Customer Reviews

Blue Man Group Percussion Tubes

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Unfortunately, this products concept is much better than the actual product itself. First, the packaging that the product comes in takes a structural engineer or master thief to open. The complexity at which the box is constructed is the products most amazing attribute. One of the biggest flaws of this product is that it is not a percussion toy as you might expect from the drum sticks/mallets included. The sounds are triggered by motion sensors inside the tubes, made simply by waving a hand or other object over them. This makes it very difficult to actually play the sounds you are trying to make without moving over the other tubes and triggering those sounds as well. The quality of the speaker is poor, popping and cracking at middle volume settings. The iPod integration is no more than an audio jack that plays your iPod through its' sub-par speaker. There is a cheap drawer to hold your iPod with a hole in the bottom to route the audio cable back to the audio jack. The sounds that you can make are limited and not very creative coming from a BMG product. I would be surprised if the "songs" were created/endorsed by the BMG as they are equally uninspired. Not to mention the "tin-like" sounds coming from the crap speaker (did I mention that?) As a BMG fan, this product looks to be no more than a great brand wrapped on a well-below average musical toy. Not recommended, especially at $[...]. Not even worth half of that.

The concept of this instrument is great, very different from anything else on the market in this catagory...however, it is very difficult to get any precision when playing it, because the tubes are so close together. It takes some time, effort, patience, and practice to play an actual tune on it. Definitely an instrument for an older child. The sound effects are awesome though! My kids love it!

One has about 6 background melodies to chose from. The tube sounds can be
changed to snare, xylophone, drums, and tymphany sounds. One neat thing is
if kids lose or break sticks, they can wave hands over tubes to create the
sounds. Some limitations, but for the cost, appropriate. -DG

I recently got one of these blue man group drum sets....and let me tell you, it was worth saving for! It is the most fun toy I have ever had, and I use It all the time! I got it, and my first reaction was,"SWEET!!!" If you get the blue man group precussion instrument, I'm sure you'll say the same!

This is the only thing my daughter really keyed in on for Christmas 06. She never wavered, so I ordered it as her big gift from Santa. My husband thought it would be a bust and she wouldn't play with it. She has not stopped playing with it, making her own beats, "writing" her own songs with beats and lyrics. She took it to school today to show for "favorite gift" show and tell. She is six, soon to be 7. She immediately said, "maybe she could get the keyboard for next Christmas" and when I reminded her that her birtday was coming much sooner and maybe she could get it then, she was thrilled. She also wants a microphone to plug into it as well. She seems to be loving it.

LOVE IT! Got for XMAS for myself and my grandson to play with. He loves it too! Great value! Lots of features and flexibility for the price. Minor complaints: 1) Should include AC power adapter. 2) My older (3rd generation) iPod is too thick to fit in the MP3 player tray. 3) Should include cable to play through external amp and/or speakers.

My eight-year-old son received this as a Christmas gift. He spent a considerable amount of time playing with it upon opening it and quite often since then. The item was ready to go--no assembly, although the box was a little tricky to open. He ultimately took it with him to "jam" with his twenty-four-year-old cousin and had a blast. He has been to two BMG shows and was thrilled to receive this gift. While not intended for professional musicians--it is a TOY--it has been ideal for his use. I highly recommend it for the fun factor and as a creative outlet.

The packaging on this product is crazy; you don't find out you have to undo the bottom screws until you already have the package open somehow. ;-) Besides that, this is a lot of fun, with lots of different ways to use/be creative with it. I got it for an adult who is getting into percussion, not a kid, and he seemed really intrigued (we've seen the Blue Man Group).

The tubes are a blast. You can play them while you listen to your favorite tunes or just groove on your own! I bought these for my 9-year-old daughter and she loves them. She has to be in the mood to play with them but when she does, it's a blast. They're just plain fun! I would imagine they're awesome for the serious musician.

My 5-year-old loved this toy but it has completely died. Sad because he thought it was great fun. E-mails to the customer service listed in the manual bounce and it's way too expensive to buy a replacement.

We did also have a huge laugh because it was near impossible to remove from the packaging. Directions were INSIDE the box when we finally got it open (no joke, it took at least 30 minutes, a phillips screwdriver and lots of patience).