Pocket steel drums aren't made of steel, aren't really drums (video)
By Joseph L. Flatley 
posted October 15th 2009 4:52PM
posted October 15th 2009 4:52PM
You'd be surprised how many requests we get for more gadgets that help our readers celebrate their love of the Caribbean culture and music. Luckily for us, the kids at Vat19 are now hawking a mini steel drum set that seems like it just might do the trick (that is, if the 'trick' can be 'done' by putting more red, yellow, and green-colored crap on your desk). By all accounts, this thing is pretty unexceptional -- it'll let you bang out an 8 note major scale, let you record your performance, and that's about it. Hell, it doesn't even really sound like steel drums! But the distributor did manage to get it to play Just A Friend by the incomparable Biz Markie -- and in our eyes, that's definitely worth a mention. All the same, we're rather have the Stylophone Beatbox. Yours for $18.95. Video after the break.
[Via Engadget German]
[Via Engadget German]
See more video at our hub!
It's a nice finger exercise. Do not let your fingers lay on the keyboard all day.
crap gadget.
I am pretty sure that my local Walgreen's has had something like this for the last 10 years. Evidently engadget just discovered the "toy aisle" in Walgreen's. :D
@OneLove
Exactly what I was thinking
man... what a crappy music toy. Saw that kind of thing more than 20 years ago.
For those of you who have iPhone and iPod touch, try out the Matrix Music Pad. It's $1.99 which gives you a very innovative interface in music playing and composing.
But you say he's just a friend...Oh baby YOU, you got what I NEED!
That song made it a must buy
Rastafari
Caribbean steel band hero. Mon!
awesome Biz Markie reference!
8 notes? While that covers the basic C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C (1 octive above) scale, how does it cover sharps and flats? The buttons below the drums didn't seem to be for that usage, and octave changes seem to be out of the questions. Why not just get a cheep keyboard that mimics the sound this produces (and at better quality).
Still, it's amusing, that's for sure.
On second thought, maybe I just overthought the complexity of this. The target market is obviously not major music players :P
My version (that I'm sure others have thought of):
OH BABY YOU Got a disease! And you say it's just a rash, but it's all over your face and ass, OH BABY YOU!!!!!...(that's all I've got :( )
You forgot the "Crapgadget" that was supposed to be in the title.
Only gadgets with USB are conferred that title.
It's sickening that Engadget gets away with such interfaceism. Some of those crapgadgets are not even true USB devices, they just suck power from the port!
crap crap craaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaap ! and a waste of 57 seconds I never can gain back
Everyone needs to be able to bang on drums now and then.
this is why i keep coming back. Great pic and memories!
i laughed so hard.
So they took a toy piano, made it harder to play, and stole most of the usefulness from it... Awesome...
What's the point? The stuff isn't even that cheap.
Er, I mean, BEGONE, vile spammer. Ban! Ban!
Freaky... "Just a Friend" randomly came up on shuffle just as I loaded the engadged front page... not sure if I'm more creeped out, or ashamed to have more than one Biz Markie songs on my phone...
the sad part is it's painted in jamaican colors when the steel drum was invented in trinidad. but i guess cheap marketing overshadows accurate cultural history. :(