Thank you to Playtime Engineering for sending their Blipblox for review. No monetary compensation was received for this Rave Review of the Blipbox by Playtime Engineering, we just loved it and wanted to share.When I was little, my family had a keyboard with synthesizer that I used to play with for hours. This keyboard was super high-tech at the time, but really didn’t do much other than play random beats that we would dance along to and play keyboarding accompaniments to. However, it’s still one of the favorite childhood toys of all of my siblings because of how much fun we had creating music. I had been looking for something similar to get for my own children, but haven’t had any luck at all.

So, I got something way, way cooler instead. With the introduction of Blipblox to our house, we now have our very own high-tech synthesizer that my kids have fallen in love with.

What is the Blipbox by Playtime Engineering?

The Blipblox by Playtime Engineering is a fully functional synthesizer designed for kids {and kids at heart} that allows little ones as young as 3 to create new and exciting sounds without the complexity and fragility of a traditional synthesizer. The Blipblox instead makes synthesizers fun, easy, and safe for all ages, inspiring them to create music without all the rules.

Although the Blipblox may be marketed towards kids, parents should know that it also has some really professional features that even older kids and adults will love to use to create music. No, really, it does. Little kids will definitely love the levers, knobs and flashing lights of the Blipblox and the fact that they need little to no instruction before they can play. But, to me, the real fun starts when older kids get their hands on the Blipblox and realize that looks can be deceiving – this is no ordinary kids’ toy.

I loved watching my older two following the signal lines of the Blipblox to connect them to the sounds they were hearing and then read up on the included quick start guide to see what kinds of magic they could create beyond blips and beeps.

Whereas most musical instruments in kids’ hands is basically unlistenable, the Blipblox is different because the synthesizer can play hundreds of built-in melodies, letting the kids modify and explore the tone and texture of each sound, not just individual notes. This essentially means that they can actually create some good sounding music within minutes of opening the package instead of sounding like a wounded animal until you pay for lessons to just make the racket stop.

My kids were really enjoying the modulation filters that allowed them to mesh sounds together in a more cohesive way and create music that I could totally see them grooving to on the radio. Some of it was okay, some hit on great, and even the stuff that wasn’t good at all was still very much tolerable. But, as much as I loved seeing them make actual music instead of random noises, I mostly loved seeing them so excited about a musical instrument – especially one that I was excited about, too.

But, the fun doesn’t stop there with learning what the knobs and levers do to make the most artistic sounds. You can also use the Blipblox for actual music production, which is beyond cool to me. The  addition of the MIDI In function allows you to connect your Blipblox into a studio setup or hook it up to a keyboard, allowing you to add additional melodies and instruments. The addition of the Audio Out feature allows you to hook up to recording devices to actually record your creations. This allows you to create layered tracks and make some really sophisticated music that sounds nothing at all like a kids’ toy.

Beyond music with the Blipblox

I know my kids will have fun playing music with this for hours, but I love that they can also use it in other imaginative play as well. They have already each suggested a new use for it, from pretending the Blipblox is the control of their very own spaceship, airplane, or futuristic car all the way to playing theater with a lights and sounds control board. It was mere minutes before it was suggested that the Blipblox would make a wonderful airplane dashboard, and I loved watching that turn into some imaginative game that involved a flight hat and some sort of steam punk goggles.

Knowing my kids, there are hundreds more ideas that they will dream up for whatever game they are playing with that Blipblox can enhance. As a parent, I love that I can just let them play with it, even with all its professional features. Since it’s rugged enough for little kids aged 3+ to use, I don’t have to stress if it disappears with the kids into their homemade fort or tent for afternoons at a time.

As excited as I am for a new gadget that will expose them to more experimental music through the use of technology, I’m incredibly excited for the creative process as a whole with the Blipblox. My hope is that since the Blipblox will grow with them, they will create some truly awesome memories with this little synthesizer at the center of their play.

Worried that you might be giving your kid the most annoying toy ever? I get it – I used to take out batteries in the super annoying toys, too. In fact, throughout the years we’ve had very few electronic toys for this very reason. But, the Blipblox is different in that the kid has to be actively playing with it for the toy to be making music.

No creepy voices or child-like ditties and songs that make you want to throw the toy in the Goodwill pile, just good old fashioned synth music made by your kids. And, if you do end up needing quiet time, just know that the sound can all be controlled and fine-tuned with the volume knob so you can have it as quiet or loud as you would like, as opposed to the traditional kids toys that simply have two settings – loud and louder.

My advice: Start them young, and then let them loose with the Blipblox. You never know what kind of art they might create, and some of it might be really, really good.

You can find out more about Blipblox by Playtime Engineering here.