Bastl Instruments Bestie

Bestie is Bastl Instruments’ compact stereo mixer that happily lives somewhere between clean utility and absolute sonic mischief. At first glance it is simple and practical. Five stereo channels, clear layout, mute switches, and plenty of gain. Look a little closer and it reveals its true personality.

Each of the five stereo channels offers up to 20dB of gain, making Bestie just as capable of transparent mixing as it is of pushing signals into gritty, characterful distortion. The low noise preamps share a similar flavour to Bastl’s Dude mixer, delivering overdrive that feels musical rather than harsh. Subtle warmth is always on tap, but full blown destruction is only a twist away.

Channel three is labelled Feedback for a reason. It is internally normalised to the output, making feedback patching instant and effortless. You can introduce controlled instability, screaming resonances, or evolving self oscillations without additional cables or modules. Of course, it still works perfectly well as a standard stereo channel if you prefer to keep things civil.

Mute switches with indicator LEDs on every channel make Bestie especially appealing for live performance, while its compact footprint and straightforward design suit small systems and desktop setups just as well. Power it from batteries for portable jams, or via USB C for studio use.

No menus. No unnecessary extras. Just a clear, simple mixer that can stay polite or go completely off the rails when you want it to.