Our '25 Gear Gift Guide is live, and here to help you find the perfect pick for the music maker in your life.
Shopping for a musician can feel like navigating a foreign language. One minute they’re talking about “attack and decay,” the next they’re debating whether has “enough headroom.” It can be tricky to know where to begin when it come to gifts, which is why we put together a handy gift guide every year.
This year’s guide includes a bunch of gift ideas for musicians, from affordable accessories to instruments that’ll make someone’s year. Each recommendation comes with context—who it’s for and what it does. There really is something here for everyone.
And if you’re a musician, consider this permission to treat yourself. After a year of band practice, gigs, late-night sessions, creative breakthroughs and the occasional creative breakdown, you’ve earned it.
Read all the latest features, columns and more here.
Gravity 4 Tier Keyboard Stand
Link Audio | RRP $649 (Extra arms also available for $49 a pair)
Recommended for:
Piano, keys, and synth players, collectors… and hoarders.
Features:
The Gravity 4 Tier Keyboard Stand is a robust and practical way to display and store your keyboards, keeping them ready for action anytime. A triangular base supports weight, while the angled tiers provide an ergonomic and comfortable platform for storage. Eight adjustable arms support four keyboards of different sizes and widths, with extra pairs of arms available if needed. The modular design allows the Gravity 4 Tier Keyboard Stand to accommodate different keyboards safely.
SD-MLMV5-BB Sadowsky Metro Line M Vintage Bass
Amber Technology | RRP $5499
Recommended for:
Gigging and professional bass players looking to extend their range with an extra string.
Features:
The Metro Line from Sadowsky are world-class instruments, built for pragmatism, reliability and function. The Metro Line M Vintage Bass is a five-string, long scale bass with a maple neck and fretboard, American Swamp Ash body and a classy, clear pickguard that protects and highlights the wood’s beautiful grain. The bass features a Passive Sadowsky Humbucker, coupled with enough control and electronics to shape and refine your tone even further.
Valencay CAS-22 Alto (Golden)
Kurt Jacobs | RRP $1495
Recommended for:
Beginner saxophone players looking for a durable and high-quality instrument.
Features:
The Valencay CAS-22 Alto features a durable brass body and ribbed construction, finished in a beautiful gold. Mother-of-pearl key buttons and an engraved bell serve to refine the aesthetics of the sax, while the high F# key makes higher notes simpler, perfect for students and beginners. The CAS-22 Alto Saxophone is a great choice, bringing together Valencay’s legacy and expertise in the field.
Chenonceau CAS-80 Alto (Silver)
Kurt Jacobs | RRP $3195
Recommended for:
Intermediate and advanced players, or beginners looking for their first big upgrade.
Features:
The Chenonceau 80 provides a warm and resonant tone thanks to being built from 85% pure copper. Featuring handcrafted details, consistent quality and a refined design. The High F# key provides easier access to higher notes, while Pisoni professional pads, Italian blue steel springs offer a refined experience, precise intonation and clear, concise tonality.
WR-T1225-90AA Warwick TeamBuilt Thumb BO 5-String
Amber Technology | RRP: $5899
Recommended for:
Intermediate, professional and serious bass players. Warwick’s Team Built sits below their Custom Shop/ Masterbuilt range. These are world class basses!
Features:
This range includes professional, gigging and studio basses for the experienced player. World-class construction and premium woods are tied together with ergonomic design and functional electronics to pull the best tone a bass guitar can offer. The Warwick TeamBuilt Thumb BO 5-String is a great example of Warwick’s focus on form and function, as is the entire TeamBuilt range.
Fender Tweed Wall Clock
Fender Music Australia | RRP $120
Recommended for:
The studio, the lounge or the kitchen—it’s time to rock n’ roll.
Features:
Paying homage to Fender’s industry-leading tweed amps that have been amplifying music for almost a century, the Fender Tweed Wall Clock borrows the aesthetic of some of the most famous and widely used amplifiers in history. Featuring silent sweeping hands and a classy, numberless dial, this clock is battery-powered, includes a hook on the back, ready to keep you on time while you’re practising playing in time.
Boveda Starter Kit
CMC Music | RRP Large $64.95 / Small $39.95
Recommended for:
Travelling musicians, players living in high-humidity climates.
Features:
Many of our most prized instruments are built from wood, a natural and changeable material that offers lively tone, resonance, and musicality. Moisture, humidity and different climates can cause the wood in your instrument to expand and contract, and it doesn’t always bounce back to its original shape and design. The Boveda Starter kits, available in large and small sizes depending on your instrument, protect your guitar from such drastic changes, offering a two-way humidity control.
Kyser Capos
CMC Music | RRP $54.95
Recommended for:
Guitar, banjo, ukulele and mandolin players—especially those who would love a little extra colour in their setup.
Features:
Kyser capos are some of the most widely used and trusted capos on the market. Their range features capos for acoustic, electric and classical guitars, as well as smaller necked instruments including, but not limited to, banjo, mandolin and ukulele. Quick release springs and padded rubber capos ensure quick, easy and consistent fretting, no matter your needs.
Ernie Ball Instrument Care 3-Pack with Microfibre Polish Cloth
CMC Music | RRP $54.95
Recommended for:
Every single one of you—clean your guitar!
Features:
The Instrument Care 3-pack with Microfiber Polish Cloth includes everything you need to keep your guitar or bass looking, playing and feeling its best. The fretboard conditioner helps maintain the wood of your fretboard, while the instrument polish itself is used to both preserve your guitar’s finish as well as polish dirt and marks from gigs. The string cleaner helps preserve string life and tone. It also includes a microfibre cloth, ideal for taking your instrument from not its best to spick-and-span.
DU-DCR-TBK Duesenberg Starplayer Range
Amber Technology | RRP $4499
Recommended for:
Indie rockers, blues breakers, and rockabilly rebels.
Features:
Duesenberg produce some of the most stunning guitars on the market, and they play beautifully, too. Their Starplayer range is a fan favourite, with various pickup configurations, tremolo systems and finishes—there’s something for everyone. One of our favourites is the Starplayer in Transparent Black, with a chambered body, a P90 in the neck position and Duesenberg’s new Diamond Prestige Tremola unit.
Markbass Yellow Bass Series
CMC Music | RRP $695
Recommended for:
Bassists of all levels, including those who are just dipping their toes in.
Features:
The Markbass Yellow Series of bass guitars cover various sounds, shapes and designs, offering you everything you need, whether it’s your first bass or your tenth. Quality builds extend from the MB 4 Yellow JB, designed for smooth, jazzy basslines, through the MB 4 Yellow PB that handles low end with precision. The MB 4 Yellow Little Bass features a shorter scale for focused sound and is perfect for those with smaller hands.
Epiphone SG Tribute Plus Cherry Burst
Australis Music | RRP $749
Recommended for:
Beginner and intermediate guitarists, students, and players seeking classic SG tone at an accessible price.
Features:
The Epiphone SG Tribute Plus is Epiphone’s latest addition to the popular Tribute series. Featuring a mahogany body with flame maple veneer top, the classic SG design delivers iconic rock aesthetics and tone. A fast-playing 60s SlimTaper Rounded C neck profile ensures comfort, whilst the tapered heel joint provides improved upper fret access.Two Epiphone humbuckers—a 650R in the neck and 700T in the bridge—deliver strong, full-bodied tone with ceramic magnets. The LockTone Tune-O-Matic bridge and Stop Bar tailpiece contribute to excellent sustain and easy adjustment.
Sydney Guitar Show
RRP $23 to $49.50
Recommended for:
Guitarists and guitar enthusiasts of all genres, ages and levels! See all of your favourite Australian and international brands on display, and maybe even discover your new obsession.
Features:
Building on the success of the Melbourne iteration, the Sydney Guitar Show will feature over 80 brands, two stages of performances and workshops, and plenty of interactive experiences that’ll get you strumming better than ever. Whether you’re a lover of all things guitar or just curious, this is one you won’t want to miss.
Grab tickets here.
Tone King Imperial Pre Pedal
Amber Technology | RRP $1199
Recommended for:
Tone purists and tube devotees.
Features:
The Tone King Imperial Pre Pedal is a faithful recreation of Tone King’s legendary MKII amplifiers of the ’50s and ’60s. Like the amplifiers, the Tone King Imperial Pre Pedal features reverb, tremolo, and a rhythm circuit alongside a lead circuit, powered by three 12AX7 tubes. Various I/O is available, including balanced stereo outputs, insert points and more. Finally, the Tone King Imperial Pre Pedal has internal cabinet impulse response that can be toggled on and off depending on your needs.
Electro-Harmonix Pico Atomic Cluster
Vibe Music | RRP $379
Recommended for:
Shoegaze players, ambient savants and synthesis gurus.
Features:
This compact, Pico package from EHX is the Atomic Cluster—a Spectral Decomposer that breaks sound down to its very essence, before augmenting it with harmonic information. This results in a lower bit-rate style sound that offers a synth-like tone from your guitar. Four simple controls adjust the Volume and Blend, while Atoms controls oscillations, and Speed adjusts how quickly those oscillations are refreshed.
Fender Mustang Micro
Fender Music Australia | RRP $199
Recommended for:
Players practising on the go or silently.
Features:
The Mustang Micro is just that: a micro version of Fender’s Mustang range of multi-FX and amplifiers, featuring Bluetooth. Choose from a range of 25 amp tones, from clean to high gain, and 25 effects models, all with adjustable parameters. On top of this, there are 100 preset slots to modify, save and recall. An onboard tuner is a handy addition, and all of this is controlled and adjusted by the integrated display.
Warm Audio Foxy Tone BOX LE Red
Studio Connections | RRP $255
Recommended for:
Guitar players pursuing warm, fuzzy tones… literally.
Features:
The Warm Audio Foxy Tone Box is a faithful recreation of a famous fuzz circuit, known for its use of octave effects before the fuzz for ear-catching solos and sound. The Foxy Tone Box, especially cool in limited edition Red, features simple controls for Volume, Sustain and Fuzz, as well as an Octave Sustain toggle to turn the octave effect on and off. It’s an iconic sound and a great tool for every player.
Akai MPK Mini Mk4
Electric Factory | RRP $179
Recommended for:
Musicians and producers looking for an on-the-go solution without compromising on quality, playability or features.
Features:
The Akai MPK Mini MK4 is just that—a mini version of Akai’s famed MPC workflow, with a built-in keyboard. Along with an updated keybed, the MPK Mini MK4 features eight push/turn rotary encoders and eight velocity and pressure-sensitive RGB backlit MPC pads.
The unit features a full-size MIDI output and 1⁄4” TS sustain pedal input, connecting to your computer via USB-C.
Warm Audio Pedal 76 LE Blue
Studio Connections | RRP $449
Recommended for:
Equally as good for bassists and guitarists. FEATURES: Studio compression is a staple, and what better way to tame those transients than on your pedalboard itself?
Features:
The Pedal 76 features input and output controls to adjust how the signal is being compressed, as well as to make up/ trim any gain after the compressor takes hold, with further tweaking available via Attack and Release. The top panel of the pedal offers comprehensive I/O for sending and receiving world-class sound.
Warm Audio Tube Squealer
Studio Connections | RRP $269
Recommended for:
Blues players, rockers, metal heads and tone aficionados.
Features:
The Warm Audio Tube Squealer borrows from three screamin’ overdrive circuits, all packed into one pedal. Toggle between 808, TS9, and TS10 settings, and have total control over drive, tone and level, as well as a fourth knob to control the mix of the added sound. An additional pickup selection switch can help optimise the signal for your guitar. These circuits have been used extensively by guitarists to add bite and snarl, while tightening up the low end of your tone, while retaining the character and dynamic.
Warm Audio Throne of Tone
Studio Connections | RRP $399
Recommended for:
Queens, Kings, and those in the pursuit of tone royalty.
Features:
The Throne of Tone features two mid-gain circuits side by side, perfect for pushing an already driven amp, or dirtying up a clean sound. The pedal includes an input and output, as well as a send and return, allowing you to split the two sides of the pedal if you wish. It also features a switch between the two sides, allowing you to adjust which circuit comes first. Independent controls allow total tweaking, while a robust chassis is ready for stompin,’ gig after gig.
PRS Guitars Rechargeable Clip-On Tuner
Electric Factory | RRP $65
Recommended for:
Guitar and bass players of all types, levels, genres and ilks.
Features:
These tunes are an accurate and portable way to keep your instrument tuned. With USB charging as opposed to batteries, a single charge will last weeks. Plus, the strobe tuner design provides more accurate tuning than other display options, a the LED screen itself is easy to read on all stages regardless of lighting.
