FAD GADGETS

Rhodri Marsden on three of the latest must-have gizmos currently putting the prog in progress.

TRAVEL SAX 2

The sax is one of the most maligned instruments of the modern era, perhaps second only to the ukulele in the amount of anger it provokes in otherwise calm people. The 1980s, as usual, is to blame, with sax solos considered to be the epitome of cheese. (If you suggested to naysayers that they listen to Ornette Coleman or Captain Beefheart to get perspective, they hated that too. No pleasing some people.) Anyway, sax players are now able to practice without annoying anyone by using this, the “smallest and lightest electronic sax in the world”. It comes in nine colours, has a handy “saliva drain” and you can plug headphones straight in.

SUPER MIDI PAK

The 1990s saw the Super Nintendo Entertainment System become the bestselling console of the 16-bit era. Its sound chip wiped the floor with its ancestors; it had stereo output, eight voices and various effects, while retaining the lo-fi, 8-bit sound. Using that sound chip used to involve head-scratching coding sessions, but it’s made easier with this Super MIDI Pak. Just plug the cartridge into the console and a keyboard into the cartridge.

KNITTED KEYBOARD II

This five-octave keyboard was made at Massachusetts Institute of Technology using an industrial knitting machine. It’s billed as a “multi-model, soft and stretchable textile musical interface”, but it’s basically a magic scarf. You can generate sound by pressing, stretching or squishing the keys, or hovering your hands over it. And when you’re done, you can sling it round your neck and wander off to your next adventure, like a synthwiedling Tom Baker-era Doctor Who. It appears to be a research project only, but if enough of us complain on social media, maybe it’ll become purchasable.