Best Gifts for Drummers [Compiled by a Drummer]

Choosing a gift can be mind-boggling at times. Choosing gift ideas for drummers? Even more so. Thankfully, we have come to your rescue.

In this article you will find some unique and interesting gift ideas for the drummer in your life. Or maybe you are the drummer and you just want to treat yourself – that’s perfectly fine too!

All of the ideas in our list range in price from a few dollars to hundreds of dollars so there’s something in there for every budget.

You might be seeking something small but thoughtful that a drummer will appreciate.

Alternatively you may be planning on shelling out on a large gift to say thank you to the drummer in your life.

Either way, we have you covered here with some of the most useful and creative drummer gifts ever made.

Let’s crack on with those gift ideas…

The Drum Dial is a handy little gadget, which has been designed to help drummers tune their drums.

You might not know already but drums do in fact benefit from tuning. While drumming is a type of percussion, it can help to use pitch to tune individual drums differently. When it comes to tuning, each drum has a series of lugs around the drum rim. These lugs can be tightened or loosened to change the pitch of the drum. When removing and replacing drum heads, you can remove these lugs completely.

In order to tune a drum perfectly with itself, you must tighten each lug so that the tension is uniform across the drum head. Naturally, this is a difficult task, even if you take an approach like counting the amount of lug turns.

Finding equal tension is extremely difficult but that’s where the Drum Dial comes in.

This invention sits on the drum head and gauges the tension of the head itself. You position the Drum Dial on the head at a lug point and close to the rim. The dial will display the current tension of the head. The next step is to move the Drum Dial to the next lug point and repeat the process. You can easily observe the tension of each point. Once you have each lug point tuned to the same tension then the drum is in tune with itself.

Check out the Drum Dial in action here:

Once complete with the batter head of the drum you can then move on to the bottom head. Use the same process and tune the bottom head to itself. You can use a higher tension or a lower tension or even go for the same tension as the top head. Experimenting in this way is how you will find the drum sound that appeals to you.

The Drum Dial will even work on the bass drum. Most bass drums will have some kind of dampening within them to cut down on the overtones. That said, it is always a good idea to tune the drum lugs relatively equally. This reduces the chance of ripples across the head itself.

Some drummers like to detune just one or two lugs on the resonant head of a snare drum. Doing this can reduce the amount of resonance on the bottom head. This can make for a deader and more controlled snare sound. The Drum Dial will help here as it allows you to monitor the tension of the loosened lugs and save those settings for future tunings. So when you replace your bottom snare head you can easily retune the drum to the setting you like best, using the Drum Dial tension display.

This is certainly one super-cool drum accessory.

Moon Gel is another great invention, which is a great help to drummers with drum tuning. When tuning the drums it’s quite common to get a lot of overtones.

Overtones occur often when the drum head is not in tune with itself.

In the olden days drummers would use different types of materials to control overtones and reduce the length of the note that the drum produces. A simple strip of gaffer tape could be placed on the drum head to dampen the head a little. If you wanted to reduce the resonance further you could tape a piece of cloth to the rim of the head.

While these pretty simple techniques are effective, they don’t look very professional on stage. Also, tape has a tendency to leave a sticky residue on the head, which makes for messy drumming when removed. Quite often, removing the tape will leave some of the sticky glue behind and this glue is a magnet for dirt. The net result is a dirty drum set with filthy drum heads.

So this is where Moon Gel comes in. Moon Gel is specifically designed for dampening drum heads. You can use it on pretty much any drum head, top or bottom, but naturally it is ideally suited to top heads, such as tom heads and snare heads.

Moon Gel is made from a substance that is sticky enough to hold in place on the drum head. The great thing is that when you remove Moon Gel it does not leave any unwanted residue behind on the drum head.

Experiment with the positioning of the gel on the batter head to find the optimum dampening effect. Moon Gel is reusable and can be hand washed with soapy water. You can probably get 5 to 10 gigs out of a set of Moon Gel before you need to wash it again. This depends on how hard you play and how much “sawdust” you generate with your sticks on the drums.

The gel pads come in a handy carry case to keep them clean. Moon Gel can be purchased for the price of a few cups of coffee but they are a godsend to most drummers. If the drummer in your life doesn’t have a set of Moon Gel, then treat them.

It’s worth mentioning that Moon Gel is effectively useless when it comes to electronic drums. This is strictly an acoustic drum set tool.

Ever wondered who the fastest drummer in the world is? Well, now we know.

The Drumometer was invented decades ago, apparently in response to a Buddy Rich remark. The story goes that someone at a clinic or gig mentioned to Mr. Rich that a certain drummer had claimed to be the “fastest drummer in the world”. Buddy then replied “Oh yeah? And what machine did he use?”

The result of this off-the-cuff remark eventually led to the creation of the Drumometer. Since its creation drummers have been setting new records in hand and foot drumming all over the world. There was a point when the world record for single strokes was around 1,000 strokes per minute. Now it’s over 1,200 strokes per minute.

Take a look at drummer Tom Grosset setting the world record on a Drumometer a few years back:

Speed has always been a fascination for musicians and drummers are no different. The Drumometer comes with a pad which can be mounted to any snare stand. There is also a display which has a number of functions built into it. You can do speed runs which are the equivalent of drumming sprints. Set the clock timer to any amount of seconds from 1 to 900, test your hand speed, beat personal records, and compete with friends.

The Drumometer can also be used with a trigger. You can connect the trigger to the Drumometer module and fasten it to any drum surface. This is great for testing your speed on the bass drum or other drums such as an actual snare drum.

You might find it easier to set speed records on a real drum as opposed to the Drumometer pad so this trigger comes in very handy. When using the trigger you only need to ensure that it is securely fastened to the drum head so that it can accurately count the strokes per stick.

An ideal place for the trigger is directly on the drum head and preferably close to the rim so that it doesn’t get struck with a drumstick accidentally.

There are a number of categories in the “World’s Fastest Drummer” or “WFD” federation.

The most common is the single stroke record. This is like the 100-meter sprint where contestants must play as many consecutive strokes with both hands in 60 seconds. There are also other categories for techniques such as double stroke rolls, buzz rolls and bass drum playing.

This is a neat tool for drummers who are into technique and speed. It’s a great way to monitor your progress and you can set new records daily which is good for practice motivation.

The Pearl PTT13 is effectively a Swiss Army Knife for drummers.

This compact tool has no less than thirteen individual tools, which you can use on the band stand or at rehearsal. Included in the PTT13 are 6 hex keys, 5 screwdrivers, and even a bottle opener! The tools are retractable and they fold up to make a small and portable unit, which would fit nicely in a pocket or cymbal pouch.

The tool is high-quality, as the metal used has been forged using a heat-treated S2 alloy.

Rest assured, it won’t let you down when tensioning drums or equipment. There are a range of Philips head screwdrivers which are ideal for making adjustments to loosened stands and hardware. This little multi-tool is an ideal stocking filler for the drummer in your life.

Every musician needs a quality pair of headphones. When it comes to drummers, we need something extra.

The EX-29’s by Direct Sound are specifically designed for drummers to record and play with.

These headphones really excel when it comes to noise isolation. Wearing them is a pleasure and you can easily use them for hours on end without any discomfort. The ear cups are larger than most other brands, which means they will fit most head sizes without a problem.

There is a nice amount of room inside them to easily cover the ears and secure snugly to the head. This results in a comfortable but sealing fit, which reduces outside noise by over 30dB.

The build of the EX-29’s is impressive too. They come with a flexible but durable headband, which can be adjusted to all head sizes. The drives in these headphones are real work-horses and can handle a lot of volume. In fact, to get the most out of these headphones, it is recommended that you use a headphone amplifier.

The sound response is very true with them too. There’s a health response across the frequency range with no misleading bass or treble boosts. This means that the EX-29’s can be used for mixing too.

If you have a drummer who likes to play along with music, then these headphones are great for that too. The sound isolation means that you can play along and easily hear the audio output in your ears without having to pump the volume up to potentially damaging levels.

In the studio they are ideally suited to drum tracking. The isolation works well and the sound bleed is minimal even at high volumes. Also you can get EX-29s with an extra-long cord so that it will easily reach your headphone monitor or recording device.

These headphones tick a lot box boxes. When it comes to sound quality, comfort, build quality, and usability, it’s hard to beat the Direct Sound EX-29’s for value.

They might not like to admit it, but most drummers have a metronome. Metronomes are their guide for perfect timing.

The thing about metronomes is that they vary in their functionality. Some metronomes simply make a beep or a click at a set interval. Other metronomes come with extras such as coaching functions and odd time groupings.

The Tama Rhythm Watch is an advanced metronome for drummers. You can set any tempo from 35 bpm to 250 bpm. There are also options to save and store tempo selections too. This means that, say for example you have a gig set list, you could store all the song tempos and use the Tama Rhythm Watch to cue your count off.

On top of tempo storage, you can also customize the subdivision of the beat. This is extremely useful when working with different rhythms from straight eight beats to shuffles.

You can set the metronome to play selected subdivisions of the beat instead of just always outlining the downbeat. The Rhythm Watch is small enough to be easily transported and takes a 9-volt battery or power supply to function. This metronome can also be mounted to a stand for ease of use beside your drum kit in rehearsal or on stage.

Tama have designed the Rhythm Watch with a backlight function, which means that it can be easily read in poor light situations, such as on stage between songs.

There are many metronome apps out there today which can easily be downloaded to smartphones or tablets, but there will always be a market for physical metronomes.

In general they are far easier to use and the wide range of control buttons and dials means modes are easy to access instantly, in comparison to fiddly touch screen devices.

The Rhythm Watch can be used with or without headphones. The volume out of this metronome is quite loud too, so it can be heard over most instruments.

Here’s a fun and unusual gift for a drummer. Stick Pro is a set of plastic grips which fit over your fingers to hold the drumstick in place. The cool thing about Stick Pro’s is that you can easily perform stick twirls and other tricks with them. These grips are used by legendary drummer Dennis Chambers. They’re very straightforward to use and they fit practically every size of drumsticks from 7A to larger marching sizes.

It may seem like a gimmick but the Stick Pro’s are the type of gift that you give to the drummer that already has everything. It’s one of the more popular novelty drum gifts out there. Stick Pro’s are also quite inexpensive and so they make a perfect stocking filler and Christmas gift for drummers of all ages. They’re a fun and innovating concept and even if they only get used for novelty value it won’t be a total waste of a purchase. Get a grip!

Speaking of grip, Sex Wax is a very useful aid to have as a drummer. Despite the alluring name, the point of Sex Wax is quite banal. It merely helps with grip when it comes to holding the drumstick. Initially, Sex Wax was designed for surfers. Naturally, when surfboards get wet they get slippery. Wax helps here as it doesn’t wash off easily and creates a nice grip.

When drummers warm up their hands can naturally start to produce sweat. Sweat is fine but too much can lead to issues with grip. A sweaty drumstick gets slippery and the drummer ends up gripping the stick tightly to avoid dropping it. Gripping the stick too tightly should be avoided at all costs on the drums.

Sex Wax is sweat resistant so the stick will feel easy to grip once applied. This is another cheap gift, which is very useful and will last a long time. It’s not unusual to get 10 years out of one bar of Sex Wax. Of course, this is entirely dependent on how often you use it.

The Alesis SamplePad 4 is a lot of fun for drummers to play with. This machine can trigger and play samples, songs, recordings, effects, and more. It can be controlled simply by drumsticks.

Many professional drummers use devices such as the SamplePad 4 when performing live. If you’re a drummer in a band, which uses a lot of samples or backing tracks, the chances are that you’ll need something like the SamplePad 4.

There are four pads on the face of the SamplePad, which can be used to trigger 25 of the built-in drum samples. There are also 10 kits on board. The SamplePad 4 uses an SD card so you can import and export samples to and from the device. Once imported, samples or backing tracks can be triggered by way of the pads.

The SamplePad 4 is compatible with both Mac, PC, and all DAW’s. So if you’re a drummer who likes to dabble in home recording, the SamplePad 4 can act as a MIDI controller. It connects through USB and is easy to get to grips with. It’s small enough not to intrude on a drum setup and can be positioned by the hi-hat stand for ease of use.

See the SamplePad 4 in action here:

In-ear monitors are the most convenient way to hear yourself and your band mates on stage.

KZ have been rocking the music world lately with their astonishingly good value in-ear monitors. These monitors have five drivers in each ear. That’s dedicated drivers for low, mid and high frequencies. The value here is remarkable.

Most professional standard in-ear monitors run into hundreds of dollars when it comes to price. These in-ear monitors from KZ won’t cost you a lot, but are worth so much more. Check out other reviews online and you’ll see that most people are saying the same thing.

They can be used in live situations or even day-to-day around the house or jogging. At this price it’s worth having another pair just to listen to your smartphone while commuting or out jogging.

The Butt Kicker is an interesting concept, which solves a problem that specifically affects drummers. The issue is that when playing on stage, it can be hard to hear a lot of bass in your in-ear monitors.

The Butt Kicker literally sends the low frequencies of your monitor mix into this device which is attached to the underside of your drum throne. The result is that you actually feel the bass in your body.

The Butt Kicker is used by movie enthusiasts in home theaters too. This device can be attached to furniture such as a sofa in order to accentuate the low frequencies for that cinematic effect. The effect is impressively convincing. You won’t hear much from a Butt Kicker on its own as it produces frequencies from 5 to 200 Hz. It’s compact and only weighs  22 pounds.

But for drumming, when you sit down to play along with a Butt Kicker, it will blow you away. Drummers who struggle to find a good monitor mix on stage will love what the Butt Kicker brings to the table.

It may sound like an unusual suggestion but as a drummer, having a fan nearby to keep you cool can be worth its weight in gold. The great thing is this fan does not cost its weight in gold – it’s under $20!

Keeping cool on the bandstand is important. Conditions at gigs can get very hot and drumming is obviously a very active pastime. Stage lights can be surprisingly hot when they’re on full blast so quite often it’s only when the gig is in full flow that you realise how hot things are getting.

This 6-inch clip-on fan by Lorell is just the thing for the gigging drummer. It comes with its own power cord and can be positioned close by for convenience. It’s small enough to easily fit into a hardware box or bag and won’t break the bank either. Having your own personal fan is definitely one of the best drum accessories a drummer can have.

This is the second drum tuner on our list. The Tune-Bot Studio TBS-001 is a clip on tuner for drum kits. This digital incarnation has a few little extras that the previously mentioned Drum Dial does not. Because it is digital, it can store up to five drum kits. This means you can save the pitch settings for later use. Simply recall the individual kit setting and you can then tune the head to the desired pitch.

This device also comes with an accompanying app for smartphones. The app has some more cool features that you can play around with. Tuning devices like this make setting up the drums a breeze. If you know a drummer that likes his or her gadgets then the chances are that they’ll love the Tune-Bot TBS-001 Digital Drum Tuner.

If you’re looking to splash out on the drummer in your life then this Roland bundle may just be the ticket. It is a bit on the price side, but it has a lot to show for that.

The SPD-SX is a more advanced digital percussion pad than the previously mentioned Alesis SamplePad 4. This device has more pads, more sounds, more internal memory, more effects, and more bells and whistles.

It can record up to 12 hours of mono audio, which should be more than enough for most musical projects – that equates to around 6 hours of stereo audio. It’s fully compatible with both PC and Mac computers and even comes with its own Wave Manager Software for importing and exporting audio.

There are nine pads on the face of the device, 6 large and 3 smaller ones. These pads can be assigned to individual sounds, tracks, or even effect controls. The pads work like regular electronic drum pads and they are touch-sensitive.

Like the SamplePad 4, The Roland SPD-SX can be used as a MIDI controller. Installation is easy, it’s practically plug and play.

You can then assign the SPD-SX to a channel in your DAW and use it to perform new track takes. Sounds can be used from the internal source of the SPD-SX or alternatively you can assign sounds from your own collection of samples through the DAW. This device works well with such drum VST instruments such as EZ Drummer and BFD Drums. The MIDI connection works through USB and a cable is supplied.

Also included in the bundle is a pair of Samson SR350 headphones, two MIDI cables, a mini-jack to mini-jack cable, and a drumstick bag too. The mini-jack cable is perfect for connecting smartphones, iPods, or laptops in order to send audio through the auxiliary input.

On top of this, Roland have thrown in some Velcro cable ties so you can keep your setup neat and tidy.

For a full rundown of the SPD-SX’s features, check out this video:

It may seem like a lot of money to spend on a gift but there’s no doubting the hours of fun the SPD-SX will bring. Once you get to grips with the workflow and interface, it becomes apparent as to what exactly is possible. It would be an ideal gift for any drummer who likes to dabble in digital music, beatmaking, or EDM.

The SPD-SX functions well as an auxiliary percussion tool onstage but it can also be used when practicing too. It’s perfect to play along with samples and test your timing out to the on board metronome. If you need a click in your ear to play along with samples, it’s all easily achieved with the SPD-SX. The possibilities feel almost endless when you start to play around with it.

That concludes our selection of the best gifts for drummers. You may be looking for gifts for percussionists, family members or just gifts for your drummer boyfriend. Either way there’s something in there for players of all ages and all tastes.