Top 15 Must Have Guitar Accessories & Gear (For Beginners and Pros Alike)
Discover the best acoustic and electric guitar must-have accessories. They make perfect guitarist gift and gadget ideas too...
Play guitar? Wondering what guitar accessories you really need to make learning to play acoustic or electric guitar easier and more fun?
You’re gonna love this post then. Because we’ve painstakingly searched the internet to find the essential best guitar gear and gadgets you need to have in life. What’s the best capo? What guitar strings should you buy? What about the best digital guitar tuner for your hard earned cash?
Find out the answers and more in this ultimate top 15 best guitar accessories list…
(Warning: Reading on may cause the gadget lover in you to come out to play…)
An out of tune guitar sounds horrible. Every guitar player needs a guitar tuner. You can’t go wrong with this clip on tuner by Snark.
With it’s high sensitive vibration sensor that picks up your guitar notes with ease & impressive ability to tune guitar, bass, and violin you’ve no excuse to sound like a cat caught in a hurricane when you play now.
Simply clip the tuner onto the headstock of your guitar, and you’re good to go forth and tune.
You’ll love: the bright colour display which makes it easy for you to see when your guitar is flat, sharp, or beautifully in tune.
Whilst you can use a clip-on tuner on an electric guitar, they’re not great in noisy environments for picking up your notes.
With their handy jack input and output, however, both the Korg GA50 and TM60BK tuners allow you to plug in and tune your electric with precision regardless of the racket going on around you.
If you’re after a quality digital chromatic guitar tuner you can use on electric and acoustic guitar, both Korg tuners are a winner. An added bonus to the TM60 is it has a built in metronome which gives you 15 rhythm variations and 3 types of tempo settings to boot.
You’ll love: The fancy sounding Quinta-flat tuning mode that allows you to drop tune up to five semitones. Wow. That’s low.
Such a boring job changing guitar strings is. Wouldn't it be nice for it to take just 2 minutes instead 20+? And faffing about with alternative tunings seems like too much effort to bother sometimes. Well if you fancy taking the pain out of both processes, check out The Roadie 2.
This clever guitar gadget is an automatic stringer winder and guitar tuner that takes the hassle out of tuning and string changing. Simply attach the tuner to your tuning peg, pick the string, and hey presto - it automatically tunes your guitar for you. Ingenious.
If you have some spare cash burning a hole in your pocket and like tech that saves you time and helps you get on with playing your guitar quicker, this is the guy for you.
You’ll Love: The huge number of different preset tunings programmed in (40+). DADGAD within seconds anyone?
Bonus:
After standard picks and confused about which are the best size to get? You’d be smart to go for a medium thickness pick such as these Dunlop 0.73mm picks. You’ll get the best tone and the nicest playing feel, especially on your acoustic.
Annoying when you’re told to shut up playing through your amp at home isn’t it? Well here is your miracle solution. The perfect practicing aid, the Vox amPlug simply plugs into your guitar or bass, you stick your headphones in and you’re good to go.
You can even plug in your metronome or MP3 into this funky gadget to play along to. And with it’s gain, tone, volume and fx dials, the amPlug packs in a surprising amount of features.
All you need now are some top notch headphones to go with it…hmm I wonder where…
You’ll love: The four amp model sounds you get- ‘AC30’, ‘Classic Rock’, ‘Metal’ & ‘Bass’
Bonus:
A bluetooth speaker is a must-have accessory for any serious musician. For all your practice needs simply connect your tablet or smartphone to this fully waterproof JBL Flip wireless speaker and jam along to your music. With an impressive 12 hours playback on a single charge, this little guy sounds amazing and lasts forever.
Ahh. Top notch headphones. The perfect guitar players cans. No more excuses to slack of practising your electric- make as much noise as you like through your amp now.
These super cool looking Marshall Majors have customised drivers that give deeper bass, sweet mid-range and detailed crisp highs.
The soft cushioned ear cups mean you can play away for hours and forget they’re on your noggin. You can even let a buddy listen through the spare 3.mm socket to your latest jam if you desire.
You’ll love: The detachable kinky coil cord with remote and microphone.
I’m not going to lie: Changing guitar strings is a pain in the butt. This unique string changing multi-tool is a total must to make the job much easier.
With a string winder, bridge peg puller and wire snipper all in one gadget you’d be silly really not to have this in your guitar players tool kit.
You’ll love: The Pro-Winder fits virtually all electric & acoustic guitars, banjos, and mandolins. Sorted.
Bonus:
A guitar footstool is one of those bits of kit you’ll be glad you brought. Did you know good playing posture is vital to your progress and enjoyment of playing guitar? This is where a footstool comes to the rescue. Say goodbye to feeling uncomfortable and muscle aches brought on by practice.
With 4 adjustable settings for height and grippy rubber feet, this stand is perfect for adult and kid guitarists alike.
You’ll love: You can raise your lead foot making it easier to play and start concentrating on getting better on guitar, not fidgeting around trying to get comfy.
Bonus:
The No 1 gadget for any learning musician, a tablet allows you to record your practice, use a metronome, check your practice planner, and use a multitude of cool muso friendly apps.
What’s the best way to stop your guitar strings from breaking? Keep your strings and fretboard clean is a great place to start. The truth is, every guitar player should have a guitar cleaning kit, and this one from Jim Dunlop is a first class choice.
The Dunlop System 65 guitar tech kit makes removing grime and dirt from your guitar strings and fretboard easy and quick, and will easily last you for years depending on how many guitars you have and how OCD you are.
The set includes Fretboard 65 ultimate lemon oil, Formula 65 polish, Ultraglide 65 string cleaner, plus two polishing clots and a string winder. Not too shabby. The trick is to use a bit of these cleaners on your guitar each time you change your strings. Apply with a microfibre towel, then use the included cloths for the finishing touches.
You’ll love: Bringing life back into your guitar fretboard and preserving it for years to come. Total mini fist pump moment.
No more boring packed lunches at work or school. This cool guitar shaped lunch box is ideal for any guitar player on the planet.
We all know playing guitar is pretty special, so what better way to show your dedication to the ax wielding cause by stuffing your sarnies and apple in this dude every day?
You’ll love: The free 5 strips of funky vinyl stickers so you can customise to your hearts content.
10. Metronome
Using a metronome is essential to help you become an awesome guitar player. Without constantly working on correct timing, you may aswell give up playing guitar and take up knitting instead.
Seriously though, an old school metronome is an ace weapon to have. Yes you can use a free one on your phone, but they’re often not loud enough. And to get the most out of practising with a metronome, a top tip is you need to hear it over your guitar. This one fits the bill nicely.
You’ll love: It’s so simple to use. Just wind it up and go. No more: “Oh my battery ran out so I can’t use my metronome app.”
We keep ’em coming for you. Another essential every respectable guitar player must have. This capo by Jim Dunlop is an industry standard made from no less than aircraft quality aluminium.
Be it Wonderwall or Hotel California, you can't play them right without using a capo. At some point I guarantee you’ll start learning a song that needs one, so why wait? Go on. Treat yourself. You know you should…
You’ll love: The strong clamp action meaning you can use it on 6 and 12 string, acoustic and electric guitars.
Most beginner guitar players I teach don’t even know you have to change your guitar strings. You jolly well do though. Brand spanking new strings make your guitar smile. They sound nicer, they’re easier to play. Now you’re smiling.
But all that choice. What thickness do you go for? Medium, heavy, light-medium, super-light? Arggh! Stop worrying, because we’ve got the perfect strings to suit your acoustic. Go for these top quality Elixier light guage strings.
They're nanoweb coated meaning they feel silky smooth on your fingers, and they really do last 2-3 times longer than cheaper non coated strings.
Further reading: 8 Actual Reasons Why Your Guitar Strings Break
You’ll love: Saving time and money long-term as you won't need to change your strings as often now.
Bonus:
This great value pack of 3 sets of electric guitar strings by Ernie Ball are a must have if you have an electric guitar. The 0.10 gauge thickness are what most guitarists opt for for a reason- great overall tone and playability.
The Katana Mini amp by Boss is the boss of home practice guitar amplifiers. It offers you a wide range of lush tones and the 7 watts deliver a shockingly louder sound than you'd imagine from such a small guy.
Whether you're sitting on the sofa at home, jamming with your band or getting a cheeky practice session in at work, both the clean and driven sounds are fantastic on the Katana.
You'll love: Many users are singing the praises at the impressive battery life this mini amp gives you. You can also plug it into the mains for those extra long practice sessions.
Further reading: Best small amps for home
Guitar picks are like socks; for some reason they always seem to disappear without a trace. Well no more. This smart pick plectrum holder means you’ll never be searching for a pick again.
Now if you can just find where the other 12 you brought in that bumper pack went…
You’ll love: The handy size fits into the palm of your hand which makes it perfect for travel.
Not just for the serious gadget loving guitarist, but for every guitar player serious about getting amazing at playing guitar. Create your own loops and jam with yourself or others. Loop a strumming pattern or picking arpeggio then add some drums that automatically match your rhythm.
Overdub, stop and delete with the foot switch and save up to 99 banks of loops. You’ll be practising for hours and not know it. Creative guitar playing heaven!
You’ll love: The bullet proof build quality famous of Boss and USB port allowing you to connect the RC-3 to your PC.
Love the look of this looper? Check out 5 Top Loop Pedals out there today.
Summing it Up
So there you have it fellow guitar player. A list of must have guitar accessories and goodies that will make playing easier and fun.
Go on and treat yourself or the guitar player in your life. With all those practise hours and hard slog, you deserve a few rewards!
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