. I guess nobody told him the difference between exponential and linear.
Well the long and short of it is, nobody makes an exponential converter module for old Korg Yamaha stuff anymore. There used to be one the Harvestman made. But that is EOL. So now there is only the Expert Sleepers Disting. Which is very good, I own one. But is kind of a waste of such a great module that does wave folding, clockable LFO, clockable Delay and so much more.
I think I need another Disting.

[certainesthetik]

I use the minibrute, and I am pleased with it. I was anxious to get my hands on an analog synth and it seemed like the best grab for the price. To be honest, I didn't even really start learning how to navigate it well until months after having it (being inexperienced with synths in general). Now I use it pretty regularly, and I think the most helpful thing for me has been getting to know how to tweak it to produce the filthy sounds its made to produce. It really can generate some nasty, brutish sounds. When coupled with the right distortion (I use MXR analog) there is potential to get very filthy, pleasing sounds. I have yet to use it for processing external sound, although after reading through this thread, I think I just may need to dive into that now. I feel there is still so much to discover with this synth.

[vomitgore]

I use the minibrute, and I am pleased with it. I was anxious to get my hands on an analog synth and it seemed like the best grab for the price. To be honest, I didn't even really start learning how to navigate it well until months after having it (being inexperienced with synths in general). Now I use it pretty regularly, and I think the most helpful thing for me has been getting to know how to tweak it to produce the filthy sounds its made to produce. It really can generate some nasty, brutish sounds. When coupled with the right distortion (I use MXR analog) there is potential to get very filthy, pleasing sounds. I have yet to use it for processing external sound, although after reading through this thread, I think I just may need to dive into that now. I feel there is still so much to discover with this synth.

My observations have been similar. I think those pleasant sounds you refer to can be produced with the right interaction between the Brute Factor and Resonance knobs. Both cranked up pretty high. Seems like the Microbrute offers either total filth or pretty clear and "musical" frequencies.

[Soloman Tump]

I am currently considering a Drumbrute, they look like they should do everything I want them to do, and the individual outputs is a big bonus for setting up separate pedal chains.

Anyone here got one and have any major gripes with them?

[Euro Trash Bazooka]

I have one (the OG big one, not the new Impact version.)

It's a pretty cool device for its price (it's the only decent alternative to a Roland drum machine, whose sound I loathe, in this range of price) but it could have been better. I mean, it's built like a tank, it's really easy and intuitive to use I think, and it's made for performance and live use, no submenus or any kind of hidden functions that are a pain to find or activate. It does however lack a bit of personality and bite soundwise (and the snare tends to sound lower than most of the other sounds when the volumes are at the same levels), and I wish the pads responded better at times. But it's a really cool machine for its price and I tend to use mine through a compressor and a homemade fuzz+blend pedal. It sounds alright.
I did decide last year to not buy any Arturia products anymore though, mostly because they sell unfinished products. I'm pretty certain my Keystep is faulty, the sound volumes on the Drumbrute can be uneven, I saw lights blinking when going through presets on a Matrixbrute whereas they shouldn't do so, etc... I'm done with them.

[brutalist_tapes]

have had microbrute two times.. a great synth, although quite limited.. the modular addition is of course a nice touch, though. i would probably choose it over similar small synths like minilogue and the like.. drumbrutes look great, with opportunity for sound shaping via the individual outs.. would probably go fot the impact, as i don't need a lot of drum sounds.. still nice to distort an analog kick through a filter though.. the mkII minibrute also looks very nice to me, with the whole semi-modular thing. overall a solid company for me

[tiny_tove]

tried impact, stable but was not excited by its sounds and the lack of effect.
the distortion is very lame, it is not a real distortion

I recently got the mkII and it is a killer.,
the sequencer is amazing and sounds are somehow different than the original mini-brute. I was evaluating selling it but I will keep it.

[Soloman Tump]

I think I would use the individual outputs and use my own distortion and other effects rather than the inbuilt effects.

Primarily want this for the drum sequencing.

Impact might work for me especially at that price tag. A local music shop has one in stock so ill go have a play soon

[brutalist_tapes]

tried impact, stable but was not excited by its sounds and the lack of effect.
the distortion is very lame, it is not a real distortion

I recently got the mkII and it is a killer.,
the sequencer is amazing and sounds are somehow different than the original mini-brute. I was evaluating selling it but I will keep it.

thanks for the information.. maybe i should just go for volca kick for PE then. the mkII looks amazing but probably can't afford it