Best Gifts for Musicians on All Budgets

Having played music for 20+ years, I can say that these are the best gifts for musicians, hands down.

These are tools I use every day to make hundreds of dollars licensing my music.

Most of these gifts are biased towards guitar players, but there’s plenty of affordable gifts for all types of musicians.

So whether you’re shopping for a birthday gift for a musician, a Christmas gift for musicians, Hanukkah, or just a thank you, check out these presents.

These cool gifts for musicians are arranged by budget. Under $20, under $100, and $100+. But there’s something for all budgets.

These are also great birthday gifts for musicians, because most musicians neglect to take care of their gear as much as they should.

While some of them may not seem “sexy,” a lot of these gifts are the sort of thing gift a musician would never buy for themselves. They’re high quality and I’ve personally used most of them or have friends that would swear by them. So the musician in your life will really thank you for your thoughtfulness!

You might also enjoy this list of presents for a boyfriend who plays music.

Note: this post contains affiliate links. 

Best Gifts for Musicians Under $20! Stocking Stuffers Ideas for Musicians

There’s actually a lot of great music gear under $20. It’s not at all sexy, but these are the things that really do make a difference! And they make great stocking stuffers! 

I've a also created a list of the best books for musicians that includes a lot of great gift ideas!

Strap locks

An essential tool for electric and acoustic guitar players and bassists, these keep your guitar from falling off while you play. The great thing about these rubber ones is that they work incredibly well, but don’t require any installation! Not only that, they're cheap as heck!

 These strap locks make great stocking stuffers for a guitar player.

Cable Organizers

Keyboards, guitars, basses, djs… really all musicians deal with tons of cables all day. And they get tangled - just like your headphones. 

Imagine how frustrating it is to have to untangle your cables every time you want to play?

Color coded cable organizers make it even easier to distinguish between different types of cables!

Do your favorite musician a favor and give them one of the best gifts around – cable organizers. Multiple colors makes it easy to tell cables apart at a glance! They cost less than little and make great stocking stuffers for musicians.

Ear Plugs

Losing your hearing, developing tinnitus, and having ringing in your ears sucks. Most people think it will never happen to them.

But it’s not true.

By 34 and I already have a “good ear” and a “bad ear.” I’ve worn my share of ear plugs, but I’m still in trouble.

These Eargasm ear plugs sound amazing, are light weight, and feel very comfortable. I've even started to wear them when vacuuming and going to concerts!

So do the musician in your life a favor and give them the gift of high quality ear plugs that don’t reduce sound quality too much.

Best Gifts for Musicians Under $100

These here are some of the best gifts for musicians under $100. You can buy some really great gear in this price range.

Direct Injection Box

A direct injection box is useful for gigging musicians and recording musicians. Whether they play guitar, keyboard, or bass, a DI box allows you to eliminate hum from your signal, boost a guitar to be compatible with a mixer-level signal, and convert 1/4″ cables to XLR, for better fidelity over long range.

A DI box has saved my butt on several gigs. Highly recommended. Plus they can be really helpful for home recording.

A High Quality Pocket Recorder

These are super handy to record your live shows, demos, and practices. Unlike your smartphone, pocket recorders are built with heavy-duty gear, able to sustain loud music and still sound clear and undistorted. They also record in stereo, for a much wider sound footprint.

With a high quality recorder, you'll be able to hear every instrument clearly, from the bass to the the cymbals. They have great battery life, are super rugged, and easy to use.

My band uses my Tascam DR-05 every couple of weeks to record our practice and keep ourselves honest. It’s a must have.

A hum-free Power Supply

Most guitar players, bassists, and even keyboardists spend a lot of money on pedals, but instead of buying a nice power supply, they are constantly throwing away money on new batteries. Or they’ve got wires everywhere with individual power supplies for every pedal. So do them a favor and gift them a high-quality power hum-free power supply. They’ll thank you.

And as an added bonus, a hum-free power supply is an ecologically friendly gift because they won’t need to go through batteries!

A guitar tuner pedal

I know so many musicians that have skimped on a good tuning pedal. It’s a terrible idea. Every guitar player and bassist should own one. Not only do they help you stay in tune, they also act as a “mute” button so that the audience doesn’t get annoyed while you tune up. Pro-tip: be sure to get one that is bright enough to be seen when playing outdoors, though (for example, the Boss pedal is more popular, but trust – it’s not bright enough to see outside)! Best Gifts for Musicians over $100

At this price range, things start to get much more subjective. For example, some people prefer a Fender Guitar, others a Gibson. I’m not here to tell you which is right.

So the best gift for one musician may not be the best gift for another. I’m not going to recommend many instruments, but here are a few utilitarian gifts that I have really enjoyed.

Best Gifts for Musicians Over $200

Looking to give your favorite musician something a little fancier? Here are our favorite gifts for musicians over $200.

A Good Microphone

Whether or not the musician in your life is a singer, at some point they’re going to want a microphone.

Maybe they want to record their guitar.

Maybe a singer friend is coming over and they want to record that.

Or perhaps when playing live they’ll sing a little back up vocals. Or maybe when playing live the need to mic their guitar amp to be louder.

You will never regret having a microphone.

And the Shure SM57 is a work horse that sounds good and will last a lifetime. They’ll also need a mic stand and some cables, so you can save some money by buying the whole package together.

Nice Headphones

Good headphones make a great birthday present or holiday gift because they help musicians listen to music more clearly. They’re absolutely essential if a musician does any home recording.

Plus, you’re less likely to be annoyed hearing them play the same song over and over again. So really, nice headphones aren’t just a great gift for musicians, they’re a great gift for you!

A pedal board

Guitar players and bassists will love a pedal board. It’s the perfect place to store all of their pedals. It’s portable for easy jamming. And with a pedal board, there won’t be a mess.  Something a parents and significant others will greatly appreciate.

A pedal board is another total win win.

Final Thoughts on the Best Gifts for Musicians

In summary, these gifts will help your musician create better music, and potentially more music. And that's what really matters for the musician you love. Plus they're all really thoughtful. Whether you're looking for a stocking stuffer for a musician, or something fancy, these gifts have you covered!