We’re neck-deep in December already, which means the gift-buying crunch time for holiday season is hitting high gear. There’s a ton of great deals to be found out there, so with a little effort you’ll avoid breaking the bank or delivering a dud when it comes to the fine art of gift-giving. Seriously, if you’re shopping for loved ones you don’t want to be the lame-o who throws couple bucks at a random White Elephant gift that clearly had no thought put into it. Step it up.
While Crave’s already got you covered on Must-Have Box Sets and Vinyl Gift Ideas, there’s a great deal more to offer the music maniacs in your life. Looking for a set of affordable speakers that still sound great? Looking for a hipster-friendly music gadget or set of killer headphones? Check out our 2014 Music Gift Guide below, featuring ten guaranteed winners in the gift-giving season.
Music Gear Gift Guide
-
George Harrison Shepard Fairey Offset Lithograph
PRICE: $35
BUY IT NOW: Merchbar
Renowned artist Shepard Fairey has paid tribute to philosopher, humanitarian, psychonaut and late Beatle George Harrison with a beautiful 36" x 24" lithograph print. "His music addresses the full spectrum of emotions honestly," Fairey explained in his admiration for Harrison's work. The appreciation is reflected in the remarkable artistry on display.
-
Premium DIY Gramophone Kit
PRICE: $79.99
BUY IT NOW: ThinkGeek
A hipster’s dream come true - this return to old school technology is a kit you assemble yourself. The bamboo stylus (which you cut yourself) plays your records, and you even can use the metal stylus to make your own records! The Premium DIY Gramophone Kit has a variable speed control, meaning you’ll get use out of your EPs and LPs of all sizes. It’s the perfect accompaniment to those suspenders and mustache wax your beloved hipster is getting this year.
-
Queens of The Stone Age Nug Jar
PRICE: $19.69
BUY IT NOW: Merchbar
If your gift-giving recipient has great taste in music and happens to be an advocate of herbal adventurism, you’ve found the Goldilocks zone of badass Christmas presents. This glass nug jar will keep the goods on display in a secure, airtight container until it’s time for the next sacrifice to the fire gods. Throw on some …Like Clockwork for a soundtrack and you’ve got one hell of an appreciative red-eyed loved one on Christmas morning.
-
UE Boom Portable Speaker
PRICE: $199.99
BUY IT NOW: Ultimate Ears
We’ve found a tech-Goldilocks zone in Logitech’s UE Boom wireless speakers. The Ultimate Ears Boom is a compact, durable wireless speaker made to provide a 360-degree sound design, with up to 15 hours of battery life. Add powerful and clear midrange & treble, with a strong low-end, and you’ve got a versatile little blaster that’s well worth the price tag. It sports a special “acoustic skin with plasma coating” that makes it water and stain resistant. If it gets dirty, wash it off! Yes, running a speaker under water is going to take some getting used to, but the entire premise of the UE Boom is to provide excellent sound you can take with you everywhere you go (even in the shower). The Boom comes in six different colors: black, red, white, blue, pink and moss green.
A portable speaker that supports Bluetooth and wired connections, the Boom allows you to connect with your cell phone, tablet or laptop with remarkable ease. Wirelessly connect another Ultimate Ears BOOM speaker (not included) for powerful sound (requires Ultimate Ears BOOM app, download required).
-
Samsung Level Over Headphones
PRICE: $349.99
BUY IT NOW: Amazon
Samsung sidesteps the cheap hype of inferior technology for a sound experience head and shoulders above the Beats competition, and a far classier look. Level Over cans give an immediate edge of physical appeal, sporting white and tan colors with a combination of quality materials and craftsmanship. The headband is a faux leather with an attractive cross-stitch pattern, with a good amount of padding on both the headband and the closed-back ear pads, which offer a 50mm bio-cellulose diaphragm with a neodymium magnet, designed to deliver a deeper bass and more natural sound. Along the bottom of the left hand ear pad is a USB port for charging the built-in battery, which can last over 10 hours with the noise cancelling on and over 20 hours when switched off.
A 3.5mm jack for the wired connection, a status light and the power switch are parked on the right side, with a button that can toggle the noise cancelling feature or initiate Bluetooth pairing. Both earpads have small microphones used for taking voice calls as well. There’s also an NFC tag embedded for easy pairing with Android devices. With Bluetooth and aptX support for high quality wireless playback and phone calls, the ‘Samsung Level’ Android app helps with device pairing. With the app, users can designate their own sound preferences with a 25-square grid with treble/bass top and bottom and instrument/vocal left and right.
-
Ampoids: Amp in an Altoids box
PRICE: $36.50
BUY IT NOW: Reverb
Little amp gadgets are always fun, but this one packs a surprising punch of volume and tone for being such a tiny-tin item. With adjustable gain, these little handmade amps are great for messing around with friends & family during the holidays. It’s powered by a replaceable 9-volt battery, with a simple built-in on/off switch. Just plug it in and you’re ready to rock! They’re made to order, so if you’re looking to pick one up as a gift, procrastination is your enemy for the holidays.
-
Samson MediaOne BT3 Speakers
PRICE: $99
BUY IT NOW: Samson Tech
Music lovers, gamers or aspiring audio mixers looking for an affordable speaker set have found their home. These studio monitors are the latest products from Samson that feature the ability to wirelessly connect to music sources via Bluetooth. The BT3s let you link your phone, laptop or tablet wirelessly, for perfect sound placement in your space without a web of wires throughout the room. For gamers, it’s the perfect range of quality at a rational price, while entry-level studio tinkerers will be served well in tracking, editing or playing back a project. The mids and highs are strong and detailed, and while the speakers leave a little to be desired in the deep bass sound, unless you’re looking to shatter the windows in your house and rattle everything off the shelves you’re not going to be disappointed.
Though ambitious in both sound and style, the speakers house just a 3-inch woofer on each, delivering a controlled low frequency response, and a 1-inch silk dome tweeter with 30 watts per side. Front panel level control with headphone/stereo inputs puts the action in the front, so you’re not meddling with unnecessary blind-spot wiring when it’s time for action. The 3.5mm stereo input can be used to connect secondary signal sources as well, such as iPods, keyboards and more.
-
GoPro Hero4 Black / Music
PRICE: $499.99
BUY IT NOW: GoPro
No matter what the musical experience - in the studio, at a show or playing with friends - the HERO4 Silver/Music edition has everything a musician needs to capture and share stunning video and photos of your performance. Mount the camera to instruments, turntables, mic stands and stage equipment for immersive GoPro-style footage that allows friends and fans to experience your music in a whole new way. The built-in touch display makes controlling the camera, framing shots and playing back footage more convenient than ever.
-
LSTN Troubador Headphones
PRICE: $154.99
BUY IT NOW: Amazon
LSTN’s unorthodox design reputation precede them, not to mention their humanitarian merits (a portion of profits are donated to the Starkey Hearing Foundation) - but the quality is what matters most. The delivery is balanced, warm and smooth, with a deep bass that isn’t distorted within the considerable width of sound. The midrange is the strength here, with measured highs and lows that eliminated any chance of unwanted sharpness.
The Troubadours' sub-bass and mid-bass are tactfully presented for a balanced low-end sound, which will aid in a hip-hop listening experience that doesn’t feel like your ears are strapped to a beehive.
-
Foo Fighters Ginger Metal Sweater (Green or Red)
PRICE: $29.99
BUY IT NOW: Merchbar
Let the Foo FIghters add a little death-metal gingerbread to your ugly Christmas sweater this year, and win all those stupid office contests in the process! Skulls, black makeup and a menacing ginger-glare may be spooktacular, but the doom and gloom doesn’t dampen the yuletide cheer as you’re rocking out on the holidays with the most badass Christmas sweater a rocker can own.
