Gifts for Guitar Players Who Already Have Everything

My brother-in-law has played guitar for twenty years. He owns every capo, every tuner, every strap. For his fortieth birthday, the family group chat spiraled for two weeks over what to get him — until my sister said the quiet part out loud: “He already has everything. He just doesn't have anything that's his.”

If you love someone who plays, you know this exact wall. Here's how we got over it, and what I've learned since about gifts for guitar players who genuinely have everything.

Why gear is the wrong direction

Guitar players are particular in a way non-players underestimate. The strings, the picks, the pedals — each one is a decision he's already made, usually after years of trial. Buy him gear and one of two things happens: it duplicates something he owns, or it quietly loses to the one he actually uses. Either way, your gift ends up in The Drawer. Every guitarist has The Drawer.

What actually works: gifts about the player, not the playing

1. An engraved pick box. This was our answer for the fortieth. A small walnut box that holds his picks, engraved with a line from the song he played at my sister's wedding. He is not a sentimental man; he teared up at the kitchen table. Picks are the one thing every player scatters everywhere — giving them a home that says something personal is the rare gift that's both useful and meaningful.
2. A request list. Handwrite ten songs you'd love to hear him play, fold it, and tuck it in with the gift. Free, and it says the thing gear never says: I like listening to you.
3. The lyric object. A line from “their song” engraved on something he'll touch weekly — a pick box, a keepsake box for the picks-and-capos chaos, even a card case for the gigging player who hands out contact cards. When words fail, music speaks; when both fail, engrave the words on walnut.
4. Concert tickets, but his hero. Not a band you both like — the one from his teenage bedroom wall. Pair it with dinner and it becomes an event, not an item.

What to engrave on a pick box

• A lyric line — from your song, his favorite, or the one he plays when he thinks no one's listening
• A date — the wedding he played at, the day you met, the first gig
• His name + a title — “Dad's Picks” ages beautifully; so does a band name that never made it past the garage
• An inside joke — the best engravings need explaining to strangers

One practical note from the fortieth-birthday experience: preview the engraving before you order. Lyrics have exact words and exact punctuation, and getting them wrong is the musical equivalent of misspelling someone's name. We used the free walnut preview tool — type the line, see it engraved, adjust until it's right.

Occasions this works for

Birthdays and Father's Day are the obvious ones. But the sleeper hit is the wedding-adjacent moment: the groom who plays, the best man who performed at the reception, the father-daughter dance he practiced for months. A pick box engraved with the date turns “he played at our wedding” into an object that outlives the video.

See the engraved pick box  Preview an engraving free

FAQ

What do you get a guitar player who has everything?

Skip gear and go personal: an engraved pick box with a lyric or date, a handwritten list of songs you want to hear, or tickets to see his musical hero. Gifts about him as a player beat gifts of equipment he's already chosen.

What should I engrave on a gift for a musician?

A lyric from a meaningful song, a significant date, their name with a title like “Dad's Picks,” or an inside joke. Preview the engraving first — lyrics have exact wording.

Are wooden pick boxes practical?

Yes — picks are the one accessory every player loses constantly. A dedicated box lives on a desk or amp and actually gets used, unlike duplicate gear.