Stuck for ideas of what to buy a guitarist friend or relative?

Rather than just promote a list of "The Top 10 Gifts for Guitarists", I'll guide you through a few ideas over the next few articles. I'll discuss each gift and point out what you need to know about the gift or the guitarist before you buy. I want you to be able to show you've put some thought into the present.

You can't please all guitarists with one present

First things first, it's very awkward to buy a gift that will suit every guitarist. It's more difficult that buying a golfing present for a golfer. There's more individuality in guitarists. Not only are a lot of guitarists very brand-aware and image-conscious, but each has a different perspective on what makes them a guitarists, what motivates them, what makes them practice each day, etc. Add to that the fact that each will have different musical influences and playing styles and it will get a lot more awkward.

Let's make it easier

To help us through, I've separated out the following articles according to style and experience. For some of this, you may have to do some research like looking at their cd collection, watch them play or even just asking them outright. Don't worry about the last one, I've yet to meet a guitarist who doesn't love to talk about their instruments/kit/gear/amplifier/pedals, influences, current band, etc. It may, however, give the game away that you're thinking of buying a present.

The Categories

• Beginning Rock Guitarist
  
• Intermediate Rock Guitarist
• Advanced Rock Guitarist

• Beginning Blues Guitarist
• Intermediate Blues Guitarist
  
• Advanced Blues Guitarist

• Beginning Acoustic Guitarist
• Intermediate Acoustic Guitarist
• Advanced Acoustic Guitarist

• Beginning Classical Guitarist
• Intermediate Classical Guitarist
• Advanced Classical Guitarist

• The Best Guitar Equipment
  
• Money's no object

• Some presents that may suit any guitarist

• Starter Packages
  

What about other styles?

There are other styles of guitarist (funk, jazz, folk, etc), but most of these can be treated in the same way as above. I'll point out where I think something isn't appropriate.

Is this finished?

Right now, no.

I mentioned earlier that I didn't want this to be just a "Top 10 Best Gifts for Guitarists". To avoid that, there is a lot of text to write and a lot of examples to show. Rather than wait for all the articles to be finished, I'll post this with the first one finished and update as I complete the others.

Also, more products come onto the market, so I'd like to keep updating these articles. Some will just be new products, others may be seasonal (e.g. for Christmas, Valentine's Day, Easter or just for Birthdays).