After hours and hours of research and months of saving, you buy your dream guitar… and inevitably it ends up tucked away in a case. That doesn’t seem quite right, it should surely be pride of place, ready and waiting to be picked up and played at an instant. Getting hold of one of the best guitar stands or hangers is the perfect way to keep your guitar front of mind.
But it’s not just for home, without stands and hangers, gigs and studios are warzones for guitars, where scratches and knocks are around every corner. With our choices of the best guitar stands and hangers, you can be confident that your guitar will be able to combat gravity and avoid potentially lethal falls. Read on to find the best options for you.
Chris Corfield is a journalist with over 12 years of experience writing for some of the music world's biggest brands including Orange Amplification, MusicRadar, Guitar World, Total Guitar and Dawsons Music. Chris loves getting nerdy about everything from guitar gear and synths, to microphones and music production hardware. For this guide he got stuck into the world of guitar stands!
Best guitar stands and hangers: Product guide
Best hanger overall
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.
Best multi-guitar stand
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 looks 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.
Best height-adjustable
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 which sits well above the standard ‘entry-level’ models, then the Hercules Stands GS414B Plus hanging stand might be for you. It has an overall high quality of construction, which 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, meaning there will be no scrapes or scratches.
Best for crazy shapes
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. We’re thinking Jazzmasters, or Explorers, or some of the more angular offerings from the likes of BC Rich. Step forward, Fender Universal A-Frame. This single-guitar floor stand has plenty in the way of adjustable arms, along with a side-mounted extra arm for further support.
Best for home recording
Type: Stand
Materials: Plastic
+ Simple solution to a common problem
+ Inexpensive
- No body protection
If you’re a solo recorder, it’s often the case that you’ll record a take with your guitar and then want to review it before you move on to the next part. That often means a lot of picking the guitar up, and putting it down, and picking it up again. As a quick and easy way to offer a bit of security against the guitar falling, the D’Addario Guitar Dock is well worth a look. It attaches to your desk with a clamp, offering great rigidity, while the rubberized arms at the front do a good job of keeping the guitar steady while it’s docked.
Best high-end stand
Type: Stand
Materials: Bamboo
+ Looks stunning
+ Will last a lifetime
- Nearly $500!
The Bravo7 is as well made as it is beautiful. Crafted from sustainably-sourced bamboo, and with space for up to seven guitars, it certainly looks the part. What we like most about the Bravo7, however, is its modularity. If your collection grows above seven guitars, you simply add another layer vertically. Clearly, this is not a cheap stand, but it just might be the only one you’ll ever need to buy. The DRS Racks Bravo7 might be the guitar stand of your dreams.
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Best budget option
Type: Rest
Materials: Plastic
+ Requires no installation
+ Works on a variety of surfaces
- Not the most secure
- Only works at a certain height
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.
Best space-saving stand
Type: Stand
Materials: Steel frame with foam/rubber contacts
+ Efficient use of space
+ Good value
- None
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.
Best for protection
Type: Display case
Materials: Wood with plexiglass front
+ Looks great!
+ Total protection
- Quality like this costs…
If you’re lucky enough to own a guitar which is so vintage, rare or expensive that you daren’t even play it, the Fender Display Case might be just the ticket. Fashioned from the base of either a black or tweed hardshell case, with a plush interior and clear plexiglass front, the Fender Display Case delivers the ultimate way to show off your pride and joy. We’ve seen these fitted with aftermarket LED striplights and the effect is stunning.
Best for versatility
Type: Stand
Materials: ABS plastic, Steel, TPU
+ Great for gigging
+ Specially foam
- Takes up a lot of room
- Comparatively expensive
Coming with space for seven instruments, this rack will span collections that have electric, acoustic, and bass guitars with ease. It’s foldable, which means you can take your expansive collection to gigs, or to that next studio session. If you’re in a band there’s plenty of space for everyone’s instruments, making it one of the most versatile stands on this list. A specially formulated foam for your guitars to rest on ensures no damage to finishes and with the movable dividers, you can ensure the correct spacing which is great for mixing and matching different guitar body types.
Best for innovation
Type: Hanger/Stand
Materials: Plastic, Chrome Metal
+ Beautiful design
+ Nitro-friendly hanger
+ Fits acoustic & electric
- Heavy
- Takes up more room than wall hanger
If you want a hanger, but don’t want to start drilling holes into the wall, the elegant PRS Floating Guitar Stand gives you all the grace of a hanger with the flexibility that a stand gives you. With a heavy weighted base plate, you can be pretty confident that it’s not going to fall over, although that does mean it’s not totally effortless to move. Finished in chrome, this thing looks ridiculously classy and if you’ve got a particularly pretty guitar, this would pair perfectly – especially if you’ve got a guitar with a nitro finish, as PRS’s engineers have worked to make sure this won’t leave any marks at all.
Best for traveling
Type: Stand
Materials: Metal
+ Super compact when folded
+ Heavy duty
- No neck support
- Not most secure
The Hercules GS402BB Mini Guitar Stand is an absolutely perfect travel companion for electric guitarists and bassists. Its small footprint when folded makes it ideal for packing for gigs, with it even possible to fit in many cases. Despite it being small, it feels extremely durable and you can be confident it will last regardless of how many stages it sees. It also looks great, with Hercules’s signature black design with yellow accents. There's no neck support, however for most occasions, this is a great portable stand.
Best guitar stands and guitar hangers: Buying advice
How to choose the best guitar stand or hanger for you
You can trust Guitar World
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!
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 choose the best guitar stands
Here at Guitar World, we are experts in our field, with many years of playing and product testing between us. We live and breathe everything guitar related, and we draw on this knowledge and experience of using products in live, recording and rehearsal scenarios when selecting the products for our guides.
When choosing what we believe to be the best guitar stands available right now, we combine our hands-on experience, user reviews and testimonies and engage in lengthy discussions with our editorial colleagues to reach a consensus about the top products in any given category.
First and foremost, we are guitarists, and we want other players to find the right product for them. So we take into careful consideration everything from budget to feature set, ease of use and durability to come up with a list of what we can safely say are the best guitar stands on the market right now.
Read more about our rating system, how we choose the gear we feature, and exactly how we test each product.
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