Bastl Instruments' Kastle 2 Wave Bard is a cute, patchable and experimental groovebox that fits in your pocket

As we edge ever-closer to Superbooth - Europe's biggest trade show for electronic music gear, taking place next week - brands big and small are unveiling new products. Next up is Bastl Instruments' Kastle 2 Wave Bard, a compact sample player and patchable groovebox that, astoundingly, isn't the first sampler to reference a vaguely medieval aesthetic that's been released in the past 12 months.

Bastl Instruments says this compact and portable sample player is designed to "empower you to discover new rhythms and riffs through modulation and modularity". Onboard you’ll find a CV and Gate-based pattern generator with physical controls to modulate its output creating your own bespoke beats, triggered from the in-built LFO which can sync to your other gear or run wild, controlling the show.

Bastl describe the Wave Bard as being “semi-autonomous”; being a unit that given enough freedom will essentially compose for you, with in-built inspiration coming from the onboard sound bank lovingly put together by electronic artist Oliver Torr.

Kastle 2 Wave Bard ✨ Patchable Stereo Sample Player - YouTube

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But, of course, Wave Bard really comes into its own when you make it your own. Load the unit with your own samples, apply them to the pattern generator, tweak the sound with pitch and mod knobs and remix the patterns on the fly. A sample knob allows you to switch samples while the length control will adjust decay while turning left will allow you to adjust the attack, going all the way to reversing the sample should you go so far.

There are controls to manipulate the sequencer as it plays and the effected output is under your full command with controls for the stereo delay, chorus/flanger FX and built-in resonant filter with low- and high-pass modes. There's even a mini patchbay on board so you can manipulate the playback by physically wiring its components together into whatever order you like.

Wave Bard has room for eight samples per bank and six factory-loaded banks, with up to 32 banks available in its computer-based editor software should you need more room to breathe. And, by virtue of being battery-powered (on three AAs) in addition to that ubiquitous USB-C port, you really can use it anywhere.

Getting samples inside is accomplished via a simple web-based app – where you can also inject new scales and rhythms to try out – and there’s a generous 89 seconds of mono sample time (that’s 44 in stereo) at a high-quality 44kHz rate. Of course, if you’re after more time or simply love that lower sample-rate sound, you can downgrade and have room to spare.

Wave Bard 2 is priced at €160.

Visit Bastl Instruments' website to find out more.