Guitar gifts for men who already have a guitar
If he ever plays standing up, the guitar gift to buy him is a strap. He puts it on every time he plays on his feet, and it is the part of the rig most players never spend money on. He chose the guitar and he chose the amp, so anything in that department is a guess, but the strap on his guitar is usually whatever came in the box or whatever was cheapest on the wall of the shop. A strap is also the one accessory with no size for you to get wrong, because the player sets the length himself when he puts it on.
Why a strap works as a gift when you do not play
Most guitar accessories need you to know something specific. Strings come in gauges he has an opinion about. A pedal does one job that he either wants or already owns twice over. A strap needs two things to be true, and you can check both from across the room: his guitar has a small metal button at the bottom edge and another near the neck, and he sometimes plays standing up.
A strap with a hole at each end fits any guitar or bass with two of those buttons. Button sizes vary a little between makers, and the slot in a leather strap stretches over them. The length is set by the person wearing it. So you are choosing a material and a color, not a measurement.
What we sell: one strap, the Soldier double-layer cowhide strap, in black, dark brown, tan or white. Suede-finish back, length set through a row of slots on the tail. £54.95 with free UK delivery.
What he probably already owns
Assume he has most of these already, because they are the things a player picks up in the first year.
- A tuner. Clipped to the headstock, or an app on his phone.
- Picks. More than he can find at any given moment. Buying more is safe and forgettable.
- A stand or a wall hanger, if the guitar lives out in the room.
- A capo, if he plays acoustic at all.
- A strap. He has one, and this is the opening. It is usually the cheap nylon one from a starter pack or the cheapest strap on the shop wall, and nylon slides on a shirt. He has not replaced it because it works well enough and he never thinks about it while standing in a music shop.
Buying by who he is
The other gift guide on this site sorts by price. This one sorts by the man, because the same budget buys a different right answer depending on how he plays.
- A dad who plays sitting in a chair. A stand next to that chair changes more than anything else you can buy. A guitar on a stand gets picked up. A guitar in a case under the bed does not.
- A husband or partner who plays standing up. This is the strap case. The strap is the part of the rig touching him for the whole time he plays, and the part he has never spent money on.
- A friend who gigs. Strap locks, a spare cable, or a strap better than the one he would buy for himself. Anything that can fail on stage is worth owning twice.
- A man who has not played in a year. A setup at a local repair shop. High action makes a guitar hard to play, and a repair shop will lower it in an afternoon. Ask the shop what a standard setup costs, and expect new strings to be billed on top.
- Someone still learning. Time with a teacher on the one thing he is stuck on. Gear is not what is blocking him at that stage.
If he plays acoustic and the guitar has a button only at the tail end, read the acoustic attachment guide before buying any strap at all.
Picking a color when you cannot ask
With an adjustable strap the only open question left is color. Guitar finishes fall into a few families, and one of four colors sits close enough to any of them.
| Color | Who it suits | The risk |
|---|---|---|
| Black | Any guitar, any shirt, any stage | None worth worrying about. This is the pick when you have not seen the guitar |
| Dark brown | Sunburst finishes, natural-top acoustics, older looking instruments | Sits oddly against a bright modern finish |
| Tan | Acoustics, and players who want the strap seen | Shows marks sooner than black does |
| White | Black and dark guitars, where the contrast is the whole point | The loudest of the four and the easiest to get wrong |
If you genuinely have no idea what he plays, buy black. It is the color that never reads as a decision somebody else made for him.
Gifts that end up in a drawer
- Novelty picks and straps with slogans printed on them. Used once for a photograph, then gone.
- Guitar-themed mugs and T-shirts. He knows he plays guitar.
- A second capo, or a fourth clip-on tuner.
- Cheap multi-effect boxes. A player who likes his sound will not swap it for one.
- Wall art of a guitar, bought for a man who owns a guitar.
Where our strap fits
The Soldier double-layer cowhide strap is two layers of cowhide with the back finished as suede, in black, dark brown, tan or white, at £54.95 with free UK delivery. The suede back is the part that matters as a gift, because it grips a cotton shirt instead of creeping toward the neck, which is the usual complaint about the nylon strap he is still using. There is no padding in it, and one adjustable length is set through a row of slots on the tail, so there is nothing for you to size. We cannot give you its width in inches, because the maker has not confirmed that figure and we asked on 14 September 2026. It arrives in a plastic bag rather than a gift box, so plan to wrap it yourself. The product page lists what is in the parcel.
It is the wrong gift in two cases. If his guitar has only one strap button, this strap will not attach without a headstock tie, and we do not sell those. If he already has leather straps hanging on the wall, buy strings in the brand on the packet by his chair instead, and spend the difference on a setup.
What to do if you get it wrong
If the color is wrong, he sends it back. Ours is 30 days, unused, with the return postage refunded to a UK address, and canceling before the parcel is dispatched costs nothing at all. The legal minimum for an online order in the United Kingdom sits under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, which give the buyer until 14 days after the goods arrive to cancel, and then a further 14 days after telling the seller to send them back.
Timing catches gift buyers out more than color does. Orders here are dispatched within 3 days and then spend 4 to 7 days in transit, and we do not sell a guaranteed named-day service, so buy well ahead of a birthday rather than in the week of it. How returns work and the gift page both set out the part the recipient has to handle, which is nothing unless the color is wrong.
Questions
What do you get a guitarist who has everything?
Something he uses without thinking about it, or something that runs out. Strings in the brand on the packet by his chair, a voucher for a setup at a repair shop, or a strap better than the one that came with the guitar. Gear that depends on his taste, like pedals and pickups, is the category to skip, because he has already chosen those himself.
How early should I order a guitar gift?
Order at least two weeks ahead. Straps here are dispatched within 3 days and then spend 4 to 7 days in transit, and we do not sell a guaranteed named-day service, so ordering in the week of a birthday is what goes wrong most.
Can you buy a guitar strap as a gift without knowing the size?
Yes, as long as the strap is adjustable. A strap with a hole at each end fits any guitar or bass with two strap buttons, and the player sets the height himself when he puts it on. That leaves the color as the only thing for you to decide.
What are some unique guitar gifts for men?
Unique often means novelty, and novelty gets used once. A plain thing in a better version lasts longer: a leather strap in place of the nylon one, a professional setup for a guitar that plays badly, or a lesson on a song he keeps failing. Gift ideas by budget sorts the same field by price.