Christmas gift ideas for Guitarists

Ok, so I gather that you are here because that special someone in your life is an avid guitarist and you want to buy them something in the genre, right? One of the major problems that I have seen people have is that they are gifted items that they wouldn’t otherwise use, or wouldn’t suit their style of play – so I will try to give fair and well rounded advice for everyone.

To start with, there is one thing that every guitarist loves, and that is music. There are plenty of options for this whether it be a Spotify subscription or a iTunes voucher. Alternatively, you could gift them with some of your favourite music, or classic releases from years ago. If you are thinking a bigger budget  – check out the range of speakers and players from Tivoli Audio who have a great range of gear to check out for the music lover.

The Beginner

Artist Guitars have some great guitar and amp packages that will get the beginner started for a budget. They come in at around $220 which is a great price for a full set up – check out our review of the Strat here. What I would urge is that you don’t speak much more than this for a beginner, as a lot of people tend to fall off the practice wagon. Unfortunately, mid priced $400-$600 guitars do not have a great resale market here in Australia.

There is also a large range of gifts that you can buy the beginner who already has a guitar – look at thinks like the Snark Guitar tuners as a cheap option to stay in tune, or look at ways in which you can help the new player learn – a subscription to places like Guitar Tricks or the Yousician app are great ways to give the new player the motivation to keep moving forward.

There are also a bunch of things that you can do to make their life a bit easier – like string winders, cleaning kits or even spare strings for that inevitable string change.

The Intermediate and Advanced

The intermediate and advanced players are a lot harder to buy for, as they are within their comfort zone and they know what they do and don’t want. It is also highly likely that these players will already have all the gear that they will ever want and need. Check out their music collection and get them a t-shirt from a band that they listen to, or from a brand of guitar or amp that they are fond of.

Look at the things that they are using and grab them some spares – whether that be picks (Dunlop Tortex and Jazz III are always popular), straps, strings or other consumables. These are costs that guitarists have to incur on a regular basis, so any of this stuff really helps.

Strings are always good – your player may have a preference but there is plenty of variety out there for them to choose from. I highly recommend the D’Addario NYXL range for any player, they feel great, stay in tune and are break resistant so they can really handle a beating.  As for straps, I have heard great things about the Couch range, who make a great range of leather and cloth pieces often in vintage and hard to find styles.

Other things that can be really beneficial are buying them a gift voucher so that they can go and get some service or setup done on one of their guitars, or go and buy something that they have had their eye on for a while.

What about you, what is the best guitar related gift that you have received, what’s the best advice that you can offer for people to buy?