Dubreq Stylophone Beatbox

On record

• Claire Birchall — pp. Claire Birchall’s pp credits list a Stylophone Beatbox among the instruments she performed. Source ↗

In the studio and on stage

• The Wackids / Bongostar — FUTUR 2000 stage show. The programme credits Bongostar with Stylophone Beatbox among the instruments used in The Wackids’ FUTUR 2000 show. Source ↗

Thirteen pads under a stylus

Tap a metal pad with the stylus, or slide between pads to repeat and connect the sounds. The Beatbox bends the Stylophone’s playing surface into a circle, with thirteen contacts and a selector for beatbox, percussion and bass sounds. MC Zani’s vocal samples are part of the instrument’s identity, not a recording the player has to supply.

Stylophone Beatbox MC Zani quick-start manual ↗ Stylophone Beatbox Makes Even Nerds Look Cool ↗ Dubreq Stylophone Beatbox BBX1 — JHS trade brochure ↗

Set a loop, add a part

Touch Rec once to begin, then again to set the loop’s length. Sounds entered afterwards repeat within that span. Change voices to add a different part; touch Play when the loop is ready and new stylus playing continues over it without being recorded. The manual gives an automatic loop of about eight seconds if no end is entered, extendable to about eighteen seconds by reducing the loop speed.

Stylophone Beatbox MC Zani quick-start manual ↗

A speaker and a pair of sockets

The built-in speaker lets the three-AA-cell instrument play on its own. A headphone/amplifier output connects it to a larger listening setup, while the MP3 input lets the player play along with external music. Tempo and underside tuning controls alter the loop’s pace and the instrument’s pitch. The input is documented as a play-along connection, not evidence of user sampling.

Stylophone Beatbox MC Zani quick-start manual ↗ Dubreq Stylophone Beatbox BBX1 — JHS trade brochure ↗

In reviewers’ hands

TechCrunch’s October 2009 review listed $25 and preferred the line output to the internal speaker. Engadget liked looping but reported firm tapping and difficulty reproducing simultaneous effects.

Review: Stylophone Beatbox ↗ Stylophone Beatbox electronic beats machine hands-on ↗

From launch to the stage

Gizmodo reported shipping in late September 2009. A 2012 JHS trade brochure identifies the Beatbox as BBX1 and names JHS as UK and Eire distributor. The Wackids’ 2024 FUTUR 2000 dossier later lists a Stylophone Beatbox among Bongostar’s stage instruments: a documented performance setup, not a claim about a particular show or recorded passage.

Stylophone Beatbox Makes Even Nerds Look Cool ↗ Dubreq Stylophone Beatbox BBX1 — JHS trade brochure ↗ The Wackids FUTUR 2000 performance dossier ↗