As we’ve already established in a previous post, I am not a musician, but I have a soft spot for music-making devices.

So, when Álvaro Ramis mentioned the EasyPlay 1s on Bluesky, my interest was piqued.

The EasyPlay is a pocket device that has:

  • two knobs
  • a keyboard with 25 keys
  • a speaker
  • an audio jack

You can play it like an instrument, like a drum machine, or use it as a Bluetooth speaker. As a bonus point (if that wasn’t enough already), you can use it as a wireless MIDI controller with your phone or tablet.

I liked the idea, but was not a fan of the price. But a quick web search revealed that there’s a cheaper, less capable version of this device: the EasyPlay 1 (notice the missing ’s’ in the name).

This version, which is only sold in asian markets, is the same hardware with a slightly less complete feature set:

  • 10 different instruments (instead of 25 in the 1s version)
  • smaller battery
  • missing “record & replay” function

It also comes in white, which I personally find nicer than the black version:

Easyplay 1

It’s also 50% cheaper than the 1s on AliExpress, so I ordered one and waited patiently for it to arrive.

I have to say: I’m pretty impressed with this thing. On its own, it’s a very nice sonic toy. My 7yo daughter got it immediately and started playing tunes with it (this was part of the plan, to be honest: I want her to stop stealing my Ableton Move 😅).

But it really shines when you use it as a MIDI controller. Pair it with Ableton Note (another gem I’ll talk about at some point) and you have a killer combo (apologies for my shitty performance, have I said already that I’m not a musician?):

If you’re looking for a cheap MIDI controller you can throw on your backpack, or if you want something your kids can use to get started on the wonderful (and really expensive) world of music production, the EasyPlay 1 is an easy recommendation.

It is not perfect, of course. It’s made of cheap plastic, the sound quality is mediocre at best, and it has a couple of infuriating behaviours: it does not remember MIDI mode when you turn it off and on, so you have to turn the dial all the way to the right to enter MIDI mode. That in itself wouldn’t be a big deal, were it not for the fact that the EasyPlay always boots on the first instrument, with its volume set at maximum. When you turn the knob to move through the 15 different instruments, it will helpfully BLAST a note to let you know which instrument you’ve selected. Not pretty.

In any case: this is a keeper.