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10 essential stocking fillers for drummers
From coffin cases and wobbling sticks to electric t-shirts
Tom Porter, Mon 15 Dec 2008, 11:03 am UTC
5. Pearl Anarchy Block $39
This is the meanest looking accessory we've seen all year. Seriously, if the Devil himself played the drums, he'd have 13 of these bad boys in a row. Pearl's Anarchy block is black synthetic wood, complete with swivel mount and spikes for $39. Did we mention it looks mean?
6. Glo Drumstix £14.95
We're not sure if nu rave can be classed as 'new', or even 'rave' anymore, but here's hoping the neon-chic it brought to indie rock remains. These are shock sensitive drumsticks stuffed with a "high-powered" LED which lights up when bashed. Available in blue, green or red and perfect for brightening up the dingiest of venues, bedrooms or illegal woodland rave locations. Yours for £14.95 per pair.
7. Finger drums £9.95
A miniature kit with touch-sensitive drums and cymbal. There's a little working bass drum pedal, and the option to record and playback your solos through an in-built speaker. A perfect gift for the executive sticksman in your life. Or, for the sanity of work colleagues the world over, an executive sticksman with his own office. A mini bargain at under a tenner.
8. Coffin Case drumstick bag $39.99
Even if you're not a fan of death metal, no drummer should be without a coffin-shaped drumstick case. Made from tough heavy black nylon with a blood-red inside pocket, they'll protect your sticks to the grave. You can even get one with a picture of Ozzy Osbourne on the front for $39.99 – not the biggest name in drumming, we must admit, but who's counting?
9. Electronic 'air' drumsticks from £9.95
Why bother with a real kit when these electronic sticks will emit a realistic sound on any surface. Or, even better, on thin air. Hold them tight, swing them around and change the sound from snare to tom to crash with the flick of a switch. Try Rock Beat or V-Beat sticks for £9.95 and £19.95 respectively. Oh yes, air drumming is the new air guitaring.
10. USB roll-up drum kit
If we were ringmasters, we might end this feature by saying something amusing like: "roll-up, roll-up for the roll-up USB drum kit, a steal at just £14.67." Unfortunately, we're not, so we'll keep it real: here's a Windows-compatible, plug-in-and-hit electronic kit. There are six sounds with adjustable tone and it's pretty-much flimsy enough to screw into a ball – a welcome break from lugging around a six-piece mahogany unit.
