NAMM 2023: You dirty Bastl! Distortion-fuelled mini mixer promises to be your new Bestie

NAMM 2023: Bastl has had skin in the mini mixer game for a while, with its popular Dude hardware being released in 2017. Now the company has reimagined that diminutive box of audio delights and released Bestie, a revamped version that offers flexible stereo connectivity and has been built with portable USB setups in mind.

But there’s more. Bestie has a dirty little secret - namely, that channel 3 is pre-routed as a feedback channel that can be used to add a pinch of distortion. When used in this manner, levels before 12 o'clock add distortion and gain, and you can move into self-oscillation territory if you go beyond this. Push it to the max and you'll hear tremolo-like effects.

There are five channels in all, and if you choose not to use the feedback feature Bestie promises to be a clean mixer that offers up to +20dB per channel and “carefully crafted” saturation characteristics.

It sounds like the real fun, though, comes when you take the levels beyond their ‘12 o’clock’ positions and start boosting, at which point Bestie is said to turn into a beast.

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Each channel has a mute switch, and there’s a dedicated headphone output with a loudness control and a pre/post mute switch for pre-listening to all your channels. Channels 1 and 5 have two 3.5mm jacks which means they can accept dual jack stereo or mono signals.

Bestie has a full metal enclosure, and ‘rigid pots’, while power can be drawn via USB-C or four AA batteries.

You can pre-order Bestie now for €180, and it’ll be shipping in May. Find out more on the Bastl website.