new stylophone

[Slickie]

I was in Urban Outfitters over the weekend with my daughter and was surprised to see they are selling brand new stylophones for 24 bucks...so maybe no need to pay for a vintage unit...for those intrested.

[JayEm]

They've been on Think Geek for about 2 or 3 years now.

I think the company that produces them is so supposed to be coming out with a V2 or something

http://www.dubreq.co.uk/products_s2.php
Here's the link.
Not sure what else you can do with it but apparently they're going to blow us all away.

[factual35]

Stylophones look fun. Hopefully this new one with offer even a little editing capability.

[tekkentool]

THe new one's sound s**t compared to the old one's. the old one's we're made in 1967. They'd have to be discrete. Whereas the new one's probably have horrible sounding 555 based oscillators. Get an old one.

[Stab Frenzy]

Yeah, cause the old ones sounded so awesome.

Just to clarify, I have an old one and although the new ones might sound different I don't think the old ones had anything special about them at all. They're pretty much just useful for being a tone source to run through a lot of fx or for annoying people on long car trips. IMO of course.

[polardark]

I rather like the new stylophone. It sounds like they're using some sort of cheap digital sound generator IC. It sounds very harsh and lofi, almost like it was circuit bent. I love it.

I modified mine with a simple springed button to easier trigger the vibrato on the fly while playing as well. It also has some exposed pads for the "keys" that could be used to solder on wires for turning this into a midi controller or something like that. Despite it's (presumably) digital nature it's a good little gadget for modification. My only complaint is that the case is glued shut. once you get it open you notice that they went through the trouble of attaching the circuit boards with 16 screws. No cost was spared here evidently

And it's fun too...

[masstronaut]

THe new one's sound s**t

Heheh. I predicted it would take three posts for someone to say this so post four is good going.

[Cumulus]

I have one of the new ones and it is very fun to play with.

The sound is different than the old one but let's be honest here. Neither of hem are exactly sweet sounding or versatile.

[nathanscribe]

THe new one's sound s**t compared to the old one's. the old one's we're made in 1967. They'd have to be discrete. Whereas the new one's probably have horrible sounding 555 based oscillators. Get an old one.

The original ones were discrete, yes, but the 555-osc models were introduced a very long time ago, not with the recent reissue. if you go out and find an old Stylophone, it's perfectly likely it'll have a 555 in there.

[Cumulus]

I did not know that. How far back would I have tp go to get a pre-555 Stylophone?

[nathanscribe]

Don't know. However, the site below shows some interioir shots of various models. I don't know the full story behind this, or how accurate the website is.

http://www.stylophone.fsnet.co.uk/components.html

[otto]

Brian Jarvis will be releasing completely discrete, analog stylophones, painstakingly using the original components where possible. These are for the serious stylophone musician. They will be available in midi or semi-modular patched out versions use the most popular user mods. Otherwise they will look the same. Unfortunately the “Stylophone” name is not owned by Mr Jarvis so it will be released as the BJarvisophone. There are some complaints that he might be using partial SMD construction on the PCBs. I hope he releases a 4 voice.

[polardark]

Brian Jarvis will be releasing completely discrete, analog stylophones, painstakingly using the original components where possible.

Where can I find more information about this? I want one already

[Cumulus]

Some people may think "serious stylophone musician" is an oxymoron but not me...