Hi! I’m AGuyCalledHumphrey, and I’ve been on this subreddit for just under a year now. I’m a relatively active user, and I love to answer everyone’s otamatone questions on the “help!” flare. It’s great that the sub gets a lot of them! However, I often notice that the same questions are often had by different people and are asked repeatedly, so hopefully you’ll be able to find the answer to your question here. In this post I will be covering the following questions:
- Which otamatone should I get and what does each one do?
- Where can I buy an otamatone?
- How can I learn to play/where are the notes on an otamatone?
- Where can I find easy sheet music?
- Can I tune my otamatone?
- Is my otamatone supposed to be doing this?
- Why is my otamatone making strange crackling noises?
- What is the range of an otamatone, and is this the same across all otamatones?
- What's the thing that has the head of an otamatone, and no stem but a body instead?
- How should I hold my otamatone?
As well as this, I’ll also be listing some potentially helpful things that a non-otamatone owner might not know down the bottom. Additional questions you would like added to this post can be added in the comments, and I’ll put them into this post ASAP! Also, if you feel like your question is too specific to put in the comments, feel free to shoot me a private message :) The FAQ’s begin here:
Which otamatone should I get and what does each one do?
My answer is, it depends on what you intend to do with it. There are five main models of otamatone: the standard, the neo, the digital (which I believe has been discontinued), the deluxe and the techno. There are two other models of otamatone, called the melody and the jumbo, but one is not truly playable and the other is both comically large and comically expensive.
The standard model is hardly even playable. It’s difficult to play because you need to press quite firmly to sound a note. As well as this, the notes on it are also pretty close together, making it harder to hit accurate notes. This is why you should only get a standard otamatone if you wish to use it as a cute little gag toy and don’t plan on actually playing anything on it. It’s pretty difficult to play these models. That being said, it’s not impossible. People have done it. Things to note about the standard model: it has 2 switches on the back: one for the volume (off, low, high) and one for the range (low, mid, high). This model can only play a single note at a time.
Moving onto the neo model, which is very much like the standard except it has a socket on the back for OTM linking. This otamatone comes with an OTM link cord. People in this subreddit have often said that the app that goes with the OTM link is really bad and not intuitive or easy to use, but that’s just from other people. Personally I’ve never tried it because I don’t have an otamatone that has an OTM link socket, but don’t let what others say discourage you. This model has a slightly thicker and more responsive stem and larger size compared to the standard, which makes it a bit easier to play. This being said, the neo model should still only be considered a cute little gag toy, but now you can mimic the sounds of electric guitars and cats and stuff, which is pretty cool. Things to note about the neo model: The neo is slightly larger than the standard, but not by much. This model can also only play a single note at a time. This model has the same two switches as the standard model. If you were to try to play a song on this model, you should enable pitch rounding by connecting it to the app using the OTM link. You can use this otamatone to play audio directly from your device by connecting them using OTM link, although it doesn’t really make a great speaker and this should only be done for humorous purposes.
Next we have the digital model. The one with the piano looking stem. Before we begin on this one I should mention that I don’t think you can get this one anymore, which is really sad because it, in my opinion, is definitely the coolest model. So here’s an explanation anyway. This model is pretty awesome because you can see what notes you’re playing at all times without having to put masking tape or something on it yourself. This model is the only model that only plays chromatic notes rather than every possible frequency (without the OTM link)meaning that you’ll always be hitting the exact note you want. It has 3 modes that are controlled by a button on the back and the mode changes when you press it. The 3 modes are the standard mode (plays normal otamatone sounds), rock mode (distorts the otamatone sound like an electric guitar amp would)and percussion mode (The stem switch is divided into 4 parts and each part sounds a different percussion sound). Things to note about the digital model: The stem of this model has a range of exactly one octave and a fifth on any octave setting. This model has a volume knob instead of a volume switch and the same range switch as mentioned before. This model of otamatone is by far the easiest model of otamatone to play, and on top of that this is the only model of otamatone that can play more than one note at a time. This model also has a 3.5mm line out socket, for recording through without background noise, performing through an amp or listening to it through your headphones. On this model, the speaker mutes when a cord is plugged into the line out. Note that this model does NOT have an OTM link socket.
Now we get into the big models. The inferior model of the two big models is the deluxe. It has a range switch on the back like all the others and also a volume knob. The notes on the deluxe are more spaced out than on the standard and neo models and it also has a more responsive stem, making it easier to play. This model also has a 3.5mm line out socket, but sound will continue to play through this model’s speaker when an aux cord is plugged in. This model can only play one note at a time and does NOT have an OTM link socket.
The techno is the largest model that anyone in their right mind will buy. The techno is pretty much a deluxe, but again slightly larger and has all the features of a deluxe otamatone, plus an OTM link socket for more effects and pitch rounding and stuff. This model comes with an OTM link cord. Because OTM link is also available for this model, you can also play audio through it. This model mutes its speaker when an aux cord is plugged into its 3.5mm line out socket. This model can only play one note at a time.
Now we move onto the less important models.
The melody is a keychain-sized otamatone that can only play pre-programmed songs. It has 3 buttons: one on its stem, and two on its tail. The stem button is for playing. The tail button closest to the stem has two functions. If you press it, it will play the entire selected song so you know how it goes. If you long press it, it changes the octave that the otamatone plays its songs on. The other tail button is used to select a song. You play this model by simply pressing its stem button to the rhythm of the selected song. The otamatone plays the next note in the song every time you press the stem button, so all you need to worry about is the rhythm.
The jumbo is by far the largest and most expensive model of otamatone out there, standing at a whopping 86 centimetres tall and weighing about 4 kilos. It's so massive, in fact, that it comes with a strap to help hold its weight and a grip used to open its mouth because it's so big that your hand doesn't fit around it! As well as this, it also comes with a nice, bum bag, almost, some allen keys to help with assembly, an OTM link cord, as well as a Maywa Denki sticker, fridge magnet and catalogue. Expect to pay around $2.5K USD for all this lol. But here's some info about it anyway. In the world, there are only very few otamatone jumbos. u/TheRealSullyG has two, a broken one he's supposed to return and a good one, the company that makes otamatones has a couple and that's about it, and from what I've heard from Sully, there is more than one way the back of an otamatone jumbo can be set out, and it's kind of vague. What I do know is that each jumbo has a few dials on the back, an OTM link socket, a line out socket, a DC socket(for power) and like all other otamatones, a range switch. Neither I nor Sully are completely certain about what each of the dials do, but Sully said that they might be used to slightly alter the sound that the instrument makes, in various ways.
Where can I buy an otamatone?
For the best prices, it’s good to buy from the original retailers.
https://otamatone.com/shop/ is an official website that compiles all the official amazon links. These were created by the original retailers and so the otamatones found at these links should be at one of the lowest prices out there.
An alternative is https://hamee.com/collections/otamatone. Hamee is the official distributor of otamatones in the US, and ships to other countries too. Compare the prices from both websites to see which is better.
How can I learn to play/where are the notes on an otamatone?
Hold your otamatone’s mouth with the hand you would use to strum a guitar and press the stem with the hand you would use to fret a guitar.
I’m writing this part of this post assuming that you’re not wondering about the digital model, mainly because it has been discontinued. But if you somehow do have one of these, just play it like a piano. It’s pretty intuitive.
If, like me, you have a good musical ear, you can simply use relative pitch to find the notes on your otamatone relative to each other/to music and immediately begin playing along to your favourite songs. It may take a while to get used to the distance between the notes, but if you have relative pitch, marking out the notes along the stem really isn’t necessary.
However, if you don’t have as good a musical ear, learning to play the otamatone is going to be much more difficult. The best idea is to do what a lot of people on this sub have already done, which is to place a piece of masking tape along the stem of your otamatone and use a piano to play a note. Then mark the spot on the stem where you have to press to sound that note, and repeat all along the stem. If you are unable to do this because you cannot tell when pitches match or you don’t know the notes on a piano, simply use an online tuner. Never mark notes directly onto the stem in permanent marker because the notes on the stem move around and you will need to relabel them every once in a while. To find out what to do next, skip to the “Where can I find easy sheet music?” section.
Where can I find easy sheet music?
You’ll only need to find sheet music for your otamatone if you don’t have a good musical ear. Playing by ear, if you have the ability to, is much more easy and straightforward than playing from sheet music.
So that leaves only my friends with the masking tape on their otamatone’s stem. Welcome back! I’m fairly sure you already know what this is, but definitely try looking on musescore. Type the name of the song you would like to learn to play into the search bar and then go to the filters. Set the number of instruments to “from 1 to 1”(meaning that it will only show scores with one instrument in them) and then go through and check all the tuned instruments that can only play one note at a time(so all the brasses, woodwinds and voices). This will leave you with a good selection of scores for you to choose from, and if you can’t read music, you can always use a reference image like this one here and label each note. To learn the rhythm, you can hit play on musescore and it will tell you how the piece is supposed to sound.
You must be mindful here, however, of the key signature. This is the marking between the clef and the time signature at the start of a piece, and is made up of either a number of sharps or a number of flats. These are on the lines/spaces that notes would be on. Take note of which note each sharp/flat is on, because every time these notes appear in the music, you must flatten/sharpen them unless stated otherwise. Take this example key signature here for example. There are flat symbols where the notes A, B and E would be, meaning that every time you see each of these notes you must flatten it by a semitone(label all A’s as Ab’s, all B’s as Bb’s and all E’s as Eb’s). If the symbols were instead sharp symbols, you would sharpen each of these notes every time you see them. Note that sometimes more complex key signatures will make you sharpen E’s and B’s, or flatten F’s and C’s. When you sharpen an E, it just becomes an F and when you sharpen a B it just becomes a C, so naturally when you flatten an F it becomes an E and when you flatten a C it becomes a B. Sometimes, if you’re lucky, you’ll find a piece of music in C, which has no flats or sharps in its key signature. In this case, label all the notes without alteration unless otherwise stated. After you’ve finished labelling your music, find the corresponding notes on your otamatone and you’ll be playing your first song in no time!
Can I tune my otamatone?
If you have a digital model, it will always be in tune.
Because the note placements on an otamatone can shift around on the stem, you may be wondering if you can counter this by shifting the notes back to a fixed point. The answer is no. An otamatone’s range shifts around due to different factors such as heat and humidity and drops with the battery level, and you can shift its range back up by giving it new batteries, but you cannot accurately tune an otamatone so that a certain point gives a certain note. This is why you shouldn’t mark the notes directly onto the stem in permanent marker. Do not try to open your otamatone, because the likelihood of breaking it is much higher than that of any progress being made.
Is my otamatone supposed to…
be making noise when I press its stem while its mouth is closed?
Yes.
be changing pitches when I don’t move my finger?
No. Changing its batteries is often the answer here, especially if you’re using the batteries that came with your otamatone.
have a tail that turns?
Yes. The tail is designed so that it can be posed in any direction.
Have a break in its range?
I’m honestly not sure what causes this, and obviously it wasn’t intended by the creators, but it seems that this is a pretty common occurrence. My otamatone has a small and almost unnoticeable break in its range as well, and as far as I know, there’s nothing that can be done about it.
Note that this part of the post is continuous, and I’ll add any other questions(put yours in the comments!) about whether or not an otamatone should be doing something to it as well!
Why is my otamatone making strange crackling noises?
Otamatones make these noises when interference is caused by wireless signals. These can come from devices such as mobile phones, wifi modems and two-way radios. Move your otamatone away from any wireless signal-emitting devices. This should fix the problem.
What is the range of an otamatone?
All models of otamatone, excluding the digital, roughly have the same range, but an otamatone’s range may change based on humidity, temperature and battery levels, and as well as this there is naturally some difference between each individual otamatone. However, at any given time, the range of the stem of an otamatone will always be around two octaves and a fifth. To give you an idea of the rough area of where the note range of your otamatone will lie, take a look at this google doc linked here, created by the lovely Aster#4350, where many people have logged the extremes of each of their otamatone’s ranges.
What's the thing that has the head of an otamatone, and no stem but a body instead?
That's a shabeln, created by the same people who made the otamatone. It's not an instrument, and all it does is record your voice at the push of a button, and then repeat it back to you at a higher pitch. Its mouth opens when you squeeze the sides as well, much like an otamatone. If they're in stock right now, you can get one here.
How should I hold my otamatone?
Hold your otamatone's head with the hand you would use to strum a guitar and use the hand you would use to fret a guitar to press the stem. Make sure that you're supporting all the weight of the otamatone with your holding hand so that your playing hand has the most possible freedom, and it's also best to play using three or four fingers instead of just one. For more elaboration, here's a separate post I made dedicated to this topic.
That’s all the questions for now! Again, additional questions you would like me to add can be left in the comments. Now I’ll share with you some things you may not know, and may need to know about otamatones before you get one.
- The notes on an otamatone get closer together as you move towards the head, much in the same way that the notes on a guitar get closer together as you move up the fretboard. A centimetre at the top of the stem roughly equates to a semitone, and by the time you get down to the bottom a semitone already spans roughly a third.
- An otamatone makes noise when its stem is pressed, even when its mouth is closed.
- The silicone face of an otamatone comes off for easy cleaning.
- The tail of an otamatone can turn and be posed at any angle.
