Is guitar accessories necessary?

[stanley11]

Hi guys,

I have a friend who is a beginner with guitar. And recently we have been discussing what guitar accessories are the most important. I am not a professional guitar player but I only based my answer to her because I also know some who really plays guitar.

But to give her a more trusting or believing answer can anyone please share their own accessories? What is the most important and really needed?

[blinddrew]

Strap, tuner, capo. Everything else is pretty much optional really.

[Simon Barden]

Well, it's a near-endless list of possibilities but assuming we are talking electric guitar I'd suggest:

1. A good set-up. Even the best guitars come with a generic set-up, and the cheaper guitars almost all come as they left the factory. Many will have travelled across the ocean in a container, or a long distance by truck, which does nothing for the guitar's playability. So it really is worth having the guitar properly set up, as it makes it so much more user friendly. Better still is to learn how to do this yourself - but this comes from experience so you generally won't be able to do it after a couple of weeks of playing despite watching a YouTube video on it (there are a lot of bad YouTube 'how to' videos out there, so you need to know enough to only heed the good ones).

2. A decent guitar lead. The ones you get with starter kits are normally rubbish and often let in a lot of noise as they have so few strands in the outer braid.

3. An electronic tuner. Even the very cheap ones are good.

4. A good set of strings. Immediately replace the strings that came with the guitar if they are still on. Avoid getting the cheap Chinese strings you can get on eBay and go for a known brand like D'Addario or Ernie Ball. They will last longer, stay in tune better and feel nicer to play. Don't continue to use them past their best. Once they start to feel rough and have a build-up of crud on them, then fit a new set. Playing for several hours every day you might need to change them once a week. With lighter but regular use, maybe every two months. The acid in your fingertip oils will eat away at the string, so even in the case, the strings will continue to corrode.

5. A guitar stand. If the guitar is out and available, you are more likely to play it. It's also going to help protect the guitar as it's far less likely to get knocked and fall over compared to leaning it against a bed or a wall, etc.

6. A good plectrum that suits you. It's worth buying a pack of different plectrum types (Dunlop do such packs) and also try out a few different thicknesses and keep swapping around until you find a type and thickness that feels right to you. Then buy a bulk pack of them because they will disappear.

7. A metronome or simple drum machine. Keeping time is very important to good playing, so learning to play along to a beat is important. Any playing exercises can then be started slowly and then the tempo increased until they can be played quickly.

8. A case or decent gig bag for your guitar. Something that will provide some protection for the guitar when moving it around. It just has to be better than the basic unpadded bag that some cheap guitars are sold with.

9. A comfortable strap. The one that normally comes with a starter kit may well be fine for most players, but if the guitar is heavy (or relatively heavy for a player of smaller stature), then a wider or stretchy strap can help make playing more comfortable.

A necessity, rather than accessory, is the amplifier. The ones in starter kits are generally pretty poor sounding things with small speakers. A good amplifier can make even a cheap (but well set up) guitar sound good, so if all you have is a simple 5-10W transistor amp with a 6" speaker and no reverb that either does an insipid clean or else a buzzy distortion sound, then buying a better amp is really high priority. If it sounds good, then you are more likely to play it and progress. Again, you don't need to pay a fortune for something decent. There are a lot of modelling amps out there that sound good but don't cost a fortune and that would be my choice for a first step up. I'd suggest at least a 10" speaker, which generally means a modelling amp in the 30W-50W range. These will also normally offer a selection of effects, which along with the choice of amp models, introduces you to the world of different sounds. These also generally offer a choice of output levels and so are normally both quiet enough to practice at home with, but also loud enough to take to rehearsals once you've mastered your first three chords and form a band. A 50W Boss Katana would be my current recommendation as a great sounding solid state modelling amp that doesn't cost too much but is really good value for money.

Those are the really important necessities I see for a beginner. The various FX pedals are all nice-to-haves and can come later (providing your amp can provide the basic sound you need). You're probably best buying five or six small cheap FX pedals to start with, such as the Mooer pedals, and so give you variety, rather than spending the same amount on one boutique pedal just because your hero uses it. Multi-FX pedals are great, but I find those where you have to drill through multiple menus very unintuitive and very frustrating. Better to start with individual pedals, then maybe buy a more expensive and better sounding multi-FX (if that's your thing) once you know what sounds you want to create and how to create them.

Once you know that the guitar is for you, you can then start to expand the guitar and amp collection. And never ever sell any equipment. Ever.

[Simon Barden]

Whilst capos are generally cheap items, I wouldn't count one as a necessity (unless you are learning a piece where the music is written out for capo 3 etc.). You can certainly otherwise get by without one to start with, and then get one as and when necessary.

[wazkelly]

Agree with Simon and suggest buying an amp with headphone socket plus aux input for playing along with stuff on mp3, CD or phone (YouTube) as this will help you learn whilst not annoying others in the immediate vicinity.

You could skip metronome of drum machine if playing along with songs you know or are trying to learn to begin with but keeping time is very important, so if you tend to speed up or slow down throughout a song, you may need to spend coin on a device to assist with learning how to keep time.

Music is both mechanical and fluid and for me it is more about feeling the music than being micro millisecond perfect with no feel or groove.

[JohnH]

I agree with Waz that you can probably get away without a metronome, but also have to say that since I downloaded a metronome app it has made practicing a tonne easier (mostly learning ensemble pieces, and at home there is no one else playing along to keep me in time)

[blinddrew]

Playing with other people is one of the reasons I suggested a capo. If you're at the point when you can follow a song and transpose in real time then you probably don't need to be asking our advice about accessories!
The other reason is from the creative aspect of course, in that you can use it to change the tone of a piece as well as just pitch changing to match other musicians.