This kalimba is also a synthesizer – and combines the feel of an acoustic instrument with digital synthesis

Superbooth is well underway, and here’s one of the wildest new synths being demoed at the event. Bastl Instruments – the company known for its playful approach to synth design – has unveiled Kalimba, which is basically exactly that: a Kalimba-inspired synthesizer combining a familiar interface with digital synthesis.

Put simply, the unit’s 12 velocity- and touch-sensitive tines, when played, are captured by microphones and touch sensors, which then feed into the internal six-voice synthesis engine, driven by FM synthesis and physical modelling.

The result of three years of development, the Bastl Kalimba is designed to be a synthesizer which responds as expressively as an acoustic instrument. There’s also a built-in accelerometer which affects the FM synthesis engine when you physically tilt and rotate the unit. Neat, right?

Kalimba also features touch points on the front panel for creating pads, pitch slides, timbral modulation and more. There are also two function-assignable touch points on the back of the device.

Kalimba also comes with loaded with an arpeggiator with five modes, even a built-in layering looper, plus a host of presets, custom scales, octave shifting capabilities, and a range of effects, including reverb, delay, bit-crush, overdrive, filters and modulation.

As you might expect, the unit has a built-in speaker for standalone playing, but also has USB-C for MIDI and charging, as well as a stereo output, TRS MIDI input, analogue clock input and another mini jack socket.

“Kalimba has been one of the most challenging development projects Bastl has endured so far,” the company says.

“We have spent more than three years developing this instrument, exploring different casing shapes, tine lengths, materials, internal designs, features and visual directions. We couldn’t be more grateful and proud of the entire Bastl team for what they have accomplished and how much heart they’ve put into this project.”

In terms of availability, Bastl Kalimba is live on Kickstarter, with a number of pricing tiers available ranging from €389 to €550.

Bastl Instruments is showcasing the Kalimba at Superbooth at booth O385.

Learn more at Bastl Instruments. Back the project on Kickstarter.

Sam is the Associate News Editor for Guitar.com and MusicTech. Thoroughly immersed in music culture for the majority of his life, Sam has played guitar for 20 years, studied music technology and production at university, and also written for the likes of MusicRadar, Guitar World, Total Guitar and Metal Hammer.