Gift for a budding guitarist?

A guitar tuner. Here's one for just under $30 bucks. Click here. Musician's Friend also has lots of other stuff that he may find interesting.

Thanks, Swimpy!

I'll check that out - and have a look around at other gadgets and gizmos.

My BIL (his dad) is an accomplished guitarist and I have no idea what they do and do not have around the house but I would think a tuner is something everyone would probably want to have to tote around with them.

Cd's from guitar legends? Jimi Hendrix, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai.

The tuner's a good idea. Guitar strings are also good. Can never have too many extra strings. There are tons of different kinds though, so maybe a gift certificate at a guitar/music store would be good. unless you know what kind of strings he uses.

Hmmm...what else...does he play acoustic or electric guitar? If it's electric, then there are some effects pedals that might be close to that price--although, it's been a while since I looked for stuff like this--prices are probably way out of that range by now.

They also have "fake" books with simple notations and chords to popular songs. Maybe some books with something by his favorite bands and some strings would be a good idea.

These are great ideas! Thank you!

Actually I was just looking at strings on Swimpy's site...





Do you think those would be a good gift?

Guitar stands are about 15 to 20 bucks, unless he's already got one.

If he's just starting, a tuner would be the safest bet, one with microphone works with acoustic guitars also.

A stand is perfect for a gift, it's something that you don't usually get as a guitarist but it's a cool thing to have, at least in my case... turns your guitar into an ornament as well.

But hey, you can never have too many sets of strings.

Heh, I've been cleaning out my shop and I ran across some of my old guitar strings...they are called Boomers, as soon as I saw them, this thread popped into my mind. I thought that would be cool, a gift, Boomers, from his aunt Boomer, but then I realised he probably does not refer to you as Boomer in any fashion...aunt or otherwise.

Mine are at least 10 years old and they have changed the packaging since then, but if you google image, GHS Boomers...you will get the idea.



A gift certificate, would of course be the safest route...effect pedals are awesome, but might get played with for a few days, then forgotten..strings, there are so many different kinds...stands are nice, and very practical.

One of the best investments I ever made was a really nice wide guitar strap, they paint {print} them much like the style you see on surfboards...some are simply awesome, you can even get them personalized...usually for under or around 30.00.

Guitar tunners are a bad idea early on because the kid won't learn how to tune by ear and take time to learn, recognize and listen to each note with concentration. Then later on if he gets stuck without a tunner at a jam he can tune by ear and save himself some embaressment (like my spelling). I get tired of tuning these rookies guitars for them. One time I went to a jam and nobody could jam because the tunner broke. I just walked out.

EADGBE or

Every Bad Dog Gets Bit Eventuauly

I agree with Amigo, boomer, and we do need to know if his guitar is acoustic or electric. Also, no capo please. A good guitar strap is a neat gift as well.

I wussed out and sent him a gift certificate.

It is really hard to do much else when you don't really know what all someone has. He seemed to like getting to shop for himself though - typical teenager I guess.

Thank you all for the great suggestions. I may ressurect this thread some Christmas.

I actually think the gift certificate. It's like a little just of freedom in the music store. It's all him whatever he wants. Now he has a reason to go wonder around the music store for two hours because hes buying something for him and his music. PERFECT!

When I was a kid I always felt somehow that adults that gave me gift certificates respected my independence.

Gift certificate is best. $30 won't get you a whole lot in guitar land on its own, but it can go a ways toward good stuff.



Agree with amigo re: the tuner. It's handy and quick, especially in a performance environment, but it's one more layer of interference between the kid and the instrument.

Start planning for next birthday now Boomer. My memory of being 14 and playing guitar is he will now be convinced he can be a rock star and be forming bands. So get him monogrammed plectrums to throw to the audience... :wink: