The best cheap gifts for musicians are small pieces of real gear, not novelty items. Under $50 there's plenty of it: effects pedals, a splash cymbal, a proper piano pedal, studio headphones, a harmonica in a new key. Every pick below comes from our rankings, with tonight's Thomann price, sorted by the instrument they play.
For bigger budgets, see our guides for drummers, bass players, piano players and music producers.
For guitar players
tc electronic Skysurfer Reverb, $41
Spring, plate and hall reverb in a small pedal, the effect almost every guitarist uses. #6 of 124 reverb pedals.
tc electronic Echobrain Analog Delay, $38
A warm analog delay with three knobs, from slapback to long repeats. #15 of 150 delay / echo pedals.
Electro Harmonix LPB-1, $45
A classic clean boost: one knob that makes the amp louder and pushes it into a little grit. #27 of 388 miscellaneous guitar effects.
For drummers
Meinl 10" HCS Splash, $32
A small, fast splash cymbal for accents, easy to add to any kit. #6 of 84 10" splash cymbals.
For piano and keyboard players
Roland DP 2, $20
A piano-shaped sustain pedal that replaces the small square switch most keyboards come with. #6 of 40 sustain pedals.
Nektar SE25, $44
A tiny 25-key MIDI keyboard for making music on a laptop. #11 of 34 master keyboards (up to 25 keys).
For anyone who plays
Superlux HD-681, $26
Studio headphones that sound far better than their price, for practice and listening. #13 of 106 studio headphones.
Mackie HM-4, $39
A four-way headphone amp, so a band or a teacher and students can all listen at once. #14 of 79 headphone amps.
Hohner Marine Band Classic E, $39
The classic blues harmonica, a new instrument for any musician to pick up. #2 of 158 diatonic harmonicas.
Harley Benton UK-12 White, $22
A soprano ukulele cheap enough to keep in the car or take to the beach. #2 of 96 soprano ukuleles.
Meinl Percussion Microphone, $31
A low-profile condenser that sticks onto a cajon, conga or frame drum, for a percussionist who starts to play live. #2 of 10 special instrument microphones.
Questions
What is a good cheap gift for a musician?
Something for their instrument: a small effects pedal for a guitarist, a splash cymbal for a drummer, a piano pedal for a keyboard player. Headphones work for everyone.
What can I get a musician for under $25?
The Roland DP 2 sustain pedal ($20), the Harley Benton UK-12 ukulele ($22) or the Superlux HD-681 headphones ($26).
How we picked. Every product comes from an AudioFu ranking, scored on demand, price, specs and brand; we took the highest-ranked models under $50 in each category. Prices are Thomann's, converted from euros at the European Central Bank rate and updated every night, as are the ranks; some may move above $50.
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Denis Kataev runs AudioFu. Every night the site records the prices of more than 38,000 instruments and studio tools at Thomann, and he writes about what those numbers show: what got cheaper, what just arrived, and which discounts are real.
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