One of the worst things you can do for your guitar playing is to keep your instrument locked away inside its case. A guitar out of sight is a guitar out of mind and that means less playing time. So, to ensure you're always ready to rock, you'll need one of the best guitar stands and guitar hangers to display your pride and joy proudly – and encourage you to pick it up more.
Buying a guitar stand or hanger is a deeply personal decision too, as not all guitars are created equal. What works for a Jazzmaster won't necessarily do the job on an acoustic guitar and if you're a bassist you'll potentially need something bigger, and sturdier. Collectively the Guitar World team has used and tested hundreds of guitar stands and hangers over the years, giving us first-hand insight into what works for each particular instrument. We've arranged this guide by use case to make it easier for you to select the right stand or hanger for your guitar.
Many of us use the stands we recommend for our own guitars, and our selections are great for protecting your instrument from dings and scratches, as well as ensuring you can keep your guitar in sight to encourage further playing. You should be aware that if you have a guitar with a nitrocellulose finish, not all guitar stands are safe for this particular kind of finish, so make sure to read the product descriptions well and don't take any chances if you can't find specific information.
Product guide
Type: Hanger
Materials: Steel base with foam padding
+ Discreet
+ Locking system is useful
- Requires tools to fit
Choosing a guitar stand or hanger isn’t something most people would want to spend too long thinking about. With that in mind, the Hercules Stands GSP39WB Plus might be the perfect choice.
The Hercules is a wall-hanging, single guitar holder, with a neat locking system to keep your guitar firmly in place. We particularly liked the general non-nonsense vibe here; it’s reliable, sturdy, and isn’t about to go dropping your prized guitar any time soon.
Type: Stand
Materials: Laminate wood
+ Looks great
+ Weighted base
- Pricey
Not everybody wants a boring-looking guitar stand, and to be honest, most guitar hangers and stands are pretty uninspiring. If style is at the forefront of your mind, then the Fender Deluxe Wooden Hanging Guitar Stand is an awesome choice.
Made of laminate wood it looks ultra classy with its modern styling. The weighted base ensures that your guitar is held rock steady, whilst simultaneously allowing you to fully display your guitar unobscured.
Type: Rest
Materials: Plastic
+ No installation
+ Works on lots of surfaces
- Not the most secure
The Guitar Rest works by simply placing it upon a flat surface like your desk. You can then lean your guitar against it, with its non-slip rubber construction ensuring that your instrument stays exactly where it should be.
The inert rubber is specifically designed to not be damaging to your guitar’s finish, whilst on the top a handy little tub allows you to store small accessories like guitar picks. Great for the home, studio, or even placing on top of your guitar amp on stage.
Type: Stand
Materials: Steel frame, with foam and rubber
+ Great build quality
+ Hangs 3 guitars
- Quite heavy
If you’re looking for an easy way to store 3 guitars without taking up too much space, we’d go for the Hercules GS432B Plus. Allowing you to store a single guitar on each side, it’s a great choice for having your three favorite guitars easily accessible.
We found it to be very stable, although you should be careful if you’ve only got one guitar on it as it can get a little unbalanced this way. The build quality is fantastic as we’ve found with most Hercules Stands and for the money, this is a great choice.
Type: Multi-guitar stand
Materials: Non-marring plastic
+ Pretty discrete
+ Rigid
- Expensive
If space is an issue, a stand capable of holding multiple guitars together might be the answer for you. Yet at the cheaper end, some multi-guitar stands look like they wouldn’t survive a strong gust of wind.
Not so the K&M Guardian series, which holds up to five guitars and feels like it’d survive a bomb blast. The Guardian uses a special non-marring plastic, which means it will resist all those scuffs and scrapes, and we liked the way it could be folded down to make it easier to transport from studio to stage.
Type: Stand
Materials: Steel frame with foam/rubber contacts
+ Efficient use of space
+ Good value
- Pretty heavy
Whatever it lacks in elegance, the Hercules GS526BPlus makes up for with sturdy, reliable utility. This tall, steel-framed stand allows you to stack two rows of three guitars around its circumference, minimising the amount of space taken up by the stand and its contents.
The GS526BPlus offers the ideal way to store up to six guitars which are in heavy rotation; perfect for use on a stage by your entire band, for example. Its heavy construction gave us complete confidence the guitars would be safe and snug, while it folds down neatly, too.
Type: Stand
Materials: Natural mahogany
+ Awesome looks
+ Great for acoustics
- No neck alignment
If you’ve got an acoustic guitar it makes sense to match its natural beauty with a natural-looking guitar stand. The Taylor Guitar Stand is made from natural Mahogany and is available in a couple of finishes, as well as a Beechwood option.
It’s nice and robust, with small rubber contact points that prevent any dings from occurring to your guitar’s finish. The lack of a neck aligner means if you’re the pedantic type you might have to make some adjustments, but that aside, it’s a great option for acoustic players.
Type: Stand
Materials: Steel frame, with foam and rubber contact points
+ Built to last
+ Easy adjustment
- Relatively expensive
If you’re looking for a good quality, well-made guitar stand that's long and sturdy enough to hold a bass guitar, then the Hercules Stands GS414B Plus hanging stand might be for you.
Great build quality gives confidence it’ll look after your guitar well, while we also appreciate the amount of versatility on offer thanks to a push-button height adjustable neck. Every part of the stand that will come into contact with your guitar is covered in either foam or rubber, so no scrapes or scratches.
Type: Stand
Materials: Steel
+ Versatile
+ Adjustable
- Not suitable for acoustics
There are some guitars out there which are just plain awkward. Sure, they sound great but when it comes to putting them down for a second, the problems begin. Step forward, Fender Universal A-Frame.
If you like Jazzmasters, Explorers, or some of the more angular offerings from the likes of BC Rich, this single-guitar floor stand has plenty in the way of adjustable arms, along with a side-mounted extra arm for further support.
FAQs
What's the best hanger for me?
Matching the perfect stand to your guitar might seem like a pretty simple choice, but it rarely is. From deciding where you’ll want to use it (stage, home, studio, or a mixture), to matching it up to the type of guitar you play (acoustic, electric, or bass), and even the shape – offset guitarists, beware. Some decisions will be made for you, but you also have personal preference to factor in, because some stands and hangers simply won’t do for your precious instrument.
What’s the difference between a guitar stand and guitar hanger?
Other than stowing your guitar safely away in a case, there are two main types of guitar storage solutions. A guitar stand sits on the floor, upon which your guitar will safely sit, with some support to ensure it doesn’t topple over. Stands take up more room than a guitar hanger, but they make switching instruments nice and easy. A guitar hanger on the other hand will be mounted onto your wall – so may not suit DIY-phobes – which means it takes up less room, however, it won’t be quite as instantly accessible as a guitar stand.
For many guitarists, they will often move their guitars, be that for gigs, in the studio, or simply around the house. Wall hangers aren’t made for players on the move, so you’ll need to look at a guitar stand that’s lightweight and easily transportable. There are countless stand options on the market, with three, five, and even seven guitar variants available, so no matter how large your collection is, they will have somewhere to safely reside when not in use. Many of these are foldable so they can go wherever you do too. If you stick pretty rigidly to one instrument, and you’ll want something to take to shows with you, look for a compact stand that folds away into a small footprint – some of these will even fit in your guitar case! That means you can avoid the treachery of leaning your guitar up against a wall or amp; we’ve seen too many guitars knocked over by overzealous support acts or careless sound techs. Bring your own stand!
If you’re looking for something for the home or home studio, then you may want to take the aesthetic into account. Lots of guitar wall hangers come with designs on their mounting point, so you can match the wooden finish to that of your home, or just pick something that stands out a little more. You’ll tend to find there’s less choice here when you’re looking at guitar stands, but there are some interesting choices out there if you look hard enough! Sites like Etsy and Reverb can provide some great choices for alternative guitar hangers.
Ultimately, a handful of wall hangers (if you’ve got multiple guitars) plus a stand or two, for when the guitar is in frequent use – the studio for example – is an ideal combination that should cater for all environments. We know, buying one of each sounds like it could get expensive, but the good news is that you can get some really great guitar stands and hangers for really good prices. If you do want to have both a stand and a hanger, but finances won’t allow that right now, a stand is a great place to start and then look to invest in hangers down the line.
How we test
When testing a guitar stand there are a few different considerations we'll make in the process. First and foremost, it has to be stable. The last thing you want is your instrument crashing to the ground because of a dodgy stand or hanger. To test this we'll place lots of different guitars on the stand or hanger, giving it a push here and there to determine just how robustly it holds it in place.
Next, we'll look at the overall build quality of the stand. We want to make sure it's well put together, that any nuts and bolts are nice and tight, and that it's finished well. For the contact points, we'll be looking for non-marring foam that's safe for the vast majority of guitar finishes, as well as making sense for the placement of the guitar.
If it's a guitar wall hanger, then installation needs to be clear, and all fixings provided. There's nothing worse than getting a guitar hanger only to have to go back to the DIY store to buy more things to get it mounted. We want to see clear instructions on how to install the hanger, preferably with a YouTube link to help non-DIY types get it right the first time.
A guitar stand or hanger is a simple bit of kit, but we make sure to test them to their absolute limits to make sure it's the right purchase for you. As users of guitar stands and hangers for many years, we've got loads of real-world experience that allows us to best inform other guitarists on what they should be going for, dependent on their particular instrument of course.
Read more about our rating system, how we choose the gear we feature, and exactly how we test each product.
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