Famously, guitarists don’t exactly need much encouragement to stock up on gear and guitar accessories, however, much of the time it actually makes good sense (honest)!
So many guitar accessories out there are designed to make things quicker, easier, safer, and more efficient. Some are necessities, some are (very desirable) luxuries, and some sit in the middle. Here are 10 great guitar accessories to put on your wish list.
1 – Taylor Sanded Leather Guitar Strap
In the beginning, it’s important to practice both standing and sitting, so you’re versatile and don’t have to adopt a specific posture to be able to play. Beyond that, you may well be playing live (meaning you’ll also be rehearsing and practicing more at home), much of which will be done standing up. All of this requires a guitar strap. And this is not an area in which to skimp. A dropped guitar means – besides a lot of embarrassment – a potentially broken guitar too! This Taylor strap is strong, steadfast, and reliable and comes highly recommended.
2 – Dunlop Ultex Jazz III Picks
One of the more obvious guitar accessories here. And these Dunlop picks are among the most popular. The key thing with picks is to always have more than you need. They have a habit of disappearing, bouncing off in odd directions, being borrowed, and dropped and given away. Make sure you always have a healthy stash of them around so you’re never in trouble when you need one most!
3 – G7th Performance Capo
A capo is a really useful little accessory, particularly for acoustic guitarists and songwriters. The ability to clamp a capo on and off with ease, and without affecting tuning, is essential with a capo, and the G7th model is known for this, as well as its sturdy but sleek design.
4 – Ernie Ball Musicians Toolkit
So commonly, a guitarist will suddenly need some pliers, an Allen key or a screwdriver, but not have it, and be searching old tins full of loose screws and trinkets in desperate need of the one very specific (and often very small) tool they need. Sooner or later, you basically need to equip yourself with a set of tools, that you keep together, in the same place, to turn to when needed. The great thing about the Ernie Ball Musicians Toolkit is that it’s musician-specific, and not a generic toolkit, so it’s sure to contain everything a guitarist will need.
5 – Strukture Strap locks / Cable Package
Strap locks are really important in stopping guitars from dropping and potentially being damaged. These ones are really secure and come with a cable as a complete package. Of course, they need to be paired with a solid guitar strap, but this is what completes the deal and makes your guitar extremely unlikely to fall from its strap.
6 – On-Stage Foldable Guitar Stand
A guitar stand of some kind is obviously pretty essential if you’re going to look after your guitar properly. This applies at gigs, at home, everywhere. What’s fantastic about this one is firstly that it’s foldable, meaning it’s portable. And secondly, it’s adjustable, meaning it can accommodate anywhere between 1-3 guitars.
7 – Fender Flat-Top Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar Case
Another one here that’s all about guitar care. And whilst a hard case isn’t always necessary at home, or for reasonably controlled travelling and gigs, there’s one circumstance in which it’s particularly crucial – for protecting valuable acoustic guitars. Plenty of guitarists even keep their acoustic in a hard case at home, as accidents can happen on rare occasions. Of course, it’s still really important to take care of lower budget acoustic guitars too, more than that, the more valuable a guitar becomes, the more valuable its care usually becomes too.
8 – On-Stage FS7850B Foot Stool
This one mostly relates to classical guitarists, as a foot stool is an essential accessory in the world of classical guitar. The stool enables the guitarist to adopt the necessary pose and posture that is proper for classical playing, and vitally, to do so without discomfort. It’s a fairly simple one this – if you want to play classical guitar, and you don’t have a foot stool…buy this foot stool!
9 – Ernie Ball Glass Guitar Slide
Slide guitar – although challenging – is enormous fun to play, and this glass slide from Ernie Ball is the perfect starter model. It typically goes on the player’s 3rd (ring) finger of the fretting hand (although plenty of guitarists use their 2nd or 4th) and glides along the string, touching the string but not applying pressure i.e. Not touching the fretboard. This creates a smooth, expressive, almost vocal or violin-like sound, that takes practice, but is addictive, rewarding, creative fun.
10 – Ernie Ball Power Peg Pro
This one is admittedly more of a luxury item, in the sense that numerous guitarists have survived a lifetime without it. However, it’s a great time saver, and given the option just about every guitarist would want one. The Power Peg Pro is essentially a motorized string winder that can make string changing 80% faster. And we really don’t need to say any more, right?
Edited by Billy Saefong and written by Alex Bruce. They are writers for Guitartricks.com and 30Daysinger.com.
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