Dubreq Stylophone Gen X-2: Surprise Sequel to the Stylophone Synthesizer
Dubreq has cheekily announced the Stylophone Gen X-2, a new version of the synth in Stylophone clothing.
Dubreq Stylophone Gen X-2
What’s going on over at Dubreq headquarters? The venerable company is best known for its Stylophone, that fun, toy-like keyboard used by everyone from David Bowie to Pulp. But in the last few years, Dubreq has been on a mission to expand the way that people think of the company, with a number of surprising and quirky instruments, from the cassette-like Stylosette to Eurorack modules!
Now Dubreq has surprise-announced its latest, the Stylophone Gen X-2, a sequel to its cheap-as-chips analog synth, the Stylophone Gen X-1.
Stylophone Gen X-2: New Features
If you’re unfamiliar, the original Gen X-1 looks like a Stylophone but has quite a lot more going on. Yes, it has a stylus, onboard speaker and familiar design but you’ll notice that it has a lot more switches. That’s because it’s a synthesizer that you play like a Stylophone, with a lowpass filter (that’s also in the recently announced CPM DF-8), AD envelope, LFO, and analog delay. It also has a sub octave switch and Pulse Width Modulation button. Pretty full-featured for a £59.99 device.
According to a video posted to its Facebook page, the new Stylophone Gen X-2 now adds an octave selection switch and a three-mode slider. There’s no other information given, just a promise for more in an upcoming video.
Looking at the video though, we can see that the delay section has different labeling. D-Time is now called just Time, and F-Back is labeled Repeats. It could be that just the nomenclature has changed or it could be a new delay circuit.
The sound strip, which you use to slide between notes on the original, has a new label design as well. Rather than increasing from left to right, it radiates out from the center. Could this mean it functions as more than just a pitch slider?
Stylophone Gen X-2: Connectivity
A new video on Instagram shows the connectivity on the new Gen X-2. Dubreq promises that you can connect it to a “keyboard, sequencer or modular.” Very interesting. That will open things up a lot.
Stylophone Gen X-2: Price & Availability
I’m excited to hear more about the Dubreq Stylophone Gen X-2 and how it differs from the original. I’m particularly curious about that mode switch. Does that mean different oscillator types?
There’s no pricing information as of yet but it’s a good guess that it will be roughly the same as the Gen X-1. I’ll post it here as soon as I know. Dubreq estimates that it will go into production in three or four months.
More Information
- Stylophone home page
- All about Dubreq and Stylophone
- All about synthesizers
*Note: This article contains advertising links that help us pay for this site. Don’t worry: the price for you will always be the same! If you buy something through these links, we will receive a small commission. Thank you for your support!