Are you looking for gifts for someone who makes electronic music? Are you looking for presents for people that just enjoy EDM and need a new production hobby? Look no further as we’ve got the perfect list for you. We’ve gathered a list of our top 5 (and a few honorable mentions) headphones and devices at a few different price points to help guide your gifting.
For the slightly more experienced producer/hobbyist, we provide an annual EDM buyers guide. However, it focuses solely on software, samples, and services to enhance your digital production tool belt.
Let’s get started!
#1 – Akai MPK Mini MKII – 25-Key Keyboard
Akai MPK Mini – 
If you’re looking for a really simple keyboard to get started, look no further than the Akai 25-key. If you’re looking for some simple keys and programmable pads/knobs for production this should be the first on your list. I received this as a holiday present last year and really enjoyed it. Now, I’m super skeptical when it comes to these midi keyboards since a lot of them are trash especially at the low-cost tier. USB lag and just general shoddy feel are prevalent with “entry level” midi products, but this was a welcoming difference.
It has a ton of reviews on Amazon, but sifting through them is a mess. At
$79.99 (on sale) it’s a steal. i’m not saying this is the
best midi keyboard you can find for under $100; I’m saying that when you use this keyboard you won’t care to look for another. Don’t over-think it,
take a look.Hell, with Ableton it worked immediately out of the box — just plug and play.
#2 Teenage Engineering – Pocket Operator Synthesizers
Teenage Engineering, the company behind the OP-1 Portable Synth (AKA the device that created Swedish House Mafia’s song, “One”), came out with a handful of external synth/midi devices at a more… reasonable price point (read: not $1,000) for producers and musicians. For the low-low price of around $60, you can get yourself some pretty unique synths.
The Pocket Operator, comes in a variety of flavors for your production arsenal from drums, to sub-bass, to traditional/oldschool synths and arcade (8-bit) style samples. If you’re wondering what this means, think of them like guitar pedals. You start with one-two that fit your musical needs and start to slowly acquire a whole slew of them to fuel your live production addiction.
#3 Shure SE215-CL – Wired Headphones
We’ve been on the hunt for another decent pair of headphones for a while. For music-makers and producers at all levels, in-ear headphones are always polarizing. Back when i was slinging headphones to make a living, the debate was always heated between #teamBose and #teamShure. They’re two great companies with a quality track record for audio. For most people it came down to fit of the headphones themselves, others focused on style. Who are we kidding, it was almost always about style.
It’s been a minute since our Shure-loyal days, but for
under $90 (down from $200), these headphones are a steal. One of the cool things about Shure, is their advocacy of getting
custom ear molds (or what they refer to as ‘custom sleeves’) made. The process is a little more extensive than it used to be, but this was one of the huge motivators for Shure-enthusiasts. It’s what the pros do.
#4 – Bose SoundSport Free – Wireless Headphones
Bose Soundsport Free are a bit pricier, but pretty unique set of headphones; definitely a good rival for people obsessed with their apple airpods.
We’re extremely familiar with the previous Soundsport Series of headphones (one of the best-selling wireless headphones in it’s price range), and were hyped to see the latest in this series. At the $125+ range, this is a little more of a gift investment for someone, but you’d really be getting them a jack-of-all-trades type of headphones. That’s really a big reason for why we love earbuds so much.
Now, you can still get the
original Soundsport headphones but they run you about the same price. If you’re one of those people who are afraid to lose these free-floating buds, then this is not a bad choice as far as headphones go. We love them, and use them daily to work out, commute, and to mix some tunes.
#5 – Wonderboom – Bluetooth Speaker
The Wonderboom is a best-in-class Bluetooth speaker that’s about the size of a fat beer can. This bad boy pumps out an INSANE amount of power for its size. Get your Beats Pills and Bose Bricks out the door, for under
$75 you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better speaker. When you’re producing music, it’s good practice to test out your sound on a few different speakers systems. The Wonderboom is a great way to test your sound by filling up an entire room with audio.
The thing is also a tank. I’ve dropped and drowned my Wonderboom more times than i can count and the thing keeps on trucking. Take it to the beach, take it through the snow, take it in the shower, You charge it up via a USB plug and go forth in life with an incredible speaker. Perfect for people who are less-than-careful with valuable things in life.
Stay Tuned for the “honorable mentions” list.
Have some strong gift ideas that we didn’t think of? Leave a comment below.
The Wonderboom is a best-in-class Bluetooth speaker that’s about the size of a fat beer can. This bad boy pumps out an INSANE amount of power for its size. Get your Beats Pills and Bose Bricks out the door, for under $75 you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better speaker. When you’re producing music, it’s good practice to test out your sound on a few different speakers systems. The Wonderboom is a great way to test your sound by filling up an entire room with audio.