Shopping for a bluegrass player can be hard. Pickers care about their gear. The product names can be confusing.
I have played violin since I was 5 and guitar since I was 12. Both of my parents are professional musicians and music teachers. I play bluegrass with my family. I am helping my four kids learn their instruments.
This holiday gift guide lists the gifts I would give the pickers in my life. Each one is a standard item from a known maker. The first section works for any player. After that, each instrument has its own short list. Before you shop, ask which instrument your picker plays. Ask about their instrument size and the strings they like.
Gifts for any picker
Most of these gifts work for any instrument in the band.
Snark ST-2 clip-on tuner
A clip-on tuner is the first gift I would give any player. The Snark ST-2 clips onto the headstock, where the tuning pegs sit. It senses the vibration of the instrument. That helps in a loud room full of players. It has a built-in mic as a second way to tune. The color screen turns and tilts. A transpose mode shows normal note names with a capo in place. Tuning before the jam starts is one of the unwritten rules in my guide to the bluegrass jam.
Korg MA-2 metronome
Steady time matters in bluegrass. A metronome helps a player build it at home. The Korg MA-2 is a small, card-size metronome with a folding stand. It covers 30 to 252 beats per minute. You can set the tempo with a tap of a button. It has a practice timer. It can play a reference note for tuning. Korg rates it for up to 400 hours on two AAA batteries.
Hercules GS415B PLUS guitar stand
A stand keeps a guitar out of the case and ready to play. The Hercules GS415B PLUS has an Auto Grip System that locks the guitar in place. Foam pads cover every spot that touches the instrument. Hercules lists it for guitar necks from 40 to 52 mm. The neck holder folds for storage.
D’Addario Humidipak Maintain kit
Dry winter air can crack a wood instrument. The D’Addario Humidipak Maintain kit uses packets that go in the case with the guitar. The packets add moisture when the air is dry. They take moisture out when the air is damp. D’Addario calls the system maintenance-free. This kit is for guitar. D’Addario makes a version for small instruments. Replacement packets come in multipacks.
Parking Lot Picker’s Songbook
Jam players share a common set of songs. Dix Bruce’s Parking Lot Picker’s Songbook holds over 200 bluegrass, old-time, country, and gospel standards. Each song has the melody in sheet music and tab, plus lyrics and chords. The book comes with online audio of every song. It has a spiral binding. It stays open on a music stand. This link is the guitar edition. Mel Bay publishes editions for banjo, mandolin, fiddle, dobro, and bass.
For keys and chords, browse my song pages. Each one lists the key, the chord progression, and the history of the song.
Gifts for guitar players
In a jam, the guitar keeps the rhythm. It takes a break (a solo) when its turn comes. A capo lets a guitar player use G shapes in other keys. My guide to the keys bluegrass jams use shows which fret gives A, C, and D.
Kyser or Shubb capo
These two classic capos work in different ways. The Kyser Quick-Change capo is a spring clamp. You can squeeze it, place it, and let go with one hand. Kyser makes its capos in the USA.
The Shubb C1 capo uses a lever. One flip locks it on the neck. A second flip releases it. Shubb machines it from brass. Its soft rubber pads fit the curve of the fretboard.
D’Addario EJ17 strings
Any guitar player can use a fresh set of strings. D’Addario EJ17 strings are phosphor bronze in medium gauge (13 to 56). Medium strings are heavier than light strings. They give a fuller sound. Ask your picker which gauge they use before you buy. For light strings, look for the EJ16 set.
Gifts for banjo players
Scruggs-style banjo uses three picks: a thumbpick and two metal fingerpicks. My bluegrass banjo guide covers the history and the great players.
Shubb C5 banjo capo
The Shubb C5 is the banjo version of the Shubb lever capo. It fits a flat fretboard, the traditional banjo setup. For a curved fretboard, Shubb makes the C5R. A banjo capo covers the four long strings. The short fifth string needs its own capo or small spikes in the neck.
Dunlop fingerpicks and thumbpicks
Dunlop nickel silver fingerpicks come in a player’s pack in 0.025 inch gauge. Dunlop describes their sound as bright and classic. Metal fingerpicks bend to fit each finger. Pair them with a bag of 12 Dunlop white plastic thumbpicks in medium. Thumbpicks come in sizes. Ask which size your picker wears.
Earl Scruggs and the 5-String Banjo
Earl Scruggs wrote this method book on his own style of three-finger banjo. Earl Scruggs and the 5-String Banjo is a 200-page book of lessons and tab. Scruggs and Bill Keith prepared the tab. This link is the Revised and Enhanced Edition from Hal Leonard. Scruggs wrote Foggy Mountain Breakdown in 1949. My page on that tune covers its history and its open G shapes.
Gifts for mandolin players
The mandolin plays a chop (a short, muted chord) on beats two and four. Its strings come in pairs. A full set has eight strings.
D’Addario EJ74 mandolin strings
D’Addario EJ74 strings are phosphor bronze in medium gauge (11 to 40). The set includes all eight strings. New strings sound brighter than old ones.
Golden Gate MP-12 picks
Golden Gate MP-12 picks are tortoise-style flat picks with a rounded triangle shape. A pack holds a dozen. A mandolin player can try a few and keep spares in the case.
Levy’s leather mandolin strap
A strap lets a mandolin player stand and play at a jam. This Levy’s leather mandolin strap is black leather, 3/4 inch wide. It adjusts up to 42 inches long.
Gifts for fiddle players
These are the fiddle gifts I would choose. In a jam, the fiddle plays the melody on fiddle tunes. On songs, it plays fills behind the singer. My bluegrass fiddle guide covers the standard tunes and the great players.
Hill dark rosin
Rosin gives the bow hair its grip on the string. Hill dark rosin works on violin, viola, and cello. Dark rosin is softer than light rosin. It gives the bow more grip.
D’Addario Helicore strings
The fiddle and the violin are the same instrument. Violin strings fit a fiddle. D’Addario Helicore strings have a stranded steel core. This set fits a full-size (4/4) fiddle. It has medium tension and a plain steel E string. Helicore comes in smaller sizes for kids’ fiddles. Ask your fiddler for the size before you buy.
Ultra practice mute
A practice mute lets a fiddler play after the kids go to bed. The Ultra rubber practice mute fits on the bridge of a full-size violin. It cuts the sound for quiet practice.
The Fiddler’s Fakebook
David Brody’s The Fiddler’s Fakebook is a big book of fiddle tunes. Each tune comes as a lead sheet, with the melody and chords. The book covers many styles, from Irish and Scottish to bluegrass and Texas. Oak Publications released the first edition in 1983.
Gifts for upright bass players
The bass plays the root and fifth of each chord on beats one and three. Most bluegrass bass players pluck the strings. If your bass player uses a bow, rosin makes a good gift.
Pop’s Bass Rosin
Pop’s Bass Rosin is a soft rosin for double bass. It gives the bow a strong grip. Houston Symphony bassist Len (Pops) Manno developed it. It comes in a plastic container with a snap-top lid.
Parking Lot Picker’s Songbook, bass edition
The songbook from the first section comes in a bass edition by Dix Bruce. Each song has a bass line, lyrics, and chords. Online audio of every song comes with the book. It also shows how to move a song to a new key.
Gifts for dobro players
The dobro is a resonator guitar. The player sets it across the lap. The player slides a steel bar along the strings. Dobro players wear a thumbpick and metal fingerpicks. The Dunlop picks in the banjo section work for dobro.
Shubb SP2 steel bar
The Shubb SP2 is a solid stainless steel bar. It has a semi-bullet tip and a double cutaway shape.
D’Addario EJ42 resophonic strings
D’Addario EJ42 is a phosphor bronze set for resophonic guitar. The gauges run from 16 to 56. The high strings are heavier than the ones in a standard guitar set.
Stocking stuffers
These small gifts fit in a stocking.
D’Addario Pro-Winder
The D’Addario Pro-Winder is a string winder, string cutter, and bridge pin puller in one tool. It saves time on a guitar string change. The cutter trims the extra string ends.
Dunlop Primetone picks
Dunlop Primetone triangle picks are 1.4 mm thick, with a smooth finish. The triangle shape gives three points to play with. They suit flatpicking on guitar or mandolin.
Spare strings, thumbpicks, and the practice mute from the earlier sections make good stocking stuffers.
The best gift is time to play
A gift for a picker does not need to be big. Pickers use small gear, such as tuners and capos, at every jam. The best gift of all is time to play. Invite your picker to a jam this winter. Happy holidays from my family to yours.