10 Best Gifts for Guitarists and Bass Players (Number 6 is Crazy!)
Another holiday season rolls around, and have you decided what will be the unforgettable present for your guitarist? The meaningful gift that will propel your bass player to inspiration?
Looking for the thoughtful surprise your music lover will thank you for? Read on for sure favorites and some new ideas.
Shop NOW for Gifts for Guitarists, Musicians, and Music Lovers This Holiday Season
As if the COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t caused upheaval, pain, and problems in just about every part of our lives, now there are other problems involving price increases and merchandise availability. Lockdowns aside, even if you can walk freely into a store, there might not be the merchandise you’re looking for.
The supply chain problems threaten to upend the holiday season. No joke – retailers are seriously worried that the products they have sitting offshore in giant tankers are not going to get unloaded and to stores in time for the holiday shopping season.
If you want to have something special to put under the Christmas tree, now is the time to buy your gift. My annual “Last Minute Gifts for Guitarists” article isn’t going to be worth 2 cents if there aren’t any great items left to choose from. I’m releasing this year’s article now. This year, you need to grab your holiday gifts as soon as you see them. I’m not even joking.
Plan Your Gifts from A Position of Strength, Not Desperation
If you haven’t done so already, try to plan your gifts now. Almost every merchant is warning that they are having trouble getting their usual merchandise. What you don’t want is to wait until the last moment and have that sinking feeling of desperation.
With that in mind, Skonnie Music jumped into the holiday spirit to bring you awesome gift suggestions for your guitarist…or bass player… or any music lover. This year a lot of people are struggling, so I tried to find presents at every price range.
(If you click on one of our links, you also help Skonnie Music. There is no additional charge to you, but we may receive a small percentage from Amazon if you purchase.)
Now, let’s get the list:
10 Best Gifts Ever for Guitarists and Bass Players
1) Guitarist T-Shirt… Bass Player T-Shirt
This is great for every budget…and everyone loves T-Shirts. Whether you’re shopping for gifts for a guitarist or a bass player, or both, you can never go wrong with a T-Shirt.
This one is sure to be a hit:
If you have a Bass Player, no problem. This T-Shirt is very cool:
These types of gifts are for friends or family members that you may not be sure of what instrument-type of present to give. The tees are still tied to their passion – their instrument.
Here are a couple more suggestions. How about a Tie:
There are a lot of different styles for guitarists and bass players. You can click on one of the links and you’ll see suggestions for other items as well.
2) Guitarist Tool Repair Kit
This is one of those gifts that doesn’t seem super sexy, but oh, how your guitarist will love it! It will come in handy more times than you can imagine.
Probably the item your guitarist or bassist will use the most is the string cutter. Allen wrenches are also super-useful.
This is the type of gift that takes it to the next level. It shows you are really committed to giving your guitarist a gift that helps in the music-making process.
There are several styles to choose from, but this is a good one:
3) Presonus Eris Studio Monitor (Set of 2)
Take it from professional musicians, these are amazing! You would not believe this pair could be that good at such a low price…but they truly overdeliver.
If your guitarist doesn’t already have a pair, these studio monitors are not oversized and not overpriced. They are awesome in every way. (I was skeptical until I purchased them. They are excellent, especially for the price.
Bonus: They don’t have to be used just for recording music. Use them for gaming, watching movies…whatever.
4) Strings!
I know what you’re thinking, “Strings? I can’t possibly buy strings for my guitarist (or bass player.) They go through a new package all the time. They use plenty already, so they don’t need me buying that as a gift. How boring.”
And I would say to you that you’re actually right. However, I can tell you that no guitarist on the planet ever gets tired of getting strings. They need them. They love them. They should change them all the time.
Here is one thing to be aware of, though. You must know what kind of strings your musician uses. This is not the thing to guess or experiment with. It matters. Don’t buy strings unless you can find a spare package your guitarist has or you can ask.
Maybe you can innocently ask like this, “Wait, what? If you play the 8-String Guitar you need to buy the packs with 8 strings? Do they make them like that, or what do you do?”
(You need to know the size of the strings, the brand of the strings, and how many strings. Strings for guitars are different than Bass strings.) Now that I think about it, this is a kind of advanced gift that may be difficult to buy unless you really know your guitarist or bass player, or if it is okay for you to ask someone who knows what strings they use.
We prefer Ernie Ball strings at Skonnie Music, but there are other great brands too.
5) Quality Headphones
Every musician benefits greatly from high-quality headphones. This is a present that keeps on giving, enabling the musician in your life to hear nuances in mixes that affect quality.
6) Random, Unexpected Guitar Stuff
So you’re the adventurous type? You want to give an unexpected gift… something related to guitars yet unusual? Gotcha.
How about a Guitar Pick Holder?
Or maybe a Guitar Seat with Foldout Guitar Stand (for both Electric and Acoustic Guitars?
You can’t go wrong with a Marshall Guitar Amp Key Hanger! Now that’s unexpected!
7) Sound Card
A sound card is important for every musician. Even if you’re looking for a present as a gift for someone just learning an instrument, sound cards make everything easier and better.
Skonnie Music recorded the majority of our latest album, “Nuraghe” using Presonus equipment.
Here are two favorite sound cards of Skonnie Music:
An alternative to Presonus, this is also very good quality:
8) Stocking Stuffer Goodies
How about stockings filled with picks and other goodies for your guitarist?
Note about guitar picks: If you are selecting picks for an experienced guitarist, check to see if there is a preferred brand or type. Some guitarists play with many different types of picks. Shredders, like Sal, can have very strong preferences because of speed issues. There are many great, high-performance picks to choose from.
These are also fantastic picks:
You may want to slip Fast Fret into the stocking as well:
This makes an awesome surprise. It is a Kithouse B6 Guitar Mini Plug Amp that is rechargeable and works for Guitar or Bass:
9) Guitar Stand
If your guitarist has to return his guitar to its case every time, a guitar stand will be much appreciated. If you have a guitarist with multiple guitars, then guitar stands are essential.
Guitar Stands protect the instrument from damage and encourage playing because the guitar is out and ready to go. There are many stands to choose from so take into account the space available for the musician.
Here are Guitar stand solid choices:
Guitar Stand that holds multiple guitars or basses:
10) Guitar Case
A guitar case may not seem like an unforgettable present, but if a guitarist is traveling or on the road, the guitar case makes the difference between a guitar that arrives in one piece… or not.
A solid guitar case lasts a long time and is a great investment. Hard shell cases are sturdier and best for travel. They are much heavier. Make sure the guitar fits into the case.
At Skonnie Music, we have quite a few professional guitars. Here are a couple of Guitar Cases we recommend:
Schecter SGR-UNIV/1 Guitar Case
This is the guitar case we’ve toured internationally with. It’s also made multiple trips to recording studios in Sweden and Italy and is still as good as new:
This one is also great:
Grab Your Gifts for Guitarists, Bass Players, or Other Musicians Now
There you go – 10 great gift ideas that will make any guitarist or bass player feel awesome. These gifts show you care about what is important to them.
Stock up on the gifts you need (for anyone) now while there is availability. I often encourage everyone to use small businesses and shops that have been hit hard by the pandemic, but with the supply chain shortage and other challenges you may wish to shop online.
Amazon has reported that it should have adequate amounts of products despite the complicated supply chain issue. Amazon was able to pivot early on to a combination of airplanes, trucks, delivery vans, and ships, instead of being completely dependent on the vessels waiting off the coast of California like many merchants.
If you need more ideas, click the links above and you’ll see other recommendations. Share this article with your friends and fellow musicians.
There are all price points so you can pick what fits your budget. What gift or gifts did you get for your guitarist?
Be sure to follow Skonnie Music and subscribe to our mailing list. We’ll be releasing the teaser for our new album Nuraghe soon!
Connie Yerbic is a musician, songwriter, entrepreneur, and founding member of the band Skonnie Music.
Skonnie is a symphonic power metal band created by Vocalist/Flutist/Songwriter Connie Yerbic and Guitarist/Composer Sal Moretta. The band creates and composes original melodic metal music with technically complex, melodic shred guitar solos. Skonnie Music promotes the positive, healing potential of music, provides music industry-related guidance and training, and will soon release precision sound Amptopia Amps™ for guitars.
Skonnie Music is releasing a teaser and lyric video from the band’s upcoming album.