Otamatone: The Strange Instrument with a Face

Product Description

Otamatone from Maywa Denki (White)

The otamatone can be played easily and has an analog to digital sound motion with the sounds of a drum. The single note chord has three phases High,Middle and Low. It has the parts divided equally and can be dynamically ensembled just like before.

Features

• BEST SELLING – One of Japan's best selling musical Instrument Portable Synthesizer toys
• FUN & EASY TO PLAY - You can create different sound and pitch by pressing down the middle part of the Otamatone. By sliding down your finger up and down, you can create higher and lower tone.
• Otamatone's face is made out of rubber, and by pushing his cheeks and making his mouth move around, the volume and the bass of the sound changes.
• When you press the cheek, mouth will open. It is a musical insturment, you can enjoy the sound.
• ※AAA Batteries ×3 ※Body Size: Approx 10.6" (27 cm)

Top Reviews

For the sadist, a perfect gift
by Savepoint (5 out of 5 stars)
July 27, 2015

The Otamatone is a peculiar instrument. From a distance, it almost seems like it can be a viable musical tool but, in reality, it falls short of that promise by an daringly wide margin. When you try to play any song to any formidable degree of accuracy, you end up disappointed with the extreme difficulty in keeping a steady pitch.

A curious factor about the instrument is the funny face it wears. It seems happy to exist. But, when you play the thing, you can't help but feel that you're doing nothing but causing it immense and eternal pain. It's jarring to see the steep contrast between those two factors at play.

But, who am I to judge? Although I haven't been able to recognize a reason for its existence, the Otamatone, when at still, seems to be content with its place in the world. And maybe that's all that really matters.
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I don't love it as the stars indicate
by A PC Nerd (5 out of 5 stars)
November 10, 2017

OK, I don't love it as the stars indicate, but my son does which is where it counts as he bought it through my account. For me, a cat with a lisp singing through an overbite while chewing toffee pretty much sums up how I think this sounds... but again, my son loves it and he can make it squeak all sorts of notes that can both entertain and annoy me at the same time
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Arrived broken and it is not eligible for returns
by Kyle (1 out of 5 stars)
December 6, 2018

Although this item is quite adorable and looked fun, I received a unit that did not work properly. It does not respond to my touch about half the time. Playing anything becomes impossible when about half your notes don't register. It appears to be very cheaply made. Amazon refuses to return due to health and safety issues. However, they issued a full refund when I asked about returning it. I would absolutely not purchase this again or recommend getting one.
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My friends told me this was the most annoying thing I've ever showed them
by Dennis Tseng (5 out of 5 stars)
August 16, 2017

My friends told me this was the most annoying thing I've ever showed them. I made someone pause Game of Thrones to watch this. Suffice to say he was pissed beyond belief.
5 stars.
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Mine stopped working too, here's the fix
by C. Manes (4 out of 5 stars)
June 7, 2019

Like other reviews, my kid played with it for a few minutes, then it became intermittent and finally non-functional. The issue is the battery terminals. On the underside of the battery cover are three metal contacts that complete the circuit with three metal contacts on the main housing. I pried these thin pieces up a little more, even taking the cover apart by additionally removing two small screws, to make the metal bulge out a bit more and force a stronger contact with the batteries' + posts. It is much better now.

I thought it only made sound when the mouth was opened, but after this adjustment, it makes sound whenever you touch the ribbon, and the mouth is used for volume/contour adjustment. If yours is sketchy, try holding the battery cover firmly against the body as you touch the ribbon. If you get can it to activate this way, try the above terminal fidgeting.

Lastly, just in general, it's kind of fun. If you go very slow and gradual you can get some nice subtle pitch changes. Quick slides sometimes track nicely, other times it's a bit grungy. It's cute and stupid for $25.
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Idiot not once but twice
by Jennifer Haydon (1 out of 5 stars)
February 11, 2019

Made the mistake of ordering from the same person again, coming to find ANOTHER non-returnable broken toy. I've wasted $50 now. So pissed! The battery casing doesn't sit right when the batteries get in there and doesn't then connect correctly to make noises. Piece of cheap cheap wasted plastic! No good!
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Best impulse buy ever - Musician's perpective
by Kai Tawa (5 out of 5 stars)
February 10, 2014

My Otamatone arrived weeks before it was scheduled to and in perfect condition. Included from the seller (Japan Syndrome) was an adorable origami crane and a letter of thanks as well.

I am a professional music teacher, so I will include some musician-related thoughts on the Otamatone. First of all, this instrument is extremely difficult to play with any level of proficiency. It has no neck markings at all and it takes a good ear to find the right pitches. The scaling of pitches is similar to that of a stringed instrument, with physical space between notes decreasing as the pitch increases. The space between octaves decreases by about half on one range selection.

The timbre is best described through a visit to YouTube, but I could summarize it as a warm, harsh, almost overdriven sawtooth synthesizer tone.

The Otamatone does not appear to be dependent on a 12-tone chromatic scale, as quarter tones can be played. This too adds to the difficulty of the instrument. Mine has a very impressive range, as listed per "octave" switch. Low: D1-E3, Mid: C3-E5, High: F5-G7. The switch that governs range does not simply change the octave cleanly, as you can see.

The fingerboard/touchpad becomes more responsive and less rigid in pitch changes with more use, especially slow, connected glissandos along the neck. A very natural and expressive vibrato is possible with a bit of practice.

The instrument's true charm comes from its ability to lightly emulate the wah-wah effect produced by brass' mutes and guitarists' pedals. Not only is this interesting to listen to, but it is what makes the instrument so incredibly cute and funny! There is no way to overstate how cute this thing is. Dynamically, there is only a switch to control the volume, but the Otamatone's embouchure also governs volume quite noticeably.

My brother has the blue one, and there seems to be a slight difference in the details of range and neck feel. Nothing deal-breaking for me though.

I don't think I would ever seriously use the Otamatone in a live setting (unless I was playing something really strange or covering something as a gag), and it is a little bit pricey. However, it is addictingly fun to play to karaoke tracks and entertain friends. I actually plan on using it as a serious ear-training tool in private lessons, too because of the precision needed to play it correctly.

TL;DR- Very cute, hilarious beyond words, addictingly fun, but generally impractical as a serious musical instrument. Totally worth it, and do not regret buying.
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Fun toy for kids
by SelectiveOne (3 out of 5 stars)
November 19, 2018

My nephew loved this thing. He was so happy and not willing to share with his younger brother. Lol. I was a bit concerned about the battery compartment cover. Design was a bit poor. Needs improvement on tooling so the cover is better anchored and sits more flush with the body with the batteries installed. Seems that one day the batteries may pop out.
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It lasted ONE DAY - Not elligile for return.
by Vishal Gupta (1 out of 5 stars)
February 12, 2019

My Otamatone literally lasted for one day, it was fun while it lasted. Now all of a sudden it won't do anything at all even after swapping batteries. Went to go exchange it only to find out this item is not eligible for return or exchange. Total ripoff.
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Fantastically Fun Little Instrument
by Lisa Shea (5 out of 5 stars)
March 3, 2015

I saw this in a series of YouTube videos and knew I absolutely had to have one. My boyfriend and I are musicians and have all sorts of instruments around the house. But we'd never seen anything like this.

It is just amazingly fun. With a little practice you can get it to do all sorts of things. And that little mouth on the front puts the icing on the cake. The people watching you burst out laughing.

I've even brought this to his gigs and people are fascinated by it. It has its own personality.

Perfect party fun!

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