Stylophone S2 Synthesizer First Look

Dubreq released this video, offering a first look at the new Stylophone S2 analog synthesizer.

The new Dubreq Stylophone S2 takes the basic idea of the Stylophone, a stylus-played instrument that uses a printed circuit board as the keyboard, and turns it into a fully spec’d analogue synthesizer.

Features:

  • The Stylophone S2 features the traditional Stylophone metal keyboard, but 3 octaves long and playable with an included wire-free stylus or by finger touch.
  • Portable (308mm X 120mm X 26mm and less than 1kg/2lbs in weight).
  • +/- 2 octave shifter
  • All analogue signal path
  • British style 12dB/octave state-variable filter
  • Dual all-transistor voltage controlled oscillators
  • Sub-oscillators for ‘super-fat’ bass
  • Eight waveform LFO with a 14 octave range
  • An auxiliary-input to use the filter and envelope-generator for other instruments
  • 1/4” output jack socket
  • Internal speaker and headphone socket
  • CV and Trigger input sockets.

The Stylophone S2 is priced at £299 UKP or $479 USD. More details are to come, via the Stylophone2 site.

23 thoughts on “Stylophone S2 Synthesizer First Look

  1. 250, even 300, but 479 $ for this??!! For few more $ you can get “proper” analog synth, like Minibrute. I wish Dubreq luck, they gonna need it…

  2. I like the IDEA of this – but it needs MIDI support at that price. The controls also need to be labeled.

    I’m with Vero – this looks good at $250-300, but at close to $500 it should have more pro features.

    I love that they’ve got CV on this, though.

  3. I find it baffling that they’d give this CV instead of MIDI. Seriously,. how many people have a MIDI keyboard compared with vintage / analogue CV gear?
    So without CV gear, you’re left with what looks like a decent synth, and the only way to play it is on a Stylophone key bed! For almost the same price as a Minibrute!

  4. cough….ahem……..Monotron…….$59. Just sayin.
    Also, possibly the “super-fat” sound would be just a tiny bit better shown off by recording the audio direct, camera audio never really the best idea for audio demos. Kinda cool though and nice to see the stylophone rear its head again. Did anyone tell Rolf Harris?

  5. Its funny how ipad app people complain about price points and features like this… Especially those who dont have a modular system nor understand what its like to work with one. Look at the cost of eurorack modules and what they do for their price point… This device is probally worth every penny when used in a modular setup. The device by itself is not a sound you can really use IMHO.. The footprint of this thing makes it perfect for modular

    1. Well, I am the proud owner (more exactly owned 😉 of a eurorack system and I also find this stylophone quite expansive : it only has CV and trigger in (which means you can’t even control the note length), as compared, for the same price point, to the eurorack version of the doepfer dark energy that packs a full complement of sockets or the minibrute that can also be used as a CV keyboard.

  6. $479??? They’re smoking dope. Really good dope. For between $200-$300 you could get a Korg Monotribe WITH the MIDI connection kit, and have a WAY more functional, all analog synth. (they have pretty great sound, and a wider range of sound possibilities). You could get two for the price of ONE of these.

    I have a stylophone that I paid $20 bucks for. I’ve used it, it’s a great buzzy little noisemaker, but $20 is what it’s worth. I’d pay MAYBE $100 for this as a novelty because I make poor decisions, but $479? What the whole eff?

  7. The price is outrageous for sure, but I seriously don’t get all of the gripe about midi. It’s not a piece of rack gear, nor does it have anything much to do with sequencing. Though I find the lack of CV out disturbing.

  8. i wish them all the best, but i have to agree that the pricepoint and the demovideo via the cam mic
    isn’t that impressive, to put it very mildly. A demo should give you an idea of the sonic possibilities, but it doesn’t even use all those knobs nor does it explain what they do. the minimal silkprint doesn’t help to get more infos either and leaves me baffled as to why it seems so hard to put out a decent product video.

  9. As I wrote in the original thread, I would still buy one at $200, but the price is what is killing this. A stylophone should be fun above all else, and that includes in the wallet-guilt department. For me, midi isn’t an issue here – that’s not what this is for. At least that should not be what it’s for. Unfortunately, the asking price puts it into the “wtf, no midi?” category.

    Disappointing that the video didn’t even demo the filter. Dubreq are doing poorly with their product pricing/marketing strategy at this point.

  10. Check the news on this thing.. there is a pretty sweet demo of it on http://www.stylophone2.com/ now.

    I’m a fan of the Stylophone myself and find it a really nice thing they are going back to analog now, and even with an envelope inside!
    Keep in mind that Monotron, Monotribe, Minibrute and whatever are digital controlled at some points, which the Stylophone S2 ovbiously isn’t. This means finally a real analog synth again with no digital LFO, perfect!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *