The Bastl Kalimba is a wild synth that thinks it’s a thumb piano

Bastl Kalimba：一款自认为是拇指琴的狂野合成器

Pluck it, touch it, tap it, or tilt it. 拨动它、触摸它、敲击它，或者倾斜它。

Make no mistake, the Bastl Kalimba is a synthesizer, you just play it like a kalimba. Its tines don’t really make much sound. There is an internal mic that you can blend in for a little acoustic spice, but it’s mostly driven by the synth engine that combines physical modeling and FM. The tines are actually touch and velocity-sensitive triggers. And, while it can sound somewhat like a real kalimba, it’s a lot more sonically versatile and offers features you can only find on a synth. 别搞错了，Bastl Kalimba 本质上是一台合成器，你只是像弹奏拇指琴一样去演奏它。它的金属簧片本身发出的声音并不大。设备内置了一个麦克风，你可以将其混入音轨以增添一点原声质感，但它主要还是由结合了物理建模和 FM 合成的引擎驱动。这些簧片实际上是触控和力度感应触发器。虽然它听起来确实有点像真正的拇指琴，但它在音色上要丰富得多，并提供了许多只有在合成器上才能找到的功能。

Beyond the synth sounds that range from pluck to pads, there are also built-in effects covering basic spatial effects like delay and reverb, as well as distortion, bit crushing, and even tape emulation. There’s also a multi-mode high- and low-pass filter, a simple arpeggiator. 除了从拨弦音到铺底音（pads）等各种合成音色外，它还内置了多种效果器，涵盖了延迟和混响等基础空间效果，以及失真、位深压缩（bit crushing），甚至是磁带模拟效果。此外，它还配备了多模式高通和低通滤波器，以及一个简单的琶音器。

More interesting, though, are the looper and touch points that add unique effects. The looper has time-stretching features, can be reversed, and rerecorded through the effects for destructive processing. A series of touchpads on the front enable note glides and alter the timbre using effects that Bastl calls Soil and Wind. Those effects unlock the Kalimba’s accelerometer for further timbral manipulation. There are also two programmable touch points on the top that can be assigned to almost any parameter, from simple pitch bends to the size of the reverb. 更有趣的是，它的循环器（looper）和触控点能带来独特的音效。循环器具备时间拉伸功能，可以进行倒放，并能通过效果器进行重录，实现破坏性处理。正面的系列触控板支持音符滑音，并能通过 Bastl 称为“土壤（Soil）”和“风（Wind）”的效果来改变音色。这些效果可以解锁 Kalimba 的加速度计，从而进行更深层的音色调制。顶部还有两个可编程触控点，几乎可以分配给任何参数，从简单的音高弯曲到混响大小调节，应有尽有。

Bastl is currently running a Kickstarter campaign for the first batch of Kalimbas. Normally, this is where you get the caveats about crowdfunded products. But Bastl Instruments is a well-established company with a long track record of delivering oddball music gear at scale. The company called it “one of the most challenging” products it has ever created, and it spent more than three years in development, so it’s possible that Bastl is gauging interest before committing to mass production. We’ve reached out to Bastl for comment and will update if we hear back. Bastl 目前正在为首批 Kalimba 进行 Kickstarter 众筹。通常情况下，这时候我们得提醒大家注意众筹产品的风险。但 Bastl Instruments 是一家成熟的公司，长期以来一直有大规模交付各种奇特音乐设备的记录。该公司称这是其创造过的“最具挑战性”的产品之一，研发耗时超过三年，因此 Bastl 很可能是在投入大规模生产前先评估市场需求。我们已联系 Bastl 请求置评，如有回复将及时更新。