It’s that time of year — gift-giving season is upon us! (And don’t forget, gift season also means gift receiving!) Don’t procrastinate, get your wish list ready now for your friends and family. If you need ideas for gifts that will drop into a holiday stocking, here are seven great items that the musician in your life will love (even if that musician is you!):
1 – Ernie Ball Musician’s Tool Kit
Is there a guitarist or bassist who doesn’t change their strings at least once in a while? Or who doesn’t need to make a quick setup adjustment? The Ernie Ball Musician’s Tool Kit contains everything you need to change strings and make quick tweaks. I keep one in my gig bag along with spare strings so that I’m always prepared at gigs, rehearsals, and sessions.
2 – Shure SM57
The Shure SM57 just may be the ultimate utility microphone. Of course, it’s a standard for guitar amps and snare drums both live and in the studio. But I’ve used it on everything from percussion to vocals, piano to acoustic guitar. It always works and it’s virtually indestructible — I still use the first one I bought decades ago on every gig!
3 – Overtone Labs Tune-Bot
Want great sounding drums on your recordings or gigs? Start by tuning them up properly! Whether you’re a drummer, recording engineer, or live sound engineer, you need to have an Overtone Labs Tune-Bot in your tool bag. There’s no easier or faster way to precisely tune your drums for ideal tone.
4 – G-Technology G-Drive ev ATC
In the digital studio, you must have robust storage for your data — and the more storage the better! It’s sort of a variation of the old guitarist’s joke: “How many hard drives is enough? Just one more…” Any musician would be thrilled to receive a G-Technology G-Drive ev ATC; they’re available with Thunderbolt or USB 3.0 connectivity with a capacity of 1TB. And, they’re incredibly rugged — even waterproof! Plus, you can swap out the internal drive quickly and easily for expandable storage.
5 – K&M Universal Tablet Mic Stand Holder
My iPad goes with me to every gig and every session, and it’s constantly in use in my studio (I use it to store and read the manuals for my computer software and for remote control over my DAW) and practice room. There are many tablet clamps and holders out there that work very well, but I love this rugged and versatile Universal Tablet Mic Stand Holder from K&M. It even works if your tablet is in a case.
6 – Arturia BeatStep Pro
One hardware sequencer to rule them all! The Arturia BeatStep Pro combines three sequencers with MIDI, CV/gate, USB, and DIN sync with a cool pad controller. It’s super powerful, easy to use, versatile, and flexible. From melodies to beats, no matter what style of music you make, this one will open new horizons for you.
7 – Toontrack EZdrummer
When I’m creating music and need drums, the first virtual instrument I click on is EZdrummer 2 from Toontrack. It’s fast, brain-dead simple to operate, comes with tons of drum kits and loops performed by real drummers, is expandable with more kits and styles, and is utterly convincing in a mix.
There’s nothing more fun than digging into your holiday stocking and finding a cool music-making gift! Now, I just need to find a stocking big enough to hold a guitar….
Happy holidays!