Best Gifts To Give String Players In 2018
'Tis the season to be jolly!
This year we have a lot to be thankful for, why not get that special classical musician in your life a gift that they need? Here are my recommendations for making your classical musician happy that will help them for 2019:
Strings
First and foremost, I think that buying a set of strings for any classical musician who plays the violin, viola, cello, or bass would make them the HAPPIEST person on the face of the earth. Strings do tend to get pricey once you factor in the amount of times they have to switch a frequent basis. I can't speak for the lower strings on this one, but here are some strings that I use.
Warm Sound
Obligato from Pirastro
Stable tuning
Dominant by Thomastik Infeld
Articulate and loud sound
Vision Solo by Thomastik Infeld
Strings on a budget
Tonica by Pirastro
Books
People who know me know that I like reading a lot of music business books. Inspire the classical musician in your life to do what they love and create a business out of it! I recommend the Entrepreneurial Muse. I've taken away a lot of interesting points the author makes that helps musical entrepreneurs like myself find success in the classical music business:
Recording Equipment
An absolute essential for all musicians! We all know that the smartphone recorder app can all get us so far. I've been using the Shure MV51 for the ETV Podcast and for my other side projects. I love how versatile this mic is for the price. It comes with two separate cables, a micro USB to lightning for iPhone, and microusb to USB for your computer. They have a great promotion going on until December 31st so you don't want to miss out on that! You can check out the quality of the mic by listening to ETV 17.
Accessories
Last but not least, we need to give our string player some accessories to help them dominate 2019! Here are some accessories I can't live without: