Post by thetechnobear on Sept 5, 2018 16:40:57 GMT
this is a very quick and easy hack that anyone can do 
The Bastl Kastle is a fun little synth that runs off batteries, and its patching is based on patch wires and 5v like the AEM.
so its compatible to just cross-patch - as Ive shown in previous videos.
but honestly, it got stuck in my cupboard and I forget to pull it out, so I thought why not make it a module,
it'll be much easier to patch in the modular, and I'll likely use it a bit more.
what do we get from doing it?
a) a fun oscillator, timbre,waveform, pitch can be modified/modulated, (not v/oct!)
b) lfo with adjustable rate (sqr/tri) , with flashing led
b) odd bit sequencer.
it takes 3HP/slots ... though there would be a little room for some mods if you wanted to add.
steps
ok, its really simple, as all we are doing is grabbing power and ground from AEM.
Im assuming you already have a built Kastle.
(what I do hear is easily reversible should you wish to put in back in its box)
I suggest you go to the bastl website, and look for the Kastle build guide, as this has great pictures of inside, so you can see whats going on, there are also full schematics.
(this is a Kastle 1, though the 1.5 looks pretty much the same, just additional USB for power, but that does not affect this process)
step 1 : disassemble Kastle
remove the front screw, and also the nut from the on/off switch,
now you can carefully take the front off, and then the sides.
step 2: remove battery compartment
remove the screw in the battery compartment. (it wont come off yet as its solder)
ok, doing this with care can help
battery compartment is soldered on on 3 points, 2 on one side, BAT - BAT +, and one on the other called HOLD
snip HOLD close to the circuit board , as this does nothing but hold battery compartment.
snip BAT- and BAT + nearer the battery compartment (reason will be clear in a moment)
battery compartment is now loose.
step 3: power
so now look at the two wires and you can see BAT + / BAT -, on the board (top one is BAT +)
now desolder these wires, you left them longer so they are easier to pull out with tweezers
now solder a red wire to BAT + , try to get it thru the hole in the circuit board (I just did this by letting the solder flow)
now do the same with a black wire for BAT - (ok, I had grey)
make sure you get this the right way around !
step 4: creating a case
ok, so this depends what you have...
I had some old plastic , so I cut it to 10 x 7.5 cm, and then cut a hole a bit smaller than the Kastle faceplate (you can do a tidier job that i did !)
I then glued the faceplate to the 'module cover' ...
(you wont want to do this if you want to be able to reverse, perhaps use some very small screws through the slots in the Kastle faceplate?)
(I also happen to have an standoff that could support the middle, that was roughly the right size, but thats not needed)
I then screwed the kastle circuit board back to the front panel, and put the nut on the switch.
but really this step is 'up to you', based on effort and creativity...
you can do as you want, if you really want to go to town, you could probably get something laser cut with all the holes...
or do it with cardboard, ideally you want something pretty thin (1-2mm) but strong,
unfortunately, we didn't have any 3HP AEM blank faceplates as that would be ideal... you could use A 4HP, if you have the space, or can think of some extras to add, to use the extra module space.
step 5: powering from AEM
ribbon connector, so I had a a 2x5 male header connector, and a bit of spare protoboard, so i soldered and then hot glued to the module faceplate,
if you don't have these you could just connect directly to the ribbon cable with wires. (the only 'danger' here, is you must remember to do this the correct way around each time you unplug/plug it in )
IMPORTANT:
the top two pins on the ribbon are +5v , connect to your RED/BAT + cable
the next two are GROUND, connect to your BLACK/BAT- cable
this is detailed on the tangible waves website here
step 5 : have fun patching
Thats it, pop it in your case and viola the job is done.
so a couple of points:
a) there is no access to the 3.5mm I/O
they are not needed...
you have direct access to the patch wires, so the CV i/o is not really necessary , and we have on AEM.
output, you can take directly from the OSC OUT patch wire outputs.
b) on/off switch
I was actually going to use the switch to go between normal 5v power, and 'starved' 5v power , like the Olegtron , as its an easy mod.
but when I tried, it really didn't do much, lower voltage gave slightly lower pitches, and then the processor just fails, rather than become 'interestingly' glitchy, which is what I'd nope.
so I could have removed it, and just short it - but i decided to leave in place - jut in case i want to reverse the process, or can think of another hack/mod for it.
anyway, thats it... easy to do...
its a great little synth box, and its really fun to extend it with the AEM, in particular the AEM adds a VCA and ENV, so I think you can get much more out of it.
and for AEM, its a quite different sound, and the adjustable rate LFO is also quite handy
enjoy
Mark
The Bastl Kastle is a fun little synth that runs off batteries, and its patching is based on patch wires and 5v like the AEM.
so its compatible to just cross-patch - as Ive shown in previous videos.
but honestly, it got stuck in my cupboard and I forget to pull it out, so I thought why not make it a module,
it'll be much easier to patch in the modular, and I'll likely use it a bit more.
what do we get from doing it?
a) a fun oscillator, timbre,waveform, pitch can be modified/modulated, (not v/oct!)
b) lfo with adjustable rate (sqr/tri) , with flashing led
b) odd bit sequencer.
it takes 3HP/slots ... though there would be a little room for some mods if you wanted to add.
steps
ok, its really simple, as all we are doing is grabbing power and ground from AEM.
Im assuming you already have a built Kastle.
(what I do hear is easily reversible should you wish to put in back in its box)
I suggest you go to the bastl website, and look for the Kastle build guide, as this has great pictures of inside, so you can see whats going on, there are also full schematics.
(this is a Kastle 1, though the 1.5 looks pretty much the same, just additional USB for power, but that does not affect this process)
step 1 : disassemble Kastle
remove the front screw, and also the nut from the on/off switch,
now you can carefully take the front off, and then the sides.
step 2: remove battery compartment
remove the screw in the battery compartment. (it wont come off yet as its solder)
ok, doing this with care can help
battery compartment is soldered on on 3 points, 2 on one side, BAT - BAT +, and one on the other called HOLD
snip HOLD close to the circuit board , as this does nothing but hold battery compartment.
snip BAT- and BAT + nearer the battery compartment (reason will be clear in a moment)
battery compartment is now loose.
step 3: power
so now look at the two wires and you can see BAT + / BAT -, on the board (top one is BAT +)
now desolder these wires, you left them longer so they are easier to pull out with tweezers
now solder a red wire to BAT + , try to get it thru the hole in the circuit board (I just did this by letting the solder flow)
now do the same with a black wire for BAT - (ok, I had grey)
make sure you get this the right way around !
step 4: creating a case
ok, so this depends what you have...
I had some old plastic , so I cut it to 10 x 7.5 cm, and then cut a hole a bit smaller than the Kastle faceplate (you can do a tidier job that i did !)
I then glued the faceplate to the 'module cover' ...
(you wont want to do this if you want to be able to reverse, perhaps use some very small screws through the slots in the Kastle faceplate?)
(I also happen to have an standoff that could support the middle, that was roughly the right size, but thats not needed)
I then screwed the kastle circuit board back to the front panel, and put the nut on the switch.
but really this step is 'up to you', based on effort and creativity...
you can do as you want, if you really want to go to town, you could probably get something laser cut with all the holes...
or do it with cardboard, ideally you want something pretty thin (1-2mm) but strong,
unfortunately, we didn't have any 3HP AEM blank faceplates as that would be ideal... you could use A 4HP, if you have the space, or can think of some extras to add, to use the extra module space.
step 5: powering from AEM
ribbon connector, so I had a a 2x5 male header connector, and a bit of spare protoboard, so i soldered and then hot glued to the module faceplate,
if you don't have these you could just connect directly to the ribbon cable with wires. (the only 'danger' here, is you must remember to do this the correct way around each time you unplug/plug it in )
IMPORTANT:
the top two pins on the ribbon are +5v , connect to your RED/BAT + cable
the next two are GROUND, connect to your BLACK/BAT- cable
this is detailed on the tangible waves website here
step 5 : have fun patching
Thats it, pop it in your case and viola the job is done.
so a couple of points:
a) there is no access to the 3.5mm I/O
they are not needed...
you have direct access to the patch wires, so the CV i/o is not really necessary , and we have on AEM.
output, you can take directly from the OSC OUT patch wire outputs.
b) on/off switch
I was actually going to use the switch to go between normal 5v power, and 'starved' 5v power , like the Olegtron , as its an easy mod.
but when I tried, it really didn't do much, lower voltage gave slightly lower pitches, and then the processor just fails, rather than become 'interestingly' glitchy, which is what I'd nope.
so I could have removed it, and just short it - but i decided to leave in place - jut in case i want to reverse the process, or can think of another hack/mod for it.
anyway, thats it... easy to do...
its a great little synth box, and its really fun to extend it with the AEM, in particular the AEM adds a VCA and ENV, so I think you can get much more out of it.
and for AEM, its a quite different sound, and the adjustable rate LFO is also quite handy
enjoy
Mark
