A good stocking stuffer for a musician is small, cheap and plugs into something they already own. Everything below costs under $30 tonight at Thomann and comes from our rankings. For a little more money, see our gifts for musicians under $50.
For guitar players
Behringer TO800 Vintage Tube Overdrive, $26
A copy of the classic green overdrive, one of the best-known drive sounds in guitar, for the price of a set of strings. #137 of 546 distortion pedals.
Behringer UC200, $27
A stereo chorus with level, tone, rate and depth, for shimmering clean sounds. #62 of 134 chorus / flanger / phaser pedals.
myVolts Ripcord 9V DC, $25
A cable that powers a 9-volt pedal, synth or MIDI box from a USB port or a phone power bank. Handy for busking and practice away from a socket. #31 of 180 guitar effect power supplies.
For keyboard players
Nektar NX-P, $20
A universal expression pedal with a polarity switch, for volume swells or controlling effects on a keyboard. #8 of 28 volume and expression pedals.
Roland DP 2, $20
A piano-shaped sustain pedal that's a big step up from a square switch. #6 of 40 sustain pedals.
For drummers
DDrum Red Shot Snare / Tom Trigger, $20
A trigger that clamps onto an acoustic drum and sends hits to a drum module, for drummers with an e-kit module or sampling pad. #5 of 30 electronic drum triggers.
For everyone
Superlux HD-681, $26
Cheap studio headphones that sound much better than their price. #13 of 106 studio headphones.
For kids
Hohner Speedy, $7
A tiny 8-reed harmonica in C for children, from Hohner. Colors vary. #40 of 158 diatonic harmonicas.
JVC HA-KD5P, $18
Children's headphones with an 85 dB volume limiter, sized for kids from 4 years, for practicing on a keyboard or e-kit. #1 of 2 children's headphones.
Questions
What are good stocking stuffers for musicians?
Small gear they'll use: a cheap effects pedal, a better sustain pedal, headphones, or a USB power cable for pedals.
What can I get a guitarist for under $30?
The Behringer TO800 overdrive ($26) or UC200 chorus ($27).
How we picked. Every product comes from an AudioFu ranking, scored on demand, price, specs and brand. 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 $30.
Share this story
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.
All stories by Denis Kataev →
