New! A photo-realistic Stylophone GEN R-8 patch sheet

One of the biggest challenges with using most analog synthesizers is coming up with a reasonable way to save patches. The Stylophone GEN R-8 is no exception. Yesterday, because I had to stay at home all day due to COVID-19 restrictions, I decided to do something about that.

First, I spent multiple hours manipulating photos of my GEN R-8 to create a rather elaborate patch sheet template in Photoshop.  Buttons lights up when you turn them on. Knobs can be rotated. Even patch cables can be connected between four output jacks (SQR2 out, both LFO outs, and Env out) to any other input jack, with each source getting a different color of cable. It's a really cool tool for making a photo-realistic patch sheet for saving and sharing via computer and the web.

It's not so good if you want to print it and manually mark it with a pen, then save the sheet in a 3-ring binder.  So, today, I made some further modifications and came up with this more simple version:

You can draw lines on the knobs to indicate their positions, and write "ON" or make a check mark on the buttons that are turned on.  To indicate patch cables between two jacks, you can color them in with highlighter pens using a different color for each cable.

You are welcome to download and print blank copies of this patch sheet for your personal, non-commercial use. (Don't sell the blank document but you may share it for free. Don't remove the row of copyright and website information at the bottom.) Click this link  or the thumbnail image above to get the .pdf document.

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UPDATE July 8, 2020 - I received some feedback that my template isn't ideal for printing because it uses too much black ink.  So here is a revised template that does away with the photo realism and allows room for two patches on a single sheet of paper.

The label text is less sharp than before, but I think you should still find it useful. Click this link or the thumbnail image above to get the revised .pdf document.

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UPDATE August 4, 2025 - Back in 2020 on the Stylophone Official Facebook page, Markus Schroeder shared a template he just made using vector graphics and text.  It is much sharper and cleaner than mine.  He has recently made improvements and invited me to share the latest version. There's a link on my blog entry for August 4, 2025.





The Stylophone GEN R-8 printable patch sheets by Rick Reid are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be requested at https://www.rickreid.com.

Stylophone GEN R-8 at the NAMM Show - Friday

I have been sharing my experiences at the 2019 winter NAMM Show in Anaheim, California this week. In case you don't know, this is a huge convention for the music industry. The trade show features more than 2,000 vendors from all over the world, showing their latest instruments, recording gear, stage lighting and more. The attendees -- besides the manufacturers -- are music store owners, musicians, music teachers, and recording studio folks. I am spending part of my time here in Dubreq's trade show booth, helping spread the word about the new Stylophone GEN R-8 analog synthesizer and other Stylophone products.

My Friday began with breakfast at my hotel. At first, I sat with a couple of vendors from Slovenia.  I think they said they work for D'Addario, the guitar string company. There was a bit of a language gap, so I am not certain. After they left, I ended up spending the rest of my breakfast in conversation with an executive from one of my very most favorite synthesizer companies (other than Dubreq, of course.)

Then while waiting for a shuttle bus ride to the convention center, I had a great conversation with Nashville-based drummer Vincent Dee. We talked about his long career as a country music drummer and my short career as a TV producer at TNN, The Nashville Network. We also had a good laugh about Nashville's world famous "nun bun," a cinammon pastry that looked like Mother Teresa.

After arriving at the convention center, I visited several of the other booths. In my travels, I happened to meet Bobby Kimball, the original lead singer of Toto. Nice guy!

Finally, I made it over to the Dubreq booth to find that company owners Marcella Kavanagh and John Simpson had turned the table on me... literally. They rotated the display table 90 degrees so more people could play our various Stylophone instruments at the same time. We had a rather steady stream of people stop by to check out our gear. Among them were several friends of mine that I had met at various synthesizer trade shows, including Mike Learmouth, the co-founder of the upcoming Synthplex festival in Burbank, CA. I also got to demo the Stylophone GEN R-8 for the publishers of the Synthtopia blog. We had some record producers and music store executives visit with us today. One visitor told me about a trippy song called "Living Room" by David Holmes that features a Stylophone S1 played through a wah pedal. I think the highlight of my time at the Dubreq booth today was hearing a guy who tried out the GEN R-8 say "this is the best thing I've seen" at the convention.

I wrapped up my day at NAMM by shaking a tambourine for awhile in the 20th annual NAMM drum circle, and enjoying a fun outdoor concert featuring Sarah McLachlan and James "J.T." Taylor from Kool & The Gang.

Now, back in my hotel room, I can hear fireworks exploding in the sky above Disneyland. It's a fitting ending to a fantastic day!

Stylophone Gen R-8 at the NAMM Show - Wednesday

I actually wasn’t planning to attend the winter NAMM Show in Anaheim, California this year. But when Dubreq’s John Simpson needed some help demonstrating the new Stylophone Gen R-8 at the convention, I couldn’t resist volunteering to be one of the first people to get my hands on the latest member of the Stylophone instrument family.

I started my Wednesday morning with a long drive to the Denver airport from my home in the suburbs on the opposite side of town. I made it to my gate right as boarding began. I enjoyed some of the 2.5 hour flight visiting with Nalani, a professional vocalist and bass player. She was scheduled to perform with a musician from Nashville late Wednesday night at the Marriott hotel on the convention center campus. I told her I would catch her performance if I could stay up late enough. (I couldn’t. I’m tired!)

I dropped off my luggage  at my hotel and headed straight for the Anaheim Convention Center where I met John and his wife, Marcella Kavanagh. While they set up their trade show booth, I gave myself a crash course in operating the Gen R-8. (I had read the owner’s manual at home.) They have two prototype units that were finished only a few days ago. Both are almost fully operational but have a few features that aren’t quite ready to go. With John’s help, I learned how to use most of the instrument’s features and we figured out how to best demonstrate some of the deeper capabilities such as CV patching and the really cool 16-step  sequencer.

And with that bit of training, we made our way to the media preview event where I demonstrated the the Gen R-8 for several music technology bloggers from the US and Europe. It was quite a lot of fun, and a real challenge to speak about an instrument I just played for the first time today. I have conducted dozens of interviews with all kinds of celebrities during my long career as a TV producer. I found it a lot more difficult to be the interviewee. (I hope I didn’t babble too much.)

John, Marcella and I finished the day with a great meal and conversation. Now it’s time to get a good night’s rest. Tomorrow the trade show will be open and, I am hoping, will be very busy at booth #10306.

Stylophone GEN X-2 Expands on its Predecessor

 Oops! I did it again. I bought a piece of musical gear that I wanted but really didn't need. This time it was the new Stylophone GEN X-2 portable analog synthesizer, which replaces the apparently discontinued GEN X-1.

Why didn't I need it? For a couple of reasons: I already have the Stylophone GEN X-1, which is mostly identical in both form and function to the GEN X-2. And because the most significant new features of the GEN X-2 are its CV (Control Voltage) capabilities.

If you aren't familiar with CV, it is a simple system that allows synthesizers and related analog electronic components to control each other remotely. For example, pressing a key on a CV keyboard can send two voltage signals to a modular synthesizer. The pitch CV signal instructs the synth to play a specific pitch or note, and the gate CV signal controls when to activate or deactivate the sound. A third CV signal can also be used to adjust the value of a corresponding knob, such as modulation depth or filter cutoff.

CV control is 1960s technology, but it still works, and it's still pretty cool. CV is essential for communication and interaction between most of the current Eurorack synthesizer modules. And that's why I didn't really need the GEN X-2. I've been trying to downsize my life over the last year or two, getting rid of things that no longer felt essential. In the past, I definitely suffered from Gear Acquisition Syndrome, buying far more stuff than I ever learned to use properly. So last year, I sold the vast majority of my Eurorack equipment. Now, I only own a few standalone synth items that have CV connectivity. And really, I don't even need those because I am not a professional gigging musician or recording artist. I am mostly a hobbyist, and I play my synths to amuse myself occasionally. So, I don't need an elaborate setup like I once had.

I bring this up because I want to emphasize that if you already have the GEN X-1 and love it, but don't have other CV-capable synthesizer products, then the additional features of the GEN X-2 will be of little to no benefit. However, if you do want to get into Eurorack, then the GEN X-2 can definitely be part of your introduction to that whole world. Just keep in mind that the CV features of the GEN X-2 require some other piece of compatible gear. Unlike the Stylophone GEN R-8, the GEN X-2 is not designed for self-patching* between components within a single instrument. So, you will need a sequencer, a semi-modular synthesizer, a keyboard controller, or a Eurorack system to take advantage of the GEN X-2. When you do have it patched up with another compatible product, you can play the GEN X-2 keyboard with the stylus to control the sound of the other gear. Or you can do the reverse, and use the other product to play the sound of the GEN X-2.

I did some experiments to see how well the CV connectivity performed. (This required a few 3.5mm TS mono audio patch cables, not included.) As a controller, the GEN X-2 definitely can be used to play other synths, but I found the same challenges associated with any stylus instrument. I had to look at the metal keyboard surface as I played to make sure I was hitting the right notes, and I had to make a conscious effort to firmly press down on the stylus for a good electrical connection. I much preferred using the GEN X-2 as the sound source controlled by other gear. It performed well with the Korg SQ-1 sequencer. And I could control it effectively with the Stylophone GEN R-8 with both the touch keyboard and the on-board sequencer.

Results were less satisfactory with a Behringer Swing controller keyboard. At least with my particular Swing and GEN X-2, there seemed to be a mismatch with the CV Gate voltage. The sound was not stopping when I stopped pressing a key. To fix this, I had to route the CV Gate signal through an attenuator module on my Behringer Neutron semi-modular synthesizer and adjust the corresponding knob until everything seemed to work correctly. I have not been able to find the voltage rating of the Swing's CV Gate output, so I don't know exactly what is causing the problem when connecting directly to the GEN X-2, but the attenuator did fix it. (FYI - There is more than one standard voltage for CV gate signals. So this is always a risk if you don't know the specs of your instruments before you buy them.)

I also had an expected problem when using a Moog Werkstatt-01 as a keyboard controller for the GEN X-2. In this case, it was the pitch CV signal from the Moog that was an issue. For some unexplained reason, the Werkstatt was not designed to output the more-or-less standard 1 volt per octave pitch CV signal. There is a note about this in the Werkstatt owner's manual that says an attenuator is required to get it to play pitches correctly with other gear. So, once again, I had to route through the attenuator on my Neutron to get the GEN X-2 to play an in-tune chromatic scale. (Gate CV, by the way, worked just fine when patched directly.)

As you can imagine, patching three portable or standalone synths to get something musical out of them can be rather cumbersome and not very portable. So, I see the CV capability of the GEN X-2 as an introduction to CV control and a tool for experimentation, but probably not something that will serve as your primary controller or sound generator in a large Eurorack setup or as part of your traveling gear for performing on-stage.

Still, the Stylophone GEN X-2 is a fun, but limited, analog synthesizer that you can throw into a purse or backpack with a pair of headphones to compose, jam, or just make funny noises almost anywhere. If you don't already have a GEN X-1, I think it's worthy of your consideration.


QUICK TIP

* One self-patch that does seem to work is to connect a cable between the GEN X-2 pitch out jack and the filter in jack. The filter cutoff frequency will shift up or down as you play different pitches across the keyboard.

Stylophone GEN R-8 at the NAMM Show - Thursday

Today (Thursday) was the first official day of the trade show at Winter NAMM Show in Anaheim, California. While catching a shuttle bus ride from my hotel to the convention center, I got to visit briefly with a professional drummer who has toured with a bunch of famous acts. The only one I can remember is Barry Manilow. (He writes the songs that make the whole world sing, I am told.) I hit the gift shop for some NAMM swag first thing. Then I spent most of the day in the Dubreq booth with company owners Marcella Kavanagh and John Simpson. They are such great people and I am glad I've finally had the opportunity to meet and spend time with them in-person this week.

We must have had more than a hundred visitors check out the new Stylophone GEN R-8, along with the GEN X-1, S1, and Beatbox. There were folks from all over the USA, Canada, Mexico, Europe and Asia. It was fun to see the pure delight in the faces of many Stylophone fans who came by to get a hands-on experience with our two GEN R-8 prototype instruments. There was also a great deal of interest in the GEN X-1 among visitors who were not previously aware of it.

As you might expect at a musical instrument convention, the noise was relentless. We had organs, Mellotrons, a Haken Continuum, and various synths competing for attention all around us. Fortunately, the Stylophones held their own, with lots of people (including several friends of mine) making the trek to our little booth. One guy (I don't recall his name) said that seeing Dubreq's Stylophone products was going to be the highlight of his convention experience. Other visitors included Mikey D, who scored a guest pass from Dubreq, and theremin expert Randy George.  Toward the end of the afternoon, even Cuckoo stopped by.

According to my fitbit watch, I walked nearly 5 miles today. I'm feeling it. I'm also feeling satisfied after a long and enjoyable day of promoting Stylophones at one of the biggest musical instrument conventions in the world.

New Gen-R-8 Patch Sheet for 2025

Back in March 2020, I shared my photo-realistic patch sheet for Dubreq's Stylophone Gen-R-8 synthesizer. Based on reader feedback, I re-worked it a few months later, so that it could be printed with less printer ink or toner. Then Markus Schroeder of NoiseBau came up with his own, superior design. At the time, I shared a link to his patch sheet.

Fast-forward to 2025: Markus has made improvements to his design and invited me to share it here. This current patch sheet is definitely the one you should be using. It has space for two patches per page. You can print it and mark the patch settings with a pen, then store the sheets in a binder. Take a digital scan of your patch for electronic storage.

Or you can do what I plan to do. I am going to load the .pdf file into my Kindle Scribe e-reader device. It allows me to write on the document with a stylus.

Here's what a single patch might look like:

(I just made random markings as an example. I haven't attempted to use these settings as a real patch on the Gen-R-8 yet.)

To make your own patches on this new-and-improved patch sheet, download a copy by clicking here.

Stylophone GEN R-8 at the NAMM Show - Saturday

There's not much to report in today's blog entry about the new Stylophone GEN R-8 portable analog synthesizer. At a trade show, one day can seem just like another from inside a booth.

We had lots of delighted visitors try out the instruments. Some folks were a bit shy and I had to coax them into putting on the headphones and playing the touch-sensitive keyboard. For many, it was the 16-step sequencer that really caught their attention and made their faces light up.

I was only in the booth for a few hours. I had heard that Kid Koala was planning to stop by. If he did, it was when I was away. I did, however, get to visit briefly with Michael Boddicker and Roger Linn.

I spent much of the rest of the day doing research for the audio production workshop I will be teaching next week in Denver.

In the afternoon I attended a panel discussion about classic analog synthesizers hosted by my friends at the Bob Moog Foundation (an educational non-profit not associated with the musical instrument company.) One of the panelists was Geoff Downes, a keyboard player who has been in three of my favorite bands. I got to ask him a question in the seminar about his keytars. I have followed Geoff's career and music since I was a teenager and have seen him in-concert with either Yes or ASIA around a dozen times, so I take any opportunity to visit with him.  After the session, I spoke with him briefly and got a photo, but my smart phone camera is really bad and so was the lighting.

It turned out to be a rather fun and productive day, although I am getting convention-weary. I am very glad to be here helping Dubreq, but I will also be glad to go home soon.

Stylophone GEN R-8 at the NAMM Show - Sunday

Just to be a completist, here's one last blog post about my trip to Anaheim to help the folks from Dubreq promote their new Stylophone GEN R-8 analog synthesizer.

Sunday was the final day of the convention. I felt like I was moving in slow-motion all day. I was sore and exhausted from days of standing for hours, walking long distances, relentless noise, and lack of sleep. The crowds had thinned significantly, so I took the day off from the Dubreq booth. I made one last stop at the nearby booth of the Bob Moog Foundation to say goodbye to my friends there, and to check out their vintage modular synth one last time.

Then I continued my search for affordable studio microphones that I could tell my voice acting students about in my upcoming workshop at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. With the increased interest in podcasting and DIY music recording, the manufacturers have responded with lots of great gear.

I spent my last half hour or so back at the Dubreq booth with Marcella and John. It was a pleasure to work with them and to witness both their enthusiasm for Stylophone products and their appreciation for Stylophone enthusiasts. I am so glad I had this opportunity to help spread the word about Dubreq and their entire Stylophone product line.

After final goodbyes with Marcella and John, I called the cab driver who had given me a ride Saturday night. He picked me up outside the convention center and we talked about music and audio recording almost all the way to the airport.

E.T. Drone Home!

You can get yourself lost in space with the alien sounds of the Stylophone CPM DS-2, just unveiled by Dubreq at the 2024 Winter NAMM Show in Anaheim, California. 

With two-oscillators, two sub-oscillators, an LFO, reverb, delay, a mixer, and 12 modular patch points, this synth has plenty of sonic tools in a compact footprint.

Powered by AA batteries, it work as a standalone compact portable modular (CPM) instrument. Or you can patch it into a Eurorack system. I would love to plug it into my Stylophone Gen R-8 synthesizer to create some thicker keyboard-controlled sounds or to power the DS-2 with the arpeggiator of the Gen R-8.

The expected list price is $259 USD. You can pre-order now, with no money due until they are ready to ship at https://stylophone.com/ds2-pre-order/

Check out the teaser video here:

Band uses Stylophones in Poultry Performance

 Who says Stylophones can't be used to make "serious" music? Well, okay. A lot of people. But seriously, you need to check out the clever use of a Stylophone GEN R-8, a vintage Stylophone 350S, and a Stylophone Beatbox in this highly amusing rendition of "Chicken Man" by the PNK Stylophonic Gift Shop. The group consists of three guys named Smokey, Fluff, and Lazlo, and hails from somewhere in the UK.