When you walk into a music store and look around, you are confronted with a litany of choices. Obviously there are the instruments, there are probably enough to make your head spin, but lets say you have your instrument (guitar obviously). So what now? If you have an electric then you are going to need things to accompany it like a amp and chord, but lets include the acoustic guys in on this. What do you need with your guitar whether it is electric, acoustic or both. Lets see:
1. Clip-on Tuner
Oh course you need something to keep yourself in tune, but there are lots of options. There are the stand-alone units that fit nicely into the pocket of your guitar case or gig-bag. You may also see the pedal tuners that are very popular with those that play on stage. Then there are the ones that clip on the head stock of your guitar. All of these options work, and I've used them all. Some work really well. Most of the stand-alone units are really good. Some of these you can even plug directly into, but all use some type of internal mic. That can make for a awkward time at a jam session or rehearsal. They don't do well with a lot of excess noise, and you have to balance it on your knee or prop it up somewhere close. The pedal tuners are fantastic. They work well in a lot of situations. They are accurate, and reliable. However if you don't have pickups then you are out of luck, also they require power from a 9-volt or power supply. The nail in this coffin is their cost. You're looking at a hundred dollars for the industry standard Boss TU-3 tuners. Other pedals are out there and work, but not all tuners are the same. Fender put out a pedal tuner that was practically worthless. That leaves us with the clip-on style of tuners. These are my favorite for several reasons. They don't use mics, they actually feel the vibrations of the guitar. This works rather well. I can tune in noisy situations without much difficulty. They live on the head of my guitars so it make keeping up with these things rather easy and there isn't the awkward holding situation as with the stand-alone units. They are battery powered, but usually the battery is included and last for a long time. I've been using one for more than a year without needing a change. The best part is that they are cheap. You can usually find one of these types for less the either of the other two. That's why they are my choice.
Guitar Stand
This may not seem like a necessity, but there are many times when I wished I had an extra stand or two so that all my guitars had a nice place to sit. When starting out it is important to have a good, stable place that will keep your guitar safe. I teach student the guitar and they often come in with banged up instruments. This can be easily remedied with some forethought. There are many brands and designs of stands. Most cost less than twenty dollars. There is no need to buy the most expensive stands. There are some that are crafted out of wood, or some that hold several guitars, these my be the right choice for your particular needs, but the most basic stand with work for most guitars. These are excellent for that beginner, because they keep the guitar in sight. Its much easier to grab the guitar out of a stand than dragging it out of a case.
Capo
Many new guitarist down even know that there is such a thing. It is one of the most frequent question that I get, "What is a 'cap'o?" Its a little hard to explain, but a capo can make your playing much easier. Recently I was play at a rehearsal and realized that didn't have my capo. Come to find out we were playing in some odd keys and needed to modulate. To make things worse my music was written for the use of a capo. Being the guitarist that I am, I re-tuned my guitar and transposed the music. This meant that I came in late to any song that I had to re-tune for. I jumped from a whole step down to a half step up. Not a lot of fun. Life could have been a little easier if I had just remembered that little accessory. Again, these are usually no more than twenty dollars. You can find many for much less. If you play with other musicians or play along with a radio, these things can really be useful.
Case/Protection
So anyone who plays the guitar is going to need some protection. Moving a guitar is probably the most likely time that your guitar will be damaged. I've transported guitars with cases, but its always nerve-racking. Its not just cosmetic. The neck joint of your guitar is sensitive to outside forces. Undue pressure can cause the neck to bend. Guitars are robust. A quality instrument will be made to last for years, but a case will help keep your instrument in like-new condition much longer. There are several options. The two main options are a hard-case and a gig bag. A hard case is going to offer more protection from outside forces. A gig bag is a good option to carry a guitar from here to there. Most gig bags have straps to carry like a back pack. That's helpful for when you have a lot of equipment to carry. Being able to have two available hand while carrying a guitar mean less trip from your vehicle to the venue. A soft case is another option. It's more cost effective than a standard hard-case and almost offers the same level of protection. Flight-cases are just what they sound like, cases that are intended to be put in storage compartments. They offer the most protection for your instruments and they are the standard for professionals, but they can be very expensive. There is little instinctive for the regular musician to have one of these until they have need for that level of protection.
Tablet
This is the only option that is not offered at a music store. A Tablet can be extremely useful for a musician. It is hard recommend this to all my students, but the more serious student can benefit from this piece of tech. There are many options when looking at tablets. The good part is that, for the most part, the application that are used most for music don't require outstanding performance. Music is easily organised and stored, audio is made very available, looking up chords is made very easy, even searching for lessons is made possible. Maybe the best part of using a tablet is that you can play and studio music completely paperless.
Obviously these things are not necessary to play the guitar. After all, people have been playing guitar for years before any of these thing existed. These are the things that I use in my day-to-day that make it easier. I've been playing before some of these things were even around, so I enjoy these innovations. Many of these things are common sense, and you can decide for yourself what you need.
