Best Bastl Instruments Kastle Drum Alternatives

Based on 11 reviews

Having spent about two months with it and countless hours of acid and noise techno jamming, this synth is an absolute blast for live performances, including some live patching, transitioning from one soundscape to another and altering the sequence on the fly, for long uninterrupted jams. The build quality is really well for the price (I expected it to be lower tbh), very nice knobs with enough resistance to not bump some of the very sensitive controls by accident. There's a few things that are missing imo (they are missing on the original as well) like a reset signal input for the sequencer (and MIDI reset), an LFO (for using a square wave to ratchet the envelopes for example) and maybe a CV mixer/attenuator like the Crave has one but one may say it's those limitations that make...

Based on 7 reviews

I've never played an original 2600, but dreamed of owning one since I started playing synthesizers 20 years ago. All I can say is that this is a VERY beautiful instrument. Sounds incredible, very solid build, and playing it is pure joy. Of course, these things are subjective, but something about the format of the 2600 in particular is very special. For me it is an ideal mix of an open and closed system. If you have more modular, you will have a very good time. If you don't, you'll still have a very good time. And if you're looking to get into modular synthesizers, this is arguably the best place to start. I'm not sure how to even do pros/cons. It is a (seemingly) faithful clone of an incredible and difficult to find synth, for a very good price. Oh, and the spring reverb sounds great!

Based on 7 reviews

This synth is one of the most loved ones in my studio. I have bought this when it first came out in 2007, and back then it was a bit glitchy. But after they cleaned up the operating system things have been smooth sailing. If you install the sample license, I would go as far as to say this is the only synth you will ever need. It's really that good. It's a true masterpiece. The oscillators sound great, the modulation matrix is wonderful and the filters sound very good. The only negative aspekt are the effects. But if you use this in production you'll probably record dry anyway for post in the computer. The fx are not extremely bad, but I would have liked a better quality reverb. But hey, that might be just me. A feature I haven't used until later years is the multitimbrality. You have...

Based on 6 reviews

The problem about buying a machine like this is that it raises the bar so high that you need to go to Iridium/Kyra territory to be impressed. It is extremely well thought out in terms of the human interface with 26 access buttons for each major function and 8 knobs to deal with parameters. Amending or starting a patch from new is a total breeze, I find myself able to put very 10 complex patches together in under an hour. Sounds: Contrary to misconception this can sound very analogue when using the traditional saw and square/pulse waveforms with the FAT24DB Ladder filter. A slight detune and you're away. On top of that you get a further 200 or so waveforms which can be scanned during play for complex and evolving tones. The effects section is excellent and the 32 slot mod matrix gives you...

Based on 5 reviews

I spent some time trying to figure out if the P6 with 6 voices, 1 LFO and not the largest set of modulation would be justify the expensive price, considering a Rev-2 16 Voice is considerably less, with considerably more features. But, the P6 sounds absolutely wicked, the price is completely justified. Despite the relatively simple modulation options, this synth pulls of the most amazing, deep and rich sounds. There are many "sweet spots" that can be found in a short amount of time, making for a very immediate experience. Its just such a great synthesizer. Do yourself a favour and get it. Do it once, do it right. Tip: The default patch set is not the most inspiring, so I encourage new users to search out and find better ones.

Based on 5 reviews

This is my first real analogue mono synth. Compared with the VAs I own, all those knobs are a real plus. After some initial fiddling I started to feel right at home with this synthesizer. The synth has an interesting VCO design with a variable waveform selection. Noise (white / pink) is also much appreciated. Base drums and snares, no problem.The ADS (no R) section is strange though, but that is as it is on the original. When recording you need to be on the knobs, since the MIDI interface only does note on/off. This can be a plus or a minus, depending on what you expect. Knobs feel sufficiently solid. A second (and third) one is (are) on my list... My overall conclusion, I'm a happy owner.

Based on 5 reviews

It's a great piece of kit, but it's not perfect. It's very fiddly and not very intuitive to access some of the functions. Since they went for a more vintage aesthetic, the tiny screen often isn't very useful to know what you are doing. So you have to spend some time with the manual. It can be a little hard to visually tell what's entered in the sequencer, I'm sometimes squinting and wondering if it's a trigger or parameter change. But overall, it has a lot of features packed into it, many of which are great for live performance, and invite to playing around. The sequencer is more advanced than you might think, at first glance. And it sounds really, really good, with some unique character.

Based on 4 reviews

It's a Moog and it sounds huge! the Sound Studio One, which consists of the Mother-32 and DFAM go together very well, especially the DFAM gives you a lot of scope for creative sequences using the 8 Pitch and Volume knobs. Patching these outputs from DFAM to Mother-32 Resonance for example produces very interesting sounds. The Sequencer on the Mother-32 is also very intuitive, and you can play aournd with the sequence/step modulation while the sequence is running. Can't go wrong with this combination. highly recommended if you are looking at it and have the cash in your pockets.

Based on 3 reviews

Pour les petits et les grands. C’est étonnamment marrant et intuitif. Lire la notice est vivement conseillé. Par ailleurs, les piles fournies sont inutiles. Mais c’est vraiment très très fun. Et solide. J’ai également un DatoDUO, mais en atelier, c’est la Blipblox qui a du succès. C’est plus direct. Petit bémol : les lumières sont vives et rapides. Attention aux enfants et aux personnes épileptiques. Vraiment. C’est limite dangereux, surtout qu’il n’existe pas un mode sans lumière. Dans tous les cas, super fun et solide. Une vraie trouvaille abordable.

Based on 3 reviews

This boombox is quite unique. It is based around the ymf262 soundchip (opl3), an absolute classic from the DOS era of gaming, with a very distinct sound. If you're already familiar with Twisted Electrons, you know about the MEGAfm, based around the chip used in the SEGA Megadrive, and the TherapSID, I believe from the Commodore 64. There is nothing like this out there; the chip still isn't perfectly emulated in software, and there is no other existing project, indie or otherwise, which surpasses the Blast Beats in terms of music making. The opl3 offers I think 18 channels for either melodic instruments or percussions. The Blast Beats uses 4 melodic and 6 percussions; instead of merging all drum sounds in one, it splits bass drum, snares, tom, open high hat, closed high hat, crash...