Stylofon - the resurrected hit of the 70s or the “sensory” nightmare of David Bowie
About a year ago, on the air of the station “Svoye Radio” I happened to hear one amazing group, which actually started this post. The ancestors of the heavy psychedelic twist, the Gromyka petrozavodsk quintet, became this team. I was very interested in the rather unusual sounds of the solo instrument that the band used. At first, I thought the guys were using some Moog or something that had been treated with Theremin.
Features of the performance said that this is not a keyboard synthesizer and not a contactless "violin" of Theremin. Watching the video showed that the musician of the team used a strange thing, about the size of an old portable radio receiver, with a metal panel instead of a keyboard, which was driven by two contact rods. The source of the “magical”, drawn, expressive and at the same time quite sharp sounds was the stylophone (if it is exactly the Styllophone 350S of the 1970 model). I decided to understand what this thing is, how it works, where and who used it, as well as what modern tools of this type are used now.
Stylophone was invented at the dawn of the transistor era in 1967 by the British enthusiast Brian Jarvis. Legend has it that in 1967, Jarvis repaired his niece's baby pianoforte and randomly created this strange and at the same time very interesting instrument. The basic principle of operation of analog stylophones was unchanged throughout their history. The sounds are extracted from the instrument by touching the stylus to the “keys” (static metal plates), the pitch of which changed depending on the resistance of the resistors connected to the oscillator. The first stylophones were released in 3 versions: with high-frequency, mid-frequency and bass reproduction spectrum.
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In the first stylophones, the functions of frequency vibrato and case changes were implemented. The standard keyboard included one and a half octaves (20 notes). In fact, the device was a toy, but almost unprecedented for the 67th year parameters, and most importantly dimensions.
In 1968, the company Dubreq, which developed a stylish stylophone design and invested in a large-scale advertising campaign, took up the issue of the instrument. For its time, the stylophone was really a discovery, the device could easily fit in a pocket and at the same time was capable of making sounds available at that time for heavy and completely immobile analog synthesizers. With some stretch, the stylophone can be considered as a kind of mobile gadget of our time, as the developers deliberately bother to reduce the size.
Many well-known artists were involved in the stylophone advertising company, including David Bowie, who then began his musical career quite vividly. In accordance with the contract signed by Bowie, he had to record several compositions with the help of a stylus. As acknowledged by the master himself, this turned out to be far from easy for him, and he hated this instrument.
However, during the period of the advertising campaign, he modestly kept silent about this and fulfilled the terms of the contract. Using the stylophone, the 1969th Space Oddity composition was recorded, which became one of the most popular Bowie hits in the late 60s and early 70s.
The stylophone itself, both due to its unique properties - pocket size and characteristic sound, and due to the impressive investment in marketing (according to some estimates about 1 million pounds) became a real hit. Typical users of the stylus are teenagers who are fond of music, children who used it as a toy, as well as a relatively small number (compared to the first two categories) of musicians. It sold about 3,000,000 classic stylophones.
In 1970, a new model was developed - Styllophone 350S, designed for professional musicians. The instrument was seriously expanded and implemented: photoelectric vibrato and attack control, “wah” (wah-wah effect), increasing the number of octaves to four (44 notes), provided a wide range of effects and made the stylophone a two-voice. This whole set of functions was supposed to make the new stylophone popular among professional musicians.
Demonstration of the 350S (in the description appears in 1977, although it is known that in 1975, the production of all models was suspended).
Should have been, but did not. Professionals were conservative and perceived any stylophone as a toy, preferring to it often more primitive analog synthesizers. And for a toy (albeit very sophisticated) - 80 pounds (now it's about 700, adjusted for inflation) - this was prohibitively expensive.
Today on ebay this tool can be found for as low as $ 200 to $ 1000. However, due to the small number of these devices, Styllophone 350S may in the coming years become a serious collectible value. As I have already noted, Styllophone 350S today is used with great success by the Russian group Gromyka, both in studio and in concert work. In addition to the already-named Bowie, such performers as Tony Visconti, Richard Baron, Kraftwerk, They Might Be Giants, Pulp occasionally played on the stylus and recorded something.
In October 2007, in connection with the rapidly growing interest in vintage music trends, the toy company Re: creation in collaboration with Dubreq Ltd (rising from the ashes in 2003 under the leadership of Ben Jarvis, the son of one of the founders of Dubreq) stylophone project. Companies have released a digital copy of the original stylophone, called the S1. The design of the device has not undergone significant changes and looks almost like its predecessor 32 years before. The sound also remained virtually unchanged.
New technologies and the use of digital synthesis allowed us to further reduce the device, so the most portable of the existing tools of this type, Stylophone mini, appeared.
Stylophone mini versus Stylophone S1
In addition, the company has released a digital drum machine with hinges, made in close to the spirit of the classical instrument design. The tool is called Stylophone Beaetbox. Youtube is full of rollers using these devices, such as this one:
In 2012, Dubreq appears Stylophone S2, in which developers have returned to analog roots.
Unlike the 60s, the S2 has a resistive touch panel that reacts not only to the stylus, but also to the touch of a finger. It has 3 octaves and is actually a portable analog synthesizer. Worth gizmo about 300 pounds.
In S2, the range of reproduced sounds was significantly expanded. This shaitan-instrument sounds like this:
In this (2017th) year, Dubreq promises to present a fresh Stylophone Gen X-1, which will also be an analogue synthesizer with fairly wide functionality. Unfortunately, the detailed characteristics of the miracle are kept in strict confidence. However, the cost of a two-octave instrument, according to the developers, should not exceed 60 pounds.
Appearance of the prototype:
Radio amateur tools of this type appeared almost immediately after the entry of serial samples into the market, due to which a sufficiently large number of circuits accumulated. The big plus of the stylus for DIY players and radio amateurs is the lack of need to create complex key mechanics. It is enough to properly etch the board and the case in the hat - the “keys” will work.
One of the most interesting schemes was published by the magazine “Radio Amateur” in number 2 for February 2014. Where was presented dual tone stylophone, working on the following principle:
Created according to this scheme (see p. 10) looks like this, without additional design tricks, like this:
But, despite the brutality of the exterior, its capabilities far exceed the classic model of 1967 and are in many ways close to the professional Styllophone 350S.
Numerous bourgeois radio amateur sites are also replete with schemes and guidelines for the independent creation of stylus phones. Very praise this sample
When assembled it looks like this:
Also, various homemade effects are invented to classic stylophones, one of the developers demonstrates such a thing in the video below.
Interestingly, the USSR also had its own stylophone. Soviet children used a device called "electronic toy" Electronics ", the principle of action of which was completely identical to the stylophone. The Soviet stylophone from “Electronics” appeared somewhat later than the western (in the late 70s - early 80s) and differed from the foreign analogue not only in design, but also in sound, however, given the lack of normal consumer goods, the mass production of this toy and the availability it was a definite breakthrough for Soviet citizens.
Today there are several vst stylophones with the names Styloboh and Stylofoam.
There are also several mobile apps for Android and iOS.
One of the most popular was the Stylo-101 synth toy app, designed for use on tablets.
For the sake of justice, it is worth noting that the sound of digital emulators that I have heard is somewhat different from both the classic stylus and the modern digital Stylophone S2. At the same time, mobile applications are much superior to tools in functionality.
In conclusion, I leave the video with the composition, which sparked my interest in this extraordinary device from the distant seventies.
Features of the performance said that this is not a keyboard synthesizer and not a contactless "violin" of Theremin. Watching the video showed that the musician of the team used a strange thing, about the size of an old portable radio receiver, with a metal panel instead of a keyboard, which was driven by two contact rods. The source of the “magical”, drawn, expressive and at the same time quite sharp sounds was the stylophone (if it is exactly the Styllophone 350S of the 1970 model). I decided to understand what this thing is, how it works, where and who used it, as well as what modern tools of this type are used now.
The history of the stylus or how the money made David Bowie play on a children's toy.
Stylophone was invented at the dawn of the transistor era in 1967 by the British enthusiast Brian Jarvis. Legend has it that in 1967, Jarvis repaired his niece's baby pianoforte and randomly created this strange and at the same time very interesting instrument. The basic principle of operation of analog stylophones was unchanged throughout their history. The sounds are extracted from the instrument by touching the stylus to the “keys” (static metal plates), the pitch of which changed depending on the resistance of the resistors connected to the oscillator. The first stylophones were released in 3 versions: with high-frequency, mid-frequency and bass reproduction spectrum.
')
In the first stylophones, the functions of frequency vibrato and case changes were implemented. The standard keyboard included one and a half octaves (20 notes). In fact, the device was a toy, but almost unprecedented for the 67th year parameters, and most importantly dimensions.
In 1968, the company Dubreq, which developed a stylish stylophone design and invested in a large-scale advertising campaign, took up the issue of the instrument. For its time, the stylophone was really a discovery, the device could easily fit in a pocket and at the same time was capable of making sounds available at that time for heavy and completely immobile analog synthesizers. With some stretch, the stylophone can be considered as a kind of mobile gadget of our time, as the developers deliberately bother to reduce the size.
Many well-known artists were involved in the stylophone advertising company, including David Bowie, who then began his musical career quite vividly. In accordance with the contract signed by Bowie, he had to record several compositions with the help of a stylus. As acknowledged by the master himself, this turned out to be far from easy for him, and he hated this instrument.
However, during the period of the advertising campaign, he modestly kept silent about this and fulfilled the terms of the contract. Using the stylophone, the 1969th Space Oddity composition was recorded, which became one of the most popular Bowie hits in the late 60s and early 70s.
The stylophone itself, both due to its unique properties - pocket size and characteristic sound, and due to the impressive investment in marketing (according to some estimates about 1 million pounds) became a real hit. Typical users of the stylus are teenagers who are fond of music, children who used it as a toy, as well as a relatively small number (compared to the first two categories) of musicians. It sold about 3,000,000 classic stylophones.
In 1970, a new model was developed - Styllophone 350S, designed for professional musicians. The instrument was seriously expanded and implemented: photoelectric vibrato and attack control, “wah” (wah-wah effect), increasing the number of octaves to four (44 notes), provided a wide range of effects and made the stylophone a two-voice. This whole set of functions was supposed to make the new stylophone popular among professional musicians.
Demonstration of the 350S (in the description appears in 1977, although it is known that in 1975, the production of all models was suspended).
Should have been, but did not. Professionals were conservative and perceived any stylophone as a toy, preferring to it often more primitive analog synthesizers. And for a toy (albeit very sophisticated) - 80 pounds (now it's about 700, adjusted for inflation) - this was prohibitively expensive.
Today on ebay this tool can be found for as low as $ 200 to $ 1000. However, due to the small number of these devices, Styllophone 350S may in the coming years become a serious collectible value. As I have already noted, Styllophone 350S today is used with great success by the Russian group Gromyka, both in studio and in concert work. In addition to the already-named Bowie, such performers as Tony Visconti, Richard Baron, Kraftwerk, They Might Be Giants, Pulp occasionally played on the stylus and recorded something.
Renaissance stylophony or everything new is well forgotten
In October 2007, in connection with the rapidly growing interest in vintage music trends, the toy company Re: creation in collaboration with Dubreq Ltd (rising from the ashes in 2003 under the leadership of Ben Jarvis, the son of one of the founders of Dubreq) stylophone project. Companies have released a digital copy of the original stylophone, called the S1. The design of the device has not undergone significant changes and looks almost like its predecessor 32 years before. The sound also remained virtually unchanged.
New technologies and the use of digital synthesis allowed us to further reduce the device, so the most portable of the existing tools of this type, Stylophone mini, appeared.
Stylophone mini versus Stylophone S1
In addition, the company has released a digital drum machine with hinges, made in close to the spirit of the classical instrument design. The tool is called Stylophone Beaetbox. Youtube is full of rollers using these devices, such as this one:
In 2012, Dubreq appears Stylophone S2, in which developers have returned to analog roots.
Unlike the 60s, the S2 has a resistive touch panel that reacts not only to the stylus, but also to the touch of a finger. It has 3 octaves and is actually a portable analog synthesizer. Worth gizmo about 300 pounds.
In S2, the range of reproduced sounds was significantly expanded. This shaitan-instrument sounds like this:
In this (2017th) year, Dubreq promises to present a fresh Stylophone Gen X-1, which will also be an analogue synthesizer with fairly wide functionality. Unfortunately, the detailed characteristics of the miracle are kept in strict confidence. However, the cost of a two-octave instrument, according to the developers, should not exceed 60 pounds.
Appearance of the prototype:
DIY stylophones or who in that much
Radio amateur tools of this type appeared almost immediately after the entry of serial samples into the market, due to which a sufficiently large number of circuits accumulated. The big plus of the stylus for DIY players and radio amateurs is the lack of need to create complex key mechanics. It is enough to properly etch the board and the case in the hat - the “keys” will work.
One of the most interesting schemes was published by the magazine “Radio Amateur” in number 2 for February 2014. Where was presented dual tone stylophone, working on the following principle:
Created according to this scheme (see p. 10) looks like this, without additional design tricks, like this:
But, despite the brutality of the exterior, its capabilities far exceed the classic model of 1967 and are in many ways close to the professional Styllophone 350S.
Numerous bourgeois radio amateur sites are also replete with schemes and guidelines for the independent creation of stylus phones. Very praise this sample
When assembled it looks like this:
Also, various homemade effects are invented to classic stylophones, one of the developers demonstrates such a thing in the video below.
And something else
Interestingly, the USSR also had its own stylophone. Soviet children used a device called "electronic toy" Electronics ", the principle of action of which was completely identical to the stylophone. The Soviet stylophone from “Electronics” appeared somewhat later than the western (in the late 70s - early 80s) and differed from the foreign analogue not only in design, but also in sound, however, given the lack of normal consumer goods, the mass production of this toy and the availability it was a definite breakthrough for Soviet citizens.
Today there are several vst stylophones with the names Styloboh and Stylofoam.
There are also several mobile apps for Android and iOS.
One of the most popular was the Stylo-101 synth toy app, designed for use on tablets.
For the sake of justice, it is worth noting that the sound of digital emulators that I have heard is somewhat different from both the classic stylus and the modern digital Stylophone S2. At the same time, mobile applications are much superior to tools in functionality.
Total
In conclusion, I leave the video with the composition, which sparked my interest in this extraordinary device from the distant seventies.
The article used photo content
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/370579/
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