50 Best Gifts for Drummers – The Ultimate Guide

You can't go wrong with a drumstick bag.

If you're looking for a drumming gift to buy, it's a great option. Misplaced drumsticks, brushes, and other accessories can be easily averted with a neat stick bag.

If they already own a stick bag then keep moving down the list. Either way, it's like getting a new wallet, they will probably still appreciate having a new stick bag.

It's nice to have new things.

You can't go wrong with a drumstick bag.

If you're looking for a drumming gift to buy, it's a great option. Misplaced drumsticks, brushes, and other accessories can be easily averted with a neat stick bag.

If they already own a stick bag then keep moving down the list. Either way, it's like getting a new wallet, they will probably still appreciate having a new stick bag.

It's nice to have new things.

A practice pad is a great gift for any drummer.

The level of practice and improvement you can get from this quiet practice pad is astounding.

Drummers can quietly practice their rudiments for hours on this. This results in massive improvements in coordination, technique, and speed. The 6-inch version is great as it’s extremely portable and slightly quieter than the larger one.

My one RealFeel 6-inch practice pad has lasted me over 12 years of constant abuse. You don’t get much better value than that in a gift.

The drum instructor in the video below is using a ReelFeel practice pad (keep in mind that this is the larger 12 inch version)

This is a really affordable but very useful gift for drummers.

Drum keys are used to change drum heads and adjust any type of hardware on an acoustic drum set.

The real benefit of a speed key is right in the name. It's much faster than using a conventional drum key.

Drummers also constantly lose their drum keys at just the wrong time.

Also, if a head breaks at the wrong time, drummers need to be able to quickly swap them out.

Drummers MUST protect their hearing.

As a drummer, I wear a set of musician earplugs all the time while playing, and regularly while attending concerts.

These are quite different to wearing cheap foam earplugs (which just block and isolate the sound).

They are great at removing the dangerous frequencies that damage your hearing, while also preserving the sound very nicely through the use of a filter.

Also, if the drummer in your life thinks they’re too cool to wear earplugs then read my article on musician earplugs, as it could serve as a stark reality check (hearing damage is irreversible and chronic tinnitus is not fun)!

More affordable than you might imagine!

If the drummer in your life only currently plays an acoustic kit, then an electronic drum can be an amazing gift that really opens up a world of practice and performance opportunities.

Getting into the world of electronic drumming can be really useful for many genres of music, which require a vast array of different sound and percussion samples.

Check out our guide to Electronic Drum Sets to learn more.

More affordable than you might imagine!

If the drummer in your life only currently plays an acoustic kit, then an electronic drum can be an amazing gift that really opens up a world of practice and performance opportunities.

Getting into the world of electronic drumming can be really useful for many genres of music, which require a vast array of different sound and percussion samples.

Check out our guide to Electronic Drum Sets to learn more.

1000% Talent. No better complement/flattery!

If you're looking for a fun little drummer gift, this coffee mug might just do it for you!

Serving size is 1 Rock Drummer.

What better way to complement somebody then to put it in small print on a mug.

What's a drummer's number one job?

It's not flashy drum solos.
It's not to be recipient of drummers jokes.

It's to keep time!

Metronomes are vital to help drummers learn to stay in time. If they don't own a metronome, it's well worth investing in one.

Protect your drum kit from dust and debris with a waterproof, nylon dust cover.

A drum set dust cover is a cool little gift for drummers to help keep their kit in ship shape and spotless. This cover protects the drums from dust and debris and measures 80 x 108 inches.

In addition to being a good cover, it is water-resistant and protects the drum kit from UV rays. This gift shows that you care and sports a somewhat modest price tag!

Drummers talking about cymbals is like sowing circle gossip!

Drummers take pride in their cymbals, as they really help define the quality and character of their sound and style.

Beginner drummers may still be stuck using their junk starter cymbal set. They might have even cracked the cymbals as they were bad quality and they were hitting them badly or way too hard.

Drummers that hit cymbals way too hard often choke the cymbals with their hands after hitting (this is commonly used in rock and metal styles of music). Sometimes they even jump off their seat, which only a very small number of cool drummers can actually pull off smoothly.

Choking a cracked metal cymbal with your bare hands could lead to serious injuries. You could have prevented it. You could have bought the drummer a better set of cymbals. 🙂

Let them experience a great set of cymbals, or maybe just buy them a few band-aids. They’ll never stop thanking you!

Drummers talking about cymbals is like sowing circle gossip!

Drummers take pride in their cymbals, as they really help define the quality and character of their sound and style.

Beginner drummers may still be stuck using their junk starter cymbal set. They might have even cracked the cymbals as they were bad quality and they were hitting them badly or way too hard.

Drummers that hit cymbals way too hard often choke the cymbals with their hands after hitting (this is commonly used in rock and metal styles of music). Sometimes they even jump off their seat, which only a very small number of cool drummers can actually pull off smoothly.

Choking a cracked metal cymbal with your bare hands could lead to serious injuries. You could have prevented it. You could have bought the drummer a better set of cymbals. 🙂

Let them experience a great set of cymbals, or maybe just buy them a few band-aids. They’ll never stop thanking you!

For drummers that are terrible at tuning drums, i.e. Most drummers.

Tuning drums are another particularly difficult task for drummers. Drums are tuned by numerous lugs across both the top and bottom skin. Tuning drums is an art.

I might get hate over this, but I’m going to go out on a limb and say that that majority of drummers really have no clue how to tune their drums.

Badly tuned drums can cause bad ringing and inconsistent sounds across the kit. This can also mean that the drum sounds don’t fit in well with the band.

Drumdial measures the pressure of the drum skin and allows the drummer to measure this in different points across the skin. This can allow the drummer to get the desired relative tuning with more accuracy.

Look at them go!

The previous gift mentioned was extremely practical, now let’s get down to the flash!

Regular drum-sticks will look boring after your drummer gets a hold of these. The Rockstix 2 HD’s are bright LED light up drumsticks, which automatically fade between colors.

These can really add spark to a performance, and they are particularly cool if your drummer plays pop or electronic music.

Misplaced cymbal washers and felts = A drummers nightmare!

I can’t believe how many times I’ve shown up to a gig or session and couldn't find these.

This is another nightmare that can be easily averted. Get them the survival kit.

Not all heroes wear capes. This is a very cheap and practical gift for any drummer.

Compact and fun to use.

Drum sets tend to take a whole lot of time to carry around. The roll-up drum kit comes to the rescue, including pedals, drum-sticks and everything needed to get started.

I’d recommend buying the version that has built-in speakers, otherwise, your drummer will need to always use earphones or an external speaker.

It's like a drum kit in a box!

Cajon’s are fantastic little percussion instruments. You can create fantastic drum kit grooves out of these, which work with many different styles of music.

The two main sounds on these instruments are their bass and snare sounds, which are played by the drummer hitting different zones of the Cajon.

You may have seen people play these for street performances or more stripped-down versions of full band performances.

The Meinl Percussion HCAJ1NT Cajon is a great option as a gift for drummers.

Personalized drumsticks are a fantastic and personal gift for the drummer in your life.

These gifts are popular for boyfriends and girlfriends, but the drumsticks can also be personalized for other needs.

Help them annoy everybody in the office!

This is a nice novelty present for any drummer, especially if they are students or work in an office. The sound is actually pretty decent on these too.

I used to own one of these and loved it, but my girlfriend put a candle way to close to it and burned the plastic of the main drum head.

Candles are now banned from my desk.

What is moongel? If you’re not a drummer, it won’t be so easy to guess.

In case you guessed something about the moon, you’re wrong. These little gels are actually synthesized here safely on planet earth.

If the drummer in your life plays a full acoustic drum set, these will always come in handy. They are incredibly popular among drummers all around the world.

The sound and tuning of drum heads can be very difficult to get right. These little gels attach to drum heads and can give a more muffled and fat sound.

They’re very useful for both live performances and studio recordings.

Electronic Drum Pads are really useful among drummers, and they are an incredibly versatile way to add a whole bunch of new sound possibilities to performances.

You simply set up one of these bad boys next to your drum kit to play all different types of sounds (drum, percussion, synth sounds, etc).

This could be an absolutely fantastic option if the lucky recipient of your gift plays rock, pop, or electronic music.

We’ve written a popular article on electronic drum pads. Be sure to check that out if you’re interested in picking one up.

Perfect for Metal and Hard Rock Drummers!

I started drumming when I was 14, back when I thought I was cool (but I still managed to wear earplugs most of the time). I was a big fan of metal music, so the very first thing I wanted after buying my drum set was to get my hands on a double bass drum pedal.

The guy in the store told me to start slow and work my way up, I didn’t listen to him at the time. I still had a great time. I worked on my technique later.

It pretty much changed my life. There’s nothing like playing ultra-fast rhythms with your feet while also doing drum solos with your hands.

Drum kits generally just have a single pedal. However, certain styles of music have much faster rhythms on the bass drum. These are achieved by the use of a double kick pedal.

Earphones are often used by drummers for on-stage performances.

More and more drummers are getting live mixes and metronome clicks through their in-ear monitors to keep in time.

When using live mixes, it’s absolutely vital that you get ones with good hearing protection.

Have you ever noticed how loud you listen to music while on a busy street?

The effect is multiplied when sitting behind a drum kit. Noise isolation allows you to listen at much lower volumes, and save your hearing.

Check out our guide on the best in-ear monitors for more information.

Far more important than you might think.

Even if you think that the drummer in your life spends a lot of time talking out of their behind, it’s still very important that they get good cushioning for that posterior.

Although a drum throne might seem like the least important part of a drum set, it’s actually one of the most important elements of your kit.

Drumming starts with good posture and good back/leg health. You can be set up for failure and early drumming retirement if that’s not the case.

Adjustability is key for drum thrones, this enables you to quickly set and keep the right height for your playing.

Even a slight difference in your seating position can make a large different to your playing. If you’re slightly out of reach of the kick pedals, it can seriously affect your speed and power.

We’ve written a guide on drum thrones. But spoiler alert, I recommend the Roc-N-Soc throne. It’s both a fantastic and very popular option for drummers.

Aerodrums is a completely virtual drum kit that uses camera and sensor technology.

This is a great gift for drummers that don’t have space or are frequently on the move.

There is also another virtual drumming option, called Freedrum which is easier to set up, but the optical technology on Aerodrums is seen as superior to Freedrums motion tracking.

The bass drum is the largest piece in the drum set.

Objects like pillows are often put inside the bass drum to control the sound and give it that phat and controlled sound. A microphone can also be placed on top of this inside the kick drum.

The kickpro is a weighted pillow that is made specifically for this purpose and do a better job than an oversized pillow. It’s made to fit through the hole on the front of the kick drum and then stay in place from there.

A Sizzler is a cool and very cheap way to get a very different sound out of a cymbal.

It can be placed on rides, crashes and other cymbals to get nice effects out of them.

For example, placing this on a ride cymbal can give a very nice, long, and sustained sizzle effect. It can be easily added and removed from the cymbal, even during gigs.

Still have no idea what to buy that drummer in your life?

Do they love to tell people that they’re a drummer, or are they an evolutionist, or a creationist, or do they not know what any of those mean?

If you answered yes to any of the above then you could consider buying this t-shirt, it’s fun, and the very nature and content of the shirt could be food for thought that could keep them thinking philosophically well into the night.

Though the material of the shirt won’t keep them up, it’s comfortable.

Many drummers sweat like dogs while playing.

This is particularly the case for faster and heavier styles of music. A long set can be a serious workout!

Get your drummer a towel. Simple and practical!

And don’t give them the towel that you stole on your last hotel trip. Give them one with a drum brand’s name on it. And while you’re at it, take a good hard look at yourself for stealing towels from hotels.

It’s surprising how many drummers don’t have a drumstick holder.

This can become a problem if they drop a drumstick during a performance and don’t have access to their spare ones.

This is a drummers nightmare! No need to fear, the On Stage DA100 drum sick holder comes to the rescue.

Another percussion instrument is the djembe.

These are great drums that allow for a great variety of sounds, from high to low bass notes.

They’re regularly used in drum-circles. They’re great drums to play in a group, which is a great way to help drummers think and play differently.

Your drummer can also wear the drummer evolution t-shirt you bought them to discuss philosophical thoughts with the other drum circle attendees.

Do you hate that drum set? Tempt them into playing something quieter! 🙂

Shame on you!

Just kidding, I would have loved the gift of a guitar or bass, even when I was starting to play drums.

Rock drummers tend to love the sound of electric guitars. A nice guitar and a distortion pedal could be a fantastic gift to help the drummer branch out their style.

Alternatively, a bass guitar could also be a great option. Drummers tend to lock in with the bass guitarists in bands to form the rhythm sections.

In case you can’t tell the difference, regular guitars usually have 6 strings. Bass guitars usually have 4 strings and are lower sounding. However, sometimes bass guitars have 5 strings, or even 6 strings, particularly if the bass guitarist spends most of their time playing solos that don’t fit in musically with the group. I’m confusing matters, let’s keep moving.

Many drummers like to take care of their cymbals as a car owner might regularly wash and wax their luxury car.

They know their car is going to get dirty again in 10 minutes as they drive through that field of mud, but they’re still going to wash it. Respect.

Getting them a nice polish is a great way to help them maintain their cymbals, as well as making them look fabulous. Party on.

Being a drummer can be tough.

It’s almost always the most difficult instrument to transport and set up.

While your bassist has long packed away their equipment, he’s already obsessing over that terrible unmusical bass solo that he subjected you and your audience to (6 string bass), though he still thinks it was great. While that’s all happening, as a drummer you’re just starting to take the sizzler off your cymbals that your lovely friend bought you.

A good set of drum cases helps in transportation and protects the drums from damage.

Similar to the gift of drum cases. A cymbal bag is an important piece of gear that protects a drummer’s valuable cymbals (remember I talked about how much drummers love their cymbals).

A good cymbal bag is a must for drummers.

Many drum kits only come with one or two cymbal stands.

Buying your drummer another stand lets them add a different type of cymbal somewhere else on their kit.

For example, they can then extend their setup to add another crash cymbal or a china/splash cymbal.

Boom cymbal stands allow for extra flexibility of cymbal placement on the kit, compared to straight cymbal stands.

These are very commonly used to prevent ringing and overtones from drums.

The drummer simply places the ring above the drum skin and starts playing.

This is particularly useful on the snare drum, as these can be difficult to get right for both performances and recordings.

This little drum multi-tool includes most things a drummer will need (and often otherwise forget) when tweaking or setting up their hardware. It includes a drum key, screwdrivers, allen keys/wrenches that can easily be packed in a drummer's bag.

It’s a nightmare for a drummer on gig night when they’ve forgotten a simple tool like a drum key.

I once had to finish the second half of a gig without a kick drum as my drum beater came loose and I forgot all of my 100s of drum keys that were lying around my house and every other gig venue I’ve ever played in.

I actually forgot my drum key for another gig too. Fool me once.

Although there are so many options online these days for tuition. Sometimes, nothing beats just having a book for some solid practice.

It’s also great for people on the move, as they can practice the exercises on a portable practice pad.

What’s the best way to boil a frog?

I haven’t done it (yet), but I’m told that the answer is to do it slowly.

Increasing the temperature slowly will stop the frog from realizing what’s happening.

A similar danger happens with earphone volume. Putting on earphones with a very high volume would instantly make you want to turn them off. However, increase the volume slowly and you won’t notice the danger, just like the way that you just mentally boiled that imaginary frog.

As mentioned in the in-ear monitors section, noise isolation is also very important for drummers as it protects their hearing. With good noise isolation, they won’t need to increase the volume as much.

I recommend the Vic Firth stereo isolation headphones as they can be used for electronic drums and headphone monitoring while playing on an acoustic drum set.

We’ve also written a guide on electronic drum headphones, which compares this with other headphone models.

It’ll come as no surprise to say that drums are exceptionally loud! If the drummer in your life practices on a regular (acoustic) drum kit, then these SoundOff Drum mutes by Evan’s are a great solution to muffle the noise.

You can also buy separate ones that will fit on top of cymbals. These can really the sting out of big hits.

Housemates, neighbors, and the drummer’s ears will be happy with your gift!

Tape and grips are very useful to stop drummers from dropping their drumsticks.

They can also allow drummers to have a looser grip, even when their hands are sweaty during live performances, which can save from a raft of potential drumming injuries in your hands and arms.

This Vater stick tape is a popular option for drummers.

The Ratchet drum key is another type of drum key that's very popular among drummers.

It has a ratchet type design which allows for quick adjustments.

It can also reach into areas that standard drum keys may have difficulty accessing.

It's a cheap little gift, any drummer would love it.

Drumming gloves are a great option for drummers that get a lot of blisters when playing.

Some drummers also prefer the extra grip they provide. It's very much a matter of preference.

Some drummers love them, others hate them!

Is your drummer always complaining about their bass drum moving forward while they are playing?

Is the drum kit causing annoying marks on the floor? Some drum hardware also has spiky ends, which can damage flooring.

It's worth thinking about a drum mat, they're great for grip and causing less damage to flooring.

Drum mic kits are very useful when amplifying the sound of acoustic drums or recording them in the studio.

Shure is a really well-known microphone brand, and this is a great kit for beginner to intermediate drummers to mic up their kit.

Another little percussion instrument to add to the list.

This particular instrument is an excellent choice for drummers that play styles such as Afro-Cuban Jazz, salsa, and son Cubano.

Of course, you will be able to play it with other genres as well.

They are great for both kids and adults.

The type of shoe that a drummer wears can have a big impact on their foot flexibility and grip.

When looking out for a drumming shoe, you should look for a shoe that gets out of your way as much as possible.

Minimal or low profile shoes are usually a great option for this reason. The best characteristics to look for are low weight, good grip, and comfortable fit.

The Adidas Originals Superstar Shoes pictured above are a great option.

Drum heads make a MASSIVE difference to the sound of a drum set.

Great drum heads can make a cheap set sound professional.

Bad drum heads can make a pro set sound like garbage.

The drum head pack pictured above covers 3 toms and 1 snare. For most kits, that will cover every drum apart from the kick drum.

Pinstripe drum heads are really great for giving a deep and punchy sound.

If your drummer is also interested in producing music on their computer, the korg nanoPad is a great MIDI controller that can hook into practically any music production software.

You can use it with software for Mac, Windows, and Linux. This includes GarageBand, Ableton, Logic, Cubase, Reaper, Studio One, and almost any other digital audio workstation software that you can think of.

The nanoPad has velocity-sensitive pads, so they are very useful for inputting beats on the fly!

The Roland Octapad is THE percussion pad for drummers.

It has great onboard sounds, it includes looping, and it does not need to be connected to a computer to generate any sounds.

You can hook an amplifier directly up to this and play away!

Drummers can also hook in headphones to listen to the music quietly.

Please note, the Octapad does not include custom sampling. If you think your drummer would be more interested in that then check out the Roland SPD-SX.

Over the years, I've watched so many drummer videos online.

The comment section is usually dominated with responses such as "Great Snare Sound Buddy!" or "Your snare is missing something".

The snare drum is vital to an acoustic drum set.

If your drummer is using a stock snare drum that came with a cheap drum set, then upgrading the snare is one of the first things to do.

The Yamaha Stage custom is a great option while also staying pretty affordable.

Drums are heavy and awkward to carry around!

You know what's even more awkward? Drum hardware. That includes cymbal stands, pedals, pieces that connect toms to the bass drum, tom legs, and more.

If your drummer doesn't have a proper bag to store these in then (A) they will have to make a lot more trips back and forth to the car/van and (B) their hardware might easily get damaged.

A hardware bag is a must for any gigging drummer. This is a great option.