Blipblox is a colourful plastic synth that wants to turn your whole family into Kraftwerk

Plenty of kids have toy instruments, but Blipblox ($139) flips things around, being a full-fledged synth masquerading as a colourful hunk of plastic. Its luridly coloured controls are perfect for tiny hands, enabling younglings to plot a future course to superstardom by way of smackable buttons and twisty knobs. But when your kid goes to bed, Blipblox provides scope for adult entertainment, too (no, not that kind), with MIDI in, audio out, an integrated drum machine, LFO modes, and multiple oscillator schemes. Just think how you’ll stand out on stage when shoving that big red lever to ramp up tempo, rather than listlessly tapping at a key on your notebook. And if it turns out you suck, Blipblox’s durable splash-resistant plastic case means while you’ll get soaked by beers lobbed by angry patrons, the synth will keep on blipping and blooping.