Bastl Instruments softPop Synthesizer Available To Pre-Order

 

Bastl Instruments has announced that the softPop semi-modular synthesizer is now available to pre-order.

softPop is a semi-modular light and sound synthesizer, with a fully analog core, consisting of a heavily feedbacked system of dual triangle-core oscillators, state variable filter and sample and hold.

Here’s the official video preview:

Features:

  • fully analog core and signal path
  • 6 faders for controlling two VCOs and VCF and their cross modulations
  • two wide range triangle-core VCOs 0 & 1
    • quantizer for VCO 0 (auto-tuner)
    • VCO 1 has variable waveshape via the modulation setting
  • resonant state variable VCF (bandpass, lowpass, highpass)
  • external input with gain and envelope follower for intuitive sync of VCO 1
  • track & hold circuit for stepped modulations
  • looping pattern generator with two patterns P1 and P2
  • RGB led for psychedelic experience
  • 25-point patchbay
  • secret hack chamber at the back for adventurers
  • aluminum body enclosure
  • built-in speaker
  • wooden handle backplate as accessory (sold separately)

Pricing and Availability

softPop is available now for pre-order at noise.kitchen for 309 EUR excl. Tax. It’s expected to ship in August 2017.  An optional wooden handle backplate is also available.

28 thoughts on “Bastl Instruments softPop Synthesizer Available To Pre-Order”

  2. Everything I bought from this company has broken.
    I had 2 Grandpa Eurorack modules that cracked cause they use wood. Eventually one of the modules just stopped working.
    I also had their granular sampler and after a month it stopped working. Don’t trust this company. I’ll never spend a penny with them again.

    1. Never bought from them, all their stuff looks cheap and cobbled together. I suppose they can’t be called cheap now though.

      1. I have some negative experience as well, when i ordered some stuff from them a while back. They charged me for the order, and kept me hanging with no update about shipping status for well over a month after delivery date. And yes, i tried… talking to them. They didn’t reply to any of my emails.

        All in all i’d say i appreciate these type of smaller companies that keeps creativity fresh. But i’ll be sure to order from a retailer, and not from them next time.

      2. I myself had to send multiple emails when inquiring about a product. After I got the module they never answered a new question about it though. Result: I sold it real fast.

  5. Ordered mine yesterday as soon as i heard it was available. The bitranger is one of the coolest pieces of kit ive picked up in a long time and im excited to see how they play together.

    Im not sold on all of bastls gear, but ive been following casper for a long time and hes really developing some special things and a unique philosophy of instruments, very interested in any of his collaborations. Also the fact they opted for a metal case is heartening, have had bad luck with anything plastic.

  6. I really love the sounds and the flexibility, but for $350? I guess thats boutique company prices. But with options such as the new Roland and decreased priced Behringer D clone, and the Mother-32 you can get new on sale for around $400 i’m not sure where the market is on this.

    Guess its for extremely mobile performers with the built in speaker and battery power

    1. I hear you, prices are coming down all over, it’s a niche thing though and I think people who prefer a different flavor will not overlook it, whatever it was doing to the drum patterns sounded dope

  7. I just don’t get the appeal of these tiny gizmos. Half a dozen of these could get you a real synth and you’d learn how to play a keyboard. I can only assume this is an in between stage for kids too old for Lego but not ready to make the jump to playing an instrument.
    I eagerly await your dismissal of my ‘living in the past’ views. Feed me with your hatred. Do it Skywalker, for I shall only grow stronger.

    1. No hate here, though, after more than 20 years of owning and ‘playing’ with many synths i still have absolutely no interest in learning how to play a keyboard, and very little enthusiasm for owning synths with a traditional keyboard as the primary interface.

      1. No interest in playing a keyboard. Somehow, I find that depressing. Shows a lack of respect for the musical heritage you have inherited.

      2. And how’s that working out for you? Played in many bands? Do you get many paying gigs? Have you had many of your compositions published?

    2. Hmmm…Isnt Brian Eno ‘living in the past’? Pretty sure he never learned to play an instrument.
      All hail Lego!

      1. Incorrect. Eno admitted long ago that despite not seeking an understanding of music theory, it was inevitable that he developed technique and an understanding of musical structure.

        1. No..you are incorrect. My 9yr old can ‘play’ a keyboard better than him. He has said he is not a bad bassist. But all those brilliant albums in the 70’s he played a keyboard in a very rudimentary way…and rather ‘played’ the studio.
          You don’t seem to get it…one can be a synthesist and not be able to play a keyboard…and can be rather successful to boot!
          This is not designed for keyboardists…it’s designed for synthesists.

          1. A synth is not a piano.

            You can play it by pressing one key over and over.

            All the keyboard does is triggers notes at a certain pitch, you still play it whether you just trigger notes or have a learned musical technique that can be applied to other keyboard instruments.

  8. Yes, I wish this had come in a little bit cheaper. UK price of £350-£400 after tax is going to make the possibilities of the SE-2 or Uli Moog better value. Still, if I had more laughing lira, I’d snap one up for the fun potential alone!

  9. I’m a sucker for quirky things like this. But, it’s hard to put a value/price on this. I really dig the sound and it has some great capabilities. Someone said that ecausr of synths like the new Roland Boutique and the Behringer Model-D, the price seems high here. I think that’s a good point. But isn’t this quite different? So how do you price that? Anyhow, I do have some questions about build quality as I’ve heard a negative in these comments? Does anyone else have experience with their synths? in not talking about wood cracking, in talking about reliability of working components.

    1. I think the value in something like this lies between the costs Bastl deals with being a small company, the market value of similar hardware/software and the market desire for boutique noise machines. I already know how I would incorporate this into my studio.. as a sound module for making quirky bits to then develop more in the box with effects/time stretch/resampling or slicing into a drum kit for detailed sequencing… However at $350 USD, I got that covered with software/hardware I spent less/a bit more on which have more universal applications.

      That being said tho, if price was a bit more like $200 I could envision me buying one or even 2

      1. I do like these “experimental” units. But this one is not as crazy-sounding or visually appealing as others –and here comes the most important part– at the same price range ($400 USD!): check the Landscape Stereo Field ($410), or the Lyra-4 ($400 without shipping, $80 as DIY kit!), or the Lorre-Mill Double Knot ($450), or the upcoming Eowave Quadrantid Swarm ($450-500). And, of course, there is the other, even cheaper “regular,” more “useful” gear people already mentioned. To tell the truth, comparing this price to that of the Behringer Model D ($300 USD!), I have to say that the latter is becoming a lot more interesting.

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