Buying a gift for a guitar player can be a daunting task. There are technical guitar details and personal preferences to navigate around.
When I brainstormed Christmas guitar gift ideas, I included gifts that were as universal as possible without knowing the technical details of their current setup.
The guitar gift ideas below are great for birthdays, anniversaries, Christmas, holidays, and other special occasions.
For my gift guide, I generalize guitar players into beginner, intermediate, and professional categories. After those guides, I cover each guitar gift category in detail.
Quick Navigation:
- Unusual Guitar Gifts
- Gifts for Beginners
- Intermediate Guitar Gifts
- Gifts for Professional Guitar Players
- Holiday Guitar Gift Guide
- Gifts to Avoid
Note: links below may be affiliate links where we earn an affiliate commission from Etsy, Amazon, and others.
Gifts for Guitar Players: Unusual, but Cool Guitar Gifts
One of the more unusual guitar gifts, but fully functional and awesome is the Handmade Wood Bead Guitar Strap on Etsy. If they are in stock, they ship within a business day and can be delivered within 3-4 business days.
One of the most unique gifts you can give. Each strap is literally one-of-a-kind with natural variations in the wood.
Not only are they cool, they are super comfortable and great for passionate musicians.
Some other handmade gifts on this list will have a longer lead time.
Beginner Guitar Player Gifts: Birthdays, Christmas, etc
Most gifts, especially budget-friendly gifts, will work for beginner-level guitarists and can be found on Amazon.
In addition, guitar lessons make for a great gift! You can get a 3-month, 6-month, or 12-month lesson plan at GuitarTricks.com.
GuitarTricks.com provides online guitar lessons for players of various skill levels, from beginners to advanced.
The site offers instructional videos, song tutorials, and other resources to help master the guitar.
Soundbrenner Core: The Apple Watch for Musicians
- Vibrating Metronome
- Chromatic Contact Tuner
- Decibel Meter
- Smartwatch
Basic gear like picks, tuners, and stringing tools will work great. It’s hard to go wrong with a beginner gift!
This guitar gift set includes thin, medium, and heavy gauges of guitar. It helps beginner guitar players determine their favorite pick thickness.
A must-have gift for guitarists of all levels. It's compact and easy to use. It's the most functional and useful gift you can get for many guitarists.
An all in one guitar tool for restringing.
If you want to gift guitar strings, go with a reputable brand like Ernie Ball. Their Paradigm strings are great as well.
A solid entry level guitar capo making it a great gift without looking cheap. The step below this guitar capo is full of low-quality gear, so start here and go higher if you want to get a capo.
Intermediate Guitar Player Gifts
Intermediate players will have developed more preferences regarding picks, strings, and other basic gear. Understanding those will be necessary to purchase a great gift in those categories.
The best gifts for intermediate guitar players are gear like pedals, capos, and custom guitar straps.
An excellent gift for guitarists seeking to unlock their creativity. It's a very user-friendly design with an intuitive design and easy operation.
This classic distortion pedal makes a great gift and has been tried and tested for many years. However, if you can afford it, upgrade to its big brother, the Boss DS-2 which has a big more bang for the buck.
A great all-around pedal for players of all levels.
An exceptional gift for guitar players wanting precise control over their tone. While it might be too advanced for some players, it's a great gift for experienced players.
This guitar accessory is a great gift. It's an all-in-one tool with various tools (hex wrenches, screwdrivers, ruler, etc). It's practical and handy for guitarists of all levels, but especially for intermediate players without one.
An awesome gift for guitar players in need of a high-quality and reliable capo. Many start with cheap ones in the $10 range that work as a beginner when you're experimenting with new styles. However, for guitar players with some experience, a great gift is a higher-end capo that you is easy to use.
The perfect gift for guitarists that love style and functionality. These capos are aesthetically pleasing while working great as well. They are made in the U.S. and have a large following.
Gifts for Professional Guitarist
Professional players that play guitar in a band, gig regularly, or even tour, can be tricky. They likely have most things they want or the things they do want exceed most budgets.
For professional players, a custom or personalized gift is a great way to go. On my list of best guitar straps, I included a few custom and unique straps that gift really well.
Thalia Capos combines elegance and precision. Each capo boasts impeccable craftsmanship, ensuring optimal tuning and performance. A great combination of style and functionality.
For guitarists with too many guitars, a cool custom sign for them makes for a great and unique gift that will blow them away.
A guitar pick box is a great gift that is useful for most guitar players and makes a great holiday gift. They can be customized in many ways, including a personal message.
A stunning, handmade guitar strap by Revo Guitar Straps is another great gift. They are comfortable for those playing long gigs and touring.
Couch Guitar Straps make unique and sustainable straps. They tend to be longer than the average strap so it's a great gift for taller guitar players!
A custom guitar stand makes a great gift for those with higher-end guitars. Let them keep it on display and make it a featured piece in their gear room.
Gifts for Guitar Players: Buyers Guide
Before you purchase a guitar-related gift, I think it’s a good idea to lay some groundwork to help your purchase decision.
If you’re on a stricter budget, check out the best guitarist gifts under $50.
Understanding the Guitarist in Your Life for Gift Preferences
Guitar playing is full of diverse and unique individuals. From hardcore rockers to soulful blues, classical players, and country twang – you’ll want to ask the giftee or friends/family to understand their personal taste to get gifts to complement their playing style.
Gifting Guitar Picks
Guitar Picks make great gifts on a budget. They are also great stocking stuffers or add-on gifts because guitarists constantly lose and break picks.
However, guitar picks can be a pretty bland solo gift… unless you customize them or get them unique guitar picks that they’ve never used.
Guitarists love custom picks or trying out picks they’ve never used, such as wooden guitar picks.
- 8 Rosewood Guitar Picks
- Wooden guitar picks add a softer, unique sound than typical guitar picks.
If you DO have a very beginner guitarist, it’s also safe to get a variety pack of picks so they can test out different picks and see which size they prefer.
Lastly, if you know they are trying to learn finger style guitar, these picks make for a great gift.
- "This is a game changer."
- Try the 4x variety pack to find your favorite
Guitar Capos
Guitar capos can make a great gift for intermediate to advanced guitar players.
Beginner to intermediate players may not have a guitar capo, which can be a great way to expand their playing and try new styles.
And if you see your boyfriend or girlfriend playing with a guitar capo often, then you can upgrade them to a higher-quality capo with unique styles.
It’s important not to go TOO cheap on capos. There are some Alibaba $1.00 capos imported selling on Amazon for ~$12 that will not function great. Something like this Kyser is high-quality and works great compared to the cheaper ones.
Guitar Tuners Make a Great Gift
Tuners make great gifts, especially for beginner to intermediate players. Many guitar players will have a basic tuner that came with their beginner guitar kit or purchased with their first guitar. However, many of those are limited in function.
Upgrading them to a cool Snark guitar tuner is a great, budget-friendly gift. It is a great tuner and can also clip onto their guitar for easy tuning. It’s also visually easier to see adjust your tuning than cheaper models. In addition, you can tune it by string vibrations along with sound.
Guitar Pedals: The Coolest Gift You Can Give
Guitar pedals, while technical, can be used and enjoyed by guitarists of all levels. Gifting a guitar pedal to an experienced player may be a challenge. If you’re in that scenario, ask one of their friends about pedals they may have their eye on.
If you’re shopping for a beginner to an intermediate guitar player, nearly any guitar pedal will provide the gift of a brand-new playing experience! It’s one of the best gifts under $100 to get a guitarist. This is especially true if this will be their first guitar pedal.
Getting a wah or overdrive/distortion pedal is a solid choice if they don’t have one.
This classic distortion pedal makes a great gift and has been tried and tested for many years. However, if you can afford it, upgrade to its big brother, the Boss DS-2 which has a big more bang for the buck.
A great all-around pedal for players of all levels.
A loop pedal is another guitar accessory that can enhance any guitar players enjoyment. This allows them to create tunes on their own by looping their input and adding to to it (among other features).
A Ditto Looper is also great if you want to save $20, but it doesn’t have the nice digital loop display as shown above in the Boss RC-1.
If they already have those types of pedals, you can try an EQ guitar effects pedal. This is great for perfecting their tone.
Useful Accessories and Tools
A string winder is a great gift for beginner guitarists that may not have much experience restringing their guitar and need tools to make the job easier.
An all in one guitar tool for restringing.
Gifts for Beginner Guitar Players Learning Guitar
All guitarists are constantly learning, but if you are giving a gift to someone that is in their first year of guitar, there are some very practical gifts that can help them in their journey.
You can get them an annual membership to places like TrueFire that have a variety of lessons and tutorials.
- Easily learn beginner guitar concepts
- Beginner chords & music theory
- Acoustic, Electric, & Fingerstyle
Most guitarists have a stack of reference books acquired over the years. Sometimes learning at a computer can be distracting and it’s good to have an actual book.
- Great selection
- Easy to read
Guitar Gifts to Avoid
As a guitarist, receiving cheesy and gimmicky gifts is my least favorite. It’s a personal preference, but in my experience, they go unused.
Yes, I will feign excitement, but will I actually use them?
The Pick Punch is recommended on many lists because it’s an affordable and unique gift. It allows you to punch a pick out of old gift cards, credit cards, and other materials.
However, I do not know any guitar player that actually uses a pick created from it. Read the 3-star reviews for a better look at the reality of this gift.
It can make a great gift for those who love to recycle old materials and tinker, but it’s not for everyone.
Guitar Strings
Gifting guitar strings to a guitar player is a GREAT choice if you know exactly which strings they love, but it’s a poor choice if you’re making any guesses.
Most guitar players are stubborn about their strings and if you don’t know which ones they like, and more importantly, which ones they dislike, it will be a tough gift to purchase.
The exception is if you’re buying a gift for a new guitar player. They are still in the testing phase of strings and would benefit from experiencing different brands and quality of guitar strings.
If you want to gift guitar strings, go with a reputable brand like Ernie Ball. Their Paradigm strings are great as well.
Guitar T-Shirt Gifts
Guitar-themed t-shirts can make a great gift, but they can easily be tossed in a back of a drawer to never be worn.
My personal preference and others I know tend to dislike cheesy and corny “I Love My Guitar”-style shirts and gear. Sure, if it comes from my niece or nephew, it’s cute and a great gift, but it’s likely not to be worn.
The same goes for socks that are guitar-themed.
More Guitar Player Gift Ideas
I know gift cards and money are very impersonal gifts, but if done correctly, it can be the best gift a guitarist can get.
Many guitarists are likely to be obsessing over a new guitar, amp, or other relatively expensive gear and are actively saving money for it.
If you know this, you can always work with other friends or family to pool the cash to get them to the goal. For example, if you have a younger guitarist in your life and they are saving for their dream $2,000 guitar and you know they are at $1,500 in savings, you could join forces with other friends or family and pool together the remainder.
Getting that brand-new guitar would be much more impactful than getting 5 separate guitar-related gifts.
Final Thoughts
The best gifts for a guitarist are functional, practical, unique, personal, or some combination of those.
While there is always a time and place for gimmicky gifts, enhancing their playing experience with the right gift is a great way to impress them and help them create new music and experiences.
Related
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