Buying gear for a musician partner is risky: he might already own it, or have strong opinions about the brand. The safest gifts are popular, well-made things that most players are happy to have one more of. Below is one for each kind of musician. Every pick comes from our rankings, with tonight's Thomann price. On a smaller budget, see gifts for musicians under $50.
If he plays guitar
MXR M169 Carbon Copy Analog Delay, $193
An analog delay pedal with up to 600 ms of warm echo and three knobs. Hard to go wrong: few guitarists dislike a good delay. #6 of 150 delay / echo pedals.
If he plays bass
Boss ODB-3, $124
A bass overdrive that keeps the low end while adding grit. One of the highest-ranked bass pedals we track: #1 of 143 bass pedals.
If he plays drums
Drumeo EarDrums, $189
In-ear headphones for drummers with a dynamic and a balanced armature driver and 12 pairs of silicone tips, for practicing to music without blasting it. #2 of 9 drummer's headphones.
If he sings or makes podcasts
Warm Audio WA-47jr, $303
A large-diaphragm condenser microphone, a transformerless take on the classic '47 with switchable polar patterns, for recording vocals at home. #1 of 217 large diaphragm microphones.
If he plays keys or makes beats
Korg microKORG, $447
The classic little analog-modeling synth with 37 mini keys, an arpeggiator and a vocoder. #5 of 209 general synthesizers.
For any musician
Rode NTH-100, $134
Closed-back studio headphones that every musician can use for practice, recording and listening. #7 of 106 studio headphones.
Audio-Technica ATH-M50X White, $185
One of the most popular studio headphones of recent years: closed-back, 45 mm drivers and swiveling earcups, here in white. #6 of 106 studio headphones.
Questions
What do you get a boyfriend who plays music?
Something for his instrument that he'd be happy to own twice, like a delay pedal for a guitarist ($193), or good studio headphones for any musician.
How do I know what gear he already has?
Look at his setup photos, or ask a bandmate. When in doubt, headphones are the safest gift.
How we picked. Every product comes from an AudioFu ranking, scored on demand, price, specs and brand; specs from Thomann's product data. Prices are converted from euros at the European Central Bank rate and updated every night, as are the ranks.
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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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