Otamatone "Deluxe [Japanese Edition] Electronic Musical Instrument Synthesizer from Japan by Cube/Maywa Denki, White

Japan has done it again. This is an amazing thing, both as a silly toy and a serious instrument. One could even call it the greatest invention since the theremin, it is much like a violin, even capable of vibrato and instantly switching between notes like a bagpipe. It's a perfect gift for anyone who's into music or plays an instrument.The non-musically-inclined may only appreciate the gag gift aspect, and not practice enough to play in equal temperament, but kids will still play it for hours, even if it doesn't sound good to others.It has above average battery consumption, but can also work with a not-included DC 5V 500mA adapter, which should be also ordered in addition to extra AA batteries.

I'm an amateur musician, and when I saw one of these in a YouTube video, I was hooked. I had to get one. I've heard it described as a cross between a Muppet and a Theremin. I think that's about right.The concept is delightfully weird, and I'm finding that it's harder to play well than my patience allows. But I think it's really great. It's too delicate to be appropriate for a young kid's toy. Probably 13 or 14 and above would be good. It's really cute, and offers a good challenge.

My daughter loves this. My ears not so much. But I'm happy she is happy. So far it's working great. The deluxe is definitely needed for anyone older than 7. Its bigger. You don't need instructions to operate it so don't worry about reviews where people complain about the instructions being in Japanese. Plus if you just really can't figure it out the instructions do include pictures. To know how to play it, go to you tube. If it's for a child believe me they can figure it out in about 10 minutes with no help. I ordered black. But was sent a write one. Actually looks better than the black one.

It's a neat little you, but the learning curve is going to be quite high before I can make it sound how I want it to.The headphone jack on the back makes it play through both the otamatone and the headphones, you can turn it down but you'd be best off with a pair of headphones with its own volume control, so if your idea was to have an instrument you can practice silently it can go quite quiet but this might not work for you without additional equipment.The keys are obviously not noted in any way so you'll need to fiddle with it to figure out where each note is. I bet there's a finger guide online you can print and tape to it or something till you learn it.As far as an instrument to play with for fun I'm personally more fond of my eastar melodica but I think with enough practice I can make this do what I want as well. The lower tone mode may be good for replacement of the bass component in music if you're looking to record for covers and whatnot.The mouth joint is very very audible, though I've learned from fiddling with it that opening and closing the mouth while playing isn't necessary and would render two-handed playing basically impossibleThe box it comes in is delightful and it's fun but don't expect to sound good right off the bat. This particular one has a bit of a funky screw on the back, the flathead off a multitool works well without damaging the screw as long as you're careful. It comes with batteries and lanyard.

My dog hates my deluxe. I named them Mx Otama. Otama is a bad singer, and often sings off key, but boy do they love singing! I wasn't expecting the mouth springs to be so squeaky, but other than that I genuinely love this instrument. 4.5 wahs out of five.

At first I was doubtful, though that was before I learned Smoke on the Water. This instrument allows the user to entertain coworkers, annoy cats, or anything in between. Proper scales are difficult to play due to the lack of frets or buttons-- don't let this discourage you. While true mastery will doubtlessly take months, within days you will be playing your favorite tunes with ease. The mouth adds a nice analog wah-wah effect, while volume and advanced pitch controls are found on the back.This is a clever product with a lot of potential.

This product is amazing just for the fact that I have one. It needs modification, however. For instance, the spring that keeps the mouth open needs lubrication since it is audible and distracting from the glory of the sound that is this instrument. What I did was I opened up the face and wiped some silicone grease on the rod and spring. Now it's silent. I will hot glue the strap clips on the fretboard to minimize their wiggle and noise. There is one minor flaw in the face where it connects to the body: I can see a slight tear even though it's brand new. I will super glue this together at some point. I used the line out for guitar amp and it seems to need more gain. I'll figure something out for that too. I would love to move the switch for range to the head as well so it's easier to reach or to the back of the fretboard. Might 3D print something for that. Could be louder.I'm very happy with this purchase. Bought from seller Hamee. I also love that I opened the Amazon box to the face of Maywa Denki in all his glory.[Edit - the volume knob is terrible - I know I can fix it, but I just haven't yet, which makes this instrument unplayable. The volume doesn't increase and crackles.][Edit 2 - can't fix the volume knob. Sound is terrible to non-functioning. Not worth the money if their circuitry isn't better. And I'm not the only person who has identified this problem.Under a microscope there are capacitors that are falling apart and burned flux all over the circuit board. With these going for over $100 these days, just stay clear unless you can find a better deal and buy the protection plan if one exists. The company will not ship a new circuit board and I'm not buying another when I already have the plastic parts.