Customer Reviews

Melissa & Doug Deluxe Beginner Band Set

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

The whole set looks and feels unfinished. The wood is rough and uncured.
Xylophone is totally useless. Keys are made of wood. It hardly makes any sound and when it does it sounds very off-key.
Rattlers and harmonica work fine. Overall, I wouldn't recommend it.

My 18 month old loves this set! He isn't able to use the kazoo or harmonica yet, but he loves play the xylophone and shake the tamborine while I play the harmonica. It's fun for the whole family.

When I first opened the package I thought it was a little strange that the xylophone is all wood(I was expecting metal bars. It took a little while to get used to the sound of the wooden bars compared with metal. My only complaint is that some of the paint has chipped off of the green bar after a couple weeks of use. Otherwise a great way to introduce your child to the world of instrumental music!

I don't write reviews very often but had to because Melissa and Doug thoroughly disappoint me with this chinzy band set. Like another reviewer stated, the wood is unfinished and rough. The Kazoo doesn't work at all and the xylophone hardly makes any noise. I could have gotten a much better set at Target. Way disappointing. I am shocked too because normally Melissa and Doug make very good products.

I wanted to write an opinion of this because several reviewers say items don't work. My father tried the kazoo and could not get it to make any sound. Then two-year-old Liam put it in his mouth and made sound. It's a kazoo, people. You have to vocalize into it to get sound. You can't just blow.

The xylophone is wood, not metal. But it makes a beautiful sound and is appreciated by little kids, if not adults that have higher expectations. We haven't had it long enough to comment on the paint chipping.

The castanetes do work - you can't hold them in your hand or the sound is muffled. Hold them by the ties and rap them against your other hand. They're great!

Contrary to other reviewers, I found the harmonica worked surprisingly well. Once the kid figures out not to bite it, he'll be fine with it.

I like the "unfinished" feel of the overall product. The toys are simple, with a hand-crafted feel. I much prefer the kids play with these than cheap plastic toys, or toys that make all the noise for you. A child that's used to video games and electronic gadgets is not going to appreciate this toy.

The bottom line is this is a BEGINNER music set - an introduction to musical sounds that the child creates himself! I'm happy to let kids be kids with this simple toy.

We bought this for our daughter's birthday and she loves it! We had a little paint come off of one of the clam-like clap things (very little and it was our fault...I dropped it on a hard floor). Other than that, no problems. It was shipped very well and was received with no defects of any kind.

I shouldn't have wasted my money. The kazoo doesn't work at all. The xylophone barely makes a noise and overall quality is poor.

This just came in the mail and I ran here to write a review.

It's going back ASAP.

The kazoo makes NO noise.

The harmonica takes huge effort to make sound with.

The xylophone is ok.

The finger symbols don't work at all. I tried to retie the straps and had no success.

I recognize some people have loved this toy, however, it's clear the product is inconsistent with it's quality.

BEWARE.

Overall, I really like this set. My almost 2-year old son loves playing all of the instruments - he even plays the harmonica. There are two negatives - the harmonica has tiny screws and one fell out on day two probably. And, because the xylophone is wooden, the sound is not great, a little muted. I wish it was metal - although I know then it would not be a Melissa and Doug.

This looks like a very nice package with natural materials, but I don't recommend. The xylophone barely makes any noise, maybe only 2 bars work, and is extremely off key. One clapper doesn't work due to manufacturing defect, and the kazoo doesn't work. I'd suggest looking elsewhere.

I bought this set for my nieces and they both love it. My younger (18months old) niece dances when the older one (10yrs) plays harmonica. They have a great time. They both love it all. Their mom, however, I feel sorry for. As if their place wasn't noisy enough with 2kids.