Long-time readers to NeuFutur know that my daughter acts as a reviewer-of-sorts when it comes to toys. In fact, we’ve been collecting “unconventional” musical devices from the last 60 years with the hope that we’ll record something in the future. She was quite delighted when we were sent an Otamatone Deluxe, as one of her avorite Youtubers creates homages to famous music with the instrument. Priced at around $80, the Otamatone device contains everything one needs to start it in the box. Including batteries along with a carrying strap and instructions, this product is user-friendly. The Otamatone Deluxe is well made, ensuring that the instrument will stand up to normal wear and abuse. After prepping the item, users can turn on the device and select three different pitch settings.
After powering on the Otamatone, one can operate the instrument with a number of strategies. You can choose to tap or hold any part of the neck to create different notes. Sliding up and down the fretboard creates whole bars of music, while pressing on the “face” at the bottom of the Otamatone will make its signature “wah” noice. Of course, you can combine one or more of these behaviors to further vary the sound that’s created by the Otamatone. The speaker can get pretty loud, so the company has provided parents with a headphone jack.
I love the Otamatone’s versatility. While one can easily noodle on the item, the company has included a 3.5″ jack to plug it into an amp or recording device. Check out the full range of Otamatone products at the below links; aside from the different sizes that Otatatome offers, there are a number of different licensed collabs (Hello Kitty, Gudetama) that are present.
Have you used an Otamatone in the past? Drop a comment and let us know your comments about the instrument.
Otamatone Deluxe Musical Synthesizer Review / Domain / Facebook