5 Music Gadgets That Tempt Me to Play

Too often I’m too busy to play. And it’s not healthy. Usually all I need to get started is the right toy.

Around ten years ago I found a toy that I couldn’t resist: the Roland PMA-5, a personal musical assistant modeled on the idea of the Palm PDA, but not quite as portable. I’d fiddle with it for hours, composing music in a Band in a Box type of way, playing its tiny on-screen keyboard with a stylus, and sometimes plugging my Yamaha KX5 keyboard into its single MIDI port.

There’s something about a portable music gadget that you can actually make music with that makes me want to play. And I had that feeling this week when I heard of a Moog synthesizer that you can play on a Nintendo DS. I want to play! And it got me wondering about all the other toys around that I’m missing out on.

Here are 5 music gadgets that are tempting me to put down my work and start playing.

1. KORG DS-10 Synthesizer on Nintendo DS

I discoverd this on Engadget this week while at work, and spontaneously started daydreaming. The Japanese have been playing with it for a while (they always get the best toys first), and it’s now available for pre-order in America. The official site is here.

The game was created by AQ Interactive, approved by KORG, and uses KORG sounds. The “game” contains not one synthesizer, but two, as well as a drum machine, effects and sequencer. Up to eight units can be wirelessly combined to create the ultimate mega synth. Its lack of MIDI leaves it in the toy category – but what a toy! This YouTube demonstration video gives you an idea of what it’s capable of.

I got into music a little too late to own an original Moog synthesizer, but one of my first synths was a Roland Juno 6, which had no memory, meaning you had to create each sound using the sliders and buttons every time you needed to use it. I’d spend hours creating new sounds. Having a portable machine like that that allows me to create new sounds and music would be a lot of fun – probably even more fun than my old PMA.

The game is priced at $29.99 and works on a standard Nintendo DS. You can pre-order the game from GameSpot here, who promise to ship it to you real soon on the 2nd of February. DSs are region-free, so a game bought from Japan or America should work in any country. I’m very tempted!

2. Yamaha DD-65 Portable Electronic Drums

I always get in trouble for drumming my fingers on the table, so I look for alternatives to drum on instead. This looks like a great alternative! You can read about it here.

I saw the Yamaha DD-series for the first time in the 80s, and bought the unit the same day. It appealed to me because in the one box I got a non-programmable drum machine, a metronome, and a little drum kit with four pads and built-in speakers. Surprisingly, the batteries lasted for months! Today’s models have more sounds and more features, and probably worse battery life.

Once I had kids it became a very popular toy, and not just with my kids. When my son wanted to learn drums at six years old, he started learning on the Yamaha DD, and when he proved he was serious, we bought a better one with eight pads and a pedal. Although it’s no drummer’s dream kit, it allowed my son to develop rhythm and co-ordination at a volume and size my big family could cope with. And he could drum along with the built-in drum machine, which kept him in time and taught him new patterns. Today he is an excellent drummer with a full acoustic kit.

We haven’t had a DD in years. They’re really just toys, but their long battery life and built-in speakers mean that you can pick them up and play them just about anywhere. I miss it!

3. Pacemaker: The Pocket-sized DJ System

Most of us have been using portable MP3 players for years. Well, here’s one that’s not just for listening to music. And like all good toys, the Pacemaker is not cheap, costing close to $1,000.

Designed for DJs, this device contains many unique features that will keep the keen musician occupied for hours. Coming with a reasonable 120 GB hard drive, the Pacemaker supports MP3, M4A (AAC-LC), AIFF, FLAC, WAV, Ogg Vorbis, and SND.

Some of its unique features include pitch change and pitch bend, cross-fading and looping, reverse play and dynamic beat detection. To achieve this, the Pacemaker includes two channels of music, with full mixing functionality available for both channels independently. A range of effects are provided, including hi-cut/lo-cut, roll, echo and reverb. It also includes 3-band graphic EQ.

To make the most of these features and effects, the Pacemaker’s hardware interface includes an amazing collection of buttons and switches, and a touchpad that can be used for bending, and changing parameters. Editing software is also included for Windows and Mac OSX.

The battery is said to last for an impressive 18 hours of playback, or 5 hours of mixing. I don’t know about you, but there is a lot here that I like. But I’m just not sure whether there are enough reasons for me personally to spend close to $1,000 on it.

4. Mini Playable Instruments

Most musicians are their own roadies, and most of us have more gear than is fun to carry. I don’t know what to make of this Mini Playable Instruments page, but the roadie in me is breathing a sigh of relief.

The instruments on the page are probably more appropriate for kids, but I’d rather give them musical toys that they can really learn to play, rather than the new wiimotes and air guitar toys that don’t encourage them to learn anything musical.

The mouth organs listed bring back great memories of my primary school days. The harmonica was the first instrument I learned to play a tune on. For me the appeal of this page is that I can buy an instrument that’s easy to carry around, giving me the option of playing music more often.

5. Mini Guitar USB Drive

I promised myself that I wouldn’t get corny in this article, and this one probably crosses the line. But we all use USB memory sticks, and having one with our favorite instrument sounds cool in a nerdy sort of way.

This old page from Gizmodo describes a Mini Guitar 256MB USB drive. Geek Stuff 4 U no longer seem to carry the devices, but I’m sure that something similar must be available somewhere. I’d like an Ovation Elite USB drive, please!