Bastl Instruments CITADEL aka EuroKastle 2 is a new module series that brings the experimental Kastle 2 Wave Bard sample player and FX Wizard to Eurorack.
The Kastle mini synths from the Czech company Bastl Instruments were very popular. Portable, experimental, and affordable. They were recently discontinued and replaced by the Kastle 2 generation, which offers more power and capabilities.
With the CITADEL module series, Bastl Instruments is following a path the community already took with the Kastle 1. They transform the Kastle devices into dedicated Eurorack modules, also known as EuroKastle in the DIY community.
Bastl Instruments CITADEL
This EuroKastle step was already expected by many with the popular Kastle 1 generation. It’s very welcome to see that Bastl Instruments has now decided to turn the Kastle 2 generation into these new CITADEL modules.
At launch, the two current Kastle 2 devices are available as modules: the Wave Bard and the FX Wizard. As with its predecessors, its engines are hackable and interchangeable.
This means that if you buy a Wave Bard, you can also install the FX Wizard firmware on it, and vice versa. Great: the CITADEL features a reversible front panel with Wave Bard on one side and FX Wizard on the other side.
It also comes with their custom-designed tool to make the panel switching as seamless as possible. Both modules use the same experimental engines as the regular desktop devices.
However, they adapted the user interface with Eurorack-compatible patch points, replacing the mini-cable sockets. I like the adaptation a lot with the patch cables on top and knobs on the bottom.
Through their introduction to the colorful Eurorack world, these engines become even more powerful, as they benefit from the possibilities of modular synthesis.
For example, sound routing and processing or sequencing that are difficult to implement on the desktop, such as more advanced modulation via additional Eurorack modulators.
Additionally, they have dedicated switches that provide direct, tactile control of the pattern generator for more performative and hands-on control.
Every Bastl Instruments CITADEL series module shares the same main connections, including headphone output, TRS, and USB MIDI connectivity, and a tempo generator with divider/multiplier.
Plus, they offer stereo mixing, integration, LFO, pattern generator, and onboard effects.
CITADEL Wave Bard & FX Wizard
The new Citadel Wave Bard is the Eurorack adaptation of the Kastle 2 Wave Bard, an experimental, patchable stereo sample player with hands-on sound mangling. It is designed to discover new rhythms and riffs through modulation and modularity.
Instead of putting steps with samples on a sequencer, you modulate the sample selection to create a beat where several sounds occur.
On top of that, you can animate sample parameters with modulators and mangle the beats with various built-in effects to the sound design hell—full article about the desktop version here.
Further, the Citadel FX Wizard is a wild, experimental take on a multi-FX processor where modulation and modularity are in its soul.
Use nine stereo effects (stereo delay, flanger/chorus, freezer, auto-panner with ring mod, dirty digital crusher, rhythmic slicer, dirty pitch-shifter, a replayer, and a nuanced shifter.
Spice up the effects using the internal modulators or external signals, you will be immersed in very experimental sound-processing worlds. This ranges from glitching to stuttering and more—full article on the desktop version here.
First Impression
I am particularly pleased with this news as I have always liked the idea of the EurorKastle. Seeing it now with the Kastle 2, officially released by Bastl Instruments, is excellent.
Bastl Instruments Citadel series modules are available now for $319/282€ (incl. tax) from the official website and resellers.
More information here: Bastl Instruments
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