Arturia Microbrute through Kemper

  • I recently acquired two new pieces of gear: an Arturia Microbrute synth and a Behringer UMC1820 audio interface (which means I'm saying goodbye to my beloved old AKAI EIE Pro -- those cute flick switches and analog VU meters will be sorely missed :( ).


    Anyway, I thought it would be fun to find a way to combine the two.


    One of the reasons I upgraded from the AKAI was that it lacked S/PDIF (the other being that I was running low on IO channels -- I like to keep all my gear connected simultaneously so I can quickly move between instruments). Now that I've finally joined the S/PDIF world, it's not only become a lot easier to reamp, but also to use my Kemper as an outboard effects processor. So I threw together a basic setup in Ableton Live: a midi track to receive and transmit notes from my master keyboard to the MicroBrute, a track to receive audio from the MicroBrute, and a send/return to the Kemper through S/PDIF.


    Guys, I couldn't stop playing. Here's a short recording. The first part is a classic Floyd-ish 70s sound where I've used the direct recording from the Microbrute with a wet-only (delay+reverb) signal from the Kemper. The second part is all Kemper for a gnarly overdriven noodlefest.


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    The profile on the second part is @r_u_sirius 's Bogner Shiva Lead with an auto wah and a Dual Delay.

  • Ever since I used my DX7 with the factory nylon-string guitar patch through my Boss DS1 distortion pedal for an experimental track back in the '80s I've been huge fan of synth-lead sounds through distortion FX, amp sims and whatnot. The way the DS1 added rich harmonic content to what was the most-benign-sounding, FM-synthesis-produced nylon guitar preset was astonishing, and it forever sold me on the concept.


    I loved hearing this, Robrecht; it brought back great memories and fuelled the fire in my belly for including such sounds in my recordings... when they eventually happen...


    Thank you, mate!

  • Cool, you had a DX-7! I hope you've been storing it in a cool, dry place. :D



    I can imagine your excitement back then. I've only recently been really exploring analog synthesis. Metal musicians often just slap some digitally sampled strings on there and call it a day, but that pseudo-orchestral sound always irks me a little -- it's okay as a "filler", if done well, but an analog synth can really be an instrument onto itself.

  • Oh yeah. Unfortunately I've never owned a truly-analogue synth. Tonnes of ROMplers, several samplers and the FM DX7 over the years, but having fiddled with other folks' analogue machines, I very much appreciate the value of the "real thing".


    Cool, you had a DX-7! I hope you've been storing it in a cool, dry place

    I wish! Unfortunately I sold it around 1989, but I regret that to this day. For one thing, a handful of the electric-piano patches inspired me to write about 30 songs in a couple of weeks, so statistically it's been the most-productive synth I've ever owned. It's also the only one I sat in bed with to write and experiment - crossed legs, whacked on a pair of headphones and it was the perfect late-night inspiration machine. I really miss it, man!