23.11.07

See also: 11 crazy expensive Christmas gifts for musicians, and my 2005 Gift Guide, which still stands up OK.
1. TapeOp Magazine The coolest magazine about recording and excessively expensive music gear is now available free in the US, UK and Europe. Free
2. Akai E2 Headrush The awesome looper/delay pedal used by KT Tunstall in this ace clip (and by countless people in other YouTube clips) £95 UK|$199 US
3. Lap Steel My wife bought me a lap steel for my birthday this year, and it's awesome. They're cheap, easy to play and cool-sounding. Make sure it comes with a tone bar, or they won't be able to play it on Xmas day. £50-90 from eBay UK|$100+ from eBay US.
4. Spooky glass hand that plays Chopin. $16.95
5. Pocket Pod Powerful little headphone amp and effects box with sounds 'borrowed' from vintage gear. £65 UK|$130 US.
6. Oliver Sachs: Musicophilia Amazing book about how people become obsessed by music, which I wrote about here. Amazon UK|Amazon US
7. Something from BugBrand Tom Bugs (who I wrote about here) makes beautiful little noise boxes in his Bristol lab. He doesn't have much in stock at the moment, but it's worth checking back. £7 - £130
8. A print by James Joyce You can't buy any of his excellent music gear paintings but there's much to love in his shop. £75 and up.
9. Vox Amplug Tiny headphone amp which plugs directly into your guitar and looks like a teeny vintage amp. I'd buy the AC30 flavour. $40 US|£30 UK
10. Something from Liam Devowski Liam does awesome illustrations and graffiti of synths. Perhaps if you ask him nicely, he'll sell you something! $POA. Similarly Dan McPharlin makes incredible tiny cardboard synths, and takes commissions.
11. Artec Big Dots Most guitar tuners are incredibly boring, but this one, which looks like the floor of a '70s nightclub, will make any guitarist happy. £40 UK|$70 US
12. Hello Kitty guitar A custom Squier strat in black or in pink, it's not quite as cool as the Japanese original by Fernandes, but still fine. $150 US|£134 UK
13. Moog-inspired music Any of the CDs on this list would make any geek happy. Particularly 'Switched on Nashville'... Amazon US|UK
14. Vintage microphones Vintage microphones are surprisingly cheap (plenty go for well under £50) if a bit unhygenic. They're easy to buy: if they look cool, they are cool. Even if they don't sound so great, they're nice to have around. Avoid modern 'retro' Elvis microphones.Vintage mics from eBay UK|eBay US
15. Something from Etsy There are plenty of great homemade/one-off crafty gifts for music geeks at Etsy. Try some of these keywords: synth, Moog, boom box, cassette, and 83 pages of guitars.
16. Audio Damage Effects If the person you're buying for makes music on a computer, one of these will surprise and delight them. I'd recommend Dr Device, Replicant or Phase Two, but buy the one which you like the look of. $29-$49
17. Casio DG20 MIDI guitar Classic '80s techno kitsch revived by this Flight of the Conchords clip. Because the world is crazy, these actually go for up to £300... eBay UK|eBay US Oh, yes, there's also the Flight of the Conchords DVD: UK|US
18. Korg Mini Kaoss Pad Touch pad DJ effects box for glitchy electronic fun $199 US|£95 UK
19. Nanoloop 2.2 Is a cult homemade cartridge which turns the Nintendo Gameboy Advance (or DS) into an 8 channel synth and sequencer. GBAs now cost next to nothing on eBay. €65
20. Build your own guitar kit Not so much a present as a sentence to a January of tinkering and painting. £54 from Thomann. Alternatively, a generous Warmoth gift certificate would satisfy a more serious fiddler.

Dear reader, what do you want for Christmas. Leave an anonymous note in the comments, and maybe a loved one will be inspired...

Labels: xmas2007

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18.11.07

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Christmas Gift Guide 2007 pt 1: Price No Object

Buying Christmas presents for music geeks must be a nightmare. If you're rich and generous, this list might help. The guide continues with more affordable bits later this week.
1. Elektron Monomachine MkII The ultimate all-in one boutique synth, and it will look great on any coffee table. $1440 / €1290 direct from Elektron.
2. Something from Vince Clarke's studio For a long time, Vince Clarke has had the most awesome looking studio in the world. Now he's moved to Maine, and is selling off all his gear. eBay link
3. Recording The Beatles This book is a vast, beautifully-produced labour of love. Comes in a slipcase that looks like a reel of tape. It's $100 plus $52 shipping to the UK (Ouch!). Recording the Beatles.
4. A synth subscription Every month, you'll get a new module to build into a midi-controlled analog synth. The addiction to new modules comes free. $120/month for 12 months from Synthesizers.com
5. DSI Prophet '08 It's black. It's knobby. It's analogue. It's got so many twinkly lights, you won't need a Christmas tree. US: $1999 from Analogue Haven Europe: £1412 from Thomann
6. Tenori On I was a bit underwhelmed, but as a Christmas gift, it's unbeatable... US: Not available. Europe: £599 from Dolphin Music or Rubadub.
7. Little Boy Blue Modular Synth Its a sexy little battery-powered synth built by Jessica Rylan. $395 direct from Flower Electronics.
8. Manikin Memotron A gloriously unnecessary digital Mellotron. Possibly the most stylish synth available (all white lacquer). US: $2,699 from AH Europe: £1412 from Thomann
9. Monome 128 It's a beautiful wooden box, with 128 light-up buttons on top. It's a lot cooler than it sounds. $800, shipping from 14th Dec, Monome.org
10. Dan Armstrong Plexiglass Guitar Imagine finding that under your tree... US $1,399 from Pedal Geek UK £1069 from Dolphin Music
11. Nord Wave Huge, awesome Swedish-made megasynth with wavetables, FM and analog modelling. £1395 from Dolphin Music

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9.11.06

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Christmas starts early, when Santa is rocking the Pro-5

Sabastian writes: "I was browsing through a Musician's Friend catalog, looking at cheesy christmas greeting cards. It's a lot of Santa jammin' on his tele and kittens playing violins but then I spotted Santa rocking out on a Prophet-5. He's also wearing a tie dyed shirt over a tie dyed background, it's pretty ridiculous." Wait, if you look closely at the picture, is that Santa's pink belly hanging out from under a cropped tie-dyed shirt? Festive. Anyway, if you're smoking meth right now, you can Buy a pack using my new affiliate link (the Music Thing shop is imminent, BTW - thanks for all your help).

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2.12.05

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The Music Thing Xmas Gift Guide

UPDATE: Here's the 2007 Music Thing Christmas Gift Guide
I think it must be pretty much impossible to buy music geek presents for music geeks. But if I had to try...
£8.99 Editors Keys: Little sticky labels to make Cubase/Sonar/Reason much easier
$10-40 T-Shirts for music geeks: Let me know if you find more
$12 An album by Link Wray: The coolest stocking filler you'll ever see
$17.95 Electric Kazoo: Cheaper than a theremin, and twice as noisy.
$23 Buddha Machine: Giving a CD = boring. Giving a tiny electronic music box = not boring
£19.99 Paper pipe organ kit: Will keep you very busy on Boxing Day
$39 Dubstation: I'm not sure software is a suitable festive gift, but this amazing dub box is a great virtual stocking filler
$49.99 GuitarPlug: Add a USB port to any guitar
£35 Mojobow: Single string slide guitar. Rockin!
$55 Speakjet Voice Synthesizer: For talking like Hawking
$59 Pink Flying V Ukulele: The guitar your kids really want
$77/Octave Chromatic desk bells: As used by Meg White
£59 Wesley Perspex Kids Guitars: Perfect 'for the kids'… (May be out of stock)
$110+ Transparent Les Paul: In case you don't have kids.
$100 (per month) Dotcom Modular Synth Subscription: By the summer, you'll be making noises
$149 Hottie Amps: They'll think you've given them a toaster! They'll be wrong!
$154: Paia Fatman: Analog synth kit, if you love the smell of solder in the morning
£100+ A Vintage Reel-to-Reel. Click to search eBay for (revox, studer, teac) +reel, or trawl car boot sales
$140 Blue Snowball: Amazing looking USB microphone. Remember the huge shock mount
$159 Drumometer: Join the world's fastest growing extreme sport: Really fast drumming
$179 Ampeg Scrambler: The originals cost $1000. These don't
$180/octave Bigfoot Keyboard: Batteries not required for more Xmas morning hilarity
£130 Riyaz Master Tabla Machine: Self contained Indian drum machine
$289 Moolon Pedals: Amazing engraved effects pedals from Asia
£220 MFB Synth II: Tiny, cheap analog Minimoog clone with a sequencer
¥39,800 Fernandes ZO-3 Travel Guitars: Available in any colour except boring, although mainly Jap only
$300 TC Electronic Pedals: Just the best looking pedals in the world (I reckon)
$407 Stroh violin:Amazing amplified acoustic violin, used by Tom Waits
$425 Sonar Axe: Just to see the look on Granny's face when they open the parcel on the 25th
$429 Memory Lane: Diamond's very clever analog delay pedal
$499 iMP Tube Amp: The best looking little hifi amp ever (thanks Chris)
£350-ish Moog Prodigy: The best bang-for-the-buck vintage Moog money can buy
$699 Future Retro Revolution: It's roundy, it's white, it's analog and it's bleepy
$729 Moogerfooger Analog Delay: Buy it for your newborn and say it's an investment
€2190 Lemur: Incredibly sexy and clever. Looks like an old computer monitor
What do you want for Christmas? Share in the comments

Labels: xmas2007

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21.12.04

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A Christmas gift to you, loyal Music Thing readers

Well, this awesome picture is really a gift from Brandon, who sent me the link to this page about Leo from Kansas, a man so obsessed with his Pro-One synth that he had a Pro-One shaped wedding cake. Then, he decided not to base it on a real Pro-One, but his own fantasy dual-keyboard synth. Good work, Leo!

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10.12.04

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Xmas Gift Guide: Zvex Nano Head

Five reasons to covet the $400 Zvex Nano Head half-watt valve amp as much as I do:
1: It's tiny. That blue box at the bottom? It's smaller than an iPod
2: Those teeny little valves? The were originally designed for use in ballistic missiles
3: It has a one-inch cooling fan on the side, and a tiny speaker on the bottom
4: It can power a full-sized Marshall stack loud enough to record with
5: Inventor Zachary Vex has the most flattering Googlism entry I've ever seen

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9.12.04

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Xmas Gift Guide: The iKazoo

It's always interesting find out who reads Music Thing, so I was delighted to get this message from Rick Hubbard: "I enjoy reading your blog, and as America's only full-time, professional kazoo player and owner of the kazoo factory, I felt I should contribute something." Rick's new thing is the iKazoo, which costs 79¢: "Now you can jam with your iTunes. And if you can't afford an iPod, you can still get a white kazoo." He also has an awesome guitar.

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8.12.04

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Xmas Gift Guide: 'Tric Pic

I'm not totally sure that 'Tric Pic Industries Inc. is really a viable company. Their website says "Press Release" at the top and has a link saying 'Techinfo' which leads to a raw directory full of stuff about Chrysler boat engines. But their product, designed by Charles 'Chuck' Carpenter (who's apparently in Gary Moore's band) is clearly a winner: A guitar pick with a built in LED light, for $9. They're stocked by Tell Me Where On Earth (but you have to scroll right down to the bottom of the page).

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7.12.04

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Xmas gift guide: Jammin' Johns

Not a lot to say, really. It's a toilet seat shaped like a guitar, made by Marvin Maxwell of Kentucky. Currently out of stock, I'm afraid, perhaps because of the very reasonable asking price of $99. Only available in tobacco sunburst (though I'm sure a flamed maple version is on the way). He seems to do a full range of musical bathroom bits: drum stick towel rail, headstock toilet roll holder. NB: Steven Spielberg has bought a Jammin' John.

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6.12.04

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Xmas Gift Guide: Ultra-specialist music jewellery

I've seen music jewellery before. Silver guitar picks, little stratocasters, perhaps a pair of saxophone earrings. But Tell Me Where On Earth has gone about a zillion steps further. They have tiny silver models of eleven different types of microphone. A Shure SM58, I can understand. Every wannabe rapper might want one, so they do it in five different finishes. But also a Shure Beta 58, which looks very, very subtly different. They even have one of those Sony C-800 valve mics that Dre uses. They have teeny-tiny VU meters, Mesa Boogie amps, a DX7, even a Roland D50. And in the picture above left? It's a kick-drum microphone. Why? Why? Why?

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