Otamatone [Japanese Edition Japanese Electronic Musical Instrument Synthesizer by Cube / Maywa Denki, White

The Otamatone is a peculiar instrument. From a distance, it almost seems like it can be a viable musical tool but, in reality, it falls short of that promise by an daringly wide margin. When you try to play any song to any formidable degree of accuracy, you end up disappointed with the extreme difficulty in keeping a steady pitch.A curious factor about the instrument is the funny face it wears. It seems happy to exist. But, when you play the thing, you can't help but feel that you're doing nothing but causing it immense and eternal pain. It's jarring to see the steep contrast between those two factors at play.But, who am I to judge? Although I haven't been able to recognize a reason for its existence, the Otamatone, when at still, seems to be content with its place in the world. And maybe that's all that really matters.

My friends told me this was the most annoying thing I've ever showed them. I made someone pause Game of Thrones to watch this. Suffice to say he was pissed beyond belief.5 stars.

OK, I don't love it as the stars indicate, but my son does which is where it counts as he bought it through my account. For me, a cat with a lisp singing through an overbite while chewing toffee pretty much sums up how I think this sounds... but again, my son loves it and he can make it squeak all sorts of notes that can both entertain and annoy me at the same time

Like other reviews, my kid played with it for a few minutes, then it became intermittent and finally non-functional. The issue is the battery terminals. On the underside of the battery cover are three metal contacts that complete the circuit with three metal contacts on the main housing. I pried these thin pieces up a little more, even taking the cover apart by additionally removing two small screws, to make the metal bulge out a bit more and force a stronger contact with the batteries' + posts. It is much better now.I thought it only made sound when the mouth was opened, but after this adjustment, it makes sound whenever you touch the ribbon, and the mouth is used for volume/contour adjustment. If yours is sketchy, try holding the battery cover firmly against the body as you touch the ribbon. If you get can it to activate this way, try the above terminal fidgeting.Lastly, just in general, it's kind of fun. If you go very slow and gradual you can get some nice subtle pitch changes. Quick slides sometimes track nicely, other times it's a bit grungy. It's cute and stupid for $25.

Although this item is quite adorable and looked fun, I received a unit that did not work properly. It does not respond to my touch about half the time. Playing anything becomes impossible when about half your notes don't register. It appears to be very cheaply made. Amazon refuses to return due to health and safety issues. However, they issued a full refund when I asked about returning it. I would absolutely not purchase this again or recommend getting one.

Let me just start by saying that the otamatone is amazing and I love it. But there are some things that need to be known:1) You have to take a lot of time trying to learn it. Do NOT buy this if you are expecting to just be able to play things effortlessly and look super cool doing it.2) Finger placement is tricky because you have to memorize where each note is and if you have a wide finger you might tend to make the notes sharp or flat because of how wide your finger is.3) You need to be musically inclined or at least be willing to put in a lot of time learning how to read/play music. You should be able to take sheet music and make sure it's in the right key to be able to play on the otamatone, otherwise you'll need to transpose or find different music. Both of these can be really frustrating even if you do know what you're doing.All in all, I still think the otamatone is amazing. There are times I look at mine and wish I played it more. I've been really frustrated with learning it, even though I do play an instrument.

Made the mistake of ordering from the same person again, coming to find ANOTHER non-returnable broken toy. I've wasted $50 now. So pissed! The battery casing doesn't sit right when the batteries get in there and doesn't then connect correctly to make noises. Piece of cheap cheap wasted plastic! No good!

My nephew loved this thing. He was so happy and not willing to share with his younger brother. Lol. I was a bit concerned about the battery compartment cover. Design was a bit poor. Needs improvement on tooling so the cover is better anchored and sits more flush with the body with the batteries installed. Seems that one day the batteries may pop out.

As I opened the package, installed the batteries (small screwdriver required) and played a very bad rendition of the star spangled banner, I realized this is the single greatest purchase I have ever made.This will never get old.This is the small version, but it covers several octaves when considering the switches on the back.

Daughter and son are very fond of this small music equipment, it is recommended.