About Playtime Engineering

Troy Sheets always loved electronic music and sound design. As a teen, he was fortunate enough to have his own electronic studio equipped with a DX100 synthesizer, a drum machine, and a 4-track cassette recorder. During his 25-year career as an electrical engineer in Silicon Valley, he reignited his passion when he picked up a new after-work hobby: building electronic instruments. He started with rudimentary hardware–buying a chip and diving into programming. After a year or two, his wife Kate realized how much time and money had been spent on Troy’s projects and convinced him to take a leap and turn his dream into a business. 

Having been mesmerized by the celestial sounds made by synthesizers as a kid, Troy began developing a dynamic instrument with all of the fun of synthesis but simple enough that a child could play it.

I always thought synthesizers were not just amazing music production tools, but also great toys.  They have spaceship-like control panels, alien sounds and flashing lights, all the sort of things kids love. I was confident that we could create a product that kids could use to design their own sounds and create music in a whole new way.

Kate and Troy connected with Axel Hartmann, the music industry’s go-to synth designer for over three decades–handling the ergonomics and design of legendary instruments like the Moog Voyager and his namesake Hartmann Neuron synth. Axel took Troy’s concept of a spaceship synthesizer and brought it to life–a control panel with bright colors, flashing lights, and alien sounds. And just like that, Blipblox was born.

Troy successfully delivered dozens of products for some of Silicon Valley’s largest companies before creating the Blipblox, and Kate has nearly 30 years of experience in business operations, logistics expertise, graphic design and technical writing. Together, they founded Playtime Engineering in 2018.

Since then, Playtime Engineering’s products continue to introduce thousands of kids and adults alike to the joy of synthesis and electronic music production.

A diverse lineup of instruments includes the Blipblox SK2, which caters to very young children, and the Blipblox After Dark, designed for tweens and adults, have resonated with a wide audience. 

But the journey doesn't stop there. The Blipblox myTRACKS will be released in late 2024. Equipped with a built-in microphone for sampling and two FX processors, the myTRACKS groovestation offers five tracks of limitless creativity. With a grid of playpads triggering over 50 real instrument sounds, including acoustic, electronic, and percussive elements, it's akin to having an MPC at your fingertips.

myTRACKS isn't just a toy; it's a platform for young musicians to explore their creativity like never before. By connecting to a computer via USB-C, users can download new sound sets, ranging from band and orchestra, to hip-hop, to EDM, expanding their sonic palette and ensuring endless hours of musical discovery.

Playtime Engineering continues its mission to create intelligent children’s toys designed to promote creativity and audio exploration.