#1

I’m not a religious person and have enough children to ensure that, when Christmas comes around, I’m the last person I’m thinking about… but, despite my insistence that I genuinely don’t want any gifts, thank you, various relatives are insistent and demand gift suggestions. I’m not great at this, however, and I imagine I’m perhaps not alone in this regard.

To this end, perhaps a thread with reasonably priced suggestions for sound-obsessed gift-recipients could be helpful, I think.

I’ve not come up with a lot, but to start things off:

  • A 17-key kalimba (with pickup) seems to cost around £35 and I’m sure it could provide some excellent tones.

  • Mars by 1980 by David Stubbs looks like an excellent read. He had some very interesting things to say at Synthfest and I’ve no doubt his book will echo and expand upon that.

  • Cornfield Electronics ArduTouch Synthesizer (DIY Kit). I don’t know a load about this but saw it on Thonk and it looks like a lot of fun for £30!

  • Zeppelin Design Labs Macchiato (DIY kit). Much the same description as the above, really! £30 for a self contained noisemaker that even has MIDI in? I’m interested!

  • a bit of a cop out, maybe, but Bandcamp vouchers are my catch-all. What could be better than something which ensures I can directly support artists whose work I love whilst getting great new music at the same time?

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#2

How about patch cables (can never have enough)?

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#3

Of all the things I’ve ever purchased, nothing has perplexed my wife as much as the humble patch cable: “why do you need so many of them when they’re not even plugged into anything half the time?”

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#4

What about a Teenage Engineering Pocket Operator? The sampling one looks good! About 80 quid.

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#5

And yes. My wife has no idea about the why of patch cables

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#6

Excellent shout! I absolutely love mine and cannot praise it enough - there are some great examples of what’s possible with it on Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.

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#7

How do I subtly point out this thread to my wife? :slight_smile: Also, if anyone comes across a similar thread for those who have no interest in music tools … please let me know so maybe I can avoid the usual panic shopping next week.

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#8

BoBeats has done a couple of gift ideas videos (I think one was last year) with various accessories, toys, books etc.

Every year I struggle to fill in a wish list that’s not difficult for family, especially since I no longer collect Lego minifigures. Usually I get complaints that there’s not enough stuff on my list, despite 70 books on it…

One of these days I’m going to pick out a piece of synth gear and say “everyone just go in on this. Work it out.” If it’s good enough to buy dad a new computer (when his entire list usually consists of a bag of candy and two books) it’s good enough for me.

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#9

I have to admit, I’ve amassed a wealth of things I can sell in order to generate funds for gear and I tend to do that on an ongoing basis so I can avoid both asking for expensive things and taking money from wages etc when it comes to buying things. Also I like old random things which are difficult to ask for but I know when I see them. Cassette 4 tracks, dictaphones, old Yamaha keyboards - all of these have been purchased this year but how I would even explain what I’m looking for is beyond me!

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#10

If looking for wife/girlfried/partner this list has some nice stuff (my wife loves this blog so it all meets her tastes): https://aliceinscandiland.com/2018/12/02/a-christmas-gift-guide-with-a-difference/

YMMV etc. etc. :wink:

Also (esp. if you are in the UK) you can’t go wrong with something a little special from Liberty (they have gift ideas for pretty much everyone):https://www.libertylondon.com/uk/department/christmas-2/

Etsy and Trouva are also good online shops for stuff that is a little more crafty/small shop orientated.

Good luck!

Back to music gifts I got a Yamaha GL1 Guitalele a few years ago and I love it. Nice to have lying round the house and not too expensive to ask for a gift:

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#11

last night i made sure i could find Pomona banana cables on amazon so i could add them to a cart for family to access, lol

#12

Many charities have options for gifted donations in your name. It’s a good alternative to accumulating more things you don’t want or need.

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#13

Some great ideas there! Much appreciated.

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#14

Cool. This has alerted me to the existence of the Kala U-Bass, which is very interesting indeed! Might go for the budget model as a festive suggestion…

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#15

I’ve got a fretless bass uke on my wish list. My spouse seems likely to get it for me since it’d fit in well enough with her Gothic Quasi-Appalachian project. Strategy! :wink:

I wish I’d put the Fender Ashbory bass on my list back when they were a lot cheaper.

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#16

Another idea…

Bastl Kastle, or Dude.
1st is a great little noise synth, 2nd a handy little mixer. Both under 100 quid!

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#17

I saw someone perform with a 5 string kala u bass. Very energetic swing and hot jazz set. I didn’t realize she was paying a uke bass until the set was over. It sounded fantastic, very much akin to the sound of an upright thanks to low string tension. Very intrigued.

#18

Excellent idea. I love my Dude and sold my Kastle v1 to upgrade to 1.5 but haven’t got around to it yet. If Thonk have stock of the kits they’re something daft like £60!

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#19

Amazing! I haven’t yet tried the 1.5 version but the 1 is such a great little (bonkers) machine

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#20

I’ve got a little Rakit Baby8 sequencer waiting to be used with it, too - at £25, that surely deserves a place on the gift ideas list.

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