Thinking of Christmas gift ideas for musicians can feel like a minefield. They’re fussy about gear, and the obvious ideas are usually things they already own. For this list, every pick had to be something a player would use every week, and every one had to be in stock at Thomann UK when I put it together. Prices tend to shift around Black Friday, so treat them as a guide.
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In this guide
Stocking Fillers Under £25
Best stocking filler: Harley Benton CTG 20 BK USB Clip Tuner
Price: around £8.50
Clip tuners are the socks of the music world: everyone needs one, they vanish constantly, and nobody wants to spend much on them. At under a tenner, this one makes a lot of sense. The feature that sold it to me is USB charging, which means no more hunting for a coin cell right before a gig. The colour screen rotates all the way round, it covers guitar, bass, violin, ukulele and chromatic modes, and you can calibrate it from 430 to 450 Hz.
Over a thousand Thomann customers rate it 4.4 out of 5. The most common complaint is that the screen could be brighter in direct sun. For the price, I’d happily accept that.
Millenium GS 2001 E
Price: around £8.60
A guitar leaning against the sofa is an accident waiting to happen, which is why a cheap stand is one of the most useful gifts on this list. This one folds small enough to fit in a gig bag pocket, with foam padded arms, rubber feet and one angled leg for extra stability. Nearly 16,000 customer ratings average 4.6 out of 5, which tells you how many guitars it’s already looking after.
One important catch is that Thomann warns against long term use with nitrocellulose finishes, because the foam can react with the lacquer. If the guitarist owns a Gibson or a vintage style nitro guitar, choose a nitro safe stand instead.
Vic Firth 5A American Classic Hickory
Price: around £11.90
Drummers go through sticks at an alarming rate, so a fresh pair is never a wasted gift. The 5A is the size most drummers treat as the default. These are hickory, 406 mm long and 14.4 mm thick, with a teardrop wooden tip. Vic Firth’s reputation rests on consistency, so every pair should feel like the last one. Almost 3,000 Thomann customers rate them 4.8 out of 5.
Reviewers mention that the wooden tips chip over time with heavy cymbal work. If the drummer plays mostly on an electronic kit, I’d choose the nylon tip version, which is gentler on mesh heads.
Best for guitarists: Shubb C1
Price: around £18.90
If I could recommend only one capo, it would be this one. Instead of a spring, the Shubb uses a roller lock with a small adjustment screw. You set the pressure once and it clamps down without dragging the strings out of tune. That design explains why more than 3,600 customers rate it 4.8 out of 5 and why Thomann has sold over 100,000 of them.
Nylon string players should pick the Shubb C2, since one reviewer found the C1 a touch short on a wide classical neck. For steel string acoustic and electric guitar, this is the one I’d buy.
Millenium 12″ True Stroke Practice Pad
Price: around £21.70
Any drummer who shares a house needs a practice pad, and this 12 inch Millenium is Thomann’s best seller in the category. It has a rubber playing surface on a wood fibreboard base with a medium firm rebound. An 8 mm thread underneath means it screws straight onto a cymbal stand. I really like that detail, because it lets you practise at a proper height rather than hunched over a table.
It isn’t silent, so late night rudiments will still be heard through the floor. Add the Vic Firth sticks above and you’ve got a complete practice kit for £33.60.
Mid Range Gifts, £25 to £100
Harley Benton PowerPlant Powerbank
Price: around £33
This is my left field pick, and I think it’s one of the smartest gifts here for anyone with a pedalboard. It’s a 10,000 mAh battery with two 9 V outputs for pedals (centre negative, 1.2 A shared) and a USB port for a phone. It solves busking, garden jams and rehearsal rooms with one socket hidden behind the drum riser. In the box you get two 60 cm DC leads, a polarity adapter and a five way daisy chain, and a four LED gauge shows how much charge is left.
It’s rated 4.5 out of 5 by 380 customers. One of them bought it to run a multi effects unit whose mains lead was too short, which is exactly the kind of problem it exists to fix. It charges over Micro USB and takes around five hours from empty with a 2 A adapter (not included), so it’s worth topping up the night before a gig.
Best for bass players: Vox AmPlug 3 Bass
Price: around £36
Bass players tend to get overlooked at Christmas, which is a shame, because this is a great little present. It plugs directly into the bass and turns any pair of headphones into a practice amp. You get a clean channel and an overdrive channel, plus compressor, chorus, delay, reverb and nine rhythm patterns to play along with. Two AAA batteries last around 16 hours, and an aux input lets you jam along to tracks from a phone.
It’s a practice tool rather than a replacement for a real amp. I’d also check where the jack sits on their bass before buying, since plug in units like this work best with a side mounted socket.
Millenium KS 2010
Price: around £36
Plenty of keyboard players end up balancing their instrument on a desk at the wrong height, and a proper stand fixes that straight away. The KS 2010 is a double braced X stand with a quick lock. It adjusts from 560 to 970 mm and is rated for 100 kg. It holds 4.6 out of 5 from over 1,400 customers, and one reviewer reckoned it could carry at least four times the weight of their controller.
It’s plain black steel, so don’t expect style points. It does fold flat, though, and if they add a second synth later, the KS 2010 EX tier bolts on for £19.90.
Best for home producers: Arturia MiniLab 3 Black
Price: around £77
For anyone making music on a laptop, this is the controller I’d point them towards. It fits a lot into one USB powered box: 25 slim velocity sensitive keys, eight RGB pads, touch strips for pitch and modulation, eight encoders, four faders, a sustain pedal input, an arpeggiator and a chord mode. The bundled software makes it useful from day one, with Ableton Live Lite, Analog Lab Intro and its 500 plus presets, and UVI Model D piano. Customers rate it 4.7 out of 5.
Slim keys aren’t ideal for a trained pianist who wants to practise properly, so a full size controller would suit them better. For beat making and sketching song ideas, I think it’s superb value.
Zoom H1essential
Price: around £85
Most rehearsals get recorded on a phone propped against a music stand, and this is a big step up from that. The H1essential records in 32 bit float, which means you can’t really clip a recording. You just hit record and adjust the levels afterwards. The stereo mics handle up to 120 dB SPL, it weighs 92 g, it runs on two AAA batteries or USB, and it works as a USB mic for a laptop. I also like that it reads its menus aloud, a thoughtful touch for visually impaired players.
The limitations are worth knowing: no XLR inputs or phantom power, just a 3.5 mm input, and no microSD card in the box. Buy a card with it so it’s ready to go on Christmas morning.
Best for singers: Shure SM58 LC
Price: around £99
It’s the obvious pick for a singer, and it’s obvious for a reason. Shure first released the SM58 in 1966, and it’s still on countless pub and club stages today. Its reputation for surviving drops, spills and years of rough handling is legendary. The cardioid pattern keeps the rest of the band out of the vocal, and the ball grille reduces pops. With more than 5,800 ratings averaging 4.8 out of 5, it’s Thomann’s best selling dynamic mic.
The LC version has no on/off switch, which I think is a plus, since it’s one less thing to knock off mid song. No cable is included, so add an XLR lead to the basket.
Premium Picks Over £100
Shure SE215 Pro K
Price: around £105
If the musician you’re buying for gigs regularly, in ear monitors can transform how they hear themselves on stage, and the SE215 is where many players start. It has a single dynamic driver and a detachable cable that loops over the ear. Shure quotes up to 37 dB of noise isolation with a good seal. Foam and silicone tips in three sizes and a carry case are included. The black version is rated 4.5 out of 5, and the clear SE215 Pro CL is currently £98.
The low end is generous rather than flat, which tends to suit drummers and bassists. The detachable cable matters more than it sounds, because cables are usually the first thing to fail.
Focusrite Scarlett Solo 4th Gen
Price: around £115
This is the simplest route I can think of for getting a singer or guitarist recording at home. It has one XLR input with phantom power, one instrument input, two outputs and a headphone socket, all powered over USB C. The fourth generation adds Focusrite’s Air mode with Presence and Harmonic Drive settings. It also has gain halos that light up so levels can be checked at a glance. The bundle includes Ableton Live Lite, Pro Tools Intro+, Melodyne Essential, Addictive Drums and Addictive Keys, and customers rate it 4.7 out of 5.
It records one mic and one instrument at a time. If they want to record two mics together, the Scarlett 2i2 is the better choice. Thomann also sells B stock units from £99.
beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro 80 Ohm
Price: around £129
These sit at number one in Thomann’s studio headphone chart, with 4.8 out of 5 from over 5,000 ratings. Being closed back, they stop a click track leaking into a vocal mic and let someone practise late without disturbing the house. The velour pads have a reputation for staying comfortable over long sessions, and they’re built in Germany.
Two things are worth checking before buying. First, the 3 m cable is fixed rather than detachable. Second, the 80 ohm version works best with an audio interface. Thomann notes that volume can be limited from a smartphone, so the 32 ohm model is the better choice for phone listening. Pair these with the Scarlett Solo and you’ve built someone a home studio for under £250.
Best for practice: Boss Katana Mini X
Price: around £139
For the money, this is the small practice amp I’d choose. It puts 10 watts through a 5 inch speaker in a wooden cabinet. You get three analogue amp voices (Clean, Crunch and Brown), each with a variation, and genuine Boss effects including chorus, phaser, tremolo, octave, and delay with reverb. The battery charges over USB C and lasts up to 10 hours. Bluetooth lets them play along to songs, and it adds a tuner and a headphone and recording output.
Customers rate it 4.5 out of 5. One reviewer says it sounds much better raised to waist height than sitting on the floor, and another notes that the delay time is fixed. It isn’t a gig amp, but for the lounge, the garden or a hotel room, it’s a lovely present. B stock starts at £129.
My verdict
If you’re not sure what they play or what they already own, the Harley Benton clip tuner is the safest stocking filler here, because every musician loses theirs eventually. For a guitarist, the Shubb C1 is the one gift under £25 they’ll use every week. Drummers will appreciate the Vic Firth sticks and practice pad together, a complete practice kit for £33.60. Bass players get a proper surprise with the Vox AmPlug 3 Bass, and singers can’t go wrong with the Shure SM58. For anyone making music on a laptop, the Arturia MiniLab 3 is superb value. And if you want to go all out, the Scarlett Solo and DT 770 Pro together give someone a complete home studio for under £250.
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