Stylophones
| Stylophones |
|---|
|
| classification |
|
Electrophone keyboard instrument |
| range |
| Different depending on the model |
| Musician |
| Rolf Harris , Kraftwerk , David Bowie , Jordan Rudess , The Boss Hoss , Little Boots |
The stylophone (or stylophone ) is a miniature keyboard that was invented by Brian Jarvis in 1967 and manufactured by his company Dubreq . In the 1970s it was marketed with great success with the help of Australian musician and entertainer Rolf Harris . It was touted as a home organ that anyone could play without any effort or practice. The stylophone hardly found its way into music circles. Nevertheless, over the decades a few artists have used the stylophone in their productions. Noteworthy are u. a. David Bowie's Space Oddity , Welle: Erdball Super 8 , power plant computer world , as well as individual tracks from Orbital , Pulp and today by Minki Warhol in the band cat , occasionally with The Boss Hoss ( Free Love on a Freelove Free Way ). The country band Texas Lightning and the comedy song duo Sticky Biscuits also use a stylophone. The stylophone was even used in German pop music. In the song Arizona Man by the singer Mary Roos from 1970, the instrument (played by the composer of the song Michael Holm and recorded via a guitar amplifier ) can be heard. A total of around 3 million stylophones were sold. In Germany, entertainer Bill Ramsey advertised the instrument.
Executions and functionality
A total of four different models were produced:
- default
- bass
- Treble
- 350 pp
The stylophone has a small metal keyboard that is operated with a connected input pen . It has a simple oscillator , so it is monophonic . Each key is connected to the oscillator via a different resistor. Contact with the stylus completes a circuit, producing a sound. This type of operation makes the stylophone particularly suitable for flowing glissandos .
The first versions of the Stylophone only have two timbres (standard and vibrato ) and no possibility to change the volume (apart from the possibility of placing your hand over the loudspeaker). The much larger successor model, the 350 S, on the other hand, offered a larger selection of tone colors and the option of changing the tone colors while playing with a second stylus. The tones and effects of the 350 S include: a .:
- Wah wah
- Vibrato
- Delay
- Woodwind (4 settings)
- Brass (2 settings)
- Strings (2 settings)
- Tuning
- volume
- Photo Control (light sensitive)
In 2007 a remake of the standard version with the additional designation S1 came on the market. This modern variant is visually similar to the original version, but a volume control, a switch for additional tone colors and an input socket for the optional connection of a playback device such as a playback device have been added on the outside. B. mp3 player or mobile phone.
Web links
- Description and short films about the stylophone
- Detailed photos of the stylophone
- Video for Time Machine (Living Room Version) by The Great Bertholinis , which prominently shows a stylophone and an omnichord between 1'30 "and 1'47" .
- History of the stylophone