Hit Stix is a toy electronic musical instrument manufactured by Nasta and Radio Shack

Radio shack

Radio shack is a slang term for a room or structure for housing radio equipment.-History:In the early days of radio, equipment was experimental and home-built. The first radio transmitters used a noisy spark to generate radio waves and were often housed in a garage or shed. When radio was first...

 in the 1980s. A set of Hit Stix consists of 2 drum sticks which are teathered to a small amplifier by audio cables. When the drum sticks are thrust forward in mid air, mimicking actual drum playing, a snare drum sound effect is produced. A rapid succession of thrusts produces a drum roll. Like air guitar

Air guitar

Playing air guitar is a form of dance and movement in which the performer pretends to play rock or heavy metal-style electric guitar, including riffs, solos, etc. Playing an air guitar usually consists of exaggerated strumming and picking motions and is often coupled with loud singing or lip-synching...

is played without a real guitar, Hit Stix are played without any real drums. It is a common misconception that Hit Stix are meant to be hit against another surface. In fact, the sounds are produced simply by the motion of drumming and do not need to come in contact with any surface in order to produce a sound. Hit Stix is succeeded by Hit Stix 2, which incorporates sound selection via sliders on each drum stick. The left stick adjusts the tone while the right selects either snare, tom, bass drum or phaser. Both incarnations feature a yellow and orange color scheme and a belt clip which allows the drummer to wear the amplifier on his or her hip. The amplifier requires one 9-volt battery and has a wheel for volume control.

Hit Keys

‎A third, much rarer and less popular, toy, manufactered by Nasta in 1989, is Hit Keys. Hit Keys features two halves of a keyboard, teathered again by audio cables to an amplifier worn on the hip. Each half of the remote keyboard is strapped to a different hand and played separately with one key for each finger and thumb. Hit Keys provides a choice of either piano or organ sounds. The amplifier requires one 9-volt battery and features a wheel for volume control. Collectively, Hit Stix, Hit Stix 2 and Hit Keys toys are known as Hitstruments.