When you’re not a guitarist yourself, it can be hard to know what musical equipment and paraphernalia that special guitarist in your life would like.

Well, fear not, as I’m about to give you a run down on some great (and not so great) gift ideas to help you out!

Good Guitar Accessories

There are some things every guitarist will probably need regardless of the genre they’re into and their skill level.

These include:

• Capos (between $10-$40), which are used for moving songs to another key. These are particularly useful for acoustic players.

• Clip-On Guitar Tuners (between $15-$30), which are handy for tuning the guitar. As an added bonus, they work in noisy environments as they pick up the vibrations of the guitar through the neck, so they are a little bit more practical than a guitar tuner app

• Guitar Picks (approx. $1 each or less), as no guitarist can ever have enough guitar picks! They come in a variety of shapes and sizes, but if you don’t know what your guitarist likes, that’s ok - most guitarists appreciate having a mix so feel free to grab a handful of different ones (or, alternatively, if you know what they like already, consider buying them a bulk bag).

• Guitar Strap (between $10-$50), which are useful for all guitarists (even if they usually prefer to sit down and play). These come in a variety of designs, but I’d recommend padded straps if possible. They’re a little more expensive, but they make playing a lot less painful on your shoulder. Most guitarists don’t mind having a spare strap either, especially if they have multiple guitars. Please avoid leather - there’s plenty of options available that don’t involve skinning an animal.

• Guitar Stand (between $5-$100+), which are used to display and hold the guitar at home or on stage. These come in a wide variety of options from wall hangers (which you can screw into your wall for making your guitar into a great display piece) to free-standing guitar stands to stands that can hold 2-10 guitars. Even if your guitarist has a stand for all of their guitars at home, you could always get them a portable stand for live use.

• Music Stand (between $20-$100), which is used for holding books and sheet music while playing. Most guitarists only need one, but if your guitarist is using a table or makeshift stand instead, they’ll definitely appreciate having a proper, sturdy music stand!

• ELECTRIC GUITARISTS ONLY: Guitar Lead (between $20-$50), which is used for plugging the guitar into an amplifier. For a gift, I’d recommend getting a lead which is special in some way - either really long, really short, high quality or with mute switches built in, as most electric guitarists will already have a lead, but it’s probably a very cheap simple one.

Difficult Guitar Accessories

These are the gifts I’d recommend avoiding unless you have a bit of experience with guitars already.

• Guitar strings (between $15 - $100 if buying bulk packs). Yes, every guitarist needs guitar strings, but unless you know how gauges work, which brands are best and which type of strings your guitarist needs, it might be tough to ensure you get the right ones. However, if you know your guitarist has a favourite brand or gauge, steal the model number from the set (it’ll be listed on the box or packet) and buy a bulk pack!

• Guitar cases/gig bags (between $20 - $500). Most guitars come with a guitar case or gig bag, but if you know your guitarist wants to upgrade, make sure you know the dimensions of their guitar and model type to ensure it will fit. Special mention for flight cases - these types of cases are great for touring guitarists, but every guitarist has slightly different needs so you may be better off discussing it with your guitarist before making a purchase (I’d recommend checking out the Mono range personally, but many guitarists quite like Enki or custom cases too).

• Footrests, guitar supports and cushions (between $20-$300), which are all very handy for classical guitarists and most guitarist in general as they help raise the guitar to a more comfortable playing position, are nonetheless very personal. Some guitarists prefer footrests, others prefer clip on supports, but really your guitarist will need to try out the options first before making a purchase - particularly as some of the more premium options are a bit expensive and difficult to find in Australian music stores (luckily our local music shop in Croydon, Hans Music has a heap to choose from, but they’re the exception).

• Maintenance kits and tools (between $20-$100), which are used for polishing guitars, cleaning fretboards and restring guitars. These are quite good as gifts because even if your guitarist has some of these materials, they’ll likely want spares. If in doubt ask your music shop staff member for tips on where to start.

Guitars, Amps and Pedals

If you’re thinking about buying your guitarist a guitar or an amp, my first bit of advice would be - don’t try to make it a surprise.

Let me break it down for each option to explain why.

• Guitars come in many shapes and sizes. There’s electrics, acoustics, hollow-bodies, 12 strings, 7 strings…and even then if you were to select two guitars that are from the same manufacturer, same model and same production run, they’ll STILL have minute differences only a guitarist will know. It’s just too personal a decision. If you really want to get your guitarist a guitar as a gift, either go shopping with them (but if they’re experienced, expect it to be an expensive gift - good guitars can be upwards of $1000) or get them something special and unique like a novelty guitar, a second hand relic (just don’t pay too much - some cheap old guitars are just as worthless as the day they were sold). If in doubt - just don’t do it! If you’re shopping for a beginner, however, check out this guide to buying your first guitar as beginner guitarists usually have very similar requirements.

• Amps, or amplifiers, are necessary for two types of guitarists - those who play electric guitars and those who have an acoustic guitar with an amplifier who want to play live gigs. Good amps are costly, and bad amps are not really useful for experienced guitarists, so again this will be a big gift. Amps that hold their value are tube/valve amps, not solid state amps, but as every guitarist likes different sounds, I’d again recommend taking them shopping and letting them try out some options. If you’d like some insights into all the different types of guitar amplifiers, read our guide.

• Pedals are used to give a different effect to the sound that an electric guitar will make. These are almost exclusively used for electric guitarists. Most pedals range from about $30-$200 for single effects (for example, a delay pedal only has one effect built in - ‘Delay’), but you can spend more for pedals which are multi-effects units (these are basically little computers that can replicate many effects). Lots of guitarists either prefer multi or single pedal setups, so it can be tough to shop if you don’t know what type your guitarist is. However, if you know they already have a pedalboard with lots of colourful boxes on it, check what they have, go into your music shop and ask for recommendations based on your budget, as you’re likely dealing with a bona-fide pedal-loving hoarder who would love an extra chorus pedal.

Good Guitar Gift - Knowledge

One of the safest bets is that your guitarist wishes they knew more about playing guitar.

The easiest ways to add to their knowledge are:

• Guitar Tablature or Notation books (between $30-$100), which include the sheet music or instructions on how to play a bunch of songs. You can choose a particular album they like, a particular band or a mix. These books are great because they are much more detailed than what you can find online. If you’re unsure what your guitarist prefers, stick to tablature books (it’ll say “Tab” or “Tablature” on the front cover) as almost all guitarists know how to read tabs. Standard notation books are more useful for classical or jazz players.

• Instructional Guitar Books or Courses (between $20-$1000’s) are great for some guitarists but it can be difficult to know what books and courses are appropriate. I would recommend materials which have a very specific focus (like a “Shred Like Petrucci” book or online course), as these tend to be more useful than generic books (like a “Guitar Method Book 1”), but if your guitarist is already pretty experienced or a beginner, maybe steer clear of this option. I hate to have to say this as I don’t like disparaging other guitar instructors, but just be careful with online guitar courses. There are some absolutely great ones out there, but there are quite a few guitarists just looking to scam others. Look for good, authentic reviews, an established performing teacher (check their credentials - if they are decent they should have a bit of a web presence) and free trials so you can make sure it’s all legitimate before committing any big fees.

• Guitar Lesson Gift Vouchers (between $49-$177) can be great if your guitarist isn’t playing much at the moment or is stuck in a bit of a rut. However, if your guitarist is experienced, make sure you speak to the teacher first to make sure they’ll be able to help out. If you get them a voucher for some total beginner course and they have been playing for years they’ll likely just be bored. We offer gift vouchers on our website which are suitable for those who haven’t had many lessons before, but are often used by students who have experience but want to improve in a specific area - maybe they want more material to work on, some general feedback or they want to look into a particular style myself or one of our other teachers are experts in. The key is that the people buying those vouchers have been great with communication and spoken with us before buying the voucher. If we can’t help out, don’t worry - we’ll be quick to tell you! For other schools, if you’re not sure if the lessons will be appropriate, find out about things like - what can they use the voucher for, what styles does the teacher teach, where are the lessons and so on. You want to give your guitarist a nice gift, not an obligation they’ll hate! (If you’re thinking about getting a gift voucher from us and aren’t sure if it’s appropriate, fill out this contact form and I’ll give you a call to discuss before you make any decisions)

And finally, when in doubt, go with music-related gifts - just don’t overdo it.

Here’s a list of other cool guitar-themed gifts I’ve either received in the past, had students receive or wish I had thought of!

• Biographies of guitarists (some musicians have led extremely interesting lives - always a winner)

• Guitar setups - while this wasn’t technically a gift, while Dave was on holiday his Dad was kind enough to take his guitars in for a setup with his preferred guitar tech. That meant Dave could come home to guitars that were comfortable and easy to play. If you know they have a preferred tech, grab the details and see if you can pre-purchase a setup or something similar!

• Guitar building kits - just remember that this will take a lot of time so only get it if you’re sure your guitarist has the patience!

• Guitar building courses - same as above

• Music themed cushion covers, t-shirts, stubby holders etc etc

• Gig tickets - just make sure they haven’t already purchased tickets themselves (and that they like the artist. Just because you’re into Pink Floyd doesn’t mean your 12 year old necessarily wants to see Dave Gilmour)

• Time at a recording studio - if they’re ready to record some music

• Recording equipment - which I didn’t include in the list above as it’s such a broad category and not all guitarists want to record themselves, is nonetheless very appropriate for many guitarists.

• Novelty instruments (melodica, recorder, marimbas, ukelele etc) - and yes, I know it might be considered a bit rude calling these instruments ‘novelty’ instruments, but what I really mean is “cheap, fun instruments that guitarists might get a kick out of but probably won’t ever love as much as their guitar”. (I intentionally left the bass guitar off of this list out of respect for the bassists in my life).

I hope that helps! If you have any other ideas please post them below, but if you’re from a store/vendor/manufacturer please let us know so we know your bias.

A few notes about my affiliations: we obviously offer guitar lessons ourselves, are developing an online guitar course, sell a (very) small range of guitar accessories to students in studio, have previously endorsed ESP Guitars, Ormsby Guitars, Atomic Amps, Elixir Strings, Ernie Ball Strings, and Blackstar Amps but currently have no contracts with any of these companies. We also regularly cross-promote with Hans Music Spot. I’ve tried to be as unbiased as possible in this list, I promise!