Stylophone: We got the BEAT!

 New product alert! Dubreq Ltd announced their newest product today: the Stylophone BEAT. I haven't had an opportunity to play one yet, but it looks like a really fun and much-needed step up from the classic Stylophone Beatbox.

According to the email notice I received, the Stylophone BEAT will feature 4 drum sounds, 4 bass sounds, adjustable tempo, loop recording, a transposition control, storage for more than one pattern, and the ability to change the pattern length on the fly. There's also an audio out jack for headphones or to send the sound to an external mixer, PA system, or recording gear. The overall size and styling is very much in keeping with the current versions of the original Stylophone keyboard instruments.

The pre-order price is $39.95 USD, 29.95 GBP, or 34.95 Euros. You can get more info and reserve an instrument at StylophoneBeat.com.

How cute! The Stylophone mini

Somewhere around 2010, the Stylophone mini was born. The mini is a working Stylophone replica with an attached key chain.

At about one-quarter of the size of a standard Stylophone, the mini is a bit cumbersome as a key chain novelty fob, but it is probably going to make your keys difficult to lose. It runs on three AAA batteries and was available in at least two color schemes: black/chrome and white/chrome. 

I have also seen photos of a model in ivory/gold, but I have never actually seen it for sale.

The 1.5 octave keyboard is quite playable and the sound is surprising loud for such a small speaker. The mini has only one timbre and no vibrato switch, fine-tuning knob, volume control or earphone jack.

The packaging is kind of interesting. It claims the instrument is 'concert tuned." Ha! There are logos on the back for other Stylophone products including something called a Stylophone "remixxr techno sampler." To the best of my knowledge, the Stylophone remixxr was announced but never commercially released. You can still find a few pictures of it and the also unreleased Stylophone vocoder product around the web.

The Stylophone mini is a fun addition to any Stylophone collection, if you can still find one.