10 Amazing Gifts for Music Lovers

Need some inspiration in your quest for the perfect present? In today’s article, we list 10 things that would make any musician or music lover extremely happy to receive!

We’ve put together a list of some of the most interesting and budget-friendly gift ideas for the music lover in your life. We’ve scoured the internet for the things that would make us extremely happy to receive on a birthday or at Christmas. We’ve got the perfect presents for musicians, producers, and music lovers alike.

There’s really something for everyone here, and importantly, for every budget too. We’ve also been careful to include stocking fillers besides the bigger, more extravagant gifts.

Anyway, enough talking. Here are Home Recording Pro’s 10 amazing gift ideas for music lovers.

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1. Teenage Engineering Pocket Synth

Our first pick is my personal favorite and one of the most fun little gadgets around. It’s also probably one of the best value for money instruments that money can buy.

The Teenage Engineering Pocket Synthesizer looks much like a calculator, and on first glance really doesn’t look like it’s capable of much. However, get your hands on the thing and you’ll soon be lost in a magnificent world of experimentation and creativity.

Songs and hooks are easily created with the simple interface, and you’ll be surprised at the quality of what can be made.

Just take a look at this short to see how easy it is to make something that sounds awesome in just a few button presses.

These pocket synths come in a variety of options, and they can be easily hooked up together to create bigger soundscapes. Synths can be very expensive and intimidating instruments, but Teenage Engineering makes them more accessible and fun than ever before.

This is an instrument with incredible depth that can be played by someone with no musical experience. That’s a pretty rare feat and one which makes the Pocket Synth range one of the best music-themed gifts around.

Teenage Engineering is really on to a winner here and these pocket synths are becoming incredibly popular. Besides the drum machine models, there are also voice samplers and an arcade-inspired 8-bit classic. They’re all incredibly fun and once you’ve mastered one, you’ll soon be looking for the next model to expand your miniature synth collection.

Bottom Line: This will be enjoyed by adults, kids, musicians or just plain music lovers. Hours of fun guaranteed.

2. KNK KNS8400 Studio Headphones

A good pair of headphones is simply one of the best gifts for music lovers. I remember getting my first pair of studio headphones and being blown away by the sound quality. I spent hours listening back to my favorite albums and enjoying little subtleties in the songs that I had never heard before. Those headphones brought my music collection to life and I heard my favorite songs in a new light.

The KNK KNS8400 headphones are some of the best sounding on the market right now. KNK are renowned for making high-quality mixing speakers and they’ve really nailed the sound reproduction with the KNS8400’s too.

They have a wide dynamic range and are well suited to mixing themselves. The wide, flat frequency response means they reproduce music faithfully and there’s no unnatural cutting or boosting of frequencies. Hear music the way it was intended to be heard with an awesome set of headphones like these.

The ear cups are made from top quality acoustic memory foam that helps sound isolation and enhances the bass response. They also mold gently to the shape of your head to ensure a really comfortable listening experience. The cable is detachable and the ear cups rotate to make storage and travel more convenient. They’re actually a bit better put together than most studio headphones and are reasonably sturdy. The good news is that they remain lightweight and are suitable for long listening sessions.

Bottom Line: These are high-quality headphones that are endorsed by musicians and producers worldwide. But, they’re actually very reasonably priced and an absolute bargain. An avid music listener would be very grateful to receive a pair of these.

3. Moog Theremini

Theremins are notorious for being difficult to master and that’s probably why they have never made the breakthrough into popular music. Good Vibrations by the Beach Boys is the most famous song to use the strange instrument.

Moog intend to change all of this and make the theremin more accessible and easier to master than ever before with the Theremini. It’s a modern-day theremin with built-in pitch correction and tuner that can produce otherworldly sounds like no other instrument. Take a look at this short video to see the amazing Theremini in action.

The Theremini sounds amazing and has Moog’s signature warm sounds. It’s suitable for players of any skill level and gives a new way to interact with an instrument. With the optional pitch correction, even beginners can compose impressive soundscapes right from the beginning. The built-in tuner also gives visual feedback of what note is being played or how close it is to a note. This is a great learning tool and can also educate kids about musical scales.

Bottom Line: As gifts for musicians go, you’ll do well to top this. Theremins are pretty rare and exciting instruments that are a lot of fun to play and a challenge to master. This definitely goes in the “Cool Gifts for Musicians” column.

4. Eargasm High Fidelity Earplugs for Musicians

The health of our ears is definitely something most of us take for granted. The truth is our ears are really quite fragile and we should do our best to protect them from loud sounds and noise.

Those who play loud instruments, play in a band, or go to concerts are definitely at risk of hearing damage, which could cause them real discomfort. Thankfully, these days high-quality earplugs are available that block the damaging loud sounds from reaching the inner ear. But importantly they manage to preserve the sound quality at the same time. What you get is clearly defined sound without the harmful noise.

These earplugs from Eargasm are used by musicians and concert-goers alike. They are made from a hypoallergenic soft silicone that remains comfortable even when worn for long periods. They come with two different sized ear plug shells that should fit all but the very smallest ears (there’s a smaller model available too). They also come with an aluminum case that can easily attach to a keychain.

Bottom Line: A really thoughtful gift that doesn’t cost the earth. The truth is we should all wear some form of ear protection and we’ll live to regret not doing so in later life.

5. Otamatone

This is a quirky one straight from Japan. The otamatone is a musical instrument made by a Japanese toy company and it’s currently taking the world by storm.

Inspired by the human voice as an instrument, the otamatone is reminiscent of the violin in it’s playing style. The fretless control board controls pitch, while the round “face” controls vibrato. It sounds a bit like a theremin or even a stylophone, but looks quite unlike anything else, and it’s definitely very quirky.

Check out the video below to see exactly what an otamatone is and why they’re so fun.

This would make a great for a musician or even someone with very little instrument experience. The otamatone is designed to be easily picked up and played by anyone, but it still offers the challenge to the musician of actual mastery. It will definitely put a smile on someone’s face when they hold it for the first time anyway.

Bottom Line: This is a really fun musical gift that is perfect for someone that doesn’t take themselves too seriously. It’s also one of the best gifts for violinists due to the similarity in playing styles. It’s one of those musician gifts that will definitely get a smile.

6. Focusrite Scarlett Recording Bundle

This bundle includes everything needed to record high-quality audio in the comfort of your own home. It’s an awesome gift idea for a singer, songwriter or producer.

The pack includes a Scarlett 2i2 USB audio interface, a condenser microphone, headphones, XLR mic cable, and a mic stand clip. It just needs plugging into a computer and using the Pro Tools software (included) you’re ready to record. It actually comes with other software that’s great for creating beats and loops too.

There’s no need to put up with the recording quality of smartphones or tablets when equipment like this is now so affordable. This is the perfect bundle of equipment for anyone thinking about venturing into the world of recording.

Bottom Line: This is an awesome gift for the creative person in your life. Turn your office into a home recording studio with the Focusrite bundle. It makes music recording accessible to anyone and gives you the ability to let the world hear your music in high quality.

7. Audio Technica USB Turntable

The Audio Technica AT-LP60 is a belt-driven turntable that can be hooked up to your computer via USB or just as easily to your speakers. The fully automatic turntable plays both 33 1/3 and 45 RPM records.

The USB connection gives you the ability to record your vinyl collection digitally to your computer. That means you can listen to your treasured vinyl collection on-the-go. For the vinyl enthusiast, that is a pretty amazing scenario that makes this one of the best gifts for vinyl lovers.

It’s fully Mac or PC compatible and comes with all the necessary cables and Audacity software that’s needed to start compiling your portable vinyl playlists.

Besides connecting via USB, the AT-LP60 also functions like a regular turntable and will connect to an amplifier or powered speakers using traditional RCA cables.

Bottom Line: The prospect of taking the treasured vinyl collection on the road might have been unfathomable a few years ago, but nowadays it’s actually pretty easy. This is an amazing gift for the vinyl lovers out there. One of those music lover gifts that keeps on giving.

8. Alesis Nitro Electronic Drum Kit

The Alesis Nitro is an awesome electronic drum kit that works both as a stand-alone kit or hooked up via USB to a computer (Mac or PC). It can be used with headphones or even hooked up to a stereo or speakers.

This is the perfect gift for the wannabe drummer that has all the features of a real kit but without the unnecessary racket.

It comes with the Nitro drum module that includes hundreds of percussion sounds that you can assign to the rubber drum pads. There are actually 40 whole different drum kit sounds available and 60 built-in tracks to play along to. There’s also a sequencer, metronome and CD/MP3 input so that you can play along to your favorite songs.

Bottom Line: The Alesis Nitro is an 8-piece kit that includes everything needed to hammer away to your favorite songs. It’s a full drum kit but takes up less space and can be used with headphones.

9. Kalimba Thumb Piano

If you’re not familiar with the kalimba, it’s an African instrument that combines a wooden board with metal plates. The metal plates are plucked with your two thumbs to produce the sound. It’s sometimes called the lamellophone and is part of the idiophone family of musical instruments along with the Jew’s harp.

This kalimba is made of high-quality mahogany wood and gives a richer sound than the cheaper kalimbas you’ll find. It’s also been tuned to perfection, so it’s ready to go straight out of the box.

The kit comes with an instruction manual with step-by-step instructions on playing and tuning the instrument. There’s a tuning hammer included too.

Bottom Line: Kalimbas make great gifts for piano players as the tuning is the same. If you know a piano player in need of music related gifts then this could be a great option.

10. Hohner Melodica

This melodica from Hohner is another fun instrument that is one of the perfect gifts for piano lovers out there.

It has 32 keys and a range of over two and a half octaves. It comes with a comfortable, sturdy carry case too.

If you’re unfamiliar with the melodica, then the video below is a great introduction to how fun they can be.

They look very similar to a keyboard but play and sound very different. You’ll need to be fit to play the melodica as it involves a lot of huffing and puffing!

It’s actually more similar to the harmonica and is in the same family of instruments due to the way it makes its sound (the free-reed family).

It’s been around in its modern form since the 50’s but originates a couple of hundred years before this in Italy. It was first used in a serious piece of music by composer Steve Reich in 1966, before finding fame in Jamaican dub reggae with Augustus Pablo.

Bottom Line: Another of those really fun music themed gifts that a piano player will pick up really easily. Just watch that video and try not to smile! This is another one of the best gifts for musicians on this list.

That brings us to the end of our awesome ideas for musical gifts. We’d love to hear of any quirky gift ideas for musicians or cool music related gifts that we’ve missed out. Just drop us a comment at the bottom of the page or send us an e-mail using our contact form.

We’re pretty satisfied with what we’ve chosen and I can say for a fact that I’d be the happiest person in the room if my girlfriend bought me any of these for my birthday or Christmas. We’ve included gifts for singers, gifts for piano players, gifts for guitar lovers….the list is pretty comprehensive.

Not all the gifts will appeal to everyone, but things like the earplugs, headphones, and pocket synth are surefire crowdpleasers that just can’t fail. I own all three and they get a lot of use and have given me a huge amount of value.

The instruments are a bit more “niche” I guess, but they definitely have the “wow!” factor and are hugely fun to mess around with. I’ve had a theremin on my wishlist for years and I don’t think I can resist the Moog Theremini for much longer. There will be a comprehensive review coming your way in the not so distant future…

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We’ll be back with another post like this towards the end of the year. Maybe something like Christmas gifts for musicians.

In the meantime, why not make your windows better at keeping noise out with our awesome guide?

Jamie

Hi, my name’s Jamie. I’m a teacher and graduate in acoustics & music. I’m passionate about all things sound related, and I hope that comes across on the website.

Please get in contact if there’s anything we can do to help.