Kikkerland Make Your Own Music Box Kit, Siler

With 15 notes and a small price point I didn’t know what to expect. The box sounds really nice. Warm deep and sentimental. Just like I would want a music box to sound like. I did not think I could have so much fun, plotting melodies and punching holes. It is a manual process and can be tedious if you look at it that way. But you end up making a product that is completely analog and mechanical. And there is something very special to me about that. It sounds so pretty and it is fun to make your own custom tunes.This is not chromatic, so the note range is very limited. But the constraints are good for creativity. I think. And I am practicing on a 15 note before jumping into a 30 note music box.I think I found a new hobby.

If any of you have tried to make a custom music movement before, you know how time consuming/expensive it can be! I didn't know how well this thing would work, but I figured it would be much cheaper and easier to do, and I was right! Actually, it works very smoothly and sounds beautiful. The hand crank can be a little annoying, but once you mount it (wood works best for amplifying the sound), it's not half bad! But let me also give you a cheat if you don't want to waste time fixing errors on your punching and trying to figure out what it will all sound like when you're finished: There's this WONDERFUL app I found called: "Music Box Composer" for Android and Google. It sucks they don't have it for PC because that would be SO much easier to work, but my boyfriend has an Android phone and I stole it from him to find this app. It is an exact replica (on the 15 note setting) of your music strips! You can move the notes around easily and play the song through your phone until you are content with how it sounds. Then you can easily copy the note placement from your phone to your music strip using the hole punch without making unnecessary mistakes. I'm so glad I found both this contraption as well as the app, and I look forward to buying more for my friends to enjoy! :)

First of all, it is not in the key of C...at least not C major. Some reviews said theirs were in the key of Ab, mine is in the key of Eb (Cm). It's not that big of a deal, though, you'll just have to transpose your music for it to make sense. The sound is good when you put it on or in something like a wooden box to resonate. You will have to screw it onto something to make it playable (and not with the flat end screw provided). It's nearly impossible to hold in place while you crank it otherwise. All in all, a fun little hobby project.

The Kikkerland Make Your Own Music Box Kit gets a 5-star review from me! It is small, simple, crafted well, and sounds nice.I bought the music box kit to make as a gift. When you’re holding it it’s hard to hear and has a metallic sound to it, but when it’s put on a table or screwed into a wooden box with the included screws the sound really resonates. My only complaint is that the lower pitches do not last very long, while the higher pitches stay ringing for a few seconds, leading to some unevenness while listening back any pieces you’ve written.Another complain I have about the item is the included hole-puncher. Although it is accurate with its crosshairs, it can be extremely difficult to punch through the paper at times. I found my thumb hurting quite a bit while trying to punch out the excerpt I wrote.Overall, you are getting a great product. It is very cheap at under $15, and while it does have its flaws, I’d say the quality for the price is very good, and would highly recommend this to anyone who is thinking about making a music box as a gift!

This a great thing to get if you want a fun craft project to make as a gift. The gear system is already all put together, but it’s so much smaller than I thought. Not a bad thing in the slightest, you just can’t make a cliche music box that girls in 90s movies have. Instead it’s closer to keychain size.The music is really, definitely worth the price. The gears are made of plastic, so it doesn’t feel like it will shatter in your hands, but if anything were to break it would be those gears.The sheets, where you hole punch into, are good quality (they are not gonna tear on you if lay a finger on them). But, even though they look long, you could probably only write the chorus of most songs on there. Also it has no bass notes, and the box is only tuned to major C.Otherwise it’s a great gift, and you can personalize it by making your own box.

It's okay. But sort of a disappointment for me because the song I wanted it to play does not exactly work. I was under the impression it could play any song that falls in that 2 octave range, and is short enough to fit on the strips. But that's not exactly true. The problem I have is that consecutive eighth notes (of the same repeating note) do not play. It can handle eighth. But only if the note changes. For instance A-B-C-D is fine. A-A-A-A is not. Repeating notes cant be less than a quarter. Otherwise, it just sort of buzzes. Rather than a crisp chime. Unfortunately, my tune has a few of those conditions. And I was hoping to give this as a gift. So like I said, a disappointment. This is mentioned in the instruction booklet. But did not see this anywhere on the listing prior to purchase. I don't know much about music boxes in general. Maybe it's a common thing.Otherwise, hole-punching is a little tricky. Getting the hole lined up. I think I only messed that up once. Says I can fix with tape. I haven't tried that yet though.Also, don't care for the included Happy Birthday song. But that's not what I got it for anyway.All in all, it's alright provided you have a song that fits the conditions.