Holiday Gifts for Guitarists
November 26th, 2007
Have a guitarist on your gift list? Here are a few items (mostly from Musician’sFriend.com) that I recommend:
Digital Voice Recorder: I use the SONY IC Recoder (ICD-SX46) ($150) for recording quick ideas, practice & composing. It’s a great tool for any musician.
Designed for anyone who wants to maintain or build hand strength, the Handmaster Plus strengthens both the front (flexors) when squeezing the ball and the back (extensors) when opening the hand. It conditions and rehabilitates the hand and forearm through its complete, natural range of motion.
This is the precision-crafted tool for guitar set-up junkies and adjust-a-maniacs. Slip the Deluxe JP Guitar Tool out of its rugged nylon webbing sheath and you can instantly feel and see the quality. It starts at the tip with the patented carbide steel cutting blade-the strongest blade made-capable of industrial-level work.
The hardened steel tool body is rough-and-ready, but has nicely rounded edges for a soft, easy grip. And you’ll get your best set-ups ever with the professional-quality black anodized steel Allen wrenches (.050mm, 1.5mm, 2.5mm, 3mm), Phillips head screwdriver, flat head screwdriver, and bridge pin puller that tuck inconspicuously into the handles.
The battery-powered Pocket Rock-It S1 Headphone Amp allows you to practice silently in any location, and to have great tones at your disposal. The rotating input plug has 90 degrees of motion, so the S1 headphone amp can plug into any guitar jack-no cable needed!
The Pocket Rock-It headphone amp gives you 1 clean and 2 dirty settings for lots of tonal versatility. The Filter control is a continuously variable EQ that adjusts high and mid-range frequencies of the amp emulation model selected.
If you do decide to let the rest of the world in on your Pocket Rock-it S1 sessions, use the line out for recording or preamp applications. Jam with your CDs or MP3s with the headphone amp’s line in.
Every song written and/or recorded by The Beatles (including covers), transcribed exactly as played by the Fab Four. Scores include all parts (even drums!), guitar, and bass in both notation and tab, plus chords and complete lyrics. 212 songs. 1,136 pages, hardcover in deluxe slip case.
Musicnotes Gift Cards and Packs
Customize a Gift Card with a variety of design styles. Select any dollar amount from $1 to $500 - even include customized “To” and “From” information.
The Boss RC-2 Loop Station not only records, layers, and loops, it also provides a wealth of other handy and powerful features in a pedalboard-friendly stomp box. You get rich looping features like jam-along Rhythm Guide, Auto Start, Tap Tempo, Loop Quantize, and Undo/Redo functions.
In traditional Boss fashion, the RC-2 benefits from a clean and friendly user interface. As powerful as this little Loop Station is, it’s a dream to operate. The clearly labeled buttons and knobs put everything directly under your fingertips with no hidden menus or commands to impede the creative process.
Due to its standard compact-pedal shape and size, the RC-2 fits perfectly alongside other Boss pedals. Great for fast setup and convenient transportation.
The RC-2 stomp box can record and store up to 16 mono minutes of audio, either from your own instrument or other external input devices, such as MP3 players/recorders. Each of your layered loop creations can be stored to one of 11 internal patch preset locations.
The Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer is a reissue that’s just like the original in so many ways. Same factory, same components, same housing, same famous seasick-green paint, and the same crankin’ overdrive that made the original one of the all-time classic pedals. Guitar Player called it the best. Plug it in. Crank it up. You’ll hear what all the fuss is about. Tone, drive, and level controls.
Line 6 GuitarPortXT ($100)
Just connect the shiny red Line 6 GuitarPortXT hardware to your Windows PC or Mac with the included USB cable and connect GuitarPort’s stereo output to multimedia speakers, headphones, or your stereo. Then fire up the GuitarPort GearBox software, plug in your guitar and you’re ready to jam!
GuitarPort Effects GuitarPort features classic stompbox effects like delay, chorus, tremolo, flanger, reverb and more. Tweak to your heart’s content, save as many variations as you want, or choose from Line 6’s extensive library of ready to rock tones. From models based on classic stompboxes like the Fuzz Face, Tube Screamer, Phase 90, and Uni-Vibe,* GuitarPort is like having a whole rack system and custom pedal board living inside your computer.
GuitarPort also offers the ability to change the signal path of the effects for every tone. The reverbs, modulation effects, and delays can be routed either in front of the amp (pre) or after (post), so that chorus can be either a stompbox or a rack unit, depending on what you need.
GuitarPort Amps & Cabs Line 6 invented digital modeling guitar amps and is the magic behind the guitar tones used on countless platinum albums.
The Dunlop Straplok System ($15) is designed with the artist in mind. 360° groove-and-ball design allows the unit to rotate without catching. The strap retainers are easy to install and operate. The case-hardened steel skin guarantees long life. The same strap can be used with several guitars as the strap button is interchangeable. Release-tested up to 800 lbs. of pull; it won’t come loose. Complete set (2 units for instrument and strap) adapts to instrument by replacing existing strap pins and screws with special Straplok System brand buttons and screws. 2 strap attachments are included.
The Blues Bottle slide ($10) will take you back to pre-depression Mississippi, where blues masters used medicine bottle slides to form the roots of modern day blues. Blues Bottle slides are individually hand-blown of durable, seamless Pyrex glass. The weighted, closed ends provide optimum balance.
Dr. Beats!! The premier in metronomic awesomness. ($40, $160, $70)
The Boss TU-12 ($70) Tuner is designed for precision tuning. This Boss tuner has high-visibility sharp/flat LED indicators, tuning meter, and adjustable pitch. Switchable between guitar/bass and autochromatic tuning. A built-in condenser mic on the Boss TU-12 makes acoustic instrument tuning easy.
Musician’s Friend Tubular Guitar Stand($10): Made to exacting specs with soft black neoprene rubber tubing to protect your guitar. Folds up for easy transport. Not for nitrocellulose-finish guitars.
Gator gig bags ($20-$80) are known for keeping guitars and basses safe. This killer bag is no exception. It’s good to go with a tough nylon exterior, reinforced nylon carrying handles, a huge zippered storage area in front, and a unique shoulder/waist carrying system. The shoulder and waist straps even have zippered storage areas, so there’s no excuse for forgetting your picks, tuner, or extra strings. Oh yeah, did we mention the camo?
