10 Accessories Every Guitarist Needs

Started playing the guitar? The guitar itself is the most important part of equipment you’ll need (and an amp if you’re playing an electric guitar). But there are many other accessories that can be useful or even essential to own. This post lists 10 of the key accessories every guitarist needs.

Plectrum

More commonly known as the ‘pick’, the plectrum is the small piece of plastic or wood that is used to pluck the strings. You can play guitar without a plectrum – for some styles of guitar, it may even be preferential. However, most guitarists like to start by playing with a plectrum.

Case

A guitar case can protect your guitar while transporting it. Whether you’re playing a gig or getting guitar lessons out of the house, it can be useful to own a guitar case. These can take the form of hard cases or padded bags.

Stand

Guitar stands provide a stable place to prop your guitar when you’re not playing it. While you can always lean your guitar up against a wall or lay it under a bed, there’s less chance of it falling or getting damaged if it’s on a stand. 

Capo

Capos can allow you to easily play chords in different keys without having to rely on barre chords. While they are useful for beginners who may find barre chords too complicated, they can also be useful to more experienced guitarists too. 

Tuner

Tuning a guitar will typically provide a tuner. A tuner is a device that can help you to precisely tune strings to the right notes by telling you whether you need to tune up or down. These devices are built into some amps, however many guitarists still like to own separate tuners (particularly for when playing acoustic). 

Strap

A guitar strap could be necessary if you are playing guitar standing up at a gig. It can prevent you from having to hold the guitar while playing. Straps come in many different patterns and materials, which you may be able to shop for at your local guitar store.

Cables

Cables are essential for plugging an electric guitar into an amp. Additional cables could be useful for plugging in pedals to an amp or even plugging your guitar directly into a computer. You can explore different types of cables online. 

Pedals

Pedals can allow you to play with various effects without having to manually fiddle with an amp. Instead you can simply use your foot to switch to different effects, increase the volume or record and loop music. Some can even add new effects that your amp may not be capable of. Different types of pedals can provide different actions. 

Allen wrenches

Allen wrenches (or allen keys) can be used for adjusting the truss rod or even replacing strings on some guitars. You’ll usually only need one size of allen wrench, but it could be useful to have a set if you decide to one day own other guitars that may need different sizes. 

Strings

Having some spare strings can be useful if a string breaks. There are many different types of guitar strings that you can buy and experiment with.