Last year, I didn’t do a Christmas guide. This year, I am going to. What holiday gift would you get your favorite saxophonist(s) this year. Here are some ideas.
Under $100

• Reeds. Pretty obvious. Should be fairly easy to figure out what they use as well. There will be dead ones in the trash, and ones that are not working strewn all over the place. Cost: $20-$40.
• Neckstrap. Can never have too many of these. Buggers get misplaced quite a bit. Cost: $10-$40+
• Books. Walt Weiskopf’s books are always good gifts. As well as Greg Fishman’s books. And Jim Snidero’s books or any book with a recommended tag.
• Mouthpiece. Probably not the best idea for someone who has been playing for a while. For a new saxophone player, it would be a good thing to get. Good brands to look into would be Meyer, Otto Link, and Berg Larsen. For Alto saxophone, a Meyer 5M is a good gift. For Tenor, an Otto Link 5* is good. (Though unless you get some of these off Ebay, some of these will be over $100. Though Meyer alto mouthpieces go for at $70)
• CDs. There are so many good artists out there, and people’s taste range widely. I’d suggest getting an iTunes gift card, or a gift certificate to a store and let them pick what they want. Unless you know them well or you can steal a peek at their collection, or load up their iTunes while they are away and see what gets played alot.
• iLife 08 for Garageband if you don’t already have it. (for Macintosh people) and/or JamPacks.

Up to $300

• iPod Nano, or an iPod Touch. Don’t bother with some other brands. Believe the hype. The iPod Touch is amazing, and next year, expect games and all kinds of interesting applications. There is a great little game (on your hacked iPhone/iPod touch) called Tap-Tap-Revolution. Music game. Think Dance-Dance revolution, but tapping. I’d expect to see lots of neat applications for it next year.
• Band in a Box 2007 Pro. Great tool for practicing, ear training, etc. etc.
• Apple Logic Express. Like Garageband, but way better. ($199)
• A recorder. The Zoom H2 and H4 recorders get good marks. I’d personally opt for the H4, but that is me.

The Sky Is The Limit

• Logic Studio is a great deal for serious Musicians. You get 5 JamPacks plus Logic 8 and Soundtrack Pro plus all kinds of other goodies. ($499)
• Reason. Reason works on both Macs and PCs and is a blast to use. ($399)
• M-Audio Fast Track Ultra. Great preamps, DSP chip. For a street price of about $350. It’s on my list.
• Sibelius 5.1. To write out and arrange music. ($499)
• New horn, or another horn. If your saxophonist plays Alto, get them a Tenor. If they already have a Tenor, get them a soprano. Expensive, yes. Will you feel the love? Yes, you will. This will cost you several hundred, if not thousands, of dollars. Quality brands to look into getting are Yamaha, Yanigasawa, and Selmer for pro and semi-pro players.

Any other gift ideas?