Review: Hape DJ Mix and Spin Studio

By Anna Lord

My grandaughter Rosa, pictured below,  is 2 years and 9 months old, as you can see she was very intrigued with exploring the Hape DJ Mix and Spin

We were very impressed with the design of the deck,  colourful and appealing, very well made and robust enough for a heavy handed toddler!. It was great fun even for adults and certainly a great introduction to learning musical notes and playing an instrument as it was very easy to use with clear instructions.

Rosa has learnt and is recognising the different sounds i.e. drums, guitar, we turn the dial to each instrument and press the button and she names them.. The website states it is suitable for 1 year+ but the dial for instrument sounds would be more suited to older children 2.5 upwards as it is quite stiff. A younger child wouldn't have the strength to grip and turn the dial. However 18 mth olds would find the light up parts round the decks fun, and also easy to operate, so that's a good feature suited to that age group. 

Learning the music and keys for a 2-3 year old in our opinion is unlikely as their  attention span is too short,  this feature of the toy would be more appropriate for older children, probably 5 upwards.

£30 is a very reasonable price for this toy and a super gift for birthday or Christmas for the older children in the age range specified. We would not recommend it as a purchase for the younger age group as they could not benefit from all the features until they were much older.

Overall an inspiring toy which will fuel a child's imagination, affordable, durable and great fun. Our only issue is with the age group stated on the packaging and advertising as not all the features are suitable for a toddler or younger child.