Acme Revival is an independent repair network that operates separately from the manufacturers whose devices we service. Our independence enables a repair model that exists beyond manufacturer-controlled strategies, while preserving the ability to work with manufacturers where appropriate.
Dubreq Ltd is a British electronic musical-instrument company best known as the creator and manufacturer of the Stylophone, the compact stylus-operated synthesizer first introduced in 1968. Invented by Brian Jarvis, the original Stylophone became a mass-market electronic instrument and has sold millions of units, gaining particular recognition through its use by musicians including David Bowie and Kraftwerk. Modern Dubreq has expanded Stylophone beyond the classic pocket synthesizer into a broader electronic-instrument portfolio encompassing portable analog synthesizers, drum/bass machines, samplers, theremin-style instruments and modular/experimental synthesizer equipment. Its current ranges include the Pocket, LOFI and PRO/CPM families, with products such as the Stylophone S-1, BEAT, GEN X-2, Theremin, VOICE, DS-2 and DF-8. Dubreq remains a relatively small specialist company whose identity is strongly centered on accessible, distinctive and often deliberately lo-fi electronic instruments.
The thin cable connecting the stylus to the instrument can kink, fatigue, or break internally, causing intermittent or complete loss of note triggering. Stylus and cable replacement is a repeatedly documented repair on both vintage Stylophones and GEN X-1 units.
Individual notes or sections of the metal keyboard can stop responding even though the rest of the instrument operates normally. Dirty or oxidized contacts, poor stylus contact, and internal connection faults are common causes.
Stylophone oscillators can drift noticeably in pitch, produce incorrect notes, or suddenly shift pitch during sustained notes. GEN X-1 units in particular are sensitive to tuning adjustment, battery condition, and temperature.
The built-in speaker can produce buzzing, crackling, harsh distortion, or unstable audio during playback. Reports associate this with weak batteries, contaminated contacts, speaker problems, and faults in the audio circuitry.
The instrument may trigger notes normally but produce extremely weak or completely absent sound from its internal speaker. Speaker failure, broken solder joints, and amplifier-stage faults are documented causes, with the vintage 350S particularly susceptible to amplifier IC failure.
Stylophones can become unresponsive, distorted, badly out of tune, or exhibit malfunctioning synthesis controls when battery voltage or battery connections deteriorate. Corroded or worn battery contacts and connectors are also recurring problems on older units.
GEN X-1 units can develop keyboard scaling problems where notes do not correspond correctly across the touch keyboard even after normal tuning. Correct operation may require adjustment of both the external tuning control and internal scale calibration.
Aging switches, potentiometers, and other controls can become intermittent, noisy, or fail to engage their intended function. Contact cleaning and switch maintenance are commonly documented during restoration of older Dubreq hardware.
The vintage Stylophone 350S is particularly vulnerable to failure of its Motorola MFC6070 audio amplifier IC, which can leave the instrument extremely quiet or effectively dead. Historical repair documentation identifies this obsolete component as one of the 350S's principal hardware failure points.
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Payable to ACME REVIVAL INC, write Dubreq in memo line, and mail your check to: 191 University Blvd. Suite 340, Denver, CO 80206. Payment are collected every weekday excluding federal holidays.
