Christmas Gift Guide – music making

Christmas is the sound of a million irritating toys, rubbish festive records and smoke alarms. Drown it all out with your own sweet music…Gibson Robot Explorer£900 gak.co.ukIf you've just missed out on the pre-orders for the limited-edition Gibson Firebird X, you'll be pleased to know you can still get your strumming hand on the robotic version of the angular Explorer. With the press of a button, the machineheads magically tension its strings to the correct tuning. When they invent a self-righting microphone, you'll no longer need a roadie.Continues… Otamatone£25 firebox.comEr, it's like a weird cross between a Stylophone, a guitar, bagpipes and the Chain Chomps from the Mario games. Didn't help? Okay, you slide your fingers along the neck (actually more like a tail) while squeezing the body (or head) so it's mouth opens for a vibrato effect on its weird electronic squeals. Big in Japan – go figure.Continues… Alesis DM7 USB Kit£460 dv247.comAre you the next Ringo Starr, John Bonham, Animal from The Muppets? This electronic drum kit features 8 velocity-sensitive pads replicating more than 400 drum, cymbal and percussion instruments in 80 kit combos.Continues… DJ Hero 2£40 (Xbox 360, PS3), £35 (Wii) hmv.comGuitar Hero paved the way for this deck-spinning tour de force, which replaces the plastic axe with a plastic turntable, and some wiki-wiki-waa action instead of dah-na-na. Not real music-making, but close enough.Continues… Korg Monotron£60 firebox.comTake Rolf Harris's bonkers Stylophone – well, don't actually take his; that'd be stealing – and combine it with the twiddly-knobbed versatility of a Korg synth. Create weird and wonderful electronica to your heart's content. Related stories- Christmas Gift Guide – big kid - Christmas Gift Guide – under £50 - Christmas Gift Guide – home - Christmas Gift Guide – retro - Christmas Gift Guide – winter survival- Christmas Gift Guide – watches- Christmas Gift Guide – kitsch- Christmas Gift Guide – money no object- Christmas Gift Guide – gaming