It's that time of year again, and if you're like me, you haven't even started your Christmas shopping yet. With the economy still in a bind, money is kind of tight for most of us, so I thought today I'd give a sampling of some of the more inexpensive gifts available out there for the musician in your life. Or, if you ARE the musician in someone's life, feel free to print this article out and tape it up in conspicuous places throughout your home for a little hinteroo. I realize that the concept of what is inexpensive is relative, but given how expensive a lot of music gear can be, these ideas should have a pretty good dollar to smiles ratio. Is there anything out there you think I missed? Let me know in the comments and if it looks cool and is cheap, I'll add it to this post...
The original Stylophone was a small, portable electronic instrument invented in the late 60's that allowed the user to play music by dragging a stylus across a metal keyboard plate. If you've ever heard Kraftwerk's "Pocket Calculator", you've heard a Stylophone, as the instrument was used to play the main melody. Now, nearly 42 years after the invention of the original, comes the Stylophone Beatbox. Like the original, this instrument is played by touching a handheld stylus to metal plates, but these are arranged in a circular, concentric arrangement optimized for playing rhythms. The unit has a handful of built-in sounds including a drum kit and an upright bass soud, all of which play through the built-in speaker. The unit can record bits of your performances allowing you to do very simple layering/looping in real time. Not bad for $25, eh? And if you're feeling doubly nostalgic, the classic Stylophone is available for slightly more at $55.
In the past couple of years, grid-themed alternative controllers like the Yamaha Tenori-On and the Monome have not only sparked a lot of interest in the electronic music community, they've almost become status symbols of a sort. While the prices of these controllers are not totally unreasonable, they're a bit outside the level many people are comfortable spending. The Bliptronic 5000 mimics the interfaces of these types of controllers in a self-contained unit with 8 cheesy built-in sounds. The downside, of course, is that it can't be used to control your MIDI rig. But at a price like this, it's an awesome toy at the very least, and might be a good first step for musicians curious about alternative interfaces, but not ready to drop the serious cash just yet.
I put this on last year's list, and it's even cheaper now, so I figure it's worth a repeat. The H2 is a stereo (well, actually it can do surround, as it has 4 built-in mics) digital recorder that stores audio in a variety of popular formats and sample rates on common SD cards. It comes with a 512 MB card, which isn't much, but it can accommodate cards of up to 16GB for over 24 hours of recording. The possible applications for this are limitless. It's a great way for traveling musicians to record music or lyrical ideas quickly. It's perfect for making field recordings and recording sounds to sample. And if you're more the type who likes to listen to other people making music, the H2 would be great for taping your favorite band's live sets (with their permission, of course).
4. iTunes Gift Card ($15+)
Obviously, most musicians are music fans, so free music is never going to make anyone frown. But not everyone likes to buy their music digitally, or from Apple (or, unfortunately, at ALL in some cases). I include this for gift givers with musician friends who have iPhones. iTunes gift cards can be used toward the purchase of iPhone apps and as you are no doubt aware, there are a TON of cool music apps from a simple cowbell simulator to full fledged mini-music studios. Available in various denominations directly proportional to how much you love who you're buying the gift for. ; )
5. Kraftwerk - The Catalogue Box Set
($140.99)
($140.99) If you're an electronic musician and you don't like Kraftwerk, I'm sorry, but you're wrong. : |
In all seriousness, this 8-disc set features new remasters of all of the band's albums from Autobahn, onward. Kraftwerk isn't for everyone, but I don't know many of my fellow electronic music enthusiasts who would be upset to find this under the Christmas tree.
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2 comments:
Regarding the Zoom H2's recording capabilities: "The H2 is a stereo (well, actually it can do simulated surround, as it has 4 built-in mics)"
Nothing 'simulated' about it - the H2 can record simultaneous, discrete 4 channel audio up to 24bit/48Khz.
Yeah, not sure why I wrote 'simulated'. I corrected it. : )
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