It’s small enough to attach to a keychain and costs just $30.
The quirky Stylophone synthesizer has been around since the 1960s. You’ve probably heard it on tracks like David Bowie’s “Space Oddity.” As a matter of fact, he wrote much of the song on one. Now the company has refreshed its cute Stylophone Mini instrument for modern audiences.
The Mini was first introduced in 2010, but left production years ago. The new one is still extremely small, thus the name. A full-sized Stylophone can fit in a pants pocket, but the Mini is basically the size of a credit card. To that end, it includes a loop to connect it to a keychain or hang it from a car dashboard.
There doesn’t look to be many changes here, but the refreshed Stylophone Mini is available in three colors. This includes pink, which is brand new.
However, I’m not sure what the company could’ve changed or added. This is an instrument that proudly wears its history on its sleeve, with little interest in modern accoutrements. The company’s CEO said that “in the age of AI, we wanted to make something simple, fun and real.” It looks like that mission has been accomplished.
Despite the diminutive size, this is still (more or less) a real-deal Stylophone. It has just as many keys as its larger sibling, comes with a stylus for playing and includes built-in speakers. It looks pretty nifty.
The best part? It’s just $30. Stylophones have always been budget-friendly instruments and the technology here is about as simple as simple gets. The Mini is available right now.
Though Bowie was perhaps the most notable fan of the Stylophone, he wasn’t the only big artist to find inspiration within its nickel-plated touch keyboard. Artists like The White Stripes, Kraftwerk, Blondie and Pulp have all used the device on records or during live performances. Even The Beatles fooled around with it while recording “Old Brown Shoe” during the Let it Be sessions, though it didn’t make the final mix.
