Right now we're getting prepared for the holidays a-coming, so here at Mighty Ape, we're up on our feet a-running. Christmas soon to come and we're a little short on time, but this blog I decided to bring out for you little seasonal rhyme. I'm not usually a poet, but we've been known to wrap a present. We've been compiling gift ideas the whole family can get with.

We've got some choice guitar picks for all players and collectors alike. Kill two birds with the NZ Warriors picks, to please your guitarist/sports fan in one buy!

By the same token, if your loved one loves some cartoons, you could check the Simpsons picks and straps to catch a “Cowabunga Dude!”

If the family musician isn't a strummer or a picker, maybe check out our Studio Gear to get your shopping done a little quicker. But if recording's not their thing and they just wanna be a singer, you could look at Microphones with PA and have a concert with Christmas dinner.

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With 158 types of on board amps and effects, you can see (or maybe more importantly hear) why Korg chose the name Pandora for this little box of goodness!

At just over 8.5cm wide and 5.4cm high, the Korg Pandora Mini’s silhouette is almost exactly that of a credit card, about as thick as a tin of breath mints, and is available in either black or white.

With a gizmo like this, of course, you have the ability to plug your MP3 player into the AUX input to jam along to your favourite tunes or backing tracks live, but it also comes with 100 different rhythm patterns and a built-in metronome, so you can work out an idea whenever you like! Other helpful features on the Pandora mini include a backlit LCD, an auto-tuner with muting, four memory buttons for one-touch recall of your favorite programs, and sound-editing software support so you can manage your sounds on your computer.

So stash the Pandora mini in your guitar case, or suitcase, or sock this summer and reach for it whenever you have a spare minute these holidays!

It's never been easier to pick up a guitar, and with Christmas around the corner, the timing has never been better! If you've been thinking about it for yourself or loved one, but aren't sure of how or where to spend the money, look no further!

We've got a heap of bargains available for the acoustic, electric and even classical players!

As a kick starter, have a look at this choice starter kit by Stagg, featuring everything you need to get you on your way to rock-stardom! Including the guitar, an amp, cable, bag, strings and picks!!

If you're a not-so-novice, then have a squizz at our range of Larrivée guitars!
Hand made in Canada, these things sound seriously beautiful. Great for live performance, recording or even Christmas sing-alongs!

This ingenious device from IK Multimedia transforms your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch into a full blown guitar rig.

The best part about iRig Stomp is that you don’t need a massive setup. You can use it as a standalone piece of equipment.

Powered by IK Multimedia’s Am­pliTube apps (or any other amp simluator for iOS) and a 9-volt battery, iRig Stomp can easily work well by itself, or paired with a massive collection of pedals and amps. It’s the perfect way to mix iOS and guitar playing.

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If you are a musician, chances are, you're going to need to tune your instrument once in a while. Particularly if you play your instrument in front of people.

If you're a guitar or bass player, it just so happens that we've got a pretty big stash of great guitar & bass tuners!

One of the coolest of these oh-so-handy gadgets is by the good people at Korg who's Pitchblack tuner series has had massive success.

This time around, they've stuck in a choice feature for the stage musician with the release of the Pitchblack Poly.

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From the good folk at Ernie Ball comes the 6180 – Ernie Ball Volume Pedal Junior!

All kinds of words spring to mind after just one quick look – sturdy, rugged, long lasting, robust and durable. The steel chassis will see this pedal last you from first practice to world tour!

If you consider yourself “techy” and are interested in the intricacies of this pedal, this should interest you;

The potentiometer has 250k ohm of resistance, suitable for the audio path of passive instruments. Behind the jack area, under the footplate, is a micro-taper-switch which provides the user two distinct volume swell rates. The main pivot shaft is composed of center-less ground stainless steel (about half an inch thick), precision seated though nylon bushings at both ends. A tough, long lasting Kevlar cable is attached by stainless steel springs and is responsible for transmitting pedal travel to the controls.

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ART have been around since the mid '80s and have been pumping out quality products ever since!

Mighty Ape has a killer range available to suit your live or recording needs! There are a couple of choice gadgets however that stand out to me as a gear nerd.

One of which is the ART SLA-2 that would power many modern day rigs, running Axe FX or Kemper in stereo. A comfortable power of up to 280W per side would be enough to run a couple of cabs as a stereo set up!

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ZOOM are a Japanese company who are renowned for their innovative ideas & approach to music in a digital sense.

The Zoom MS-50G MultiStomp guitar effects pedal is the first of its kind to put an entire effects processor into a single stompbox-sized unit. This gives you a huge collection of amps and effects right on your pedalboard. Never be without the sounds you need again!

What you're in store for with the MS-50G is a pedal packed with 55 different sounds (47 effects and eight amp models), six of which can be used simultaneously in any order. Add a chromatic tuner into the equation, and you're looking at a pedal for all seasons!

This little beaut's got everything you need to quickly change your settings -
A set of three parameter control knobs that double as buttons let you dig deep into your settings to dial up the perfect effect. A set of cursor keys built around the footswitch let you navigate through the entire library of effects and add them to your signal chain in seconds! Ya dig?

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Heavy Metal Ninjas are a local Kiwi band gaining infamy on an international scale.

Their debut album Interstellar Abduction, out on Warner Music, is a combination of beautiful symphonic arrangements, eery space-themes and out of this world guitar work, utilising 6, 7, and 8 string guitars.

Materialising from smoke, lighting up stages and minds with their fingers (literally!) and leaving people feeling like they've been abducted for real, the live show is a sight to behold.

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Gruv Gear are a fast growing name in the music industry. They've been churning out innovative ideas since their inception and the list is always growing!

Let's check out a couple of my favorite pieces!

For the traveling artist (of whatever breed) we've got some sweet bags for you:

• The Stadium Bag is a “gimongous” bag with “so much room for activities” and so many compartments that you could almost live inside it!
• The Club Bag is a slightly more modest sized bag, with various cleverly designs compartments for headphones, money, camera, laptop & a book or two, while keeping each item from causing any damage to the other. Gruv Gear really put thought in to what one would be carrying around, for gigs/events.

Next up, for the recording musician, we have the FretWraps which are cleverly designed to make sure the strings you aren't playing on, or even the strings behind the nut don't ring out and cause unwanted noise while you've “got ya rockstar on”. A definite must for any Guthrie Govan/Victor Wooten wannabe or 7/8 string player!

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