Custom Guitar Straps (and Other Great Gifts for Guitarists)

Does somebody you love like to shred?

What do you get these people for birthdays, or at Christmas, or any other time you’re looking for a special gift?

Guitar players are usually relatively easy to buy for. There are a lot of helpful little gadgets (like custom guitar straps) and accessories that really make a difference for someone who’s using their guitar a lot, whether they’re playing gigs or just jamming for fun.

Here are some of the best guitar gifts to get a musician who really loves their axe.

Digital Gear

One easy guitar gift is an electronic digital tuner that attaches to the headstock of the guitar. With one of these small gadgets, there’s no guesswork in figuring out whether you have a true A, E or D.

The tuner helps a guitarist to adjust to a group’s sound and saves a lot of time when it’s most valuable – when it’s time to tune up for a performance.

Another great idea is a smartphone holderthat goes onto the guitar the same way. With so many of today’s musical resources online, from chords and sheet music to lyrics and tablature, having the ability to hold the smartphone up where you can see it without using your hands is really going to be an advantage.

Pick Makers, Pick Cases

Other great gifts for guitarists revolve around the pick, a small piece of plastic that is absolutely necessary for some kind of playing. Guitarists who are into specific genres might buy different kinds of custom picks, such as curved fingerpicking models.

When it comes to gifts, you can buy a set of picks or a case for picks to be kept in when they’re not in use. You can also buy a pick maker, which allows the guitar player to simply punch out customized picks out of sheets of plastic — for example, an old credit card that’s been retired.

Pickups and Traveling Amps

Other unique gifts for guitar players can provide better sound and make it more portable.

A pickup makes any acoustic guitar into an electric guitar that sends sound through cables to an amplifier. A travel amp can give the guitar player a hands-free experience for cranking out tunes anywhere that he or she is not connected to a full sound setup.

The small amps take batteries and are really nice tools for versatility on the road.

Guitar Holders

Most guitar players have cases, but a small forked guitar holder helps to keep guitars out of the way when they are not in use. Over time, for somebody who really uses the guitar, this small accessory can really help to prevent dings and dents and other kinds of wear.

Capo

A capo is a small accessory that allows guitar players to play in different keys.

It’s not big or expensive because it doesn’t have any digital components. It’s simply a specialized kind of clamp that goes onto the fretboard.

However, any guitar player who knows his or her music theory can tell you that a capo is very useful when it’s time to put a song into a different key. Whether you’re trying to match a vocalist’s range, or change keys in order to read sheet music, the capo really provides the quick versatility that you need. That’s why this is another excellent small gift for a musician.

Pedals

Many guitar players who like the electric sound are really into effects pedals.

Unlike many of the above options, these aren’t small or cheap gifts. You might have to pay $200 or more for a pedal, because of its complex electronic design. Pedals plug into an amplifier to provide different kinds of sounds, from simple gain or ‘crunchiness’ to reverb, sustain or delayed — where for example, a delay pedals help guitarists to re-create the kinds of sounds you hear in the signature work of bands like Pink Floyd and U2.

A pedal can be a great way to allow a guitar player more freedom to play around with sound and perfect a signature guitar style.

Custom Guitar Straps

A custom guitar strap is an excellent gift choice for nearly any guitarist.

Without the guitar strap, most guitars are pretty awkward to play.

You have to be sitting down in a chair, or standing with your legs up on a chair balancing the guitar on your leg, or holding an acoustic guitar close to your body while you pick.

It’s really not optimal — and as soon as the guitar player tries to stand up, he or she realizes that it’s time to get a quality custom guitar strap that can be adjusted to just the right length.

Get a custom guitar strap to give your guitar player not only the freedom to play comfortably, but the option to play in style. Customized decorative guitar straps are valuable to players in many colors and patterns, and they’re a great choice for Christmas or any time of year.

Decorative Stuff

There is almost literally no end to the amount of decorative gear that you can get a guitarist, which can make gift shopping even easier.

Of course, none of this stuff really relates to guitar play in a practical sense — unlike all of the gear mentioned above, these are not things that someone will really use while he or she is playing. That doesn’t mean your guitar player won’t love it, though.

You can get guitar shaped clocks, skillets, or drink stirrers. You can get various types of home furnishings and cases and holders for mobile devices. All of this stuff will make the musician’s home look like an A&R rep lives there – which just might be the way they want to live!

One person’s collectibles are another’s clutter, but lots of guitar players like to adorn their living spaces with some kind of decorative tell-tale sign that they are into music.

Think about any of these attractive gifts for guitar players when it’s time to go out and shop for someone who is pretty good on the strings.