Arturia MatrixBrute

Imagine patching a modular synth without touching a single cable—that's the magic of the 16x16 modulation matrix at the core of this beast, letting you route anything to anything with illuminated pins you can tweak on the fly.

Its three analog VCOs deliver massive tones: two exponential ones with UltraSaw, pulse width, triangle metalizer, and subs, plus a linear VCO/LFO for saw, square, triangle, and sine waves with key tracking. Dual filters—a multimode Steiner-Parker and a ladder—each get drive, Brute Factor feedback, and routing options, fed by three envelopes and two LFOs with seven waveforms like S&H and random. The 49-key velocity- and aftertouch-sensitive board supports mono, paraphonic (2 voices, each osc with its own VCA), and duo-split modes, with a 64-step sequencer, arpeggiator, four macro knobs, pitch/mod wheels, audio input for processing, stereo outs, CV/Gate patchbay, MIDI/USB, and 256 presets all instantly accessible via the matrix. At 86x43x11cm and 20kg, it's a sturdy studio centerpiece with hands-on knobs for every parameter.

Players love its brute-force analog growl and matrix creativity for everything from searing leads to experimental soundscapes, though some note the paraphony limits fuller poly chords.