• 12-voice polyphonic
• 61 keys, velocity sensitive
• polyphonic aftertouch
• MPE MIDI
• Ribbon controller
• X/Y/Z touch controller
• panel morphing
• 2 analog oscillators including metalizer, PW & sawtooth
• Oscillator FM
• FM filter
• Noise generator (tunable)
• Mixer with filter routing
• Steiner Parker state-variable filter
  
• 24dB Lowpass Filter
• Filter routing infinitely variable from serial to parallel
• 3 ADSR envelopes
• 3 LFOs (BPM-synchronizable)
• Third LFO with variable waveform and OneShot mode
• Modulation matrix with 12x8 entries
• Random generator for random sounds
• Motion recorder
• Chord Mode
• Arpeggiator
• Step sequencer
• Sequence length up to 64 steps
• 768 presets
• Panel Mode
• Stereo spread
• Effects: Delay, Reverb, EQ, Modulation

Sound generation

The rich basic sound of the Arturia PolyBrute 12 is created with two analogue oscillators that generate the Metalizer, Pulse Width and Sawtooth waveforms in parallel. Metalizer is primarily a triangle waveform with wavefolder, which generates overtones with a metallic character as the value increases. Pulse Width is the classic square wave with pulse width modulation; the sawtooth more than fulfills its task; rich in overtones and powerful. Oscillator 2 also has a sub-oscillator. Oscillator FM and hardsync can be continuously adjusted between the two oscillators. Both tone generators and the tunable noise generator can be found in the mixer section, where the routing to the two filters is also defined for each signal source.

Filters

The color-coded filters are Steiner-Parker state-variable filters and 24dB Lowpass filters. The former is infinitely variable from Lowpass via Highpass to Bandpass and has the Brute Factor known from Arturia synthesizers as an additional parameter, which is basically a feedback circuit within the filter. The SVF has a very grainy sound with increasing resonance. The second filter is a classic 24dB Lowpass filter in the style of the Moog Ladder filter, which will be familiar to many from the Minimoog. The full and rich sound of the LPF is a classic of its kind in its own right. In addition, the second filter has a distortion and can be mixed continuously from serial to parallel in the signal path between the mixer and VCA using the Steiner-Parker filter. There is a master cutoff control with adjustable keyboard tracking for both filters. If you need the Tracking for the filters in detail, you can add this with a quick tap in the modulation matrix.

Modulation

You can see at first glance that no red pencil has been used here. In addition to the keyboard on the left-hand side of the instrument, an X/Y/Z touch controller (aka Morphée) adorns the control panel. X and Y implement finger movements up, down, left and right, Z reacts to pressure. All three can be assigned to any target, which enables expressive and lively playing of the sounds. The ribbon controller is located centrally above the keyboard and measures just over a third of the entire length of the device. The two intensity controls, which direct oscillator 2 to filter 1 and noise to filter 2, are permanently assigned. Two of the three loopable ADSR envelopes are permanently assigned to filters and VCA, but like almost all "generating functions" can be linked to other destinations. Thanks to the fader design, one can attest to this: Form follows function. The modulation sources are joined by three BPM-synchronizable LFOs. The first two each offer seven waveforms and can be monophonic, polyphonic or triggered. LFO 1 can be shifted in Phase and LFO 2 has an adjustable delay (fade in). LFO 3, on the other hand, can freely shape the waveform with Curve and Symmetry and can be switched to OneShot mode.

Effects

The effects section of the PolyBrute 12 consists of delay, reverb, EQ and modulation effects and can be switched either as an insert or send. The Delay is capable of BBD and ping-pong modes and can be synchronized to MIDI-Clock . The Reverb uses reverb, plate and others and covers a wide range from dark atmospheres to industrial halls to the "middle Grand Canyon". The modulation effects include chorus, ensemble and Phaser and provide wafting and floating sounds. In addition, a knob can be used to distribute the voices played in the panorama; a psychoacoustic blessing. :)

Attention recording!

Each sound memory of the Arturia PolyBrute 12 has a programmable, polyphonic sequencer track, which can be up to 64 steps long and can be provided with Shuffle and other playback modes. There is also an arpeggiator with extensive playback options and a motion recorder that can be used to record and automate parameters.