Best Synths For Kids: 5 Fun Instruments to Get the Child in Your Life Hooked on Synthesizers
Child-friendly synths from Playtime Engineering, Dato Duo, Erica Synths and more.
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Start the young ones in your life down the synthesis road with these five best synths for kids.
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Best Synths For Kids
How old were you when you played your first synthesizer? I was 12; my parents bought me a Korg Poly-800 for Christmas. That started me down the path of synthesis. Although a little unusual by general synthesis standards (it had additive oscillators, after all), the Poly-800 gave me a firm grounding in how to program my own sounds. It also got me a spot in a local garage band, which was tons of fun. I’m forever grateful to my parents for that thoughtful gift.
Now that we’re all grown up (in body at least) it’s time to return the favor to the children in our own lives. You could just splurge and buy your child a Moog Muse or something but that may be overkill. And, depending on their age, that could be wildly inappropriate. Thankfully, there are a number of kid-friendly synths on the market now that will both appeal to them as children and help them learn a bit about synthesis and playing music. Many are affordable to boot.
Here then are five of the best synths for kids of all ages. And hey, even if the child in your life gets bored with it, you can always teach them the importance of sharing and take it for yourself.
Best Synths For Kids: Playtime Engineering Blipblox
Designed for children as young as three, Playtime Engineering’s original Blipblox Synth For Kids was something of a game changer for children’s instruments. Although robust and safe for toddlers, it nonetheless contained a fully featured synthesizer engine. You could use it like a groovebox and have it play the internal melodies (sequences) or connect MIDI and use it as a sound module. The built-in speaker and batteries meant you could play anywhere.
The original model has been discontinued, replaced by the Blipblox SK2 (for kids) and Blipblox After Dark (for teens and adults). Although broadly similar, there are a few differences, such as the number of melodies (100 more in the SK2) and color and diagrams. Both have the same focus on safety and fun – and both have those very grabbable levers for changing melody tempo and filter cutoff.
The SK2 and After Dark are also extremely affordable as far as synths and grooveboxes go. This makes them two of the best synths for kids. Fun fact: Axel Hartmann did the industrial design for the original and After Dark models!
- Playtime Engineering home page
Best Synths For Kids: Dato Duo
Another groovebox-like synth for kids three and up is Duo from Dato. Unlike the Blipblox though (and really any other synthesizer out there), Duo is meant for two people to play at the same time. In that sense, it’s almost like a game, where one person controls the sequencer, changing notes, speed and pitch, while the other works the synthesizer controls, with a filter, bitcrusher, accents and beats. It’s not just one of the best synths for kids: it’s the best synth for two kids!
Although it may not look it, it’s a full-fledged synthesizer, with a digital monophonic engine, two oscillators with saw and pulse waves (including variable pulse width) and a 2-pole lowpass filter with resonance.
Although it’s rated for kids as young as three, Duo may require some adult or big kid supervision. Rather than batteries, it needs USB for power, meaning you can’t just grab and play anywhere. The variety of connects, such as MIDI and sync in and out, suggest it will be most at home in a studio setting (though it does have an onboard speaker).
- Dato home page
Best Synths For Kids: Artiphon Chorda
You may know the name Artiphon. The company is best known for its Orba, a handheld groovebox that looks like an inverted snow globe. The company’s latest instrument is the Chorda. It takes the Orba concept of letting you build up songs from drum, bass, chord and lead components and stretches it out into a long, remote control-shaped instrument.
Sort of like an Omnichord but smaller (and much cheaper), Chorda supports a variety of playing styles. You can strum it, play it flat like a piano or hold it over your shoulder like a violin. It’s aimed at non-musicians and quantized to scales, so it’s hard to hit a bum note. The looper lets you build up musical phrases as well.
Chorda is a good choice for older kids with an interest in music but perhaps not much actual musical experience. Should they eventually outgrow it musically, they can plug it into their computer and use it as an MPE MIDI controller with their DAW. Very cool.
- Artiphon home page
Best Synths For Kids: Erica Synths Bullfrog
Somewhere between the toys of toddlers and professional synthesizers sits Erica Synths’ Bullfrog. Developed with Richie Hawtin, the team made Bullfrog as an instrument to help teach concepts of synthesis to young people (and really anyone wanting to learn). With that in mind, it has oversized and colorful knobs plus clear labeling. Twelve-year-old me would have loved to learn about synthesis on a machine like this.
Bullfrog is more than just an educational device though. It’s a full-featured monophonic analog synthesizer. It’s also meant as a modular primer, with patchpoints that you have to wire up to get any sound out of it. Yes, it may have a desktop form factor but this is a fully modular synthesizer. This – along with the voice cards – makes it eminently expandable as well and one of the best synths for kids.
The Bullfrog isn’t cheap but it could be a fun way for a young person to learn modular synthesis. If you’ve got a Brady Bunch situation happening, you may want to opt for the Bullfrog XL, an oversized version meant for classroom environments. Keep an eye out for the upcoming Bullfrog Drums as well.
- Erica Synths home page
Best Synths For Kids: Teenage Engineering OP-1 Field
This one might be controversial. I am by no means saying that Teenage Engineering’s OP-1 Field is a toy (even if it looks like it). It’s obviously an extremely sophisticated musical instrument that was likely inspired by portable Casio keyboards from the early 80s (which also were/were not toys). But is the OP-1 Field one of the best synths for kids? I’m going to say yes.
Here’s why.
Imagine your 14-year-old on the bus. Instead of doom scrolling TikTok or buying pot on the dark web, they could be making music on an OP-1 Field. With its multiple modes of synthesizer, sampler, drums, tape and mixer, it has everything they might need to start a burgeoning business as a beatmaker. This thing has so much: 12 synth engines, four tape recording formats, built-in effects, a vocoder, even an FM radio. It’s also got an onboard speaker although the bus driver probably won’t like that.
I know what you’re screaming: who can afford this? And if someone can, their kids probably aren’t taking the bus. They take the superyacht to school. Fine, fine. But my point is that the OP-1 Field makes a fine instrument for a young person. And you, by extension.
- Teenage Engineering home page
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2 responses to “Best Synths For Kids: 5 Fun Instruments to Get the Child in Your Life Hooked on Synthesizers”
I played with the Dato Duo a bit. It’s really well made and instant fun. It’s also very playable solo. A good introduction to sequencing as well. If i had $ to spend, I’d go for this one and keep it on the coffee table for kids and guests.
Hipster nonsense?
Surprised Chompi didn’t make the list, given the near state of genuflection from the reviewer!
‘Sooo cute’ , ‘kiddieliscous’ etc etc.