10 Great Gifts for Musicians and Producers
11/18/2018
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Stocking stuffers are lame. No one is excited to open socks, toiletries or those awful little candies that taste like chalk. This holiday season, show the musician in your life that you love them with gifts they’ll actually care about.
Gifts for Guitarists
Let’s face it — guitarists aren’t always the most reliable individuals. If I had a nickel for every time a guitarist asked me to borrow something they forgot I’d have enough money to buy a vintage Stratocaster.
Nothing brings a performance to a screeching halt quite like an out-of-tune guitar, which makes the Snark ST-8 clip-on tuner the perfect gift for guitarists. It literally attaches to your guitar so you’ll never forget your tuner at home again. Not to mention, it’s super accurate and has an impressive battery life that will last through rehearsals, gigs, jam sessions and more.
Tuners aren’t the only thing guitarists forget — there’s nothing worse than writing the perfect lick and forgetting it before you have time to record. With the Apogee Jam+, you can record your guitar directly to your computer with studio quality. Packed with virtual amps and effects, this intuitive 1-in/2-out USB audio interface has everything you need to quickly and easily capture your guitar performances.
Apogee Jam+ Guitar and Keyboard Sound Samples
Gifts for Drummers
If you have a drummer in your life, you’ve probably seen them carrying around a drum key in their pocket. Why get them another drum key if they already have one, you ask?
The Evans Torque Key is no ordinary drum key — it’s the holy grail of drum keys. The Torque Key features a tuning tension preset dial to automatically dial-in perfect tuning every time — which is a huge time saver.
The DrumDial Precision Drum Tuner is another great gift that makes every drummer’s least favorite activity more tolerable. Drum dials help you tune drums visually, instead of having to rely on your ears. This is one of those gifts that every drummer needs, but doesn’t buy for themselves.
DrumDial Drum Tuners
Gifts for Vocalists
Vocalists are always looking for ways to improve the sound of their vocal recordings. Dynamic and ribbon mics provide unique color that many vocalists love — unfortunately, they tend to be rather noisy.
The sE Electronics DM1 Dynamite is an active inline preamp capable of adding up to 28 dB of clean gain mic signal, making it easier to capture quality recordings with low noise levels.
Tracking vocals can be a tricky process — especially when recording from home. The sE Electronics Reflexion Filter X is a great way to reduce the nasty reflections caused by recording in less than ideal spaces like bedrooms, offices and basements. This simple portable vocal booth attaches to any mic stand and instantly provides some acoustic treatment for recording vocals.
The sE Reflexion Filter® (Official)
Have you ever been performing on stage when suddenly you forget the lyrics for the song you’re singing? It’s not a great feeling.
Spare your loved ones the embarrassment of mumbling made up words in front of a crowded room with the IK Multimedia iKlip Xpand. This adjustable holder for tablets and iPads clips directly to any mic stand, making it the perfect teleprompter for impromptu performances.
Gifts for Producers
If the music maker in your life is more the type to hibernate in the studio for days at a time, it’s a safe bet they’re cooking up some fire beats in there.
Help them quickly capture their creativity with a MIDI controller. The Novation Launchkey Mini features 25 keys, 16 pads, 8 knobs and dedicated control buttons for quick and easy music creation. It also comes packed with world-class Addictive Keys virtual instruments for instant inspiration.
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Perfect for triggering loops, launching samples, tapping out drum beats or playing instruments, the Launchkey Mini is the perfect controller for making music in Ableton — or any other DAW for that matter.
If you prefer practical gifts, you can’t go wrong with a new hard drive. Producers go through hard drives faster than Kanye goes through awkward phases. The LaCie Rugged series is a popular choice for their durability, portability, and affordability.
The Pocket Operator by Teenage Engineering is the perfect tool for beat makers on the go. This battery-powered pocket-sized sampler features a built-in microphone and 1/8” line input for sampling. Capable of capturing 40 seconds of audio, the PO-33 KO features 16 sample slots, which can be played back using a 16-step sequencer.
Not only is the Pocket Operator insanely fun, but — it also offers a studio-quality sound and can even sync with other Pocket Operators for live jam sessions!
PO-33 K.O! overview video
No matter who’s on your holiday shopping list this year, we’ve got you covered with killer gifts any musician will love.
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