So often when I’m buying toys for my kids, I think back to my childhood and what was fun. Back then, while we did have an original Atari and later a Nintendo 64 (yes, I am that old!), most of my memories of toys were those that were simpler. I remember playing for hours on a tape recorder with my brother and sister and I could not wait to let my children dig into their new sound gadget from Brand New Noise.
Can I just tell you how much FUN with have been having with this? I’ve been leaving messages for the kids when they wake up in the morning and when they get home from school. They left a “happy birthday” message to a neighbor and even recorded a message for customers at their lemonade stand. Of course the most fun we’ve had is with the sound manipulation. At one twist of the knob, the recorded voice becomes low and slow (when I changed my message this way, my two-year-old son looked at the box and said “Hi, Daddy!”) while turning it the other way speeds things up and makes the voice higher (a la Chipmunks). My kids love it so much we’ve had to allot time to each child to play with it. Admittedly I’m having a blast with it, too!
Richard Upchurch started Brand New Noise after he built a noise box for his nephew. His nephew loved it so much he took it to show and tell. The teachers loved it. The other kids loved it. And the business was born. Really! Brand New Noise is taking advantage of the love of simple technology by hand crafting several different sound gadgets out of wood. From the most simple in the collection, the lil’ mib (message in a box) to the more complicated, best-suited for musicians model, the zoots (kalimba), Brand New Noise has a handcrafted sound gadget for you. They even have a build your own model for those of you who love a good DIY!
Brand New Noise handcrafts each recorder in the US with sustainable, American wood. And Brand New Noise provides internships for youth in the inner city through organizations who elevate expectations of success and self-sufficiency. Now that is a cause I can definitely support! Since pictures really don’t do these gadgets justice, here is a link to a video of the toys in action. And here is another one. MUCH better than a text message! How do you think you and your kids would use Lil’ Mib? It’s not hard to imagine all of the fun you can have with this little gadget!
GIVEAWAY
Brand New Noise is offering one SIMPLE reader a Lil’ Mib sound gadget.
Fiona N
May 28, 2015 at 10:01 pmI really love the Loopy lou (voice recorder) with loop switch to record love messages for my son!
Thank You for the chance
Lisa L
May 28, 2015 at 9:39 pmI also like the Loopy Lou. I love that it’s so simple to record sounds. This would be a fun way for my family to spend time together creating our own ‘music’!
trixx
May 28, 2015 at 9:19 pmZoots would be totally fun. What a simple design yet makes such a wide array of sounds. How neat. I think my family and I would get a kick out of recording some sweet melodies!
Audra watts
May 26, 2015 at 7:00 pmI like the build it yourself kit it’s fun to build things with my daughter
Diane Cooper
May 24, 2015 at 6:33 pmI like the zoots the most because my granddaughter loves anything musical.
janetfaye
May 23, 2015 at 12:17 pmI like diy (kit) build your recorder, because my grandson would enjoy this one.
Austin Baroudi
May 21, 2015 at 3:49 pmMy daughter like the Shaka-Khan and we’d leave messages for each other on it when she goes with her mother.
Dawn Monroe
May 21, 2015 at 11:06 amI like the DIY box kit. Id like to see how it works. My grand kids would have a ball.
pamela j
May 21, 2015 at 11:06 amZoots with loop kit. I would use it to create music.
Angela Saver
May 20, 2015 at 11:59 pmI really like the Loopy Lou. We would use it to record messages for each other & to just play with & have a fun time!
Wehaf
May 20, 2015 at 7:50 pmI love the loopy lou box, and I think it would be great for my nephew with autism to work on his verbal skills.
Gina
May 20, 2015 at 8:54 pmWhat a great idea!
Nancy
May 20, 2015 at 10:28 amI like the lil mib because it would be fun to leave messages for the family in a fun new way!
Darlene Owen
May 19, 2015 at 8:14 pmI love the zoots (kalimba) with loop switch as I love anything that sound musical, my grandchildren would play it while their mother plays the piano, I think it would be fun.
wen budro
May 19, 2015 at 3:04 pmI especially like the loopy lou because the voice recorder sounds cool. We would use it to entertain ourselves and family during family get-togethers.
laura
May 19, 2015 at 2:10 pmThe zoots one looks really cool!
amanda whitley
May 19, 2015 at 11:51 amthe lil’ mib interests me because i think the kids would love hearing their own voice lol
Gertha Kirkland
May 19, 2015 at 12:09 amThe message in a box sounds cool. I trust your review because our kids are the same age! Looks like so much fun! 🙂
Patricia
May 18, 2015 at 4:03 pmI like the lil message box. So cute and cool.
Kristen
May 18, 2015 at 2:34 pmMy friend’s daughter would love Loupy Lou….she is just at that age where she loves hearing her voice repeated back to her!
Robin W
May 18, 2015 at 11:57 amI like the build it yourself kit. Nice to see just how it works as well.
Anne Perry
May 18, 2015 at 11:49 amI like the loopy lou (voice recorder)
with loop switch. We would record Happy Birthday Messages. I learned that the box was made for show and tell.
Lance
May 15, 2015 at 9:00 pmSo cool!