Customer Reviews

Musini - MagicSensor

5 star:		(54)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(20)

 

 

Like other recent reviewers, I purchased this toy for my 3 year old for Christmas after reading great reviews. At first we were very disappointed because the volume was too low and the sensitivity didn't seem right just like the other reviewers describe. I thought I had a defective product but as a last resort I decided to visit the web site... I found that there is a parental volume switch inside the battery compartment that is set to 'low' by default ... reset it and solved that problem. Then I also found a better explanation for how to set the sensitivity than you get in the brief piece of paper that comes with the product. You have to set the dial to 10 and tap once next to the device. If the lights flash continuously after the tap, then the sensitivity is too high and you adjust it down one notch and repeat. It is important to set the sensitivity exactly right for your floor conditions since it senses movement by vibration on the floor. After we got it set right, it has really worked very well and both my 3 and 1 year olds have great fun with it.

With four children ranging from ages 2 - 7, we have had an absolute blast with Musini! Even our two year old has been thrilled by it. At first, he kept interrupting our play by pouncing on Musini to push the buttons. This of course isn't how the toy was intended to be used and was momentarily annoying to the rest of us. That is, until we became caught up in enjoying his excitement, which became fun in itself. Then came the moment of discovery -- that moment that I as a parent live for -- when he discovered that he could actually cause it to respond just by stomping and he could actually "interact" with it. So as my two year old explores the phenomenon of cause and effect, he is not only being musically sensitized, but is also experiencing in a unique way the joy of combining movement with music. (By the way, as a result I decided that it was time to introduce him to Music Blocks. He had already been enjoying Jumbo Music Block but was obviously ready for a higher degree of musical interactivity.)

Note that earlier I said "our play." Even though I initially played with Musini along "with" the kids to encourage their enjoyment, I must honestly tell you that I enjoy it as much as they do. My husband has suggested that we take it out when the kids are sleeping so that we can have it to ourselves. My husband is a musician and it met his ardent approval in terms of sound quality. This has been a consistent theme with the Neurosmith toys at our house -- our musician friends have frequently commented on the quality of the sound. What a brilliant and fascinating "toy." I have sometimes just left it on the floor in an inconspicuous place so that as we walk past, we generate music. It's been fun to watch one of the kids (or a parent) stop to "dance" for a few moments before continuing on.
I also like the fact that one product can expose my children to so many different types of sounds and musical genres (especially by using the additional cartridge -- we're ready for a new one!).

I bought this toy for my 4.5 year old son for Christmas because he loves music and motion--seemed ideal. I was extremely disappointed in how low it is--my son is hard of hearing and could not hear it at all unless he held it up to his head. He quit playing with it. Then this weekend, we cleaned out toys and ran across it. I was going to put it in the giveaway bag, but thought I would look into the product first. Once I discovered the volume switch inside the battery compartment (actually through these reviews, which I checked first to find out of other people liked it!), we were set! We have been having fun with it ever since. What a relief to know I didn't waste my money and my kids have a toy they love! And I never thought I'd want a toy to be louder!

Wow, this is a very unusual but fun toy. My husband and I bought it for our 3 year old and we stayed up all night playing or should I say dancing to it! It's really amazing. With each step it plays music and gets faster or slower with your movement. My 3 year old loved it and wouldn't stop moving around. Definately worth the money!

This toy is absolutely addictive -- for all ages. We got it as a gift for our 4-year-old daughter, and she loves it. It's a great way for her to "go wild" in a small space! But our 11-month-old likes it just as much. She bops to the music and pushes the buttons. Did I mention the grownups? We play with it to, seeing what combinations of music we can produce. The possibilities seem limitless.

This is a toy that was bought for the grandkids to play with at our house. I think it should be a bit more sensitive but they don't seem to mind. If the music doesn't play they just stomp their feet when they dance and then it does. And they think stomping is fun. However they do tire of it after 20 minutes or so. It doesn't play on the carpet at all but does o.k. on the kitchen floor. I have to say though I got it at the sale price and with the clarity of the music it was worth the money and I don't regret buying it at all. Besides its something all of the kids can do at the same time so I consider that a good deal. If this one quit working I would buy another one because while they're playing with it they're having a ball. The really nice thing about it is all you have to do to activate it is dance--even the babies can do that and it doesn't take them long to get the idea. A good deal.

This is a great toy. I bought it for my boys who are 5 and 2 1/2. They both love it!

Top features for kids:
Simple - Just move.
Empowering - They both love to explore and create music and with Musini they are in control.
Fun - They play and laugh together for ages with this toy.

Top features for adults:
Easy - sensitivity adjustments are a breeze and away from little fingers. Setting it properly takes care of the buzz.
Control - There is a high/low volume switch inside the battery area that controls just how loud the outside volume can go.
Fun - We play together seeing how fast or sudden we can make the music, sing along with the children's songs, and make up stories and actions for the music.

I wish this product had: The on/off switch on top of the unit. My 2 1/2 year old flips the product over to turn it off and on. It is taking the abuse, but I wish he didn't have to bash it to get to the switch.

The Musini is a great toy, but buyers should be aware that Neurosmith has closed it's business. The Magic Wand accessory that came with my Musini doesn't seem to work. I tried their website for support, but it seems to be permanently down, so I called the company phone number in Long Beach, CA for support, and you get a message that they've closed.

Don't get me wrong, we enjoy this thing. Our 11 month old loves whacking at it. The sound is great (BUT... make sure you go into that battery compartement and turn the volume to HIGH. It's a different and much better toy after you do this. The difference is amazing.)
And we also have the music blocks. They're great too.
BUT.
First, I'm a trained musician. A real one. Please DO NOT believe what Neurosmith says about this toy teaching your child ANYTHING about form. It will barely teach them anything about ryhthym. BECAUSE: though you do control they tempo by the rate of stomping or whacking, the musical form is essentially preset. Much of it sounds cool, but it's impossible (for me and my music-drenched children) to get any sense of CONTROL of the musical variations. As far as I can tell, tempo is pretty much it. And there's a problem with that too... if you stomp a tempo faster than what the 'song' was designed for, the musical material lacks coherence. And for form you NEED coherence. And for rhythym (which is different from tempo) you NEED coherence.
But, it is fun. It's not what it's cracked up to be... but fun.
That said, the concept really does have potential. I'm hoping Neurosmith takes all the money the made with the hype and develops is. As a previous reviewer stated, the presence of an infared sensor allowing for thematic variation would be marvelous.
Also note the mysterious expansion port on the unit. One wonders if Neurosmith knows the unit has severe limitations as is... and has planned all along to work on that. They could do it.
Like I said... fun doodad. Nice sound (Turn it ALL the way up in the battery compartment and on the dial, plug it into your stereo, and control the volume on the stereo unit. This thing will then ROCK, and you will NOT get the static others have mentioned. Actually, with the volume up, you don't get the static on the unit itself.)
HEY NEUROSMITH... you listening? We invested... we see the potential. Let's go there.

We purchased 5 of these for grandchildren, neices, nephews and friends and tried them all out after opening one and discovering that the flashing lights cause it to make this static noise with each flash of the lights. With the sound up loud enough, you can't hear it, but for as great as Neurosmith stuff usually is, I was surprised that this noise is present in all five we purchased. Also kind of frustrating that Neurosmith's "customer service" comprises one woman's voicemail who apparently doesn't return phone calls.