Superbooth 21: Bastl Instruments Buddy, 4-channel hybrid stereo mixer

September 8, 2021 Synth Anatomy Eurorack, Hardware, News, Superbooth 2021 0

For Superbooth 21, Bastl Instruments is showing Buddy, a new clever 4-channel stereo mixer that accepts modular-level and line-level signals, bringing the best of both worlds to your rack

In 2021 the Superbooth will return to the real world. After a Home Edition in 2020, it will take place next week (15-18 Sept) under special conditions in the FEZ (Berlin).

Since there are still travel restrictions, fewer manufacturers will come this year than in 2019. Many stay at home. Others celebrate their premiere. Unfortunately, Václav Peloušek and his lovely team from Bastl Instruments will be absent this year. But they are showing a new module.

Bastl Instruments BUDDY

Buddy is a clever new 5HP stereo mixer. It has four channels where you have two inputs (A & B) optimized for Eurorack sources (mono/stereo) and two others (C & D) for line-level. So it’s not your typical stereo mixer but one for hybrid setups. A & B inputs have a slight boost (×2 / +6dB) that gives you enough juice for your Eurorack signals. The line channels (C & D) have built-in pre-amps with a boost option up to ×10 / +20dB. The latter also features stereo TRS jack inputs for directly connecting desktop units without further adaptors.

All channels feature a clean boost via the high-quality, low-noise NE5532 op-amp (same as on the Dude). It gives you a clean signal and an option to smoothly overdrive the signal. On the backside, you can chain several Buddy mixers together to expand the number of channels without losing precious inputs. It looks like a super useful stereo mixer especially if you work with external gear. Bastl Instruments gives some application examples:

Eurorack as an effect processor
a stereo mixdown module for all stereo/mono voices
external stereo sound processors with Eurorack voices, Buddy can boost their levels back to modular levels
stereo mixdown attenuator to lower the level for line-level devices.

Václav from Bastl Instruments gives a detailed overview in the official video.