Richie's New 'thing' the GEN X1 Stylophone by Dubreq

We received a sample in exchange for a honest an unbiased review.

We received a Stylophone GEN X1 to facilitate a review for Dubreq .

The Stylophone is a miniature analog stylus-operated keyboard, invented in 1967 by Brian Jarvis. The Stylophone entered production in 1968, manufactured by Dubreq. In the mid 1970's, a new model appeared which featured pseudo-wood on the speaker panel and a volume control. This was shortly before the Stylophone ceased production altogether in 1975. 32 years after the original had ceased to be manufactured, The toy company Re:creation, in conjunction with Dubreq Ltd re-launched the Stylophone in October 2007. Debreq re-formed in 2003 by Ben Jarvis, the son of the original inventor.

The Stylophone was played by touching a metal keyboard with a stylus. Each note being connected to a voltage-controlled oscillator via a different-value resistor thus closing a circuit. Other controls on the Stylophone were a power switch and a vibrato control on the front panel beside the keyboard, and on the rear a tuning control. Three million Stylophones were sold, mostly as children's toys, but were occasionally used by professional musicians.

The Stylophone was available in three variants: standard, bass, and treble, the standard one being by far the most common. There was also a larger version called the 350S with more notes on the keyboard, various voices, a novel 'wah-wah' effect that was controlled by moving one's hand over a photo-sensor, and two styluses.

Now that you have the history of the Stylophone I'll explain to you what we received. The Stylophone Gen X-1 is Debreq's new portable analogue synthesizer. From quirky beats to haunting melodies, you can twist and warp every note in the palm of your hand. The Stylophone is packed with features that will amaze you. Whether you are a beginner or a music pro, if you like the synth sound you’ll love this. From the makers of the iconic Stylophone.

David Bowie is credited with playing the Stylophone on his 1969 debut hit song Space Oddity and also for his 2002 album Heathen track titled "Slip Away.

This Stylophone is battery operated with a built in speaker, which makes it portable. You can take this with you anywhere. There is an audio line out for headphones or you can use the external speaker. Some new features have been added to enrich the sound, an LFO with square and triangle waves. Also low pass filter for cutoff/resonance and an Envelope for attack and decay. It also features an analog delay feature that adds space to your sound with delay time, level and feedback. Some other added features are sub octaves -1 & -2 switch, this enriches your sound by adding a second frequency below your source sound, and a Pulse Width Modulation button which can be used to create a chorus effect. There are two ways to make sounds with the stylus. The keyboard to make distinct notes and the sound strip above the keyboard to slide between notes on a scale.

My teenage son was excited about the Stylophone. He has been checking it out. He's really into music and singing, he thinks this will be a really cool thing to play around with. He makes a sound that drives me crazy, hopefully this will change as he becomes accustomed to the Stylophone! These are affordable and if you have music lovers in your family you might consider this for the holidays. There was a lot about it my son understood and I didn't but I find with technology that happens a lot these days.

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