By Carolyn Heneghan
It’s that time of year again where the unending Christmas lists and hours of mulling over gift options returns. For the music tech lovers on your list, you might fall back on more traditional gifts like CDs, DVDs or blu-rays, iPod docks, a new pair of headphones, or a cool new set of speakers. But if you’re looking to go the extra mile—or your giftee already has the aforementioned products—we’ve got a list of some unique tech gifts that may just be right up your alley.
Music Streaming/Subscriptions
One popular gift for music lovers is a subscription to various music services, many of which are very affordable if you’re on a tighter budget. A one-year subscription to Pandora One, for example, includes no ads, higher quality audio, a desktop app, and custom skins for only $36. For Spotify, you can purchase one, three, six, or 12 months of Spotify Premium—which includes streaming to all of your devices, downloadable music to listen to on- or offline, and no ads or commitment—for around $9.99 per month. This gift card can be given via special Christmas e-cards or a printout to put under the tree.
On the subject of Pandora, another unique way to listen to your Pandora playlists is via the streaming box Roku LT (~$50) which lets you access and stream your Pandora account right from your television.
One more cool subscription service is the Flexi of the Month Club from Hifidelics that aims to recreate the idea of penpals for turntable aficionados. When you sign up (or sign up your friend or family member), you’ll receive a new flexi disc-formatted single every month. A flexi is a type of phonograph record that you can play on a turntable. You can purchase a three-month trial run for $24, and proceeds go to charity, which makes for double the gift this holiday season.
Digital Music/Playlists/Apps
What if you want to personalize your music gift, more specifically in the style of old school mixtapes and CDs? From within iTunes, you can gift actual iTunes playlists simply by assembling your playlist as usual from your iTunes library. Once it is complete, click the arrow to the right of the playlist name in the iTunes Source list and select “Give Playlist.” You can give the playlist via email or a printout to put under the tree or deliver in person. You can also send the playlist to multiple recipients and compose along with it a message of up to 500 characters. One drawback is that you can only use songs that are available from the iTunes store, so no songs you’ve specially created or recorded can be included.
Another feature for iTunes gifting is the ability to give specific iTunes apps (prices vary), which is another way to personalize a gift more than a simple iTunes gift card. On the drop-down box from the application’s page next to the Buy button, click “Gift This App,” enter the relevant details, and you’ve got a download code ready to go. So if there’s a music app that your giftee has been eyeing lately, this is the perfect way to give them something they’ve been specifically wanting.
In the spirit of playlist and “mixtape” gifting, the Ion Tape Express Portable Tape to MP3 Player (~$40) converts your old cassette tapes (or mixtapes) to MP3 format so your old collection can live on in the digital age.
Cables / Adapters
Is your giftee always looking for a charger for his or her iPod, phone, or other music playing device? Now with the Roll Up Travel Charger (~$35), which can be found at Restoration Hardware, they’ll have a compact case of various ports and adapters for just about every device you can think of. It simply connects with a power cord, and you can roll up the cords into a convenient case for travel.
Fractalspin’s Electronic Musicians’ Emergency Adapters (~$30) will make sure that you never again miss out on a performance due to mismatched cables and speakers. This extensive set of adapters makes sure you never show up to a gig again without all the adapters you might need. They can be stored in a convenient pouch that comes with the set and that can fit into just about any instrument case or gig bag.
Synthesizers
For the synthesizer lover on your holiday list, the Korg Kaossilator (~$99), Kaosillator 2 (~$160), or Kaosillator Pro (~$400) is a handheld synth and loop recorder that runs off of either a power chord or AA batteries and is played by touching the small pad/screen that takes up about half of the device. The user can manipulate sounds by either tapping or moving their finger or stylus vertically or horizontally across the screen to change the pitch and otherwise modulate the sound—basically like the track pad on your laptop, which moves the cursor. The Kaosillator’s 100 built-in programs (The Kaossilator 2 has 150, Pro 200) get you started with dozens of different instruments and sound bites, and simple or complex layering can further evolve the sounds this handy mini synth can make. The later versions even include Scale Key and Note Range that eliminates “wrong” notes.
The TC Helicon VoiceLive Play (~$350) is a sophisticated vocal processing effects synthesizer. With 200+ preloaded presets, you can infinitely customize and loop vocals as you wish. You can even hook it up using your computer USB port to work directly with most DAWs.
No matter what the preferences of your music tech gift recipient might be, you’ll be sure to find something for them this holiday season with just a little digging.
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