Otamatone

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Otamatone

Otamatone ( Japaneseオ タ マ ト ー ンOtamatōn ) is an electronic music synthesizer in the form of a toy . It was developed in 1998 in Japan by the toy company CUBE and the design company Maywa Denki under the direction of the brothers Masamichi and Nobumichi Tosa.

description

The otamatone is a singing toy, the body of which is shaped like an eighth note (it also resembles a tadpole , “Otamajakushi” is Japanese for “tadpole”), with the sound emerging from a “mouth” on the notehead . Two hands are required to play: While one hand is holding and pressing the “head”, the other hand controls the pitch of the melody by placing the finger on a ribbon controller on the stem. A higher position on the stem produces a lower sound. The ribbon controller is deliberately designed to resemble a guitar , so that there is less space between higher notes than between lower ones. Varying the pressure on the head (opening and closing the Otamatone's “mouth”) creates a “ wah-wah effect” and when the throat is shaken (slightly changing the pressure on the head) it creates one Vibrato effect. The switches at the back of the head allow users to change the octave , turn it on or off, or change the volume .

reception

The sound of this toy can be compared to the sound of a theremin , synthesizer, or jinghu . On YouTube several were cover versions of popular songs published with the Otamatone.

variants

The original Otamatone is available in black, white, yellow, blue and pink and two transparent colors. There are also several variants of the Otamatone. These are:

  • The Otamatone Melody or Otamatone Mini , a tiny variant that does not have a note selection slide and therefore only reproduces predetermined pieces that are also available in several colors.
  • The Otamatone Deluxe , a slightly larger version (44 cm) with a longer neck, line-out socket, power input, three-stage pitch switch and analog volume control. It is only available in black and white.
  • The Otamatone Wahha GoGo , which is similar to the original, but with an alternative design with teeth based on the Wahha Gogo developed by Maywa Denki in 2009. It is available in silver and gold.
  • The Otamatone Digital , which replaces the note selector with a small piano keyboard. It allows you to play chords as well as multiple notes at the same time . It is also able to play back electric guitar or percussion sounds.
  • The Otamatone Jumbo , a much larger version that hits the side like a guitar and includes a clamp to squeeze the mouth. It was only used at demonstration events.
  • Versions with a special appearance of fictional characters.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ about Otamatone - Otamatone . In: Otamatone . ( otamatone.com [accessed November 1, 2018]).
  2. ↑ Maywa Denki - Otamatone . In: Otamatone . December 13, 2009 ( otamatone.com [accessed November 1, 2018]).
  3. ^ Sarah M. Schlachetzki: Fusing Lab and Gallery: Device Art in Japan and International Nano Art . transcript Verlag, 2014, ISBN 978-3-8394-2026-3 ( google.com [accessed November 1, 2018]).
  4. ↑ about Otamatone - Otamatone . In: Otamatone . ( otamatone.com [accessed November 1, 2018]).
  5. ↑ otamatone cover - YouTube. Retrieved November 1, 2018 .
  6. ↑ Otamatone shop - buy here! In: Otamatone . ( otamatone.com [accessed November 1, 2018]).