Best Guitar Stands – Top 10 Picks

If you’ve got a guitar, show it some love. Don’t lean it against the wall or throw it on the floor or the sofa. Guitars, and specifically guitar necks, can be easily broken. We know! Save yourself a lot of potential time, money, and hassle and make sure you have the right kind of guitar stand for your guitar.

These days, the good news is that even the best guitar stands don’t need to break the bank. We’ve compiled our top 10 list of guitar stands to help you in your choice. Hopefully, there’ll be one suitable for you and your guitar.

So, lets’ dive in and take a closer look.

Top 10 Best Guitar Stands On The Market Reviews

1 Hercules GS415B A/G Guitar Stand Fold Neck – Most Stable Guitar Stand

It could just be that we’ve started with one of the very best guitar stands, if not the best, right at the beginning. The jump of quality from a basic guitar stand to the Hercules guitar stand is undoubtedly a big one.

The Hercules stand has a solid triangular base. With your guitar in place, this is about as stable as you could ever wish for. The chances of you accidentally knocking the stand over are quite frankly close to zero.

Adjust the height…

The stand can be easily adjusted for height with a single push of the height-adjustable clutch button, which is situated at the back of the stand. It’s a one-handed operation. However big or small your guitar, you can position it to your preferred distance from the floor.

All the contact points, on the legs, and the yoke are covered in their specially formulated rubber foam. Regardless of the guitar that’s being held, it won’t get damaged from coming into contact with the stand. Guaranteed.

Incredibly satisfying…

Leaving the best part till last is the Auto Grip System (AGS). This grips and secures your guitar automatically as you place your guitar in the yoke. Again, this is rock-solid.

There’s something quite satisfying about placing your guitar into the AGS yolk and then taking it out again. It has that sort of tactile feeling that never gets old.

2 AmazonBasics Guitar Folding A-Frame Stand for Acoustic and Electric Guitars – Best Budget Guitar Stand

Every guitarist at some point will have either owned one of these are will still own one. This style of guitar stand is a ubiquitous site wherever there’s a guitar or guitars.

It’s the least expensive of all the guitar stands in our review. However, it’s still is an effective stand. Plus, it’s a mighty leap from leaning it up against the wall.

Non-slip…

It has an adjustable ‘A’ frame that can be set into three different positions according to the size of your guitar. The stand can be used for electric and acoustic guitars.

The AmazonBasics Guitar Folding A-Frame Stand has non slip rubber feet. They can be used on carpeted, tiled or wooden floors, and work equally as well. Better still, they don’t leave any nasty marks if you use them on wooden floors.

Enough padding…

There’s soft padding on the arms and on the supporting pad that pushes into the back of the guitar. The padding is sufficient that you can be assured it won’t damage your acoustic or electric guitar.

The beauty of this stand is that it’s small, compact, and folds into almost nothing. In fact, it folds into such a small size that you can put it into your pocket. OK, not really, but you get the idea.

For an inexpensive guitar stand, it does everything you’d expect, and it’s genuinely hard to find fault.

3 Hercules GS302B Travlite Compact Electric Guitar Stand – Best Stage Guitar Stand

This is another in the extensive range of Hercules guitar stands. It’s very similar in the basic design concept of the ‘A’ frame guitar stand. However, the Hercules GS302B Travlite Compact Electric Guitar Stand is more geared towards the gigging musician.

The stand has a series of hinges based around a steel frame that enables it to fold up nice and small. Once fully folded, it has a flat profile and can easily be carried around. It’s also easy to pack away, with the rest of your gear, in a car or van.

Versatile and practical…

The width of the guitar stand can be adjusted precisely according to the width of your guitar. It’s suitable for electric and acoustic guitars as well as bass guitars.

The arms and back of the guitar stand have the Hercules specially formulated padding, so there’s no chance of your guitar getting damaged at the places of contact. Just as importantly, once adjusted, the stand stays firmly planted on the floor.

Safe and secure…

The stand’s base has a larger footprint than a standard ‘A’ frame guitar stand. Consequently, this is more stable than an ‘A’ frame stand. This makes the Hercules stand very suitable in a busy environment, such as on stage, or a crowded studio. Here, the extra stability is a definite plus.

The only real negative is that there are a lot of hinges on the frame. Though this is fundamentally a strong stand, these types of hinges are always a potential weak spot. If anything is going to fail, the hinges are probably going to be the first on the list.

4 K&M 17540B Guitar Stand, Heavy Duty A Frame, Electric, Black (17540.013.55) – Best Premium Guitar Stand

This is a high-quality ‘A’ frame guitar stand. It’s made from heavy-duty Swiss steel and is manufactured in Germany. It has a flawless powder-coated black finish. This is as good as it gets for one of these frames.

The K&M guitar stand is only suitable for electric guitars. The arms are not deep enough to accommodate an acoustic guitar. On the plus side, since it’s specially designed for electric guitars, the arms are higher at the front, which affords a little extra security.

Complete stability…

The stand can be adjusted for width between 8.66” to 13.78”. It’s highly stable in whichever position you choose to set it. This is also helped by the non-slip rubber feet that keep it firmly planted. Worth noting is that the rubber feet don’t leave marks on the floor.

The support arms and where the rear of the stand comes in to contact with the back of the guitar is covered with their proprietary non-marking padded material. This ensures the finish and integrity of your guitar will be fully protected.

Quality comes at a cost…

The guitar stand can be easily folded and transported. It is rather heavy, weighing a somewhat portly 4.1lbs. This is a lot heavier than similar stands and a true testament to its premium build quality. It’s only negative is that you get a premium price tag to match.

5 On-Stage XCG4 Black Tripod Guitar Stand, Single

This is a very popular and inexpensive guitar stand. Though not as popular as ‘A’ frame stands, it can still be found in plenty of studios and homes around the world. Despite its affordable price, it’s a popular choice of guitar stand for professional and amateur musicians alike.

The stand is made from heavy gauge steel and has a wide tripod design. The geometry of the stand keeps it solid to the floor. It is hard to unintentionally knock over.

Great for more unusual guitar shapes…

The On-Stage XCG4 Black Tripod Guitar Stand can hold acoustic, electric, and bass guitars. The yoke at the base of the stand rotates so it can easily accommodate different kinds of guitars and different guitar shapes, such as Explorers.

Your guitar is supported at the base and also at the neck. Once loaded onto the stand, there is a locking clamp that can be pulled across the yoke, at the neck, for extra security. Unfortunately, it can be a bit fiddly to drawn shut or open, and you sometimes need a couple of hands for the job.

Very portable…

It’s not as smooth to operate as the AGS yoke system on a Hercules guitar stand, but it’s still effective. Given that it’s quite a lot cheaper than a Hercules stand, we can look past its slightly more clunky operation.

The stand is well padded and is also easy to assemble and re-assemble. It comes in three separate parts. This means if you want to take it gigging, it’s easy to get in and out of your vehicle.

6 HERCULES Acoustic Guitar Stand (GS414B PLUS) – Best All Round Guitar Stand

If you like the standard Hercules Acoustic Guitar Stand, then the chances are that you’ll like this even more. This PLUS version has all the same good stuff of the standard stand with a couple of neat modifications.

Let’s look at what’s the same.

Firstly, you still get the super reliable and super stable triangular base. You also get the same excellent height adjustable clutch mechanism on the rear of the stand. Additionally, the Hercules proprietary formulated foam still covers all contact points on the stand. This includes on the legs and the yoke.

So, what’s different?

The main difference is in the upgrade to the already awesome Auto Grip System (AGS). The AGS has been updated and redesigned so that it’s now foldable and can also accommodate more guitar sizes. The new yoke can hold a wider range of guitars between 40mm to 52mm. However, the update in no way changes the beautifully smooth operating yoke.

The second improvement is the inclusion of two Narrow Instrument Neck Adjustment accessories. These fit over the AGS arms to add extra thickness, thereby enabling the yoke to hold smaller instruments such as banjos and mandolins.

Well worth the price…

These updates do add on a little extra cost over the standard stand. However, for the extra versatility you get in return, we think it’s worth it.

7 Genesis Series Guitar Stand with Locking Legs and Security Strap Yoke – Best Affordable Guitar Stand

This has a lot of similarities to the Hercules stand we’ve just reviewed. The Ultimate Support GS-100 guitar stand has a tripod design and offers an excellent stable base for holding your guitar. The profile of the three legs is almost identical to the Hercules GS414B and GS414B PLUS models.

The stand is height adjustable. It uses a lever system that needs both hands to operate. It works well, but it lacks the refinement of the one-handed Hercules height adjuster.

Ultimate protection…

There’s plenty of thick padding on the legs and the yoke. Happily, all the contact points are properly covered. You can rest easy that no damage will be inflicted on the finish of your guitar.

Your guitar is held in place by its neck. You place the neck into the yoke, and then the rear body rests against the padded legs. Once you’ve placed the guitar neck into the yoke, there is a safety strap that then needs to be pulled across to prevent it from falling out.

A bit fiddly…

The strap is, unfortunately, a bit of a two-handed operation. It might be tempting, once your guitar is in the yoke, not to pull the security strap across. This is because the guitar sits firmly in the yolk without the need to use the security strap.

The fact is, though, that you do this at your peril. Or rather the peril of your guitar. Don’t be lulled into a false sense of security and always use the security strap. Look upon it like closing a door in a stable or a gate in the countryside.

Great for gigs…

One of the big pluses for this stand is that it’s very easy to fold away and then erect, and it folds into a small space. This makes it perfect for transporting around if you’re gigging.

If you want the same kind of stand as a Hercules GS414B, but on a budget, the Ultimate Support GS-100 is a great option. You’ll have to live without the smooth AGS yoke, but the difference in price could very well be worth it.

8 Musician’s Gear Triple Guitar Stand Black – Best Budget Three Guitar Stand

This is a tripod style guitar stand that can hold three guitars. It can hold acoustic, electric and bass guitars. Additionally, it’s able to accommodate banjos and unusually shaped guitars.

The design of the yoke at the top and bottom of the stand is similar to that of the On-Stage XCG4 guitar stand. The bottom yoke is padded and swivels, so it can fit a variety of guitars. The yoke at the top of the stand supports the neck of the guitar.

A little complicated…

Once the guitar is in place, there is a rubber strap that can be pulled across the yokes opening to prevent the guitar from falling out. The rubber strap will take a couple of hands to fix in place. It’s not the easiest to use and is also a potential point of failure after frequent use.

The main stand can be adjusted for height. You need to screw the rotary knob to tighten or loosen the pole to make any adjustments. This is another two-handed job.

Is three really better than one?

The stand has three identical sets of yokes to hold the guitars. Because they sit in a triangular pattern, all back to back, it does make the guitar at the rear difficult to access. If you place the stand in a corner, this makes it even harder.

The stand is good at keeping your guitars safely stored. However, it’s not exactly space-efficient. What’s more, it’s also a bit awkward to use some of the functions. The stand is fine if you have plenty of room, and you don’t want to frequently move it around. Otherwise, it’s probably one to avoid.

9 Hercules GS432B A/G Tri Guitar Stand – Best Premium Three Guitar Stand

This is the Hercules solution to a tri guitar stand. However, the execution is altogether a much more refined affair. When it’s fully loaded, it’s very stable and takes up less space than the Musician’s Gear Triple Guitar Stand Black. However, it’s not all sweetness and light.

The Hercules stand also doesn’t spin around. This means that the guitar at the back remains a tricky beast to get access to. We’re sure you’ll agree that we’d all have expected something a little better from Hercules.

Is it really so hard to manufacture a stand top that’s able to rotate?

More positively, you get rather clever supports for the back of the guitars, plus you also get their brilliant AGS yokes. Even better is that the three yokes are the same updated folding yokes you find on the Hercules GS414B PLUS model. Nice.

Other good stuff includes an easy to use the single-handed height-adjustable clutch mechanism. This makes altering the stand’s height nice and easy. Along with the smooth AGS yokes, using the stand is much less of an awkward business when compared to most tri guitar stands.

Specially formulated protection…

More good stuff includes padding on the yokes and folding backrests made from the same specially formulated foam as all of their stands. You’re guaranteed of no damage to the finish of your guitars.

In short, though it’s not one of the best stands for guitars when space is at a premium, it’s undoubtedly the most refined of any tri guitar stand we’ve seen. It’s easy to use, but we can’t help thinking they’ve missed a trick by not having a rotating top.

10 CAHAYA Guitar Stand Wooden X-Frame Style with Soft Leather Edges for Acoustic Classical Bass Guitars

This is a wooden guitar stand from CAHAYA. We say wood, but it’s actually made from plywood. Still, it looks like it’s made from real wood, and it does look kind of cool. Plus, even though it’s made from plywood, it’s environmentally friendly too.

The CAHAYA guitar stand is designed for acoustic guitars only. This will include classical guitars. They are advertised as being suitable for any size of acoustic guitar. However, thinner bodied guitars don’t sit as well in the frame as full-sized guitars, like jumbos and dreadnoughts.

Best for corners…

In terms of stability, they’re not one of the best guitars stands you can buy. They offer less stability than a typical ‘A’ frame guitar stand. We would reserve this stand for a place in the corner, or somewhere with little through traffic, just to be on the safe side.

This brings us to our next point, which is transportability. Now here the CAHAYA guitar stand scores well. It can be folded completely flat into a very small profile. This means it’s perfect for carrying around. The only problem is, when you get to where ever you’re going, you’ll still have to be careful about exactly where you set it up.

Not sure about the padding?

The stand has padding on the base to protect the floor. Additionally, it has leather padding on the contact points of the stand to protect your guitar. Sadly, the effectiveness of the padding is questionable.

There have been reports of the friction damage to guitars because the padding is inadequate. Fine marks on the finish of any guitar is never a good thing. On a vintage high-end guitar, it would be a disaster.

In short, this stand looks cool; however, we think it’s best left in a child’s or student’s bedroom to accompany a less expensive guitar.

Best Guitar Stands Buying Guide

‘A’ Frame Stand

There’s no doubt that these are an inexpensive and effective way to keep your guitar at the ready. The design is simple, with very few moving or breakable parts, which gives then plenty of longevity.

They are reasonably stable in most circumstances. As long as you don’t have boisterous pets or children running around the house, they’re a good choice. Similarly, unless you’re extremely clumsy, they make a good choice for using on stage.

In fact, because they are so light and fold so easily and into such a small space, they’re an excellent choice for the gigging musician. These have so much going for them, and it’s easy to see why they are so popular.

Versatile or specific

Some ‘A’ frame stands are specifically designed for either acoustic or electric guitars. Some are suitable for both. This all depends on the shape and depth of the supporting arms. Be sure to check you get the right shape before you buy it.

If you’re looking for an affordable guitar stand, you could do a lot worse than the AmazonBasics Guitar Folding A-Frame Stand.

Tripod Stand

Tripod stands offer the best stability for floor standing guitar stands. With three legs to support the stand, they have a wide base. These are undoubtedly harder to knock over than an ‘A’ frame guitar stand. Just as importantly, we’re sure you’ll agree, since the guitar is held at the neck by the yoke, it’s virtually impossible to knock the guitar off the stand.

These stands also have the advantage that you can alter the height of the yoke that holds the guitar neck, up or down, to suit your personal preference.

Pricewise they are a little more expensive for an entry-level tripod guitar stand in comparison to an ‘A; frame stand. The truth is that tripod stands with more sophisticated yoke mechanisms can be quite a lot more expensive.

The main downsides of the guitar tripod stand are that they’re less easy to carry around, and they also take up more floor space than an ‘A’ frame stand.

Tri Stand

A tri guitar stand, as it implies, can hold three guitars at the same time. The tri stand is very stable and on a par with a single tripod guitar stand. You’d have to be very clumsy to knock one of these down. Plus, since they’re so large, they’re easy to see when they’re full of guitars.

Their size is one of the downfalls since they do need quite a lot of room. With three guitars or more, either wall-mounted or rack stands become a viable option. However, we haven’t reviewed these because, for this article, we’ve focused on floor standing guitar stands only.

Another potential drawback with tri guitar stands is that it can be difficult to access the guitar at the back of the stand.

Yokes

We prefer guitar stands with yokes that hold the guitar at the neck. All the yokes that hold the guitar at the neck have a strap, band, or mechanism to prevent the guitar from getting knocked off.

There no doubt whatsoever that Hercules stands have the best yokes for securing guitar necks. Their Automatic Grip System yokes, like on the Hercules GS415B and the Hercules GS415B PLUS, are totally awesome. They’re by far the easiest to use and are as secure as you get.

The AGS guitar neck yokes are the gold standard for guitar stands.

Looking for more high-quality stands?

If so, check out our reviews of the Best Microphone Stands, the Best Studio Monitor Stands, the Best Sheet Music Stands, and the Best Record Player Stands currently available.

And for all-round protection, you may also be interested in our reviews of the Best Electric Guitar Cases you can buy.

So, what are the Best Guitar Stands?

So, there you have it. Ten of the best guitar stands, with all of them being relatively affordable.

If you have you’re guitar out and ready to play, you should always have it on a guitar stand. If you don’t do this already, then you need to. Otherwise, an expensive accident is right around the corner.

We have a very firm favorite amongst these guitar stands. By a very long margin, our top pick is the…

Hercules GS414B PLUS

We consider this to be the most stable of all the stands and also the one that’s least likely to have a guitar knocked off once it’s in place.

Furthermore, we also love the new, improved AGS yoke. It’s so easy to use when you’re frequently picking up and putting down your guitar. The excellent padding and the stand’s one-handed adjustable height are pretty neat features too.

Enjoy your playing.