A Holiday Gift Guide For Guitar Enthusiasts
Guitarists and musicians in general aren’t always the easiest to buy gifts for. Believe me, I know. Often, when we want a piece of gear, we go out of our way to justify getting it. With that in mind, I thought I’d put together a handy gift-guide for the noise-maker in your life.
1. Guitar Essentials
These are the things that EVERY guitar/bass-player has too little of: picks, strings, guitar straps, leads, patch cables…string winders. Every music shop will have these and the guitar enthusiast in your life will be thankful for them!
2. Music Merch
Band merch is a given for any music fan (records, T-shirts, gig tickets, etc.) but why not surprise them with some merch from their favourite guitar or pedal company to wear onstage? Electro-Harmonix even sell clocks…so there’s plenty of ways to get creative!
3. Guitar Pedals!
Amps and guitars are expensive, but if you really want to get them something they need to expand their sonic palette with, why not go for a new guitar pedal? The choices are pretty endless but there is something for every budget out there! If only there was someone local who builds guitar pedals…
Other small/localish companies I’d recommend looking at would be Gojira FX, Blind Panic Devices, Thorpy FX, Stone Deaf FX, Zander Circuitry, Funny Little Boxes, and Soundlad Liverpool, to name but a few…
4. A Custom-Built Guitar Pedal
Most guitar players would jump at the chance to design their own guitar pedal! The possibilities are limitless, and it could vary from their own custom artwork to a 2-in-1 of two of their favourites in the same enclosure to save on crucial pedal-board space. While I’m fully booked to be able to guarantee this for this festive period, I do have something which can work as a gift…
5. An ABL Pedals Gift Voucher
This can be used towards: custom builds, my Szczur pedal (or any other future pedals on my store), repairs, modifications…basically anything I offer!
6. A Modified Guitar Pedal
This is something guaranteed to be a bit different from what else is on offer, and I just so happen to have a few modified pedals in my store just now…with more to follow in the coming weeks!
7. A DIY Guitar Pedal Kit
JHS releasing the solderless Klon kit gave me the idea of this one. Now, this is something for the more adventurous (and can lead to an addictive hobby), but why not encourage the noise-maker in your life to try build their own pedal? It’s a great fun, addictive way to get the sounds they’re after and how I first cut my teeth! In the UK, I’d recommend beginners’ kits from Fuzzdog and Jed’s Peds. If you’re based in States, have a look at BYOC (Build Your Own Clone) or the Stewmac kits, and European builders might want to check out Das Musikding in Germany. I’m sure there are other options out there, too!
What I want to reinforce with this (if you’ve made it this far) is to SHOP LOCAL and support small businesses, as they will appreciate it more than anyone! Some local music shops I can recommend in Glasgow are:
I hope you all have a good festive period, that’s not too stressful and full of all the right noises!
