A Beginner’s Gear Essentials

NOW THAT YOU KNOW HOW TO SHOP ONLINE LIKE A PRO, LET’S GET YOUR GUITARSENAL ALL BEEFED UP FOR SOME SERIOUS SHREDDING SESSIONS.

If you’ve been inspired to start learning the electric or acoustic guitar during the Coronavirus lockdown, there are a few gear essentials and guitar accessories you should consider to help supercharge your guitar development and enjoyment of the instrument.

This guide covers everything you’ll need to keep your guitar in shape and sounding great. What’s even better is that, once you’ve paid for your guitar, nothing else on this list will break the bank. TUNER

Not only does a guitar tunter help you tune your own instrument and keep it sounding great, it also helps you stay in tune with your jam buddies or the rest of your band. The minimalist Korg Pitchclip 2 attaches to your guitar’s headstock and enables quick tuning thanks to a crisp LED display. If you’re serious about the guitar, a tuner should be one of your first purchases.

AMPS

There has never been more choice when it comes to great budget guitar amps for beginner guitarists. Of course a low price is one thing, but it also needs to perform well, sound great and offer functionality and enough features that you can grow into as you progress. If your playing will mostly be bedroom-based, the tiny Blackstar Fly 3 is a great starting point. If your sights are set on gigging, the

Boss Katana-100 comes highly recommend ed and will perform from the bedroom to the stage.

STRAP

A quality guitar strap can mean the difference between your cherished guitar staying put and losing a chunk from the body after it hits the cold, hard floor. Your new guitar will be in safe hands with the Ernie Ball Polypro. It’s available in a range of colors, and features a two-inch wide polypropylene webbing, stitched to black leather ends for extra support.

CABLE

A great beginner electric guitar and amp is useless unless you have a quality cable connecting the two. Usually, a cheap guitar cable is a false economy, needing swift replacement or driving you mad with unwanted noise in your signal. Beginner guitarists should look for a blend of durability and performance from their cable. For us, that job is ably performed by the D’Addario Planet Waves American Stage Cable.

CASE

If you want your new guitar to last, it’s important to use adequate protection for when you start taking your guitar to lessons, jams or band practice. To begin with there’s no need to spend loads of cash on a plush hard case; all you need is a quality gig bag in which you can stash your guitar plus other essential accessories. When budget is tight, we’re big fans of the Gator Economy Gigbag, which is available for both electric and acoustic guitar.

STRINGS

A fresh set of electric of acoustic guitar strings can transform a guitar. They’re dirt cheap and easy to fit, too. To begin with you’ll want a string set that sounds great and lasts a while, leaving you free to focus on learning the ropes. Ernie Ball’s popular Super Slinky strings are the perfect choice for electric players, while D’Addario’s EJ16 Phosphor Bronzes are an ideal addition to your new acoustic guitar.

CAPO

The capo is a super affordable piece of gear that can dramatically change your guitar sound with huge potential for songwriters and guitarists who play covers. In use, capos act as a moveable nut that you can move up to any fret on the guitar, changing the guitar’s pitch as it goes. At such low prices, they’re well worth experimenting with.

PICKS

Guitar picks (also known as plectrums) remain one of the most important but often-overlooked accessories in a guitarist’s arsenal, making a dramatic difference to your playing style and tone. When choosing picks, it’s worth considering the pick shape, thickness and the material as all will have an impact on your playing comfort and tone. Dunlop has huge options within its Tortex range. We’d suggest starting there.

LESSONS

All of this essential guitar gear is only one part of the puzzle. The next step is to start learning. Looking for lessons online is an obvious place to start, but it can be difficult to separate the good from bad. We like Fender Play because it’s a well structured, app/ PC/Mac-based tool that arms guitarists with the most important techniques courtesy of step-by-step learning and progress tracking. It’s loaded with great songs to learn, too.