Kinotone Ghosts

The Kinotone Ghosts is a 6-voice polyphonic chordal resonator in a pedal enclosure, built around mathematical models of 6 strings, tubes, or bars that can be tuned to chords. Kinotone describes it as "an audio effect, a polyphonic instrument, or a hybrid of both"¹². Your guitar signal (or any external audio, a built-in contact mic, or MIDI notes) excites these modeled resonators, which can be harmonized to 12 preset chords or tuned to custom chords and microtonal scales. A stereo reverb that sustains infinitely and can be routed pre- or post-resonator adds spatial character, and four touch modes add looping, drum patterns, granular processing and frequency shifting².

Delicious Audio's Paolo De Gregorio called Ghosts the flagship of a maker that "has quickly established itself as one of the most imaginative new makers in boutique effects"³. It was announced in October 2025 at $399, and the first batch sold out immediately⁴². The next sale is scheduled for October 2026².

What the resonators are and how they sound

At the heart of Ghosts are physical models of six strings, tubes, or bars tuned to a chord¹. The STRINGS model is based on the Extended Karplus-Strong algorithm, adding damping and an adjustable excitation position compared to standard Karplus-Strong, and produces harmonic frequencies¹. You can select a root note and chord voicing, harmonize the resonators to 12 preset chords, or define user chords of up to 6 MIDI notes, with up to 32 custom chords and scales saveable in presets².

The resonators are excited three ways: external audio, the built-in contact mic, or MIDI notes². Multiple exciter types are available, described by the maker as pluck, strike, and air, or you can let your input audio drive them².

The controls

Ghosts uses a two-layer knob system. Tapping the LAYER button selects between editing the black or white knob controls, and the LAYER LED lights up on the white layer¹. The knobs are relative: they adjust a parameter based on the available space until they catch up, which avoids sudden jumps during live use¹. A Model push-button selects the resonator model, and a Volume knob (listed as Volume [Touch 2] in the control listing) sets output level⁴.

Presets are handled through a Presets Bank entered by holding LAYER for 3 seconds. Ghosts has 6 onboard presets, expandable to 32 saveable via MIDI; slots 1-3 are red and 4-6 are blue, and you tap TOUCH to load¹.

Ghosts defaults to instrument level output, which the manual calls ideal for guitar, with a line level option available¹.

Touch modes: looper, rhythm generator, granular and frequency shifter

Four touch modes sit alongside the resonator engine, and all can be placed pre- or post-resonator and synced to MIDI clock².

• Endless Loop: a looper with speed and direction controls, capable of infinite overdubs. It records up to 40 seconds at 0.5x, 20 seconds at 1x, or 10 seconds at 2x².
• Rhythm Generator: virtual-analog models of what the maker calls a legendary 1981 drum machine with punchy analog resonator circuits, providing kick, snare and hi-hat with real-time synthesis and no samples. It offers 11 curated patterns plus a 12th Euclidean Random notch that algorithmically generates a fresh pattern each time it is re-selected².
• Terrazzo: a streaming granular processor with 6 read heads spread across the stereo field, some playing forward or reversed, some at normal speed, some an octave up. Grain size and envelope shape are adjustable from plucky to smooth².
• Shepard Shifter: a virtual-analog Bode frequency shifter that, in the maker's words, "adds motion and bends perception"².

MIDI, CV and the contact mic

A CV / EXP input maps parameters using control voltage or an expression pedal, with a range of 0 to 5 volts: 0 volts or heel-down is 0%, +5 volts or toe-down is 100%¹. CV control works up to 500Hz².

The built-in contact mic can be toggled on or off with the tap of a button. The maker's pitch for it: "Strum, tap, scratch the mic, excite the resonators with tactile vibrations"².

Power, connections and bypass

Ghosts runs on an isolated +9VDC center-negative supply rated for at least 220 mA, with a 2.1 mm connector¹⁴. Power supply protection covers up to +14V and reverse polarity down to -20V². That current draw rules out a battery and makes a daisy chain a poor fit; the manual specifically calls for an isolated supply¹.

Three bypass options are available: analog bypass (the default, using an analog switch to completely bypass the audio converter), buffered bypass, and buffered bypass with trails, where resonator and reverb decay, loops, and drum patterns continue after you disengage¹.

What reviewers said

The reviewer found that getting the most out of Ghosts takes a lot of direct manipulation, and that it suits tabletop and synth users more than set-and-forget stompbox players⁴.

He concluded it sounds "so cool in so many ways" but that it is not a floor pedal and suits tabletop and synth users more than set-and-forget stompbox players, while noting many players will get a lot out of it⁴. Delicious Audio's take was similar in spirit: "While its depth presents a learning curve, it offers a desktop-class synthesis and processing engine in a stompbox"³.

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