10 Things To Buy A Musician
Decisions Decisions!
It’s that time of year again when you’ve pretty much sorted everyone’s Christmas presents (or your like me and leaving it until the last minute - definitely a man thing), however there’s one person on your list who is almost impossible to buy for because they are a MUSICIAN!!
Well I’m here to tell you, as a musician, that it isn’t all shiny object syndrome and excessive gear. It doesn’t need to be hard nor expensive! I’ve listed a few of the things I’ve received over the years in this blog, as well as some of the things I wish I’d put on my list but didn’t realise how useful they’d be at the time.
1. Guitar Strings
Ahh, the bane of every guitarists life but also the one thing we can’t live without. Whether it’s a broken string on stage or the need for a fresh new set of strings on the old guitar that sits in the corner, the gift of strings is a very satisfying present to open (sad I know!). It’s almost the same feeling as driving around in a brand new car.
An even better gift is what I tend to buy every so often, which is a trusty 3 pack of strings! You can never have too many sets in your back pocket. I use Elixir Nanoweb Phospher Bronze Acoustic Strings - Elixir Strings have a super long life to them and extra durability as they have an anti-rust coating, so these will be perfect if your friend or relative is more of an infrequent player and their guitar might be sitting around a lot. The most important thing before buying strings of any kind or make is to find out what GAUGE (thickness) and BRAND they tend to use. It seems stupid but trust me on this one!
2. Earplugs
No matter whether your musician friend is on stage or in the audience surrounded by loud music, protecting their hearing is paramount! It’s always ideal to get earplugs that are a designed specifically to retain sound quality as opposed to the disposable ones you’d find on a construction site.
While DJing I tend to wear the Senner MusicPro Earplugs. They’re right on my keychain so I don’t loose them and cheap enough to replace if they ever get damaged or lost. I cannot tell you what a life (ear) saver these are. You can also buy them in different sizes.
3. Vocalzone
Although I haven’t used these that much, I always carry a box of them in my guitar case and know numerous people that use them, including Tom Jones! Vocalzone Pastilles help you keep a clear voice when singing but can also relieve the irritation of the throat caused by smoking or the common cold.
You can buy them from Amazon for less than £5 by clicking here, which makes for a great stocking filler!
4. Moongel
This one is for the drummer in your circle. These things are super handy for achieving perfect sounding drums by eliminating the resonance of the skins. I don’t know a single drummer that doesn’t use these. They’re cleanable too for extra durability!
5. Orange Mini Amp
I remember opening this one Christmas and being so excited I plugged straight in to start playing! If you’re trying to tone the volume down for an already boisterous guitar player, you might want to consider something that still packs a punch put small enough to not get loud enough.
You can pick one up at Gear4Music for under £40 by clicking here.
6. Instrument Tool Kit
One of the most useful pieces of kit I’ve got in my box is an emergency tool kit for any small repairs I need to make. It makes for an awesome gift for any guitarist or other musician that plays a string instrument or tinkers with a home studio setup.
7. Clip-On Tuner
What an invention! Although I still use a pedal tuner when performing live for reliability, these clip-on tuners are a brilliant gift for any musician who plays anything from a guitar right though to a trumpet, or any instrument that needs manually tuning for that matter!
Take a look at this Snark Tuner at Gear4Music by clicking here.
8. Jack Daniels Guitar Case
This is by far one of the best gifts I’ve ever received for Christmas! A bottle of Jack Daniels presented in an awesome mini guitar case. Perfect for the guitarist in the family who enjoys a glass of Tennessee whisky.
9. Personalised Plectrums
Number 9 on the list are these personalised plectrums.. and what an awesome idea they are! No more arguing about whose plectrums are whose (not that it matters anyway!). Be sure to check out notonthehighstreet.com here, to start personalising your very own plectrums.
10. Electric Guitar Starter Pack
Although it’s not an ideal present for someone who is already a musician, I wanted to put it on the list anyway as it’s (sort of) where my music career all started for me. My parents bought this Squier Stratocaster for me one Christmas when I was super young, but funnily enough it just sat in the loft until I was about 12 when I was finally big enough to put it on my knee and play it! From there I started rattling out Nirvana songs (awfully) in my friend’s garage while he played drums, and the rest is history.
If you’re trying to encourage your son or daughter into music, this is the perfect gift to get them started! And if their story unfolds like it did for me, they can always pick it back up in a few years. If you’d rather get them something a little less intrusive (annoying) then there is a great selection of Acoustic guitars available online too, or any instrument for that matter.
Purchase the Squier Stratocaster Electric Guitar Starter Pack Brown Sunburst from PMT - £189