Will see my son and daughter tomorrow and a granddaughter and a grandson.
Because of “reason” not much of Xmas gifts were delivered from Santa Soundbrigade but …
… last year I gave my granddaughter (now 6 yo) and her brother (11 yo) a Noise Toaster, which, I guess, was much appreciated. So I came up with idea to get the kids a “real” synthesizer. But what to give them?!
To have something ‘substantial’ I got myself a Behringer Crave. But it is a bit demanding and requires a bit of programming.
A Behringer MS-1 seems to me be a good choice - real (well…) keys and knobs and switches.
It is a bit pricey but well I owe the kids a lot.
But any ideas of zynthz for kidz?! DIY?!
Price <$250.
I have no experience with it but the Blipblox is designed as a kids’ synthesizer and has gotten some good press including some saying it’s not just for kids. The original version looked like something you’d find in the toys section of the thrift store but apparently is quite good, and there’s an “After Dark” version that looks more grownup as well as having some improvements.
I like the little Korg synths. Monotron and duo. Add in a baby8 sequencer and you’re rocking.
Rackit do some great kits. Their drum synth is the old PC2 type which is a brilliant noise machine and takes a cv pitch and gate. Rackit also do a baby8 kit which I used to do unspeakable things to my neutron. Good times!
Don’t overlook the Pocket Operator boards which are stupid cheap 2nd hand now.
If you want a synth with a ‘proper’ keyboard, rather than the touch surfaces of the Volca’s, or knob based sequencing with a DIY Baby 8, your pretty much limited to MS-1, if your buying new of course. The Pocket Operators mentioned above are pretty cool but I would call them more ‘Stocking fillers’ than a main gift, but they can be super fun, although your 6yo granddaughter might find them a little… fragile - the same would go for anything DIY thinking about it.
If you can find a cood condition Roland SH201 or even the newer and more fully featured (but slightly less road ready) Gaia SH01 - which is a current model so you can still buy that one new but it feels cheaper - for a decent price second hand you’ll be laughing. The 201 is built like a tank, sounds lovely, has enough presets to allow the kids to learn how to play as if they had a standard keyboard (no Piano sounds, but who needs that) but still have a proper 1 knob per function interface and a good synth engine. The 201 is basically a 10 note polyphony Roland VSynth GT which is a much more expensive piece of hardware. I still have mine today and wouldn’t part with it - just for the proper Roland Supersaw oscillators.
Spending the evening with my daughter and her family (last nite on my road trip). I will check all your proposals, for which I am very when I get home tomorrow.
(400km (correct figure) but it may be very slushy, wet snow).
Oh yes, that looks like a real MIDI controller that almost anybody can pick up and immediately have fun playing. Great choice and, for what you get, amazing price. There are lots of videos on YouTube introducing this device. Capacitive touch, velocity sensitivity, accelerometer, haptic feedback, Bluetooth MIDI. It’s not as versatile as a conventional keyboard controller, but then you can’t stick a Keystep in your pocket and carry it anywhere.
Does it come with the little doggy?! I will have a look at it.
I had another idea, and I must mention it here - the Loog guitar, something you can “play for real with”, so somwthings that works or at least looks as a piano (or plays like an electric guitar) is #1.
I’m confused. You want a keyboard synth or a guitar synth as opposed to a box of knobs. Have I got that right?
Edit: duh! Loog! Three string guitars are brilliant for kids. Some come with diatonic frets like a dulcimer which make them really easy to master.
Loog quality is good but there are a few here who have built their own and they always sound good.
Oh sorry for the confucian. I threw in the guitar as an example of how I wanted the gift to be - something that very much resembles a “real” instrument and plays like one. But I DO favour the synth, but in “worst” case the Loog is also cool, but I know how much work I spent on my Stratovarius (Fender copy), so a synthesizer is still the MAIN THING.
I am very much into the Korgs or Rolands and I well check with some sources that buy and sell preowned (like that word, as we say 2nd hand or used over here) instruments.
the big thing with the orba is its a full synth studio in your hand. no computer needed its stand alone you just change instruments with a pc. its so cool im going to get another for me now having played with the kiddos .
Seriously, if your looking for a second hand Keyboard-type instrument (if for no other reason than you can sell it to the parents as an educational tool rather than another noise box) I cannot recommend the Roland SH201 enough. Granted I was about 24 when I bought mine new, but it really let me put all those tedious years of piano lessons to use. With it being polyphonic you can buy the kids basic keyboard lesson books, its got 4 octaves of high quality full size synth action keys that can be split/layered/shifted up and down and its a got decent subtractive synth engine under the hood (Ten two oscillator voices in standard that can be split on the keys to be two sets of 5 one for bass and one for lead, or you can layer them for a 5 voice Duo (Unson) mode) so it’s much more fun than something like a Casio or Yamaha starter keyboard. Its got an arpeggiator, a looping ‘live’ sequencer mode, and a delay and reverb unit onboard, along with it also being a USB audio input/midi device with an external audio input so they can plug in other gear and do some simple recording with a lightweight DAW and a laptop once they get that far. It also has full traditional DIN MIDI I/O as well for controlling other hardware later on if they decide to stick with it.
Plus, Supersaw. Who doesn’t love a real Roland Supersaw sound, and with the 201 you can have 4 of them layered in a single voice, its an ethereal pad and trance lead monster. It was a major factor in me choosing it as my first ‘real’ synth.
The only real negatives I can think of is a lack of aftertouch, it being of plastic construction (although its thick and sturdy, but just doesn’t feel as solid as Rolands all metal chassis classics), and there are reports of units that have gotten grime stuck under the buttons causing them to get ‘stuck’ in a particular octave or preset, but from what I have read in the past this is usually quite easilly solved by a decent internal cleaning with some isopropyl alcohol.
11 years later, 4 house moves, countless gear rearrangements and mine is still going strong. Sometimes people want silly money for it, but I have seen them go as low as £200 on ebay for a working example. Good hunting!
Just before finding a nice horisontal position yesterday evening I made a nice discovery - a Behringer MS-101 (now MS-1) was for sale for a nice price.
It is pretty close (rip-off) to Roland SH-101 …
And the bonus: seller lives not far from the kids .
so did the kids get the MS-1? I’ve been trying to find an entry point for my son too, something with plenty of entertaining noises to keep his attention without being too much of a toy.
They got the MS-1, BUT … their father (my son) didn’t really have the perseverance and inspiration and whatever it takes to examine and explore the synthesizer and all the fun stuff you could do with just the knobs and buttons (I am not even talking about the sequencer-stuff). So, it wasn’t cool at all, I heard. Besides it couldn’t play chords and as it was pre-owned, it couldn’t be returned to a shop and be refunded …
I could have expected this result, but still, it was about my grandchildren.
I heard from fellow synthpeople in Sweden that machines like this one was really cool for 2 year olds.
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and as it was pre-owned, it couldn’t be returned to a shop and be refunded …