Sadly, the PolyBrute does not have the superb tilting front panel of its predecessor. There is a white elephant in the room that I must address before pressing ahead. In addition, Channel Aftertouch and Velocity sensitivity are both present – yes, I am sighing with relief! Instead, the PolyBrute has a generously-sized OLED graphic display, and, subsequently, the fonts are comfortable to read.įrom a player’s perspective, the best experience of an analogue polysynth is five octaves for two-handed performance (especially when a Split voice assign mode is on offer), and here we have it. Gone is the minuscule and slow-updating Kindle-style screen capable of only displaying text. It is heavy, beautifully finished, and the cosmetics are first-class.

Upon unboxing, it was immediately apparent that the PolyBrute is a classy high-end instrument. I truly missed the MatrixBrute – until the PolyBrute arrived and redefined my expectations of what a flagship analogue polysynth could be. Until recently, I would scour the lexicon of used synth trading groups, hoping to chance across a COVID firesale bargain. In the years that followed I’d often miss my daily fix of its unruly snarls, swells and uniquely cantankerous charisma. After the review period ended, much to the relief of my partner (“This one looks like trouble”, he said after I unboxed it and set it up alongside my Moog Voyager), I decided against buying it. Unfortunately, its paraphonic mode gave me a taste of how good a polyphonic MatrixBrute would sound, and I wistfully dreamt that a proper polyphonic version would eventuate someday. It won praise on all but a few aspects in my review, and it was little surprise to learn that it’s a permanent fixture in Orbital’s live touring rig. An inspirational machine in every way, it’s a gem that inspires even the most jaded synth head.

Cosmetically, it commands attention like few synths do with its tilting front panel and exceptional build quality on par with Moog’s finest. From the moment I laid my hands on Arturia’s paraphonic MatrixBrute in 2017, I fell hopelessly in love with it.

Arturia brute