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Comment by jacobolus | Hacker News Reader

Can anyone recommend a good synth that will be fun to play with but not too confusing for 3–5 year old kids? (With adult helpers who have some basic piano experience but don’t know much about synths.)

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Just jump on CL or your local equivalent and grab something < $100. Its not like your 5yo is going to appreciate the difference much. They'll pick up whatever you throw at them.

The Playtime Audio Blipblox might fit the bill. It's a proper synth, but it's built like a Fisher Price toy.

https://blipblox.com/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1s98te0b4bo

From a more music-oriented perspective, I might suggest the Casio SA-77 - it's a whole bunch of fun for $50.

https://www.amazon.com/Casio-SA76-mini-Sized-Tones/dp/B00Q83...

Blipblox is such a disappointment (we have one). Worth $80 not $179. Totally agree sa77 is the way to go.

What was disappointing about it? Can’t make enough sounds? Hard for experts to control? Too confusing for kids? Too fragile? ...

Does it get any more interesting if you hook it up to an external midi input like a keyboard or sequencer?

The Casio SA77 doesn’t seem to have any Midi out, so it couldn’t e.g. be combined with the blipblox.

This is a big hit in my household, and also has light-up keys so I can learn the songs my kid likes and play them on the big synths. Likewise, it takes a lot of physical abuse (getting dropped, a lot) and is fine. https://www.amazon.com/VTech-Record-and-Learn-KidiStudio/dp/...

The human voice is one of the most amazing analog synths. Let them learn to speak and sing before dropping what's fundamentally mathematical on them. A keyboard with presents will do just fine once the motor control is good enough and the hands big enough, perhaps. A set of pots and spoons makes for a fun drum kit, too, by the way. You are primarily concerned about creativity, isn't it?

I bought one of these for my kids - https://blipblox.com/

No keyboard but it’s a blast.

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