French synth and sound effect manufacturer, Arturia released a new dark themed version of their powerful poly-synth the PolyBrute, on February 7, 2023.
The new synth has exactly the same features and sound path as the original PolyBrute, but features a new, darker paint job.
While the Noir edition of the PolyBrute is admittedly very cool looking, I have to wonder what about it justifies a $300 price markup from the original price. Especially since there isn’t really any difference between the original and noir version. However as an investment, perhaps it’s worth looking into as a collector item in the distant future when the PolyBrute eventually becomes a vintage classic.
The original PolyBrute was released in November of 2020 and features what I would consider the most powerful sound architecture of any Polyphonic analog synthesizer available currently. Perhaps more powerful than any polyphonic synthesizer ever. In the past, synthesizer enthusiasts essentially had two basic high-end paths to follow. Either they could buy a polysynth and play multiple notes or they could follow the route of modular synthesis, which allows users to create a completely custom sound path by building a synthesizer with various components or modules. Euro rack is the most common modular format in the modern era, though the original synthesizers built by Bob Moog in the 1960s were all modular. Modular synthesizers are popular because of their immense flexibility and potential for sonic combinations. However, they all suffer the drawback that the majority of analog synthesizers suffer from, the inability to play more than one note. The ability to play multiple notes has always been a bit of an engineering challenge, and at first the idea of creating a modular system that could also play multiple notes with true polyphony was almost completely out of reach for synthesizer manufacturers. However, within the past few years, rumors of companies creating polyphonic modular systems were spreading, but they were mostly from startup companies with very little promise of completion.
The biggest problem with creating a poly-synth with modular capability is the sheer number of components and connections required. For full true polyphony, each note you play on the keyboard must have a dedicated synth path with envelopes, filters, amplifiers and oscillators. In other words, each note must have its own full mono-synth. This would lead to a completely excessive number of patch points necessary to control each element of the instrument. Modular synthesizers already have enough patch points that many users feel overwhelmed by the number of cables and patch points.
Even in the world of monosynths, many manufactures and users have found that a semi-modular system is less overwhelming and provides better results. Through these systems the synthesizer is already ‘hard-wired’ in a preset architecture, but also allows users to customize the sound path through patch points. The most famous of these is the ARP-2600, one of the original synthesizer units from the 1970s. https://www.vintagesynth.com/arp/arp.php
Arturia had already developed a semi-modular system in their ‘matrix-brute’, by bypassing the cables altogether, and replacing patch points with a digital button system.
By using this semi modular system and adding a modular matrix, Arturia was able to bypass the excessive number of patch points required for a modular polysynth and instead create a usable and completely approachable polysynth. By using a semi-modular systems, less technologically inclined users can easily sit down and play the instrument without using cables and building the synth, while users who want to delve deeper into the architecture of the synth can easily press a few buttons and change the layout of components and control parameters with any of the synth’s control functions.
In summary, regardless of the color, the PolyBrute is probably the most powerful synthesizer available for purchase right now. Whether the price markup for the new edition is worth the extra money, I can’t completely say, but I can’t say that it’s not a worthy investment either.
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