15 useful gifts for the guitar player in your life

Picking out a gift for a guitar player can be a trying affair. After all, they're a trying bunch.
We've sifted out everything from our favorite picks, straps, and music books to acoustic and electric guitars and amps in the highly curated list below.
Find more holiday gift ideas for 2019 from Insider Picks.

Guitarists can be a finicky bunch. Take the whole Fender vs. Gibson debate, for example. Before embarking upon buying any gift for a guitarist, you'd serve yourself best to suss out which side of it they're on. But then there's acoustic, electric, effects, pick or no pick, and so on.

Suffice it to say that the guitarist in your life is a headache. But you probably already knew that, didn't you?

Below are a roundup of hand-selected tools and toys by a very select cadre of guitar players. At the very least, there is, without a doubt, at least one thing your ax-wielding friend(s) and/or family members could stand to have.

The one who always loses their picks? Covered. The one with the battered, tattered old strap, bound to drop their precious '59-vintage Fender Jazzmaster straight to the ground? Covered. The one who never has working input cables? Yes, we've got them, too. All the way up to the love of your life who deserves everything and more (see Gibson Hummingbird), we've got gifts for every guitar player and budget.

The top 5 guitar gifts:

1. A pick punch to make picks from old credit cards

2. Hal Leonard's "The Real Book," his magnum opus

3. An ultra-lightweight magnesium slide

4. A new update on a classic electric guitar

5. A guitar cleaning kit

Here are 15 thoughtful and useful gifts for guitarists:

A pick punch to make picks from old credit cards

Pick punch, available at Uncommon Goods, $25

They'll never run out of picks again.

A new update on a classic electric guitar

Fender American Ultra Series, available Guitar Center, from $1,900

It's been a while since Fender's updated its line. If you really want to spoil them, it's probably safe to assume they don't own one of these yet.

A guitar cleaning kit

Gibson Guitar Care Kit, available at Guitar Center, $33

If they love their guitar(s) as much as they say they do, it's probably time they start taking care of them.

Strap locks, to keep it from slipping off

Schaller S Locks, available at Guitar Center, $20 to $35

Straps fail. These babies do not.

A humidity and temperature monitor

MusicNomad Humidity and Temperature Monitor, available at Guitar Center, $32

Humidity and temperature changes are wood's worst enemy. Help them keep their beloveds in playing shape.

An ultra-lightweight magnesium slide

Mojotone MagSlide MS-2, available at Guitar Center, $40

Move over, Elmore James.

The best instrument cable(s) money can buy

Monster Cable Classic, available at Guitar Center, $23 to $30

Faulty cables are the worst. These are some of the best.

A pick holder keychain with an LED light

D'Addario Planet Waves Pick Holder with LED Light, available at Guitar Center, $6.49

So they'll stop losing picks and be able to find their way home after gigs.

A classier guitar strap

Guitar Center Guitar Straps, available at Guitar Center, from $10

A strap might be a highly personal thing, but if they're still slinging their guitar from cheap nylon, it's time for an upgrade.

A clip-on guitar tuner

Snark SN-1 Guitar & Bass Tuner Black, available at Guitar Center, $30

If you happen to live with them, our condolences. But this might help some.

Hal Leonard's 'The Real Book,' his magnum opus

Hal Leonard's 'The Real Book,' available at Guitar Center, $40

Hal Leonard's 'The Real Blues Book,' available at Guitar Center, $35

Hal Leonard's "The Real Book" is the fool-proof field book to gigging, or at least keeping a good repertoire handy.

The Gibson guitar of their dreams

Gibson Guitars, available at Guitar Center, from $999

Gibson Hummingbird Guitar, available at Guitar Center, $3,849

La crème de la crème of acoustic guitars, played by everyone from Keith Richards, Graham Parsons, and Bob Dylan to Justin Bieber.

The Fender tube amp they've always wanted

Fender Hot Rod Deluxe IV Tube Amplifier, available at Guitar Center, $800

There's nothing like a tube amp. If they don't have one and you've got the dough to help them out, whether they're a performer or not, they'll be eternally grateful.

A Marshall acoustic guitar amp with built-in digital effects

Marshall AS50D 50W 2x8 Acoustic Guitar Combo Amp, available at Guitar Center, $350

A snazzy little gigging amp, this Marshall does away with the need for most effects pedals.

A classic analog effects pedal

MXR M-117R Flanger Effects Pedal, available at Guitar Center, $170

The Flanger is really multiple effects in one, and a lot of fun to mess around with. If they don't have one already, it's time. If they do, anything from MXR is a safe bet.