2018 Holiday Gift Guide For DJs / Producers

“Dongle Dangler”

Let’s look past the horrible name, shall we? These keychain mounts are designed to hold Lightning and USB-C headphone adapters – a commonly lost item. But for DJs, these do double duty: you can attach a 1/8″ to 1/4″ adapter just as easily.

Price: $6.99 or $9.99 for two

Amazon

Chroma Cables Audio

One of the most popular things we’ve done this year s add a new family to our Chroma Cables line, audio cables. Color code your RCA, 1/4″, and RCA-to-1/4″ connections with our offerings! Every DJ can use a new set of high-quality cables.

Price: $25

DJTT Store

Metal USB 3.1 Flash Drive

I’m in the process of writing a new USB key roundup for DJs, one thing is clear: having a new USB drive speeds up exporting from Rekordbox and Engine Prime. I recommend getting a 128GB drive – or two – and make sure they are durable, like these Samsungs.

Price: $32.95

Amazon

Pioneer DJ XDJ-RX2

In our recent CDJ/XDJ roundup, the Pioneer DJ XDJ-RX2 essentially won the “best for everyone” praise that it deserves. It’s well worth the investment, and it’s about a third of the price of a NXS2 rig.

Price: $1,699

DJTT Store

Denon DJ SC5000

What happens when the biggest challenger to Pioneer’s standalone players suddenly gets a massive price drop? Suddenly DJs everywhere are taking a closer look at the SC5000s – especially considering each unit gives you two decks in one unit…

Price: $999.99 each

DJTT Store

Rane Seventy-Two

Rane’s powerhouse of a mixer with onscreen waveform displays direct from Serato DJ should have every DJM-S9 owner drooling a bit. We have heard reports that the plastic knobs are pretty meh, so we recommend upgrading it with Chroma Caps

Price: $1,899

DJTT Store

DJ2GO2

This Numark controller was a breakout hit this year because of the right combination of low price, just enough controls to mix with, and master + headphone output. If you’re looking for something to stick in your carry on backpack, it could be this.

Price: $79

Amazon

DJ-202 or DDJ-400 or Kontrol S2 MK3

Is it a copout to choose three different DJ controllers for one slot? No, because what makes each of these controllers great is the software that they’re paired with. Looking for a Serato, Rekordbox, or Traktor budget controller? These are our picks.

Price: $179.99

DJ-202 DDJ-400 S2

Reloop Mixtour

It’s everything that you’d want a Kontrol Z1MK2 to be – a simple mixer with audio outs, transport controls, and basic filter/FX controls. As an added bonus, it is supported on iOS and Android devices as well.

Price: $159.99

Amazon

Melodics

Forget hiring a coach to teach you how to play an instrument – Melodics is a powerful software platform for exactly that. We love it for the finger-drumming lessons that it has, which are both highly effective and  have a very Guitar Hero/Rocksmith feeling replayability.

Price: $14.99

Melodics Site

Midi Fighter 3D

The 3D has become a highly-coveted performance tool, but at the roots it still is the amazing drumming machine it was built to be. Rated for millions of hits, versatile enough to work in any DJ, production, or live rig – this is the device every finger drummer should use.

Price: $219

DJTT Store

Hand Grip Exerciser

Beyond building muscle memory, all aspiring finger drummers will want to build individual finger strength as well. This can help to increase overall dexterity, and is a worthwhile small investment to exercise all five fingers!

Price: $17.97

Amazon

Novation Circuit

The Circuit continues to be one of the first items I suggest when I hear someone talking about how they want an outboard sequencer/synth. For a small price, you get a lot of portable functionality, plus pro-level connections for moving from on-the-go to in-studio.

Price: $249

DJTT store

Blipbox

Yes, this is being widely marketed as a synthesizer for kids – but based on what we’ve seen, it could make a great toy for adults as well. It has MIDI in, 12 osc mod types, two LFOs, and two envelope generators. Preorders start today (11/19)

Price: $169

Blipbox site

MPC Live

Akai has been in the standalone drum machine game for a long time – and the MPC live is designed to be a portable, go anywhere production powerhouse for all types of productions. See Mad Zach’s review here.

Price: $1,199

DJTT Store

Komplete Kontrol A25

Having a set keys in a live performance setup – of any kind – is incredibly useful. Native Instruments has blown out the competition with their new budget series, particularly the A25, which gives you a solid keybed and a collection of included instruments.

Price: $159

DJTT Store

Midi Fighter Twister

The Twister is back on the holiday wish list because we’ve seen so many examples of this powerful controller being used in unique ways. It’s a great device for controlling visuals, live performances, and studio setups.

Price: $219

DJTT Store

Ableton Push 2

The Push 2 is a bit on the higher budget side of things, but the incredibly well-integrated workflow with Ableton makes it great central control station for sampling, sequencing, and live performance. Includes Live Intro or Suite

Price: $799 or $1,398

Push 2 + Intro Push 2 + Suite

TIDAL / Soundcloud Go+

Streaming is back in DJ softwares in a big way – and a subscription to TIDAL HiFi lossless library or Soundcloud Go+’s massive collection is sure to be on many Serato DJs wishlists (the services are only live in the new Serato betas so far)

Price: $19.99/month or $4.99 month

Tidal HiFi Soundcloud Go+

MasterClass All Access

Classes from Deadmau5 and Armin Van Buuren and Hans Zimmer are three great reasons to consider signing up for a MasterClass all access pass. The online tutorial series from auteurs has a yearly $180 membership – a deal when a single pass costs $90.

Price: $180

Masterclass Site

Spotify Premium

One of the best music discovery tools that many DJs overlook because it is coupled with a streaming service is Spotify’s Discover Weekly. It’s an automatic weekly curated set of 30 tracks based on previous tracks you’ve favorited, and personally, I think it is one of the best crate digging tools available.

Price: $9.99/month

Spotify Gift Cards

Addressable LED Strips + Music Controller

Everyone DJ lighting in their home studio setup that is controlled by the actual music right? Don’t go buying non-addressable LEDs, instead get a set of fully-addressable and grab a music controller that has an audio-in port. Bonus: addressable LEDs can be mapped in visuals software if you’re feeling advanced.

Price: $1,398 (or less…)

LEDs Controller

Logitech 930 + Stand

Want a really, really easy way to start live streaming DJ sets? Download OBS Studio and grab a Logitech 930 camera and stand for it. Boom, you’ve got a rig for streaming video straight from your home setup on to Facebook, Twitch, etc.

Read our guide to streaming DJ sets on Twitch here.

Price: $68 for camera, $20 for stand

camera Stand

Monitor Stands

Quite literally level-up a home studio or practice space by putting your monitors on stands. Closer to ear level means you don’t have to turn it up as much, and a good set of stands should be adjustable – for different situations (sitting or standing).

Price: $69.95 / pair

Amazon

Cable/Adapter Organizer

Instead of throwing all of your loose cables into smaller bags, what if they were organized in a brightly colored pouch? I’ve found myself using one of these to keep my sanity in the USB-C adapter era….

Price: $15

Amazon 

A Multitool + Gaff Tape

The two most heavily used objects in my party throwing arsenal are gaffer’s tape and a Leatherman. With these two tools, you can solve almost any issue that you encounter when setting up a gig.

Price: $38, and $16/roll 

Multitool Tape

Earplugs

Many different types of earplugs have come across our desks this year. We recommend two brands for their long-wear comfort and quality: Vibes and V-Moda Faders. There are many other types out there, but these brands win our favorites this year!

Price: ~$24

Vibes (Amazon) V-Moda (DJTT) 

Sequence Album Print

Pretty awesome to have a data visualization of a music album that’s also a work of art by itself, right? Sequence lets you choose any music album ever made and get a custom print that visualizes the album.

Price: ~$60 – $100 (depending on size)

Artist’s site

Customizable Doormat

Get a custom doormat for your house in the shape of either old school music medium – tapes or vinyl. The company will even label it with your own name and title depending on what you want!

Price: $35-38

Record tape

Mixtape Glasses

Having company over? Make sure they keep track of their drink with a clever write-on solution, with mixtapes on each glass. Comes as a set of 6.

Price: $50

Uncommon Goods