SampleScience has just released Stylo Synthesis, a free virtual instrument based on the Stylophone, a portable keyboard popularized in the late ’60s.
The Stylophone was initially designed as a toy instrument. It eventually found its way into the professional music business, with the likes of John Lennon and even David Bowie credited with using it.
In recent years it has made a bit of a comeback, and SampleScience has assisted the process with Stylo Synthesis, their digital recreation of the instrument.
SampleScience has been in the sample production game for over seven years, and the founder has always been particularly interested in vintage instruments. The founder mentioned on the website, “I have a passion for anything that produces sound and I love old electronics.”
This aptitude for retro instruments shows in their re-production of the Stylophone.
Stylo Synthesis features one individual sample per note to preserve the instrument’s authenticity.
SampleScience mentions that “Most stylophone plugins and libraries use very short samples that don’t reflect the unstable nature of this instrument. For Stylo Synthesis, each note has been sampled for 5 seconds to capture these magic imperfections.”
The plugin also includes a handful of additional modifiers and effects to hone your sound further.
Stylo Synthesis includes a multi-LFO with wavelength and target selection. Additionally, users can select between three voice modes: polyphonic, monophonic, and legato.
There are a handful of other effects, such as an HPF/LPF and the option to pan the sound and add some built-in room reverb.
And as a final touch, SampleScience included a row of ADSR controls and a glide knob if you want to make some exciting toy piano tones!
It’s not a commonly used sound, but for those looking to get creative, Stylo Synthesis can add a nice touch to your productions.
Stylo Synthesis is available as a standalone plugin, with Decent Sampler, and for the Kontakt 5 & 6.
It works on Windows 8.1, 10, 11, or macOS El Capitan and above on a 64-bit host that supports VST, VST3, and AU plugin formats.
To use with Kontakt, it must be with version 5 or 6 and up. It will not work on the free Kontakt Player.
Download: Stylo Synthesis
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