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Arturia PolyBrute, User Manual

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• Powerful, easy-to-use modulation matrix

Performance controls

• Morphée, a 3-D controller that can modulate parameters along the X, Y, and Z

axes simultaneously

• Velocity and Aftertouch (pressure sensitivity)
• Ribbon controller
• Pitch and Modulation wheels
• Octave buttons can shift keyboard range +/- 2 octaves from center
• One Sustain pedal input and two Expression pedal inputs (pedals optional)

Sequencer/Arpeggiator

• Polyphonic up to 6 notes
• Record and play back up to 3 modulation tracks
• Sequences can hold up to 64 steps; arpeggios can have up to 32 steps
• Swing, time division settings
• Multiple playback modes and directions
• Convert arpeggios to sequences
• Step record/editing
• Matrix Arpeggiator mode for constructing complex arpeggios
• Tempo range 30-240 bpm

PolyBrute Editor

• Free, downloadable application for registered PolyBrute owners
• Two-way editing: turn a knob, the editor follows, and vice-versa
• Adjust internal settings quickly, such as envelope curves, timbrality settings, etc.
• Librarian features (organize, search by category, export, import, share with other

users)

• Doubles as a VST plugin for DAW control of external PolyBrute parameters

Other hardware features

• Stereo outputs
• MIDI In/Out/Thru connectors
• Clock In/Out for integration with modular systems
• USB type B connector for use with DAWs and the PolyBrute Editor
• Headphone jack with independent level control

That's a huge list, and it adds up to a HUGE sound. We can hardly wait for you to get your

hands on this instrument! Prepare for your creativity to be set ablaze by PolyBrute.

One more thing: Be sure to visit our website (

www.arturia.com

) to grab the latest firmware,

download the PolyBrute Editor, and check out the tutorials and FAQs.

Musically yours,

The Arturia team

Summary of Contents for PolyBrute

Page 1: ...USER MANUAL...

Page 2: ...lorian Marin BETA TESTING Marco Correia Boele Gerkes Are Leistad Terry Marsden Randy lee ARTURIA SA 2020 All rights reserved 26 avenue Jean Kuntzmann 38330 Montbonnot Saint Martin FRANCE www arturia c...

Page 3: ...n as possible There is a sticker on the bottom panel that contains the serial number of your unit This is required during the online registration process You may want to record these elsewhere or take...

Page 4: ...lways follow the instructions on the instrument 3 Before cleaning the instrument always remove the AC cable When cleaning use a soft and dry cloth Do not use gasoline alcohol acetone turpentine or any...

Page 5: ...nd arpeggiator onboard Motion recorder captures the movement of one control for one shot or looped playback Mixer section can route oscillators and noise generator through one or both filters Portamen...

Page 6: ...ditor Free downloadable application for registered PolyBrute owners Two way editing turn a knob the editor follows and vice versa Adjust internal settings quickly such as envelope curves timbrality se...

Page 7: ...CA ENV 18 3 2 5 Enter the Matrix 19 3 2 6 Add Effects 20 3 3 Save the patch 20 3 4 That was only sound A 20 4 Voice Architecture 21 4 1 A note about tuning 21 4 2 Morph basics 21 4 3 VCOs 1 and 2 22 4...

Page 8: ...e 46 6 5 2 Save to another location 47 6 5 3 Use the PolyBrute Editor 47 7 Working with Mods 48 7 1 Creating a mod route 48 7 1 1 Select the source 48 7 1 2 Assign a destination 49 7 1 3 Edit an exist...

Page 9: ...1 9 5 3 Delete a Modulation track 71 10 Morph Mode 72 10 1 What is Morph Mode 72 10 1 1 Morph vs crossfade 72 10 2 The Morph knob 73 10 3 Morphing with Morph e 73 10 4 Morph and mod routes 74 10 5 Mor...

Page 10: ...ck 95 12 6 3 Sync Metronome 95 12 7 Global Keyboard 96 12 8 Global MIDI 96 12 8 1 MIDI Channels 96 12 8 2 MIDI Output dest 97 12 8 3 MIDI Input src 97 12 8 4 MIDI Arp Seq MIDI out 97 12 8 5 MIDI Local...

Page 11: ...6 Morph e p 36 2 Headphone jack Stereo headphone connector 3 Voice management Control routing p 37 Polyphony Timbrality Wheel Morph e routing Glide p 40 4 Morph control knob p 40 Adjust balance betwee...

Page 12: ...phaser etc Delay Reverb plus controls 5 Sequencer Arpeggiator p 53 Arpeggiator real time step time sequencer step editing hybrid mode 1 1 3 The Matrix panel The Matrix panel is an 8 x 12 96 button gri...

Page 13: ...en PolyBrute has a polarity setting for each pedal so you can use either type 4 Memory Protection On Off When On prevents the PolyBrute s patch memories from being overwritten 5 MIDI In Out Thru Stand...

Page 14: ...thing you can touch on the PolyBrute sends and responds to MIDI which makes it possible to capture and refine whatever happens in pursuit of a sound or a song This can happen over USB the 5 pin DIN co...

Page 15: ...Split LED described later The 96 Matrix buttons select Presets indicate and select Mod routes or show the current sequencer step depending on the active mode You know the rest knobs sliders buttons e...

Page 16: ...2 4 What is digitally controlled analog Unlike early synthesizers PolyBrute has the advantage of digital control over its analog circuitry It s the best of both worlds the warmth and hands on control...

Page 17: ...bank using the 12 rows of 8 buttons in the Matrix panel To load patch B3 in bank 1 for example press the round 1 button under the display if you re not already in bank 1 Then find the third button fro...

Page 18: ...s free fun activate the Hold button Then you can tweak the controls while PolyBrute keeps playing Try other Arp settings Play Mode Time Div Swing and Gate There s a lot of variability right there When...

Page 19: ...ators p 22 generate the waveforms and control the pitch frequency VCF voltage controlled filters p 28 shape the harmonic content Envelopes LFOs and other sources are used to alter modulate parameters...

Page 20: ...s creates a simple sound with no modulation routings that you can use to create an original patch There are two ways to do this Hold the Program left arrow and press Presets or Navigate to Settings Pr...

Page 21: ...ection press the VCO 1 Filter button repeatedly until the LED inside the orange circle is lit The filter sections are color coded to match the circles so this means that VCO 1 is routed to the Steiner...

Page 22: ...its full range You should hear no change to the sound 7 Turn the Sigma Square wave knob to the 12 00 position and move the Saw Triangle wave knob to experiment with the blend between all three wavefor...

Page 23: ...ss and filters out the higher and lower frequencies Resonance emphasizes the corner frequencies As the filter sweeps through its range the center band moves up and down through the audio spectrum 5 Se...

Page 24: ...eaches this level unless the key is released before it gets there Release determines how long it takes the envelope to fade out after the key is released These steps show the function of each stage If...

Page 25: ...ss the large Mods button 2 To connect LFO 1 to VCO pitch Pitch Global press Matrix button D1 The button turns purple to indicate the connection and a pop up window shows Amount 0 semitones 3 Hold a no...

Page 26: ...on hold Save and select that location with the Matrix buttons Instructions for naming the patch are here p 47 3 4 That was only sound A As mentioned earlier every preset is made up of two parallel sou...

Page 27: ...nsistency of pitch keyboard tracking envelope response etc We recommend that you let the circuits stabilize for 5 10 minutes after power up After that if it seems the VCO tuning or filter tracking cou...

Page 28: ...ttings and move one of those controls to access their parameters They are also found at Settings Voice VCO 4 3 2 1 Pulse Width Pulse Width adjusts the distance between the rising and falling edges of...

Page 29: ...upward as in this image 4 3 3 2 Sync 2 1 Oscillator sync is a popular feature on analog synthesizers Normally it takes two forms hard sync or soft sync and the two oscillators are either synced or the...

Page 30: ...output of VCO 2 is greater when the sub oscillator mix is at 50 since both sources are present 4 3 4 2 FM 2 1 FM Frequency Modulation is when the frequency of one oscillator is used to modulate the fr...

Page 31: ...en the sound needs a bit of rasp or timbral chaos 4 4 Mixer Use the knobs to set the relative levels of the VCOs and the noise generator The buttons select the filter routing for each source When both...

Page 32: ...tempo see Sequencer Mode p 53 which can be synced to external sources Rate sets the LFO frequency An LED in the right corner of each LFO module flashes to indicate the rate Waveform buttons move left...

Page 33: ...e some very unusual waveforms Try various rates and waveforms to see what happens For the most predictable results activate the Sync button for both LFOs 4 5 2 1 More about x LFO 1 When x LFO 1 and Si...

Page 34: ...h levels of resonance can drive filters into self oscillation so they are potential sound sources When modulated their timbre varies over time which adds motion to the sound PolyBrute features two typ...

Page 35: ...off Both filters are affected by the Master Cutoff knob which sweeps the cutoff frequencies of both VCFs at the same time To reset the Master Cutoff value to 0 hold the Preset left arrow and turn the...

Page 36: ...olyBrute Here s a simple diagram of the relationship between the filters 4 6 2 VCF 1 Steiner VCF 1 is an enhanced version of the Steiner filter that featured prominently in the Brute series synthesize...

Page 37: ...ed in the Shared features section p 29 except for this one 4 6 3 1 Disto Disto is short for distortion This adjusts the output of the Ladder filter into its VCA the Level control The harder it hits it...

Page 38: ...the settings VCF ENV can also serve as a mod source in the Matrix but by default VCF ENV shapes the VCF cutoff frequency depending on the VCF Env setting for each VCF It can also be assigned in the Ma...

Page 39: ...ave a slow attack with low velocities and a fast attack with high velocities Hold Settings and move the Velo slider for VCF Env or VCA Env to access that envelope s velocity modes A descriptive list o...

Page 40: ...ntire signal through the effects Send uses the Delay and Reverb as a side chain Modulation is always an insert effect Bypass removes all effects from the output Note that when the signal is dry effect...

Page 41: ...truments cannot The Pitch wheel springs back to the center zero position while the Wheel stays where you put it 5 1 1 Pitch The default Pitch wheel range is 2 semitones but there are seven other range...

Page 42: ...es on the Z axis as well All three axes are available as sources in the Mod Matrix and can be routed to as many destinations as you like up to the maximum of 32 Morph e has three options that can be s...

Page 43: ...l Lower hold Timbrality and press Polyphony to change the voice mode for the lower half The LEDs show the status of the selected half There are several variations of each voice mode Cycle Reset Note P...

Page 44: ...er zone can trigger the Sequencer or Arpeggiator so you can play a pattern or arpeggio using the lower zone while playing more notes in the upper zone The lower zone sends receives on MIDI channel 2 b...

Page 45: ...details see Settings p 81 5 4 4 Morph e modes Press the Morph e button repeatedly to select the Morph e assignment Matrix allows each of the axes to be routed to multiple parameters at the same time...

Page 46: ...he knob is turned a graphic on the left side of the display goes up and down The current position of the Morph knob is stored with the patch and that becomes the starting point for the morph mods For...

Page 47: ...w I and route it to any destination you like There s a handful of global aftertouch settings at Settings Keyboard Aft Sensitivity 5 9 Expression pedals Let your feet have some fun too Each expression...

Page 48: ...move after the Note On is the one being recorded The original value of the control becomes the zero point for playback The relative motion of the control is captured not the actual parameter values Wh...

Page 49: ...y To access these settings for the lower half when it is in Poly mode hold Timbrality for 1 second Choose one setting from the Poly column and one from the Steal column Poly Cycle uses the first avail...

Page 50: ...ices used by a zone in Unison mode read this section p 37 Choose one setting from the Priority column and one from the Legato column Priority Lower The lowest note is played and higher notes are ignor...

Page 51: ...nce To recall a Snapshot or compare it to the current preset hold Settings and press Save The display looks like this The Snapshots are listed chronologically hours minutes seconds with the most recen...

Page 52: ...Program at the same time to load the panel settings This replaces the current preset with the actual positions of the knobs and sliders To restore the edited preset hold Settings press Save and use A...

Page 53: ...the Save procedure if you want Assign 2 7 show the options Exit Save mode with Assign 2 Select a specific character with the Amount knob Press Assign 3 or Assign 4 to jump to the first character in a...

Page 54: ...n those 32 routes 7 1 Creating a mod route Setting up a modulation route is quick and easy Press the Mods button to enter Mods mode The display looks something like this The top row of the display pro...

Page 55: ...button F1 again A dark button means there is no connection 8 Press F1 again to reconnect the route then press any other Matrix button F1 turns blue to indicate an active mod route and the purple butt...

Page 56: ...ns If you try to add a 65th mod connection the message No More Slots Available lets you know you ve reached the limit Descriptions of each source are here p 52 For information on a particular destinat...

Page 57: ...any of the other 12 sources to modulate the destination assigned to Matrix cell F1 It s also possible to modulate a mod route from a different page To do this Locate the target mod route be sure it is...

Page 58: ...summed with Morph e axis Y L Exp 2 Z Output voltage of Expression pedal 2 summed with Morph e axis Z 7 2 1 What is the Voices source The Voices mod source provides certain values based on the voice n...

Page 59: ...ive when a preset is loaded This tells you that the keyboard has been split and that the lower part of the keyboard will transpose the sequence PolyBrute doesn t need to be in Sequencer mode to record...

Page 60: ...ted note value 8 1 5 Swing percent Press Swing to select the swing percentage This only affects playback it does not alter the location of the original notes 8 1 6 Rate Rate dials in the sequencer tem...

Page 61: ...ts depend on the Velo slider settings for VCF ENV and VCA ENV 8 2 1 ARP home page Enter Sequencer mode and press ARP You ll see the Arpeggiator mode home page where the Octave range can be set and an...

Page 62: ...that are held are used to generate a pattern with a default length of 16 steps The pattern can pick notes from any octave within the Octave range settings When the number of held notes changes a new...

Page 63: ...keyboard is split in Sequencer mode with the lower zone triggering and transposing the sequence and the upper zone open for playing live Hold Timbrality and press a key to set the split point 8 3 1 2...

Page 64: ...the left one All of the included events are disabled This works whether a sequence is looping or not 8 3 2 3 Accents and slides Use the buttons in the Acc row to toggle Accents on and off for specific...

Page 65: ...s you ve entered step edit mode The full details about step editing are here p 69 Turn the Amount knob clockwise to lengthen the step and more red LEDs appear to the right with the first one brighter...

Page 66: ...Overwrite and Overdub When not recording Assign 8 can temporarily mute the sequence note data While recording Assign 8 becomes Erase Current Step Hold Assign 8 and press a step to erase it 8 3 3 3 Mo...

Page 67: ...dly to step through the various options 8 3 5 Sequence length A sequence can be as short as 1 step and as long 64 steps The fastest way is to hold Seq Length and use Assign 1 4 to select one of the pr...

Page 68: ...th a press release of the Record button while the sequencer is playing To record control movements return to the home page and press Assign 4 Then read the Modulation track section p 63 If a control i...

Page 69: ...n the Sequencer home page to select the Modulations view The names of the recorded controls appear in the display at Assign slots 5 7 To delete a Modulation track hold Assign 8 and press the Assign bu...

Page 70: ...ere are some things to know Row A adds a slide to that step Row B adds an accent to that step Row C enables a step to play a note This arpeggio has rests at steps 2 6 and 7 Rows D I represent held not...

Page 71: ...ain If you hold the Matrix button for 1 seconds before turning the Amount knob the other cells in the same column will be cleared You ll need to re enable them if you want that step to be polyphonic 8...

Page 72: ...current sequence with the contents of the temporary buffer 8 5 3 Paste sequence and automation Hold Sequencer and press Assign 3 to paste the entire contents of the temporary buffer into the sequence...

Page 73: ...s of up to three controls on the Modulation tracks To enter Step record mode stop the pattern if it s playing and press the Record button The pattern locates to step 1 Here s some of what you can do P...

Page 74: ...s A slide affects the transition into the current step Glide time must be sufficient to hear the slide Press Assign 8 to erase the current step It will take with it any tied steps Tap can erase any st...

Page 75: ...he step and change its duration 9 4 1 Add delete notes Use the keyboard to add notes to the step As notes are added the same number of Matrix buttons are lit red and they stay red as long as the notes...

Page 76: ...ve notes Press the left most blue button of a row to remove that note from the chord 9 4 3 Select a purple step Touch one of the purple buttons it turns red to show it is the current step Add one or m...

Page 77: ...ery 0 7s 9 5 1 Enter edit one mod step Move one of the three chosen controls to edit its value at that step If a mod event did not exist for that control on that step a button on its Modulation track...

Page 78: ...his example 1 Initialize the patch and turn the Morph knob to its halfway point so you can modify sounds A and B equally 2 In the Mixer section set VCO 1 level to zero and VCO 2 level to maximum 3 Set...

Page 79: ...on is set to Morph some interesting things happen between the X and Y axes Moving from left to right along the bottom morphs the X axis from minimum to maximum Moving on the left side from bottom to t...

Page 80: ...ttons are lit Mods and Morph 8 You can now set LFO 1 waveform to something different 9 Now play a note and turn the Morph knob from A to B the LFO changes gradually between the two As you can see ther...

Page 81: ...the level to the desired value 10 5 1 2 Edit B Use Assign 2 to access and change the settings for sound B Inside this mode you can Change the values for any voice engine parameter except as noted here...

Page 82: ...ds that are similar in some ways and drastically different in only a few ways Use this option to copy sound A into sound B and then edit each sound as you see fit 10 5 2 3 Current to A If the current...

Page 83: ...FO1 Amp LFO 1 3 Sync on off Octave button settings LFO 3 Retrig on off Glide settings Time Rate Continuous Chromatic Scale LFO 3 Single on off Matrix destinations LFO 3 x LFO 1 on off FX routing Inser...

Page 84: ...effects using the PolyBrute Editor software Note that all of the Effects section knobs can be modulation destinations in the Matrix 11 1 FX routing Insert routes the entire output signal through the e...

Page 85: ...you re creating Flanger Phaser 12p RingMod BitCrusher Soft Floanger Phase Flanger DownSampler 11 3 Delay 11 3 1 Delay controls Delay Level controls the output of the selected Delay effect Delay Time a...

Page 86: ...trols the output of the selected Reverb effect Reverb Time adjusts the time it takes for the Reverb to decay Reverb Type selects one of these options Hall recreates the reflections of a fairly large a...

Page 87: ...cation Delay Settings Morph e Modes Edit Sound Designer Reverb Settings Ribbon Modes Exp1 Settings Exp2 Settings 12 1 2 Preset Voice settings VCO Envelopes LFO Allocation VCO 1 Tune Modulation VCF Vel...

Page 88: ...Time 12 2 Preset Voice The Settings Voice category has four main areas VCO Envelopes LFO and Allocation 12 2 1 Voice VCO Use Assign 1 5 to choose the item to configure 12 2 1 1 VCO1 Tune modulation T...

Page 89: ...on 12 2 1 3 Metalizer mode Legacy is how the Metalizer works in all prior Brutes only the triangle wave is folded Level processes all VCO 1 waveforms For the engineers among you here s a diagram of th...

Page 90: ...etween sounds A and B Chromatic VCO 1 2 Tune changes in semitones between sounds A and B A B When the Morph knob is between A and halfway VCO 1 gives the A setting When the knob is between halfway and...

Page 91: ...envelope once The Repeat options run the envelope 2 or 3 times Looping runs the envelope indefinitely When Sustain is at a non zero value the Repeats and Loops include the Release stage 12 2 2 2 VCF V...

Page 92: ...voices Retrig On Off controls if the mono LFO will retrigger when a new note is played When Retrig ON the mono LFO will retrigger When Retrig OFF the mono LFO will not retrigger Use Assign 5 6 to cho...

Page 93: ...oly Reset starts with the first available voice every time a note is played Poly Unison plays the first note using voice 1 stacks voices 2 6 on the second note played leaves voice 2 on note 2 and stac...

Page 94: ...Assign 5 6 affect whether the envelopes will reset when the keys are played legato i e if a second note is triggered while the first note is still held When Legato is ON they will not reset when it i...

Page 95: ...hes 12 3 2 Out Stereo modes Use Assign 1 2 to define the operation of the stereo control For descriptions of each mode see the Stereo spread section p 33 Use Assign 5 6 to define the distribution of t...

Page 96: ...ertz not synced Binary Triplet or Dotted synced When one of the synced options is selected the delay time division is displayed as the Delay Time knob is turned 12 3 4 2 Delay Filters 12 3 4 3 Delay A...

Page 97: ...e the ones that can be selected for and saved with the patch you re creating Bright Plate Room Dreamy Springy Delayed Plate 12 4 Preset Expression control The Settings Expression Control category has...

Page 98: ...sign 5 8 to specify whether the glide will be smooth Continuous Chromatic or follow a preset scale 12 4 4 Expression Morph e Use Assign 1 4 to define the Morph e response Tap Absolute Instant return t...

Page 99: ...Exact values are determined by physical position of the finger Relative The physical position of the finger becomes the zero point for modulation Motion to the left generates values that decrease fro...

Page 100: ...eration or press any button from 5 to 8 to validate the operation 12 5 2 Preset info Details This option shows information about the current patch type sound designer and revision number 12 5 3 Preset...

Page 101: ...nt and received via the Sync jacks on the rear panel There are four options One Step advances the Sequencer Arpeggiator by one step with each clock impulse that is received 2PPQ sends and receives two...

Page 102: ...has six options as pictured below 12 8 1 MIDI Channels Use Assign 1 4 to enter the desired menu 12 8 1 1 Input Channel upper lower The pages for the upper and lower zones are identical so both are des...

Page 103: ...Assign 1 2 to make a selection ON sends the output of the Seq Arp section to the MIDI output OFF does not send the data over MIDI 12 8 5 MIDI Local control Use Assign 1 2 to make a selection ON enable...

Page 104: ...catch Use Assign 1 3 to make a selection These control responses are defined here p 10 12 9 3 Misc Factory reset Use Assign 1 4 to cancel this operation or use Assign 5 8 to restore all Global paramet...

Page 105: ...on the left and use Assign 1 to set that as the point that will produce the minimum modulation output value Ribbon Center Touch the ribbon in the middle and use Assign 2 to set that as the halfway poi...

Page 106: ...f your PolyBrute 12 9 7 Misc Pedals Use Assign 1 3 to select the expression pedal to configure 12 9 7 1 Polarity Expression 1 and 2 and Polarity Sustain 12 9 8 Misc Sleep Time Use Assign buttons to se...

Page 107: ...velocity sensitive channel aftertouch adjustable curves Performance controls Morph e a 3 D controller that can modulate parameters along the X Y and Z axes simultaneously Aftertouch pressure sensitiv...

Page 108: ...ameter MIDI CC STEINER FILTER Parameter MIDI CC MIXER Parameter MIDI CC Cutoff 25 Cutoff 23 VCO 1 18 Resonance 87 Resonance 83 VCO 2 19 Disto 85 Brute Factor 82 Noise 21 Series Para 86 LP HP BP 81 VCF...

Page 109: ...r MIDI CC FILTERS COMMON Parameter MIDI CC Mod Intensity 13 Rate 116 Master Cutoff 27 Delay Level 31 Gate 118 Key Track 71 Delay Time 112 Regeneration 113 Reverb Level 2 Reverb Time 74 Damping 76 Artu...

Page 110: ...s other than storage purposes You shall have no further right or interest to use the software other than the limited rights as specified in this Agreement Arturia reserves all rights not expressly gra...

Page 111: ...apply to you All programs and accompanying materials are provided as is without warranty of any kind The complete risk as to the quality and performance of the programs is with you Should the program...

Page 112: ...in all the installations If this product is found to be the source of interferences witch can be determined by turning the unit OFF and ON please try to eliminate the problem by using one of the follo...

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