Mattel Magical Musical Thing 1979

Magical Musical Thing: A vintage analog synthesizer

Item works but is missing battery cover.

In March 1979, Mattel Toys previewed their Magical Music Thing at the Dallas Toy Show. While it didn’t make a huge splash there, it did get a few mentions in newspapers. It would hit the market later that year in anticipation of being a hit for the 1979 Christmas season.

Invented by Franklin Eventoff, who also invented the technology at the core of the Musical Thing, the force-sensing resistor (FSR). These FSRs whose are materials where the resistance changes when you apply a force, pressure or mechanical stress.

Eventoff would license it to Mattel and the toy would be a nice hit for the company, selling 3 million units. It would live on afterwards because of its relatively simple design and a music-making ability that has given it a bit of cult status over the years.

What is the Magical Musical Thing?

The Magical Musical thing is a 25 button toy musical synthesizer with a single built-in speaker. Buttons are arrayed in two rows and by pushing a button you played a note. By following along with the music in a color-coded and numbered songbook, most kids (and adults) could play simple tunes.

The unit was about 21 inches (0.53 m) long by 3.5 inches (8.89 cm) wide and 2 inches (5.08 cm) high. It is fairly light to handle, which is great for kids, and ran on a 9-volt battery.

The form-factor resembled a very stripped down guitar. And while it is possible to play the Musical Thing while holding it like one, it is a lot easier to play it on your lap or on a tabletop. Here you can see it being used both ways in this ad from 1979