gift for drummer who has everything???
December 17, 2009 6:06 PM Subscribe
Please help me find a noise making gift to give to a drummer.
my husband is a professional drummer/percussionist who lives, breathes and eats music. he collects anything (and i mean ANYTHING) that makes noise and has literally put it to use. kitchen utensils, decorative metal bowls, children's toys, turkey calls. i would love to come up with something that would surprise him. he just bought himself wind wands, which i was mad about - that would have been the perfect unusual thing. does anyone have any suggestions? i know this is a crazy request. i am too uncreative to come up with anything. :(
my husband is a professional drummer/percussionist who lives, breathes and eats music. he collects anything (and i mean ANYTHING) that makes noise and has literally put it to use. kitchen utensils, decorative metal bowls, children's toys, turkey calls. i would love to come up with something that would surprise him. he just bought himself wind wands, which i was mad about - that would have been the perfect unusual thing. does anyone have any suggestions? i know this is a crazy request. i am too uncreative to come up with anything. :(
I know a drummer just like your husband...and in addition to all those things he has some heavy chains that he puts on the drums, holds them in the air to clank together, or drops them on the floor.
posted by hellogoodbye at 6:14 PM on December 17, 2009
posted by hellogoodbye at 6:14 PM on December 17, 2009
How about a bunch of old school wooden rulers, sawn to lengths, and affixed to a wooden box with a sturdy clamping rig (like say two big bolts and a piece of wood to go between). ITS A SPROING MACHINE!
posted by jeb at 6:22 PM on December 17, 2009
posted by jeb at 6:22 PM on December 17, 2009
depending on budget - you could get him a theremin (or the kit to build one) theremin world
posted by nadawi at 6:28 PM on December 17, 2009
posted by nadawi at 6:28 PM on December 17, 2009
maybe a stylophone, featured in this happy video.
posted by shothotbot at 6:35 PM on December 17, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by shothotbot at 6:35 PM on December 17, 2009 [1 favorite]
As an amateur drummer I find myself envious of people who are good at tonal instruments (that is, something you could play a melody on). Two instruments I would really love for this purpose are the Hang (very expensive and hard to get) or the Strumstick (better, but still over $100). Steel drums would be awesome too. But all are pretty pricey.
posted by PercussivePaul at 6:45 PM on December 17, 2009
posted by PercussivePaul at 6:45 PM on December 17, 2009
Lark in the Morning has all sorts of unique instruments, percussion and otherwise.
posted by malocchio at 6:56 PM on December 17, 2009
posted by malocchio at 6:56 PM on December 17, 2009
Best answer: Electric kalimba?
Electric kalimba demonstration (skip halfway through for the fun noisy possibilities)
ekalimba.com
Rosario Farm
posted by naju at 6:59 PM on December 17, 2009
Electric kalimba demonstration (skip halfway through for the fun noisy possibilities)
ekalimba.com
Rosario Farm
posted by naju at 6:59 PM on December 17, 2009
Maybe even better than the Stylophone, for a drummer: the Stylophone Beatbox.
Awesome video here.
posted by Karlos the Jackal at 8:04 PM on December 17, 2009
Awesome video here.
posted by Karlos the Jackal at 8:04 PM on December 17, 2009
How about varying sizes of test tubes or other closed-end tubes? Stick in a thumb or other finger, thwack it out and it makes that plucking/popping/dripping sound. Different sizes or tubes with differing volumes of liquid can be somewhat tonal and fun to play with.
posted by The Potate at 8:05 PM on December 17, 2009
posted by The Potate at 8:05 PM on December 17, 2009
And, test tubes, dropped into wooden boxes make neat, breaky sound effects, too.
posted by The Potate at 8:06 PM on December 17, 2009
posted by The Potate at 8:06 PM on December 17, 2009
A donkey jawbone with loose teeth. I don't know where you'd get it though.
posted by hydrophonic at 8:19 PM on December 17, 2009
posted by hydrophonic at 8:19 PM on December 17, 2009
Try a rain stick. Very neat and unique sound.
posted by whiskeyspider at 8:50 PM on December 17, 2009
posted by whiskeyspider at 8:50 PM on December 17, 2009
Cheap and kitschy, but how about a frog rasp? It's a little, hollow, wooden frog with a stick that you run along the ridges on the frog's back and it sounds like it's croaking. I brought one back from Thailand for my sister (also a percussionist) and she loved it.
Or--just throwing things out there--a nice conch shell or a shofar?
posted by fantastico at 9:36 PM on December 17, 2009
Or--just throwing things out there--a nice conch shell or a shofar?
posted by fantastico at 9:36 PM on December 17, 2009
I bet he would love a Korg Kaossilator. They are a ton of fun! You can see a video of it in action.
posted by zachlipton at 9:46 PM on December 17, 2009
posted by zachlipton at 9:46 PM on December 17, 2009
If he doesn't already have one......a gourd rattle
posted by SLC Mom at 10:26 PM on December 17, 2009
posted by SLC Mom at 10:26 PM on December 17, 2009
The berimbau looks pretty neat. I am a drummer and I want one.
posted by The Great Big Mulp at 10:38 PM on December 17, 2009
posted by The Great Big Mulp at 10:38 PM on December 17, 2009
Response by poster: you guys have come up with great suggestions!! Lots of them he has (kaossillator, thunder drums, berimbau, donkey jawbone, vibraslap - did I say he collects EVERYTHING?) but I have a question - are a kaossilator and a stylophone almost the same? He is crazy about his kaossilator. I am also intrigued with the ekalimbas as he uses not amplified ones and loves them as well.
posted by dublin at 6:49 AM on December 18, 2009
posted by dublin at 6:49 AM on December 18, 2009
How about a Meinl Drumbal - a wee cymbal to play with on a snare:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERMUaw2qshg
posted by Cantdosleepy at 7:27 AM on December 18, 2009
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERMUaw2qshg
posted by Cantdosleepy at 7:27 AM on December 18, 2009
He may already have one, and it may be too expensive, but consider a MalletKAT.
posted by crLLC at 7:33 AM on December 18, 2009
posted by crLLC at 7:33 AM on December 18, 2009
The manual typewriter (not electric) is an interesting and unusual percussive instrument, if he doesn't already have one. Also, though it is, to me, anyway, pretty expensive, there's the Aquasonic, which I have never seen outside of ebay (granted, I found it for the first time last week and haven't looked for it outside of ebay).
posted by The Great Big Mulp at 11:46 AM on December 18, 2009
posted by The Great Big Mulp at 11:46 AM on December 18, 2009
Response by poster: Love all these ideas, and i'm going to return to this thread for future gifts, but I bought an ekalimba, which i think he will freak about. He uses regular ones now and does elaborate miking to amplify them. Although I saw the aquasonic afterwards, and find that very intriguing. I wish I could see/hear that in person. You guys are awesome!!!
posted by dublin at 5:39 PM on December 19, 2009
posted by dublin at 5:39 PM on December 19, 2009
A hint for finding an aquasonic - that appears to be a knockoff of the Waterphone, so you'll probably find more under the latter name.
posted by moonmilk at 5:46 PM on December 19, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by moonmilk at 5:46 PM on December 19, 2009 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: The aquasonics are so cool but too $$$, although I did find a website on how to make one if you can find a welder. I might file that away for a future gift but in the meantime, I gave him an ekalimba and he freaked about it!!!! Thank you everyone for your fab ideas, and thanks naju for the great idea.
posted by dublin at 9:04 AM on December 31, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by dublin at 9:04 AM on December 31, 2009 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by The Devil Tesla at 6:14 PM on December 17, 2009