Author: Kelli Richards

4 Must-Have Gifts for the Music Fanatic in Your Life

You’ve eventually got to get creative when it comes to buying gifts for your music lover. They’ve got plenty of collector’s edition guitars, decorative tambourines to hang on the wall and tour merchandise from their favorite bands. You need to start surprising your audio engineer, music student or musician. Give them something amazing and unexpected, and they’ll start to think you’re the best in the world when it comes to choosing presents that really rock. Here are 4 awesome ideas to get you started that are sure to please any music fan.

The Mojave Leather Picker’s Wallet

Photo by matsuyuki via Flickr

Every guitar player carries around a guitar pick. They just never know when they’ll be invited to jam with local musicians, friends, or even famous people they meet while doing audio engineering jobs. A pick is as necessary to a player as cash, credit cards and a driver’s license. Most players keep their picks in their jeans pockets or tucked in their existing wallet with their insurance cards. These aren’t the most convenient places to keep something as tiny as a guitar pick, and they can easily be lost. The Mojave Leather Picker’s Wallet solves this problem by providing a pick pocket directly in the wallet. The pocket holds the pick securely and makes it easily accessible whenever it’s needed. This is a true gift of thoughtfulness and convenience for a music lover. $31.00

Recording the Beatles, by Brian Kehew and Kevin Ryan

Photo by Affendaddy via Flickr

This multimedia book set is any Beatles lover’s dream. This is especially true if the Beatles lover in question is also a music engineer. This highly detailed book goes into exactly how the Beatles recorded everything at Abbey Road.Recording the Beatles is full of technical details you won’t find anywhere else. The technicality of the book makes it intriguing to someone attending an audio engineering school like Pinnacle College. With extras included like a slipcover with the appearance of an old EMI tape box, a poster of the Abbey Road mixer controls, a copy of the handwritten lyrics for “A Day In the Life,” this will be the present of the century for any music lover. $120.00

iRig Pro

Photo by nipotan via Flickr

Lots of today’s audio engineers like to record things on the fly with their iPhones or iPads. However, the sound quality often leaves something to be desired. The iRig Pro remedies this problem. It lets musicians connect any electronic instrument or microphone directly to an iPhone or iPad (4). It has a preamp that matches the output of whatever is plugged into it and also has phantom power for the most advanced instruments and microphones. It is the accessory for allowing crystal clear iPhone and iPad recordings, and your music lover will use it all the time. $150.00

TronicalTune

Many audio engineers and mixers are also musicians on the side. They like to record as well as play. The Tronical Robot Tuner will make playing a lot easier, and you’ll be their own personal Guitar Hero for getting this for them. The TronicalTune is high technology that attaches to the headstock and tuning knobs of any guitar. It then accomplishes the amazing feat of tuning the guitar automatically. It will even re-tune to alternate tuning settings instantly just by pressing a button. It makes playing on stage with a band much simpler and more fun. $330.00

This blog was contributed by Joseph Treece

Joseph is a reporter for an independent music network. He loves everything from shoegaze to top 40 pop to Japanese surf punk.