Stylophone, the pocket synth you have played with a stylus since 1968

The Stylophone is played with a stylus that you tap and slide across a metal keyboard. That gesture dates back to 1968, the year of the first model. Made by Dubreq Stylophone, this small pocket synthesiser gave its name to a whole range of instruments. The most recent one clips onto a bunch of keys.

A name that became an instrument

It all began in 1968, with a first model that laid the foundations of a one-of-a-kind instrument. The idea was simple: an electronic synthesiser small enough to fit in a pocket, and a stylus in place of fingers. The brand and the object share the same name, Stylophone. For the company that makes it, this continuity matters: it has presented itself as “the original” since 1968.

The instrument also has a stage history. The brand says the Stylophone has been used by famous artists, and names Bowie, Kraftwerk and Blondie. It also claims millions of units sold. According to the brand, few instruments have matched its longevity and cultural impact.

Three ways to play

The range now includes several instruments. Three of them show how far the brand has pushed its original idea.

The Stylophone Mini keeps the original principle in a keyring format, to hang on your keys. It has a built-in speaker, so you can hear it straight away. An LED light and a vibrato switch complete the kit. Vibrato makes the sound waver, and the switch turns it on or off.

The Stylophone Voice goes in another direction. It records ambient sounds: that is what sampling means. A voice, a noise from the street or an object you strike all become sound material. Several effects then let you transform what has been recorded. You move from an instrument that produces its own sound to one that recycles the sounds of the world around it.

The OTF Performance Sequencer is for those who build loops. This sequencer lets you change patterns in real time, on the fly. That matters: you alter the sequence while it runs, without stopping it. It is a tool designed for live playing, hence the word “Performance” in its name.

From keyring to sampler to sequencer, the range covers very different uses. The first goes anywhere, the second captures ambient sound, the third plays patterns that evolve.

A stylus, a metal keyboard

The heart of the Stylophone is the way you play it. The keyboard is metal, and it is the stylus that makes it sound. Two gestures are enough: tap to play a note, slide to move from one note to the next. This contact between the tip and the metal gives the instrument much of its character.

The format, for its part, stays true to the spirit of the first model. The Stylophone is a small pocket synthesiser, and the brand has kept that compact scale across its variations. The Stylophone Mini takes it as far as the keyring.

As for the sound, the brand claims an analogue vintage sound since 1968. It is one of the threads running through its message: a timbre that links today’s instruments to the first one.

In practice, everything goes through the hand holding the stylus. On the Mini, the built-in speaker lets you play without plugging anything in, and the vibrato switch changes the character of the sound with a single gesture. On the Voice, the effects transform what you have just recorded. On the OTF, you can change pattern without stopping.

The O!riginal, in its own words

The brand’s first commitment is accessibility. Stylophone says that no musical experience is needed to play its instruments. The stylus and the metal keyboard serve that promise: you point, you tap, you slide.

The second is lineage. By presenting itself as “the original” since 1968, the brand claims a place apart in the history of electronic instruments. It backs this story with the artists it names, Bowie, Kraftwerk and Blondie, and with the millions of units it says it has sold.

The third is sound. The brand claims an analogue vintage sound since 1968 and says that few instruments have matched its longevity and cultural impact. Those are its own words: a way of saying that the Stylophone is not just an object, but a piece of music history.

The keyring that plays

On 8 October 2026, Stylophone announced the Stylophone Mini Keychain, a playable keyring version of its pocket synthesiser. The announcement extends an idea present from the start: making the instrument ever smaller and easier to carry.

This newcomer takes the format of the Stylophone Mini, to hang on your keys. It has the same built-in speaker, LED light and vibrato switch. The way of playing remains that of 1968: a stylus and a metal keyboard, now at the end of your keys.