MusicRadar

Finger Drums: for Little Drummer Boys

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Buying a gift for a drummer is easy. Give them a skull to whack and a femur to whack it with and they'll be happy, right? Wrong. Oft labelled as 'those people who hang around with musicians,' and always carefully placed and forgotten at the back of a stage, a noble sticksman deserves a stocking stuffed with accessories more than most.

So without further ado, here's MusicRadar's specially-selected list of equally useful and useless toys and paraphernalia for the aspiring John Bonham in your life...

1. Personalised bass drum cover from £60

Custom Skins will print any design you like on an 18" to 26" bass drum skin from £60. You can choose one from a selection, personalise a 'classic' (swap Buddy Rich's initials for your own) or, if you're feeling creative, scribble something meaningful. They'll even cut you a mic hole if that floats your boat. Hmmm, now where would be a suitable place for a hole…

2. Slapstik 'flexible' drumstick $9.95

Essentially, it's a drumstick with a flexible tip for super-fast playing. Don't confuse it with 'slapstick' humour, though, its manufacturers are hailing it as a serious "revolution in drumming." Purists might consider it cheating, but what the heck? If it takes us one step closer to breaking the record for beats-per-second on a ride for just $9.95 per stick, we're having one. Or two.

3. Slipknot Joey Jordison mask $34.99

Joey's Paiste Black Alpha cymbals are a bit too big, heavy and expensive for a stocking, but you can at least look the part. The "officially licensed" mask will set you back $34.99 and is molded from the drummer's own face. Look out for Slipknot's cover of I Wish It Could Be Halloween Everyday, coming to an imagination near you very soon.

4. Electronic drumkit t-shirt $29.99

Drummers, or – even worse – idiots who think they can drum, will bang anything. Look around an office, classroom or public space and we guarantee you'll see someone banging out a rhythm on an empty surface with a pencil. This electronic drumkit t-shirt won't shut them up, but at least they'll be forced to tap themselves with realistic(ish) results. Seven drum sounds, embedded speaker and a removable battery slot for $29.99. Hooray.