The air has grown cold, the days grown short, and the time of family, friends, good food and gift giving draws near. My friends, the holiday season is officially underway. Personally, I love this time of year. I don’t always get to see my family very much, but no matter what else is going on in our busy lives, the holidays always manage to bring us together.
Unfortunately for most guitar players, this time of year isn’t all eggnog and mistletoe. There are a couple of downsides for we of the fretting persuasion. As the festive bells ring in the season of cold hands, frigid gig load-ins, and shifting guitar necks, we hear the tolling of another guitarist-specific holiday joy rolling toward us o’er the coming weeks:
The crappy guitar-themed gift.
I know that sounds tremendously ungrateful. Let me explain – for me, the best part of the gift exchange equation is the giving end. I derive a lot of joy from giving gifts to my family and friends. It’s really gratifying to get someone the one gift they’ll use and love but may not have ever bought for themselves. You know how it works: you think about what things the person is into and try to find something really cool that fits that category; something that, hopefully, isn’t redundant to what they already own.
But let’s not kid ourselves, hm? Getting presents rocks too.
And so we think about the people in our lives, those who will be buying gifts for us this year, and what do they know about us? What are we into that could be leveraged to find a good gift?
Looks at page heading. Looks at computer desktop. Looks at office room littered with guitars, cases, pedals, and other accessories…
Ah.
And so like the brightly-colored surprise in a holiday fruitcake, we bite down on the unpleasant, gummy tartness of our dilemma. We love guitars, amps, pedals, and their various and sundry accoutrements, but the world of guitars and guitar-related products is incredibly diverse and, to someone who doesn’t obsessively geek this stuff, is very complicated and confusing.
What results is that our loved ones, wanting to get us something relevant to our interests but overwhelmed by choices and the fear of buying the wrong thing, veer sharply to the left and wind up buying us the first guitar-themed piece of brik-a-brak that doesn’t frighten them too badly. And that is how we wind up looking like this guy:
Dammit. Thanks Mom.
Luckily, I am here for you in your time of need. I’ve made it my mission this holiday season to spare you from another year of ill-advised (if well-meaning) hackey t-shirts, weird figurines, and obscure songbooks of artists you can’t stand. After all, we can’t expect everyone in our lives to know as much about guitar stuff as we do, right? They only have to think about it once a year. Let’s help them (and ourselves) out a bit for 2012.
I’ve assembled a list of useful, easy-to-find and easy-to-understand gifts for guitarists that they would actually want and use. The price varies across the spectrum of a few bucks to a couple hundred, but I’ve tried to keep it reasonable by assuming that asking for a brand new Les Paul Custom is probably a bit much.
Without further ado:
CruzTOOLS GrooveTech Tool Kits
There’s nothing like having the right tool for the job.
CruzTOOLS have assembled all the basic tools you need for guitar maintenance and light repair into a convenient, transportable kit. Never again be unable to finish a gig or jam session because you lack the proper tool to address that unexpected instrument-related issue.
Available from Amazon for about $45 US, it’s hard to think of a more convenient or practical gift for the active guitar player. Brilliantly, the kit even includes a set of gauges and a capo. I’m going to ask for this myself. I could use some new gauges.
Mono Instrument Cases
These are nice enough to make me reconsider my hard-shell case only rule.
These are a little on the pricier side ($205 – $315 US) but when it comes to aftermarket guitar transportation devices, Mono are at the top of the heap in both protection and innovation. In addition to their standard cases, they make several well-regarded dual-guitar and dual-bass cases. I don’t need to explain to any gigging guitarist the merits of something that saves you trips from van to stage.
They’ve also introduced the Vertigo™ Top-Loading Case new for 2012 that I find pretty intriguing. It features a thick rubber boot on the bottom so it can be set on the ground and the guitar pulled out from the top (a time, space, and back-saver on a crowded stage), as well as extra pockets, firm neck support, and handy backpack-style shoulder straps for easy transport.
I wouldn’t try to use a Mono case for air travel, but in almost any other situation, they’re hard to beat.
Snark Clip-On Guitar Tuner
I doubt there is a guitarist in the world who wouldn’t find one of these useful.
No matter where you’re playing, you should be playing in tune. The Snark is fast, reliable, lightweight, and incredibly easy to use. It features a nice bright LED display that’s very easy to read and it has a high degree of accuracy.
Whether it’s for tuning your acoustic, or as a bench tuner for set-ups, or as a backup to your main pedal tuner, the Snark clip-on tuner comes in a variety of models for a variety of applications ($19 – $39 US), so one of them will probably be right for you.
The company has also released a sturdy new pedal tuner using the same technology that looks pretty nice. Small, bright, and housed in a solid metal enclosure.
George L’s Solderless Cable Kits
It’s so easy to make cables from these kits that your drummer could do it.
A number of manufacturers are selling solderless make-your-own-patch-cable kits these days, but George L’s are the originals and (in my humble opinion) there is still no one who does it better. It could not be simpler – cut cable to desired size, shove cut end into connector plug, tighten screw. Bam. Pow. Done. Patch cable.
George L’s have a diverse product line and will put together kits of virtually any length of cable in multiple colors with any plugs you want, but since we’re talking gifts here, I’d recommend keeping it basic and hinting at one of the pre-made kits like they sell on Amazon.com and other places.
Seymour Duncan Triple Shot Mounting Rings
Ultimate versatility can be yours!
You may have noticed a distinct lack of Seymour Duncan products in this list so far. That’s not because they don’t make great gifts (who wouldn’t want to find a pile of awesome pickups and stomp boxes under the tree?), but because the selection of the right pickup for your guitar or right pedal for your board is a very specific and personal thing, and not something another person – especially a loved one who isn’t a player themselves – is likely to feel comfortable picking out without your explicit input.
There is one notable exception, however. If your guitar has humbuckers in it, there is a high probability that it can be made more awesome with some Seymour Duncan Triple Shots. Installing Triple Shots on your guitar is like being handed all the cheat codes in a video game. It’s almost not fair.
With 4 little stealth switches, your standard 2-humbucker guitar goes from 3 available sounds to 28 available sounds, all laid out in an easy-to-use, intuitive way. A quick YouTube search should clear up any questions you have about them and make it pretty clear why you should definitely have a set on your guitar.
The best part, though? They’re only $49.95 a set.
Levy’s Padded Leather Guitar Straps
Doesn’t your guitar deserve a sexy strap?
Levy’s have been making reasonably-priced, high-quality leather guitar straps for forever. In fact, the single piece of gear that I have owned and held onto longer than any other is a worn old 3″ Levy’s padded leather strap I received as a Christmas present from my parents when I was 18 years old. I still use it. It’s currently on one of my main gigging guitars, and it’s just as secure and stable as it ever was.
Last Christmas, my wife gave me a custom-ordered 2″ padded Levy’s and I love it. It went right on my Eric Johnson Strat and, if possible, classed up an already-pretty-classy guitar even more.
Levy’s straps come in a variety of widths, lengths, and colors, and are available from just about every major guitar retailer. No matter what your guitar looks like or what style of music you play, there is a Levy’s strap out there that will look right at home on you.
V-Picks
Any picks that come in a case like this have got to be good.
If you’ve been on guitar forums for very long, it’s likely you’ve encountered a guy named Vinni Smith who hand-makes tempered acrylic guitar picks called V-Picks. He makes small ones. He makes big ones. Thick ones and thin ones. Clear ones and colored ones. Sharp ones and smooth ones. He makes a lot of picks. He’s everywhere. He’s kind of a big deal.
A huge number of players have reported major improvements in feel and tone from using V-Picks. If you haven’t tried them, they’re probably worth a checking out. Vinni also offers several variety packs (including a Christmas Starter Kit – $19.95 US) to sample his various pick designs that make very convenient gifts.
That’s it.
That’s my list. I could have added more, but you’ve got to stop somewhere, right? No need to be greedy.
Stay safe out there this holiday season, people! And leave a comment to let me know what guitar-related gift you’re hoping to get this year!