We say...
A pre-owned Bastl Instruments Kastle 1.5 in excellent condition. It comes with original packaging and accessories
Manufacturer's description
Traveling light? Bastl has got you covered. We've managed to pack a lot of energy and soul into a tiny box named the Kastle.
The Bastl Kastle is a mini modular synthesizer you can play anywhere. It's powered by just 3 AA batteries or a regular micro USB charger, and it offers a headphone output and 2 in/out ports for interfacing other gear, be it a keyboard, a groove box, or a Eurorack synth.
The device is DIY-friendly and ideal for beginners in synthesis, but it will also add unique functionality to any full-sized modular synthesizer system. It delivers the fun of modular at a low cost, and it fits into your pocket so you can play it anywhere.
As Sound on Sound’s Paul Nagle summarizes Kastle in his review: “It’s a stand-alone synth, a modulation source for your modular and can live in your pocket ready to impress your friends. You’d have to be pretty hard-hearted to find no pleasure in it.”
Be an operator with a pocket calculator
The Kastle has a unique digital lo-fi sound, and it can be melodic, rhythmic, as well as very noisy and droning, soft or harsh. It was designed to be fun on its own, but it thrives the most in an ecosystem of other modular gear.
The Kastle is an open-source DIY project which runs on two Attiny 85 chips that can be reprogrammed with an Arduino (simply Google "programming Attiny 85 with Arduino"). One chip is dedicated to sound generation while the other handles modulation. Several versions of firmware for the Attiny chips are available via GitHub.
The 1.5 version combines a complex oscillator and LFO with a stepped waveform generator.
The oscillator section has 3 sound parameters: PITCH, TIMBRE, and WAVESHAPE – all under voltage control, offering 6 different synthesis modes. It has a main output and a secondary waveform output. Both can be used independently or in combination. The 3 synthesis modes available through the main output are: phase modulation, noise mode, and track & hold modulation. There are 3 more modes on the secondary OSC output: phase distortion, tonal noise mode, and formant synthesis. Each mode utilizes one or two oscillators. The PITCH parameter controls the main oscillator, the TIMBRE sets the PITCH of the modulating oscillator, and the WAVESHAPE depends on the synthesis mode.
The voltage controllable LFO has a triangle and square output and a reset input. The stepped waveform generator is inspired by the Rungler circuit by Rob Hordijk. It can produce 8 different voltages either in random order or in 8 or 16 step looping patterns depending on how the BIT IN is patched.
Features
- complex oscillator
- 3 synthesis modes on the main output: phase modulation, noise mode, track & hold modulation
- 3 more modes on the secondary OSC output: phase distortion, tonal noise mode, formant synthesis
- PITCH control with offset and CV input with attenuator
- TIMBRE control with offset and CV input with attenuator
- WAVESHAPE control with offset and CV input
- voltage controllable LFO with triangle and square outputs and reset input
- stepped voltage generator with random, 8-step, and 16-step loop mode
- 2 I/O CV ports that can be routed to any patch point
- the main output can drive headphones
- 3x AA battery operation or USB power selectable by a switch
- open source
- possibility of exchanging different LFO and OSC chips
- durable black & silver PCB enclosure
How much is my shipping?
Shipping is automatically calculated before you submit your payment information. Simply add items to your cart and proceed to the checkout page, where you'll be offered shipping options and their prices. In the UK, 'next working day' shipping is free if the order value is over £150, and £5 otherwise. We can also ship on a 'next working day before 12pm' service, which costs £6 for orders over £150 and £7.50 for orders under £150.
Do you ship to my country?
Almost certainly - the site will give you an estimate of shipping costs if you add an item to the cart and then enter your country and postcode. If you have specific requirements (such as if you prefer UPS over FedEx, for example) then let us know in advance and we'll try to work something out for you.
Shipping methods
We use a combination of DPD and Royal Mail for the UK, and for international orders it's either DPD, DHL, FedEx, UPS or Royal Mail depending on where you are in the world. If you have a particular preference then try to let us know BEFORE you order so we can look into it for you. Please note that there may occasionally be additional shipping charges if you live in a remote area, depending on what surcharges are applied by the shipper. We'll get in touch to discuss this with you in such cases.
Dispatch times
For UK orders, we normally dispatch the same working day if we get the order before 16:00. If you have a really urgent situation then of course drop us an email before ordering and we'll always do our absolute best to accommodate you.
For international orders, we normally dispatch the same day if we get the order before 13:00 but again, occasionally it might be the next day before we can send it out, and sometimes the couriers may come to collect a little earlier than scheduled which would also push an order into the next day.
Saturday/Sunday delivery
If you're in the UK and you order before 16:00 on a Friday then we can send something for a Saturday or Sunday delivery with DPD. This is FREE for order values over £350, £5 for order values between £75 and £250, and £7 for order values under £75. (NB: this applies to UK mainland addresses only). Please note that any orders placed after 16:00 on a Friday will ship on the Monday.
International shipping times
Most orders are delivered within 3 to 5 working days if sent on a courier service. Royal Mail services can take a lot longer and are often less secure.
Pre-orders
If a product is listed as a pre-order, it means we've ordered it from the supplier but it's not physically in stock yet. The product listing will include an estimated shipping date based on the best information we have from the supplier, but do bear in mind this is subject to change and is not a guaranteed date.
If you place an order containing a mixture of in-stock and pre-order items, we'll normally hold off on shipping anything until the pre-order item(s) have arrived, rather than splitting it into multiple shipments. If you need the in-stock items sooner, we'd recommend placing separate orders. As always, please get in touch if you have questions.
Product Overview
We say...
A pre-owned Bastl Instruments Kastle 1.5 in excellent condition. It comes with original packaging and accessories
Manufacturer's description
Traveling light? Bastl has got you covered. We've managed to pack a lot of energy and soul into a tiny box named the Kastle.
The Bastl Kastle is a mini modular synthesizer you can play anywhere. It's powered by just 3 AA batteries or a regular micro USB charger, and it offers a headphone output and 2 in/out ports for interfacing other gear, be it a keyboard, a groove box, or a Eurorack synth.
The device is DIY-friendly and ideal for beginners in synthesis, but it will also add unique functionality to any full-sized modular synthesizer system. It delivers the fun of modular at a low cost, and it fits into your pocket so you can play it anywhere.
As Sound on Sound’s Paul Nagle summarizes Kastle in his review: “It’s a stand-alone synth, a modulation source for your modular and can live in your pocket ready to impress your friends. You’d have to be pretty hard-hearted to find no pleasure in it.”
Be an operator with a pocket calculator
The Kastle has a unique digital lo-fi sound, and it can be melodic, rhythmic, as well as very noisy and droning, soft or harsh. It was designed to be fun on its own, but it thrives the most in an ecosystem of other modular gear.
The Kastle is an open-source DIY project which runs on two Attiny 85 chips that can be reprogrammed with an Arduino (simply Google "programming Attiny 85 with Arduino"). One chip is dedicated to sound generation while the other handles modulation. Several versions of firmware for the Attiny chips are available via GitHub.
The 1.5 version combines a complex oscillator and LFO with a stepped waveform generator.
The oscillator section has 3 sound parameters: PITCH, TIMBRE, and WAVESHAPE – all under voltage control, offering 6 different synthesis modes. It has a main output and a secondary waveform output. Both can be used independently or in combination. The 3 synthesis modes available through the main output are: phase modulation, noise mode, and track & hold modulation. There are 3 more modes on the secondary OSC output: phase distortion, tonal noise mode, and formant synthesis. Each mode utilizes one or two oscillators. The PITCH parameter controls the main oscillator, the TIMBRE sets the PITCH of the modulating oscillator, and the WAVESHAPE depends on the synthesis mode.
The voltage controllable LFO has a triangle and square output and a reset input. The stepped waveform generator is inspired by the Rungler circuit by Rob Hordijk. It can produce 8 different voltages either in random order or in 8 or 16 step looping patterns depending on how the BIT IN is patched.
Features
- complex oscillator
- 3 synthesis modes on the main output: phase modulation, noise mode, track & hold modulation
- 3 more modes on the secondary OSC output: phase distortion, tonal noise mode, formant synthesis
- PITCH control with offset and CV input with attenuator
- TIMBRE control with offset and CV input with attenuator
- WAVESHAPE control with offset and CV input
- voltage controllable LFO with triangle and square outputs and reset input
- stepped voltage generator with random, 8-step, and 16-step loop mode
- 2 I/O CV ports that can be routed to any patch point
- the main output can drive headphones
- 3x AA battery operation or USB power selectable by a switch
- open source
- possibility of exchanging different LFO and OSC chips
- durable black & silver PCB enclosure
Technical Specs
Shipping Details
How much is my shipping?
Shipping is automatically calculated before you submit your payment information. Simply add items to your cart and proceed to the checkout page, where you'll be offered shipping options and their prices. In the UK, 'next working day' shipping is free if the order value is over £150, and £5 otherwise. We can also ship on a 'next working day before 12pm' service, which costs £6 for orders over £150 and £7.50 for orders under £150.
Do you ship to my country?
Almost certainly - the site will give you an estimate of shipping costs if you add an item to the cart and then enter your country and postcode. If you have specific requirements (such as if you prefer UPS over FedEx, for example) then let us know in advance and we'll try to work something out for you.
Shipping methods
We use a combination of DPD and Royal Mail for the UK, and for international orders it's either DPD, DHL, FedEx, UPS or Royal Mail depending on where you are in the world. If you have a particular preference then try to let us know BEFORE you order so we can look into it for you. Please note that there may occasionally be additional shipping charges if you live in a remote area, depending on what surcharges are applied by the shipper. We'll get in touch to discuss this with you in such cases.
Dispatch times
For UK orders, we normally dispatch the same working day if we get the order before 16:00. If you have a really urgent situation then of course drop us an email before ordering and we'll always do our absolute best to accommodate you.
For international orders, we normally dispatch the same day if we get the order before 13:00 but again, occasionally it might be the next day before we can send it out, and sometimes the couriers may come to collect a little earlier than scheduled which would also push an order into the next day.
Saturday/Sunday delivery
If you're in the UK and you order before 16:00 on a Friday then we can send something for a Saturday or Sunday delivery with DPD. This is FREE for order values over £350, £5 for order values between £75 and £250, and £7 for order values under £75. (NB: this applies to UK mainland addresses only). Please note that any orders placed after 16:00 on a Friday will ship on the Monday.
International shipping times
Most orders are delivered within 3 to 5 working days if sent on a courier service. Royal Mail services can take a lot longer and are often less secure.
Pre-orders
If a product is listed as a pre-order, it means we've ordered it from the supplier but it's not physically in stock yet. The product listing will include an estimated shipping date based on the best information we have from the supplier, but do bear in mind this is subject to change and is not a guaranteed date.
If you place an order containing a mixture of in-stock and pre-order items, we'll normally hold off on shipping anything until the pre-order item(s) have arrived, rather than splitting it into multiple shipments. If you need the in-stock items sooner, we'd recommend placing separate orders. As always, please get in touch if you have questions.
