Sick of watching your guitar slide of the wall where you left it? Hardwood floor doing nothing for that gloss finish?
Lucky for you there is a guitar stand for almost every use case and we've got a range of stands to suit them.
With so many to choose from, we thought it would be good to create some clear-cut categories to help you choose the best stand for your acoustic or electric guitar.
SHORT FLOOR STANDS
We’ll start by looking at the most common guitar stand type you’ll encounter, a Short Floor Stand. These stands are roughly half the height of a guitar body and use a triangle frame design to hold your guitar. They normally use three points of contact where the base of the guitar will sit on two arms and the back will rest on the apex.
An excellent choice for laid-back environments like a studio or a bedroom.
Off the bat, our favourite stand is the K&M Heli 2.
This metal frame is covered by a grippy rubber anywhere the guitar might touch and little tips on the feet to hold thicker acoustic guitars, so accidental knocks won't send your guitar falling to the ground.
It folds up for easy transport to gigs and comes in a few different colors as well, plus you get free picks!
Even more portable is the Hercules GS200B.
This is a tiny stand that fits in a backpack. Unfold it and you instantly have a stand.
It has foam along the plastic frame to keep the guitar safe from scratches and little tips here and folding ones here, so depending on the size of the guitar it’ll stay locked in place.
Also from Hercules is the GS402BB Mini stand.
It can’t fit an acoustic, but the trade-off is its tiny footprint, it's made from square metal pipes so it’s infinitely more rugged than the 200B.
It has foam protecting the points of contact and rubber feet to stop it from slipping on smooth floors. It’s just as portable though as the entire frame folds up into the included carry bag.
Gravity’s SoloG works much like previous stands
But instead of an A-Frame, it has two square metal poles that are supported by two long feet.
The arms have deep bends on them to support either an acoustic or electric with enough tilt back to keep your instrument stable.
The Portastand AXE has more of a pyramid design.
With three rubberised feet meeting at a hinge at the top. The foam coated arms have a bend to them, so whether an electric or acoustic is being placed on the stand they’ll both have some extra resistance if accidentally knocked forward.
The OnStage GS7462DB Dual A-Frame stand has room for two guitars
One in the front, one in the back.
While not as portable as previous models, the trade is versatility.
You don’t just have to have a guitar in the front. Small combo amps, portable mixers and PA’s can sit in the front slot, making gigging or busking breezy and safe for your equipment.
FULL FLOOR STANDS
Now if you’re constantly worried your guitar is going to be knocked out of its stand a full floor stand might ease your mind. These stands are usually as tall, if not taller, than the guitar. They typically hold the guitar at the head join where the base of the head flares out from the neck. Most also include a lock on the neck to keep it from falling out.
The most basic of these stands is the Mammoth GTR ONE.
It works in a similar way to a short stand with two arms that hold the base of the guitar, but instead of a point midway up the body where the guitar rests this has an adjustable neck support rest.
This arm moves up and down to match the height of your instrument, so even basses can sit nicely. It has a tripod base to keep it sturdy and can pack up to be taken to gigs.
Hercules has a more involved design going on.
Instead of resting the base of the guitar on two arms, these purely hang the instrument from the head with a locking Auto Grip System.
This flips up two pegs when a weight is placed on it, stopping it from falling out. The height is adjustable to fit the size of your guitar. The body rests on this small brace here so the entire system can tilt back without the guitar knocking into the frame. All points of contact with the guitar are covered in durable foam.
Some headstocks like on Telecasters are pretty slim so won’t sit as comfortably as a Gibson, but most if not all guitars can be used with these frames. Except, you know, headless guitars.
Their basic frame GS412B PLUS has a tripod base to keep the guitar steady. The older brother GS414B PLUS has an improved tripod system.
The leg hinge is further up the stand, with a brace per leg for improved stability.
This model also eschews the brace for the body, instead of covering the front two legs with foam that the body rests against. This gives the guitar three points of contact instead of two.
But what if you have more than one guitar? Hercules is waaay ahead of you.
The GS422B PLUS can hold two guitars. And the GS432B PLUS can hold three!
Lastly is the PRS Floating Stand.
This feat of antigravity is achieved with a weighted circular base and a single curved pole that runs up the back into a cradle that holds the head of the guitar.
When a guitar is on the stand it appears to “float”, hence the name.
This is a proper display stand that will hold your prized instruments and make them look absolutely mint.
RACK STANDS
But what if three guitars aren’t enough? Introducing; the guitar rack!
Sometimes referred to as a “gun-rack” style because of the way the guitar leans into the stand. The guitars are separated at the headstock by a small pole so they don’t knock into each other while you’re taking them on and off.
The Xtreme GS80 models are the best bet for an easy-to-set-up guitar rack.
Made from square metal rods, every surface is covered in foam so there’s little chance of your guitars falling out or knocking into each other.
The GS803 has solid rubber feet and holds three guitars, the GS805W holds five and the GS807W holds seven.
All 'W' models have wheels instead of feet so you can move instruments around in bulk.
K&M’s Guardian line also comes in multiple sizes
The Guardian 3 and Guardian 5 hold three and five instruments respectively.
These are much more refined racks though. Instead of foam, these use a firm rubber for anywhere instruments make contact.
Constructed from rigid metal supports, the structure is supported by rubber feet that won’t budge an inch once set up.
There are also dividers on the bottom section to keep larger body guitars separated, with the neck supports also having a small separator so that no matter what guitar, the neck will be firmly held in place.
If you want to get fancy there are the Fender Case Stands.
These tolex or tweed-wrapped cases look like a traditional fender guitar or pedal case, but when opened reveal a collapsible rack lined with soft crushed acrylic plush material.
Instruments can be secured in place with push-button straps along the neck.
These also have multiple sizes, three and seven, and come in black or tweed. Perfect for gigs where you need to rack a lineup of guitars.
GUITAR HANGERS
Last up are hangers. If floor space is an issue or you want to display multiple guitars on a wall these are your go-to.
These consist of just the neck cradle and a backplate to be screwed into a wall.
The Gravity hangers have multiple styles.
Some with locking heads, others with wooden backplates instead of metal for more stylish look.
Hercules have similar variations as well.
Taylor have extra fancy ones that have a longer, polished wood block with a hand chosen grain.
While designed to nicely pair up with a Taylor acoustic, these will look great with just about any guitar.
And if that's not enough stands for you - we have even more online and in-store!
Feel free to catch us on live chat, call us or drop in for more advice :)
