Zoundz Is a Big Hit!

Besides being a gadget hound, I'm a music nut. And every now and then a music gadget or game comes out that gets me superexcited. I still haven't forgotten the cool 2D musical puzzles and contraptions I built with 1996's SimTunes for the PC. That program's creator, Toshio Iwai, followed up with the equally un-put-down-able Elektroplankton for the Nintendo DS last year. (The gist of the latter game is to create different automatic and ever-changing musical patterns by shifting around the pieces of various musical puzzles—essentially, interactive sound sculptures.)

Now Zoundz—the new music gadget I'm currently obsessed with—isn't as complex as Elektroplankton, but it is in 3D and made of plastic, rubber, and stringy "fur." The toy/gadget consists of a curvy plastic slab and seven differently shaped, colored, and textured pieces (a see-through red cylinder, a yellowish, bottle-shaped chess pawn, and a furry white mound, among others).

Turn the Zoundz unit on (it runs on AA batteries) and you'll see three round "hotspots" on the surface flashing in different colors. Each of the pieces creates its own unique musical sound as soon as it's placed on one of the hotspots. The sounds change depending on which hotspot a piece is placed on. The orange, star-shaped piece creates different percussive patterns (house-y drumbeats, electro-beeps and clicks) on each of the three hotspots, while the bottle-shaped pawn plays quasi-string themes that are sometimes violin-like, sometimes cello-like. There's even a sound-recorder piece that lets you record your own voice (or anything) else to integrate into the mix.

In addition, Zoundz has a button to adjust tempo, echo, and reverb effects, which only adds more variety to the many hours of musical mixes—mostly of the electronic and ambient variety—you can create.

I can't stop playing with this thing, as it's practically an instrument. I got my musician brother hooked on the device, and even my 98-year-old grandmother found it intriguing (for about five minutes).

It also has an audio-in that lets it serve as a crappy iPod speaker, albeit with flashing lights. I only wish it had an audio-out, so I could blast my impromptu mixes through my stereo!

Zoundz is made by Zizzle, the same company that created 2005's iZ bipedal DJ toy, a hot item during last year's holiday season. Along with Nabaztag and the Robosapien, Zoundz is one my favorite toy-cum-gadgets and is guaranteed to make a great gift for any music lover or sound nut. I highly recommend it. I first saw it on Firebox.com but found it for considerably less (about $40) at my good ol', local brick-and-mortar Wal-Mart, of all places.

Anybody got any other favorite music games or gadget? Let me know so I can go out and get it!

Related links:

New Nabaztag/tag Can Hear and Smell

Holiday Gizmo Shopping Made Wacky

Guilty Pleasure: The i-Fish Robo-Speaker

Roboreptile: Faster, Feistier, and More Coordinated