New user comments / questions

[ronaldroy]

New Matrixbrute user here. Wow, what an instrument! Sounds really great and lots to explore, an instrument for life. I think it's what I have been after for decades - a great raw analog synth with buckets of flexibility and playability. Thank you for Arturia for that 4 octave full size keyboard. I don't get the modern mini-keys obsession - ugh.

Coupe of initial comments/questions though.

The effects are interesting but very dark. Is there any talk of being able to raise the frequency of that low pass filter across the outputs (I assume it’s a strong filter to get rid of clock noise from the BBD?) It would be great if that were user assignable, at the least selectable globally. The Doepfer A-188 BBD modules come to mind ...

The sequencer gate length is not modulatable … or is it? I couldn’t assign it as a destination in the matrix but maybe I’m missing something. That seems like a missed trick. I guess you can kind of fake it through release times etc but it’s not really the same.

It’d be great if the sequencer could mimic the Minibrute 2s a bit: ratchets especially! Some simple probability settings wouldn't go astray either. Again, you can fake a few things but it's not really the same.

One or two other quirks that just seem a bit clunky but not deal breakers (like being able to see free places to save patches etc). Any inkling of any more firmware updates or are we done?

[DrJustice]

Congrats on the MxB! :-)

The wet path of the BBDs is a bit a dark, but as you mention it's pretty much the nature of BBDs. What you could do to "expand the envelope" as it were, is to use the insert jack; it sits between the VCA and the FX. All sort of tricks are possible there, like tapping/splitting the audio, processing it (e.g. EQ) before sending it back through the FX and so on.

There's no no gate length (nor tempo...) modulation, but this is a popular feature request. Ratchet is also much requested, but I don't think we'll be seeing that. Here's my best effort in coaxing ratcheting out of the MxB. BE sure to file a tech support ticket with your feature requests to add you weight - the more of us who weigh in, the greater the chance....

So yeah, while the MxB doesn't have every feature invented for synths, its is a pretty capable and great sounding beast with many unique traits.

[ronaldroy]

Another couple:
 
The sequencer auto-start with key-on is slightly annoying. If you switch this off on the panel then start the sequencer it defaults back to being on. Maybe I have misunderstood this??

I would like to have adjustable envelope re-triggering for each oscillator.

Longer envelopes wouldn't go astray.

The Brute factor seems to respond quite differently from its counterpart on the Minibrute 2s. I suppose that's a function of the filters. It really beefs up the low end, screams and is modulatable!

Again: wow, what a synth.

[ronaldroy]

I'll keep dropping them here to double check before I eventually contact Arturia:

Is there a way to change LFO shapes in the Matrix?

I need to do a bit more exploring but I don't seem to get full range modulation of all parameters from the Matrix ... is this a known limitation?

re the brute factor again: I miss the response of the Minibrute 2s - you could really dial in some great harmonics etc. Ironically, the ladder filter sort of gets there but the SP filter distorts, sputters and clicks and not in a good way IMHO.

Speaking of the MB2s, I have difficulty achieving the same lovely snappy shapes on the Matrixbrute. I know you can modulate decay time with the envelope itself to get exponential response etc but it still doesn't quite get there IME. I might need some more experimentation.

I can't engage the glide switch when the sequencer is running, only possible through the Matrix. Maybe this makes sense and I haven't thought it through properly.

It's a shame we can't assign modulation sources in the same way as user destinations. Pitch wheel and noise would be extra useful.

The paraphonic mode can be frustrating. It would be great if it were a bit more flexible. eg, If you turn VCO 3 down, you miss every 3rd note instead of having 2 note paraphony. I know there are other ways to achieve paraphony - maybe this is set in HW?

Brightness to indicate level of modulation in the matrix ... seems like a missed opportunity.

Some sort of rudimentary patch naming on the machine itself would be good.

That's all the rambling for now. Back for more in a couple of weeks.

[ronaldroy]

And another:

Being able to change from Monophonic to Paraphonic on the fly ...

I already mentioned it but pitch wheel as a modulation source would be ace. It's great to be able to add subtle filter and vca modulation (for example) to the pitch wheel to get some nice acoustic-like vibrato. And with all those audio mods up for grabs along with everything else of course, it would be mouth watering.

[DrJustice]

Always good to see a fellow enthusiast being enthusiastic

I'll join in with some more comments.

The Brute factor seems to respond quite differently from its counterpart on the Minibrute 2s. I suppose that's a function of the filters. It really beefs up the low end, screams and is modulatable!
...
re the brute factor again: I miss the response of the Minibrute 2s - you could really dial in some great harmonics etc. Ironically, the ladder filter sort of gets there but the SP filter distorts, sputters and clicks and not in a good way IMHO.

It's already a crazy function...  It' quite varied in the response, depending on the filter modes and settings.

Is there a way to change LFO shapes in the Matrix?

No, none of the switches are modulation destinations. I'd love it if they were...

I need to do a bit more exploring but I don't seem to get full range modulation of all parameters from the Matrix ... is this a known limitation?

I guess it's a balance between being able to go subtle enough or having ultra wide range in some cases. When I need a modulation to go further, I just assign the same destination to one more column and route the same source to that, effectively doubling the range. I've gone as far as stacking 3 modulator instances to reach the required range (an outlier case!).

I can't engage the glide switch when the sequencer is running, only possible through the Matrix. Maybe this makes sense and I haven't thought it through properly.

When the sequencer is enabled the Slide lane is in strict control of the Glide button as you've discovered. It's a design choice that integrates the Glide and the sequencer in a simple way. If you want live control over glide when the sequencer is running, you could set all steps to Slide, and the use the Glide knob to set the glide rate at any time - not the same as a button, but usable.

The paraphonic mode can be frustrating. It would be great if it were a bit more flexible. eg, If you turn VCO 3 down, you miss every 3rd note instead of having 2 note paraphony. I know there are other ways to achieve paraphony - maybe this is set in HW?

Another design choice there. Diversifying into several paraphonic modes might be hard to support intuitively in the UI (hmm... one UI possibility: only use the oscs that are assigned to a filter...).

Some sort of rudimentary patch naming on the machine itself would be good.

I'm a tireless advocate for this myself! 

As for your wish for more performance controls as matrix mod sources, you are using the Macro Knobs I hope? Those are just too cool to have 

[ronaldroy]

Hey thanks for your reply.

I had thought about doubling up with modulation, so thanks for confirming that. I was checking for new user error

Yes, those macro knobs are great but it's not quite the same as using the pitch wheel.

Your solution to assigning voices to paraphony through the filter is very good. When I get round to emailing Arturia, I'll slip that in (crediting you of course). So far I don't have solutions for anything, only hair-splitting complaints!