Originally announced in January, and planned for release a month later, the Stylophone Gen R-8 touch analog synthesizer has now finally been released. But only 500 will be made.
The first thing you notice about the Gen R-8 is its size. Compared to the pocket-friendly Stylophone of old, this thing is a monster. This is no kids toy. The second thing is the lack of the kind of stylus input that gave the original its name. This flavor features a three octave touch keyboard instead.
The Gen R-8 has dual VCOs (voltage-controlled oscillators) with saw, square and pulse width modulation, and which have sub-oscillators set one octave down and subsubs set two octaves down when you need to rock the low end. These can all be employed simultaneously for a total of six oscillators.
There's a 12 dB state variable filter that offers low pass, high pass, band pass and wide notch modes, a LFO (low frequency oscillator) with eight waveforms and dual outputs, and an ADSR envelope with a short hold stage at the Attack/Decay peak for added punch.
Up top you'll see a 19 audio jack patch panel for modular patching, the synth includes controlled voltage (CV) inputs, with modulation of the delay effect possible using the Time CV port, and external sounds can be routed through the device's Filter/Delay/Drive chain via the mixer's aux input. And there's a step sequencer cooked in too.
The Gen R-8 can also be used as a MIDI controller, with MIDI in and out ports present and correct. And all of this sonic goodness is wrapped up in heavy duty black powder-coated steel housing.
The latest generation Stylophone is available now for US$349. The video below has more.
Product page: Stylophone Gen R-8