Editing Stylophone

{{Short description|Stylus-operated musical instrument}}
{{Infobox product
| image = Stylophone3d.jpg
| image_size = 300
| type = Musical instrument, toy
| inventor = Brian Jarvis
| inception = 1967
| manufacturer = [[Dubreq]]
| available = Yes
| models = S1, S2, Beatbox, Gen X-1, GEN R-8, S1 analog re-issue,  Limited Edition Bowie Stylophone, Beat
| url = https://stylophone.com/
}}
{{commonscat|Stylophones}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2017}}
[[File:Stylophone.jpg|thumb|Mid-1970s Stylophone]]
[[File:Originalstylophone.JPG|thumb|right|Mid-1970s Stylophone being played]]
{{listen|filename=Notes on a stylophone.ogg|title=Notes being played on a stylophone.|description=|format=[[Ogg]]}}The '''Stylophone''' is a miniature analog synthesizer played with a [[stylus]]. Invented in 1967 by Brian Jarvis,<ref>{{cite web|author=David McNamee |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/jul/06/whats-that-sound-stylophone |title=Hey, what's that sound: Stylophone &#124; Music |date=6 July 2009 |publisher=Theguardian.com |access-date=2015-06-04}}</ref> it entered production in 1968, manufactured by [[Dubreq]].

Some three million Stylophones were sold, mostly as children's toys, but they were occasionally used by professional musicians such as [[John Lennon]], [[Kraftwerk]] and [[David Bowie]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=Top 5 Stylophone Songs - Get Inspired!|url=https://www.pmtonline.co.uk/blog/2008/06/13/top-5-stylophone-songs-get-inspired/|access-date=2022-01-16|website=www.pmtonline.co.uk}}</ref>

It was relaunched in 2007 by the toy company Re:, which was created in partnership with a rebuilt Dubreq and released several new models. It was first made in London. 

==Original models==
The Stylophone consists of a metal [[musical keyboard|keyboard]] made of [[printed circuit board]] and is played by touching it with a stylus. Each note on the keyboard is connected to a [[voltage-controlled oscillator]] via a different-value [[resistor]], and touching the stylus to the keyboard thus closes a circuit. The only other controls are a power switch and a vibrato control on the front panel beside the keyboard, and a tuning potentiometer on the rear.

The Stylophone was available in standard, bass and treble variants, but the standard version was the most common. There was also a larger version called the 350S with more notes on the keyboard, various voices, a [[Wah-wah pedal|wah-wah]] effect that was controlled by moving the hand over a photosensor and two styluses.

In the mid-1970s, a new model appeared that featured simulated wood on the speaker panel and a volume control. However, production of the Stylophone ceased in 1975.

Entertainer [[Rolf Harris]] served for several years as the Stylophone's advertising spokesman in the United Kingdom and appeared on many "play-along" records sold by the manufacturer.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |url=https://www.doyouremember.co.uk/memory/stylophone|title=Do you remember Stylophone?|author=Michael Johnson|date=23 April 2004 |publisher=doyouremember.co.uk|access-date=2017-03-04}}</ref>

==2007 revival==
[[Image:Modern Stylophone.JPG|thumb|right|2007 relaunch Stylophone from Re:creation]]
In October 2007, 28 years after the Stylophone had ceased production, toy company Re:creation, in conjunction with Dubreq Ltd. (reformed in 2003 by Ben Jarvis, the son of the original inventor), relaunched the Stylophone. The 2007 revival model, manufactured in China and was officially called the S1, is a digital copy that closely resembles the 1960s original but features a volume control, audio throughput and two new sounds.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pocket-lint.co.uk/news/news.phtml/10148/11172/Stylophones-relaunched-HMV-retro-music.phtml|title="Iconic" Seventies Stylophone to be revived by HMV|last=Elliott|first=Amy-Mae|date=14 September 2007|publisher=Pocket-Lint Ltd|access-date=2008-04-10}}</ref> However, the Bass, Treble, and 350S models from the 1970s were not relaunched with it.

===Stylophone S2===
In December 2012, Dubreq released the Series 2 Stylophone, a limited edition, British-made, true analogue synthesizer.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stylophone2.com|title=Dubreq Stylophone S2|date=28 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171006054357/http://www.stylophone2.com/|archive-date=6 October 2017|website=Stylophone2.com|access-date=4 June 2015|url-status=usurped}}</ref>

===Stylophone Beatbox===
This model strays from the normal box-shaped Stylophone. It is a mainly round case that has a circular keypad containing 13 contact areas. It offers three sound banks and a tempo control. It also features a basic record/loop function.
[[File:Stylophone Beatbox Front face.jpg|thumb|Beatbox front]]
[[File:Stylophone Beatbox closeup.jpg|thumb|Beatbox closeup]]

===Stylophone Gen X-1===
In January 2017, Dubreq released details of the Stylophone Gen X-1 portable analogue synthesizer.<ref name="Dubreq Stylophone Gen X-1">{{cite web|url=http://www.mi-pro.co.uk/new-gear/read/namm-2017-dubreq-to-launch-next-gen-stylophone/021850|title=Dubreq Stylophone Gen X-1|date=2017-01-09|publisher=Mi-pro.co.uk|access-date=2017-01-09}}</ref> It was designed and manufactured by Dubreq.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dubreq.com/genx1/|title=Stylophone GEN-X1 – Dubreq|website=dubreq.com|language=en-GB|access-date=2018-11-01}}</ref> The Gen X-1 has additional controls for LFO, analog delay, low-pass filter, and envelope settings. It also includes sub-octave switches, and an input so it can be used as an effects unit<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://stylophone.com/genx1/|title=STYLOPHONE GEN-X1|website=stylophone.com|language=en-GB|access-date=2023-02-19}}</ref>

===Stylophone GEN R-8===
In 2019, Dubreq announced the Gen R-8, a limited edition, full-analogue, metal-cased Stylophone. This version has features seen on more expensive analogue synthesizers and is considerably larger than the standard model. An initial batch of 500 has been released.

===Stylophone Analog Sound S1===
In 2020, Dubreq released a replacement for the 2007 S1. The new model is visually similar to its predecessor but has less rounded corners and no auxiliary input. Internally, the digital sampled sounds have been replaced by an analogue oscillator based on a [[555 timer IC]], and the tone selector offers three octave ranges. The sound is much more similar to that of the 1970s versions.

===Bowie Limited Edition===
In 2021, Dubreq launched a limited edition version of the Analog S1 as a tribute to the late [[David Bowie]]. This model has an all-white finish, has an official Bowie logo moulded into the chromed grille and includes a colour-printed booklet including photos, interviews and tablature for a selection of Bowie's songs.<ref>{{Cite web |title=DAVID BOWIE LIMITED EDITION STYLOPHONE |url=https://stylophone.com/bowie-stylophone/ |website=stylophone.com}}</ref>

=== Stylophone Beat ===
In October of 2023, Dubreq released the successor to the Stylophone Beatbox, the Stylophone Beat. Like the stylophone beatbox, it has a record and play button and the circle metal pad. But unlike the stylophone beatbox, it is now more of a box shape, has 4 sound banks (rok, techno, hiphop, and beatbox), stay in time with the click track & tempo lock features and can record multiple layers of beats and can mute other sounds coming from it.

=== Stylophone Theremin ===

On January 8, 2024, Dubreq released a Stylophone themed (pitch-only) [[theremin]]. This theremin uses a slider for the different notes, unlike the other Stylophone models, which use a [[stylus]]. it has a 3-position switch which can be used to get the sound from the slider, the antenna, or a mix of both.

==In popular culture==
{{in popular culture|date=March 2018}}

* One of the earliest uses of the Stylophone in [[pop music]] was in the [[Small Faces]] song "Donkey Rides, A Penny, A Glass",<ref>{{Cite web |last=O'Brien |first=Jon |date=2020-09-17 |title=The Stylophone: The Enduring Legacy of One of the World's Smallest Pocket Synths |url=https://reverb.com/news/the-stylophone-an-enduring-legacy-of-one-of-the-worlds-smallest-pocket-synths |access-date=2022-06-25 |website= |publisher=[[Reverb.com|Reverb]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Lewry |first=Fraser |date=2020-04-15 |title=Watch Rammstein's classic Sonne performed on Stylophone (with added pyro!) |url=https://www.loudersound.com/news/watch-rammsteins-classic-sonne-performed-on-stylophone-with-added-pyro |access-date=2022-06-25 |website= |publisher=[[Louder Sound]] |language=en}}</ref> which was released as the B-side of their single "[[The Universal (Small Faces song)|The Universal]]" in June 1968.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Muise |first=Dan |title=Gallagher, Marriott, Derringer & Trower: Their Lives and Music |publisher=[[Hal Leonard LLC]] |year=2002 |isbn=9780634029561 |pages=94}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Cozzen |first=R. Duane |title=The British Music Invasion: Collectors Quick Reference |publisher=[[Lulu.com]] |year=2015 |isbn=9781329031685 |pages=148}}</ref>
* [[John Lennon]] played a Stylophone during a rehearsal of the [[George Harrison]] song "[[Old Brown Shoe]]" on 28 January 1969.<ref>[[The Beatles: Get Back]], part 3, 00:56:54</ref>
*[[David Bowie]] is credited with playing the Stylophone on his 1969 debut hit song "[[Space Oddity]]" and also for his 2002 album ''[[Heathen (David Bowie album)|Heathen]]'' track titled "Slip Away,"<ref name="Dubreq Stylophone Gen X-1"/> as well as on the song "Heathen (The Rays)".<ref>{{Cite web|title=Stylophone on Twitter |url=https://twitter.com/the_stylophone/status/1438521139974656009|access-date=2021-09-17|website=Twitter|language=en}}</ref>
*[[Rahsaan Roland Kirk]] played the Stylophone onstage in a 1 minute intro to “I Say a Little Prayer for You” during a [https://youtube.com/sq2axgs2BSQ?si=XnQd8LSb-9-6gxq7 1969 concert].
*[[Kraftwerk]]'s 1981 song "[[Computer World|Pocket Calculator]]" features the Stylophone among the song's main instruments and ends with a Stylophone solo.<ref name=":1"/>
*The [[Tall Dwarfs|Tall Dwarfs']] song "All My Hollowness to You" from the 1981 EP [[Three Songs (Tall Dwarfs EP)|Three Songs]] uses the Stylophone as the main instrument.<ref>{{Citation |title=Tall Dwarfs - All Of My Hollowness (live) | date=24 January 2011 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMr0c_jhWhw&list=TLPQMjYxMTIwMjOVNncnvapMfA&index=3 |access-date=2023-11-26 |language=en}}</ref>
* The 1999 track [[Style (Orbital song)|"Style"]] (and its several other versions) by [[Orbital (band)|Orbital]] takes its name from the Stylophone, which is used extensively on the track.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.loopzorbital.com/discog/ep/style.html|title=The single and the instrument described by Loopz, the official Orbital fanzine.}}</ref>
*[[Richard Barone]] uses the Stylophone on numerous recordings, including "Glow" and '"Girl" from his 2010 album ''Glow''. In the latter song, it is played by his producer [[Tony Visconti]].
* The Stylophone is used as a main instrument by Russian rock group {{ill|Gromyka|ru|Громыка}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1noby9YOq8  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/V1noby9YOq8 |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live|title=ГРОМЫКА - "Говорил я вам"/ GROMYKA - "As I Said Unto You" |publisher=YouTube.com |date=2015-11-05 |access-date=2016-04-12 |language=ru}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
* British band [[Pulp (band)|Pulp]] use the Stylophone prominently in their song "Styloroc (Nites of Suburbia)", which appears on their 1992 ''[[Babies (song)|Babies]]'' single and 1993 compilation album ''[[Intro – The Gift Recordings]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOuH1gX0owU  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/nOuH1gX0owU |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live|title=Pulp - Styloroc (Nites of Suburbia) |publisher=YouTube.com |date=2009-04-28 |access-date=2016-07-13}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
* The 2017 film ''[[Baby Driver]]'' features the Stylophone briefly in one scene.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mi-pro.co.uk/news/read/hollywood-hit-baby-driver-boosts-sales-for-dubreq-s-iconic-stylophone/022631 |title= Stylophone Baby DriverAttack|work= MI Pro}}</ref>
* Min-Gi Park (voiced by Johnny Young) from the animated show, ''[[Infinity Train]]'', was shown to own a stylophone.
* [[James Acaster]] is playing [[Auld Lang Syne|Auld Llang Syne]] on a Stylophone at the end of part 3 (Reset) from his 4 part [[Netflix]] show - [[James Acaster: Repertoire|Repertoire]].

==References==
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Stylophone}}
[[Category:Electronic musical instruments]]
[[Category:Keyboard instruments]]
[[Category:Toy instruments and noisemakers]]
[[Category:1967 introductions]]