Guitar Gifts

Welcome to my Guitar Gifts buying guide! You’ll be familiar with my rule by now – I’ll only ever recommend gear I own myself, have used extensively and rate highly enough to tell my friends about. No affiliate links, no bribes or inducements from manufacturers or those selling the items, just my honest opinion on what the guitarist in your life would like as a gift. I’ll provide links to sites where you can buy the items, but they’re for information only, you can probably find better prices if you shop around!

So, on with the Guitar Gift Guide!

The Best Guitar Gifts of the Year

I’ve bought quite a few toys this year, and been gifted some myself as well. These are the highlights – all tested by a guitar player of more than 30 years experience. All are easy to use, will bring something to the arsenal of any guitarist, and won’t hit too hard in the pocket!

Vox Amplug

Approx. $39.95 or £42

Vox Amplugs may be the cheapest way to amplify an electric guitar, and give surprisingly good tonal results at their price point. Simply plug in to your guitar and attach some headphones and you’re good to go. There is an auxiliary input for a CD player or mp3 to jam along to as well. Available in 5 incarnations now Lead, Bass, AC30, Classic Rock and Metal, all are excellent although it won’t surprise you to hear I favour the ‘Metal’! I find it very useful whilst travelling – an amp in your guitar case.

G7th Performance Capo

Approx. $39.95 or £24.95

The G7th Performance Capo is designed completely differently from any other capo I have ever used. The spring-clutch mechanism means it can be fitted in place (or released) one-handed, and it’s just perfect! Simply squeeze the Capo tight around the neck as you need to, and then release the spring with the trigger on the back when you’re done. The best thing about this capo is it eliminates the problem I always had with the more basic capos on the market that they’d pull my guitar out of tune.

This Capo won the ‘Guitarist Gold’ award in the UK, a Bronze from Acoustic Guitar magazine in the US and a certain Mr Clapton has been seen using one. It may be expensive for a capo, but it’s worth every penny!

T C Electronics Unitune

$24.99 or £21.49

This little tuner is exactly what you would expect, it just works! No bells and whistles, just a chromatic tuner that fits in your guitar case. T.C make a PolyTine version as well, which costs a little more, but can tune your whole guitar while you strum all strings together! I’ve got both versions, and find both to be excellent.

Check it out here.

Focusrite Scarlett

$115 or £87

Looking for an affordable way to record at home? Look no further. Now admittedly this little device takes a little time to set up right on your system, but it doesn’t get any easier in operation than this. No frills, and nothing more to say but for very little money you could be laying down those grooves for posterity. The simplest model in the range, the third-generation Scarlett Solo provides singer-songwriters with a reassuringly easy recording process. Equipped with high performance 24-bit/192kHz AD-DA converters, Scarlett guarantees the same professional sound quality throughout the third-generation range.

It comes with software suitable to get you started, Ableton® Live Lite™ and Pro Tools® First Focusrite Creative Pack. Dead easy to use, and many of my more recent recording efforts have been contributed to using one.

Lava Tones Picks

From $18 or £14

Made from Obsidian, a less traditional plectrum material, these Lava Tones are an interesting option. Obviously, they’re rock hard, but the size of the tip makes for a surprisingly warm tone. The best thing about these is that you can virtually guarantee the guitarist in your life won’t have one! My sister gave me some last year, and I really like them – not necessarily a competitor for a Jazz III for fast playing, but they’re comfortable to use, and a fun alternative option!