Bastl Kastle 2 FX Wizard

Add a touch of magic with Bastl’s mini modular effects box.

Behold the magical mystical box of delights that is the Bastl Instruments Kastle 2 FX Wizard. It’s a bit of a mouthful to say, although, unlike the other Kastle boxes, it doesn’t quite fit in your mouth if that’s a helpful measure of size. I’m not sure a wizard would want to use something quite this fiddly, but it’s undoubtedly overflowing with mischief and spellbinding effects.

The FX Wizard is a small but mighty multi‑effects box. It’s made from plastic but feels solid; it has an air of brutal functionality rather than anything approaching beauty or elegance. Although It’s about half as big again as the other Kastles (ARP, DRUM and Kastle 1.5), it has the same layout of seven knobs; three on either side and one in the middle. The additional space has allowed Bastl the room to plough in a bunch more patch points. It retains the patch‑wire modular approach of its companions, which is both fun and frustrating, fiddly and fabulous.

Its size will inevitably be a factor, but assuming the compact form does not put you off then let’s dig in.

Nine Modes To Rule Them All

Within the FX Wizard are nine effects modes. These include Delay, Flanger, Freezer, Panner, Crusher, Slicer, Pitcher, Replayer and Shifter. Most are self‑explanatory and some are less so, but they all make sense very quickly once you start to fiddle with them.

There are only actually three parameters involved in the effect itself; the other four knobs, and the majority of the patching, are to do with modulation. If you look closely at the front panel, you might see the floppy ears of a white rabbit biting hold of three of the knobs; these are the ones that will, presumably, take us down the rabbit hole. The middle knob is usually the dry/wet mix or amount, but this does vary depending on the effect. The top‑right knob is usually time or rate, but again there’s some variation, and the right‑side Feedback knob is...