They are an easy way to create great sounding music, and experience what it is like to play an instrument. As well as guitars, you can also try the Paper Jamz range of drums and amps. Children can create their own band and entertain family and friends at parties and get togethers. With Paper Jamz you can play real guitar chords with three different modesfreestyle mode, perfect play mode and rhythm mode. There is a line jack for earphones as well as volume control, and includes licensed hit songs to play along to. Takes 3 AAA Batteries (not included), and is ideal for 8yrs+ Size: approximately 65-70cm long x 25-30cm wide.
PaperJamz Guitars – Are they Papercuts?
Are Paper Jamz guitars just flimsy papercuts cut in the shape of guitars? Read this article by Holly Black at http://toyology.co.uk/paperjamz-papercuts to find out.
Not enough pennies for Guitar Hero? Not enough talent for an actual guitar? We may have the answer –
Paperjamz is a rather unique creation: a paper guitar. But before you say ‘Surely I could make one of those myself with some paper, a pair of scissors and some felt tip pens’ hold on. You can hook this paper guitar up to headphones and speakers and it has backing tracks for you to play along to.
There are five designs each with different tracks to choose from and there’s a no-cutting-your-fingers-on-metal-strings guarantee, just papercuts to worry about then… But at just £24.99 here you’ll have change to buy plasters.
Paper Jamz makes guitarists out of thin air
If you were a teenager or a twenty-something anytime in the past 60 years or so, the odds are you’ve played air guitar at least a few times. It’s OK to admit it: we all do it, and we all look pretty foolish doing it. So how cool would it be if you could do something almost the same as air guitar, and requiring the same level of skill (which is to say, none), but that would actually generate music?
Well, Paper Jamz aren’t the perfect solution to that problem, but they’re closer to it than anything else I’ve seen that doesn’t break the bank. $24.99 will buy you a guitar that looks like a small electric guitar, only the face of it is flat, as the product name implies, paper. You can turn it on and play with it out of the box, though you’d be better off reading the instructions or watching one of the company’s website’s very helpful videos — the method for interacting with the guitar is, while not difficult, also definitely not intuitive.
There are as of this writing six guitars available, each with a different look and a different set of three songs. There are currently five rock guitars and one country guitar being sold, and, while each has only three songs to pick from, the company chose the set for each guitar well: each song is very different from the other two. (Examples: One has The Kinks’ “You Really Got Me,” The Ramones’ “Blitzkrieg Bop” and Blue Öyster Cult’s “Godzilla.” Another (the one I tried out) has Steppenwolf’s “Born to be Wild,” Mountain’s “Mississippi Queen” and Deep Purple’s “Smoke on the Water.”)
There are also six drum pads available that match up with the guitars and also retail for $24.99 each. Each guitar and drum pad has several modes of play, which allow you to strum along perfectly with the songs without having any idea what chords you’re playing, strum along but actually play the chords, or play freestyle without any accompaniment (the website mentions a karaoke setting, but as far as I can tell my guitar doesn’t do that). Each instrument has its own speakers to play the music; each can also be hooked up to any headphones you may have or to the Paper Jamz amplifiers (retail price: $14.99), which I’ve not tried but which are basically separate speakers (which can also be used independently of the Paper Jamz instruments). Oh, and of course the company also sells guitar straps (retail price: $4.99) to match each guitar, though if you’ve got Rock Band or Guitar Hero those straps will work just as well. All the instruments and amps are battery-powered.
So the biggest question, then, is: Are they worth it? The answer is that it depends on for whom you’re buying it. Based on my own and my kids’ experiences playing with the instruments, it’s the sort of thing kids (mine are 9 and 8, but I suspect most under the age of 15 or so would feel the same) will have a blast playing with for quite a while, to the point where adults will demand they put headphones on if they wish to continue doing so. Most folks over 15 will have fun with it for a few days, maybe even a week, but probably not much longer than that. I mean, either you’re really interested in learning the chords — in which case you’ll probably want a real guitar or drum set — or you enjoy playing along with the songs — in which case the fact that there are only three songs available will get boring pretty quickly.
Paper Jamz instruments and amplifiers are made by WowWee and are available pretty much everywhere electronic toys are sold As noted above, instruments retail for $24.99 and amps for $14.99.
Wired: It’s like air guitar, only one big step closer to reality. It’s fun to be able to play along perfectly with Deep Purple without having the slightest idea how to actually play guitar.
Read More http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2010/10/review-giveaway-paper-jamz-makes-guitarists-out-of-air
Paper Jamz Wins the prestigious Toyology Gold Award
Paper Jamz toys won the coveted Toyology Gold award recently. Here is an excerpt from an article by Holly Black published in http://toyology.co.uk/paper-jamz-get-toyology-gold.
You may remember us getting ourselves in a pickle (jam – pickle – geddit?) over these a while back, well now the musical masterpieces have gone and won our Toyology Gold award!
The guitars, which are played by touch alone – no need to learn tricksy chords – have got the gold; an award we don’t hand out lightly – it goes only to those toys that the panel feels possess the ‘wow factor of a 10/10’, longevity of play and will appeal to an incredibly broad demographic.
Our Chief Toyologist had this to say: “Paper Jamz is a definite contender for plaything of 2010, pick one up and wave goodbye to more minutes than you imagined; it’s that addictive. All our testers were in agreement, from the musically inept to those who were taking guitar lessons, a hugely entertaining plaything with an educational element too. ‘Keep it away from the parents’ was their advice, as you might not see it for a while.”
“It’s a real honour to win this award from Toyology.co.uk,” said Graham Spark, sales director of WowWee UK. “Paper Jamz guitars are a fantastic addition to the WowWee line-up and with drum kits, amplifiers and accessories coming later in the year, we’re all rocking to the news!”
So there you have it. Paper Jamz guitars are all set to becoming the most coveted toys for Christmas 2010. Have you got your Paper Jamz guitars yet?
Paper Jamz Guitars – Light as air Guitars
The world awaited the arrival of Paper Jamz guitars with a lot of expectations. Here is an excerpt from an article by Peter Jenkinson published in http://toyology.co.uk/light-as-air-guitars.
Coming soon from Wowwee, yes the folks of Robosapien fame, is a diversion from automatons and into the electronic music world. Paper Jamz are a range of wafer thin strummers that look the business but have no strings.
The innovative technology inside lets you play tunes by just running your fingers over the printed strings up the neck and frets like a pro whilst hamming up the action with added rock star actions.
There’ll be a range of six guitars, and each one inch thick instrument will be pre-loaded with three licensed tunes. There’ll be three modes of play to annoy your neighbours – Perfect Play, strum along to one of the in-built tunes – Rhytmn Mode, where you control the rhytmn for each track and Freestyle mode to create your own Top Ten hit.
Launching late April they’ll be around £25 each and soon joined by amps and a drum machine for around £15 each. Certain to be a big hit.
Christmas toys have traditionally sold out very fast. So what are you waiting for? Order your Paper Jamz guitar today.
Paper Jamz Guitar – Kid tries it the first time
Watch Mio and Luca as they take a first shot at playing the Paper Jamz guitar.
This kid has the trappings of a rockstar already 🙂
Paper Jamz Instant Rockstar Guitars Now Available in Canada
The much-anticipated launch of Paper Jamz Instant Rockstar Guitars and Drums in Canada becomes a reality on August 3rd, 2010. Paper Jamz Guitars and Drums have taken Europe and Australia by storm, becoming instant best-sellers and was named “Best New Toy” at the European Toy Fair. They have just launched in the U.S. marketplace amid rave reviews. Now Canadian kids get the chance to instantly become a rockstar!
They’re toys; they’re real musical instruments; they’re leading-edge technology made possible by Active GraphicsÔ Technology which allow for circuit-embedded paper (hence the name “paper”), enabling kids to play the guitar and drums like a pro! To strum the guitar, kids slide their thumb or fingers up and down over all the strings and pick-ups. To play the drums, just tap the cymbals and drums on the keyboard-sized playing surface. The quality of the sound and the versatility of the play options will encourage budding young musicians everywhere.
Paper Jamz Songs List
Paper Jamz Instant Rockstar Guitars and Drums are fully portable and don’t require a TV or computer hookup. The volume is adjustable and can be enhanced by the Paper Jamz Amp, sold separately. For parents’ peace of mind, the instruments can be muted when plugged into personal headsets.
“Paper Jamz capture kids’ imagination and spur their musical creativity,” states Lenny Gelbard, from Gillyboo Corporation, the Canadian distributor. “They allow for solo play or group interaction to ‘jam’ with their own band. Best of all, they make music affordable for kids and their parents!”
Paper Jamz Guitars, Drums and Amps are made by Wowwee Group Limited, known for their hi-tech robotic toys, flying remote control vehicles and animatronic plush animals.
“What makes Paper Jamz so versatile with kids is their four modes for jamming,” explains Gelbard. “Wanna-be young musicians can start with Perfect Play mode to strum along with a pre-recorded hit song. Then they can move up to Rhythm mode where they actually control the guitar rhythm in beat with the song. The Karaoke mode allows players to mute the vocal, the drums or the backing tracks and play along on their guitar. When they’ve mastered all this, they are ready to Freestyle and create their own music! And they can play solo or form their own Paper Jamz bands!”
Each Paper Jamz Guitar and corresponding Drum set comes pre-loaded with three classic hit songs. There are six different guitars and drums in the initial launch so kids can choose their favourite styles or collect them all. Each Guitar and each Drum set is priced at just $29.99 (Canadian MSRP). Four different styled Amps are priced at $19.99. The Guitars can be accessorized with a variety of rockin’ guitar straps at just $7.99. The full line of Paper Jamz products are available exclusively at all Walmart stores across Canada until October 1st and then widely available at most other major retailers.
Paper Jamz TV Commercial from Wow Wee
Thought I’d share the TV ad of the hugely popular Paper Jamz guitars and drums.
Paper Jamz Drum
We need a bigger space says aspiring rock band. Wrong! You need cooler instruments, says superstar LOL.
Paper Jamz Songs
With Paper Jamz, you could be awesome too 😉