9 Best Guitar Accessories

Now, if you are a beginner and learning to play the guitar, some accessories are a must-have so that it removes frustration and makes your life a little bit easier while learning. There are a lot of accessories that are important while playing the guitar.

1. Guitar Tuner

This is considered one of the most important accessories that one must have if he wishes to play the guitar. Off-tuned strings always cause a disturbance to your ears, and it would not at all sound good.

As you learn guitar, your ears try to distinguish between what sounds good and what sounds bad.

Most of the modern guitars that are available in the market have an in-built guitar tuner. The preferable choice is to buy a guitar tuner that is easy to operate and helps tune the strings.

Buying an inaccurate and cheap tuner does not benefit you, so it is better to buy a good tuner that helps you develop as a guitarist.

• Type: Clip-on or Headstock Tuners

Clip-on or headstock tuners can clip on to the top of your guitar to detect each string’s tone through the vibrations. It also has a microphone attached to it which helps in detecting the sound.

The swivel on the tuners helps players to detect the tuning. Pedal tuners are built into a case that can be placed at your feet to look inconspicuous.

• Displays/Meters

While tuning your guitar, the meter should be easily visible, or even if you are performing in a dark area, you must be able to read the meter easily.

• Auto-Detecting Pitch

If the tuner’s quality is good, it can easily detect the pitch of the played tone and thus shows its relation with the true pitch.

• Microphones

Tuners attached to a microphone can easily detect the sound of the strings played and easily tune your guitars.

2. Capo

You must have a capo with you at any point because it helps you play specific songs easier. Some of the songs which are played on the guitar have chords that are difficult to be played.

A capo is basically a clamp placed on the guitar’s frets, which allows you to play songs higher up the neck.

When you are getting started, you must start placing your fingers in the right place, but this cannot happen all of a sudden. Chords that are difficult to be played are made easy with the help of a capo.

The capos come in different types based on their design, such as:

• Cloth & Toggle Capos

These have a toggle made up of wood, hard rubber or metal, which lies against the fretboard. A strap of nylon cloth wraps around the back of the neck.

• Spring Loaded Capos

These are some of the most popular ones which are used nowadays. The clamps are spring-loaded, which needs to be pressed in order to fix it against the fretboard. You have the freedom to clamp it either on the top or at the bottom.

• C-Clamp Capos

There is no spring between the clamp in such capos, and instead, there is a thumbscrew that can be adjusted as you rotate it. This will avoid unwanted fret buzz.

• Roller & Glider Capos

This is one of the newer variants available in the market, which has a toggle across the fretboard with a string on the top and at the bottom, it has a cylinder that rests on the back of the neck.

3. Strings

After using guitars for a long time, the strings get rusted and obviously, it does not sound good. Buying a bad quality string is not a sensible thing as it gets worn out or rusted easily after using it for a few months.

It is suggested that you change your guitar strings after using them for a year or so, else you would find them getting noisy and harsh.

• Size of the instrument

If you are playing a small-sized guitar, it would sound better to go with the lighter gauge strings. If you are playing a larger guitar, go for the medium or heavy gauge strings to produce the perfect sound.

• Tone

The heavy and medium gauge strings emphasise the lower end of the guitar’s tonal spectrum. The lighter ones have a trebly and sweet tone.

• Playing Style

If you are a heavy strummer, then you should always go for a heavier gauge string. The lighter ones are easier on the fingertips for pickers.

• Instrument Age

If you have an old guitar with you, be careful while fitting a heavier string as it produces more tension on the neck.

• Material

The string tone and longevity of the string are affected by the material with which it is made.

Bronze Strings produce a clear and bright ringing tone mainly because of the material’s ability to oxidize.

Phosphor Bronze strings are bronze strings with phosphor added to them, due to which the longevity of the string increases.

Brass Strings sounds metallic.

Silk and Steel Strings are capable of producing mellows and sweet sound. They are less durable than the others but easier to play with.

4. Slide

A slide or bottleneck is an accessory that is worn on the fingers and made up of glass or ceramic materials. This accessory gives a sliding motion to the strings of the guitar.

By wearing these slides on your fingers and pressing them against the string, you are altering the strings’ pitch. Without lifting the slide, it can continuously create alterations in pitch.

• Mass

The mass of the slides is a very important thing to consider. If you have an electric guitar, it is recommended that you go for a lighter slide because the amplifiers are doing much of the heavy lifting.

If you own an acoustic guitar, you must go for a heavy one because thicker slides will isolate your fingers’ damping effect from the string, thus producing a better sound.

• Material

Heavy-walled glass, porcelain, and brass slides are among the best-recommended options for the users as it produces enough sound to give a good sound to work with.

• Hardness

The tone and control of the string noise will greatly depend upon the material’s hardness with which the slides are made of.

5. Picks

It is the most bought accessory along with guitars because they get lost easily. There are different materials with which picks are made, and traditional picks were made up of plastic and metals.

The shape, strength, material and size of the picks should be considered while buying a pick.

How hard the pick should be, depends upon the thickness of your strings. If you have hard strings, you should go for a thicker pick. The shape of the pick is determined by the type of playing you do on your guitar.

If you are a lead player, you should have a blunter and larger pick, while those rhythm guitarists should go for pointed picks.

• Material

The material with which your guitar pick is made determines the type of tone you get while using it.

Nylon picks are smooth in surface and suitable for strumming styles.

Matt celluloid picks have a structured surface that adds grip, and it also produces a warm sound.

Embossed picks have a slightly raised area that adds the grip to the pick.

Stubby Picks are rigid material that is suitable for playing single-note lead styles.

• Thickness/Hardness

Picks also come in varying thickness. Each of them is suitable for their own styles.

The light gauge picks are quite bendy and suitable for strumming style. The sound produces by them is nice and bright. It is recommendable for beginners as it offers less resistance.

Medium gauge picks are suitable for solo playing or single note to produce a beefier strumming tone.

Heavy gauge picks are not at all suitable for strumming styles. They can be best used for rock rhythm playing, soloing styles and bass playing.

• Size/Shape

Guitar picks come in several different shapes and size. It is totally up to the users on which shape/size to choose. If you are using it for strumming styles, it is recommended that you go for the normal-sized pick. If you want to play the lead note, the picks should be pointed at the end.

• Colour

If the colour of the pick you choose matches your guitar’s colour, it will look nice and stylish.

6. Guitar Strap

While playing the guitar, it is very important that you feel as comfortable as possible. There are many possible things that make you comfortable while playing.

Apart from picks and strings, guitar straps also play an important role in making you comfortable. The adjustable strap that you buy allows you to buckle up the guitar to your own comfortable height easily.

Obviously, there are pain-related issues that arise when you play for a longer time, so it is very important that whenever you buy a strap, it should suit you and be adjustable.

• Material

The material with which the strap is made should not cause pain to your shoulders.

• Length

The length of the strap should be easily adjustable. Each user has their own comfort and height in which they would feel comfortable. The length must be easily increased or decreased.

• Shoulder Pad

A pad on the shoulder would allow users to play comfortably without pain.

• Thickness

Always go for a thicker strap. Thinner straps are difficult to use as they can cause more pain to your shoulders.

• Colour

There are a variety of colour combinations of straps. Choose a strap that matches the colour of your guitar.

7. Guitar Stands

You must be able to place your guitar when it is not in use easily. If you recklessly place your instrument on the table or somewhere else, there is always a risk of the body getting damaged.

If you are not careful in placing your instruments, the strings’ stress can also cause them to break. So, it is recommended that you place your guitar on a proper stand.

• A-Frame Stand

 You may find these stands unstable to place your guitars, but the fact is that they are the most stable stands available for placing your guitar. If they are fully collapsed, they are small enough to be packed and carried along with you anywhere you go.

• Tubular Stand

They are the most popular ones at the moment. As compared to the A-frame stands, they have an additional hold for the neck, providing better stability.

• Wall-Hanging Stand

These are confined to an individual room. These are fixed onto the wall, so you can not carry these guitar stands around with you. They are good for when there is limited floor space.

8. Clean and Care

In addition to the maintenance kit, you need to have cleaning products to clean the fretboard. Over time, the fretboard develops grime and gunk around the frets, which need to be removed.

While changing your strings, it is a good habit to clean up your fretboards. Cleaning your strings is also necessary to prevent them from degrading.

While playing the guitar, your fingers’ oil would corrode the string, which will degrade the voice quality. It only takes a few minutes to wipe your strings; in return, it can make a big difference to the tone.

The cleaning oil you use must protect the shine of the guitar and make it look glossy. The strings must get rusted if exposed to open air for a long time. The clean & care product must be able to remove that too.