Guitar Gear

One of the great elements when it comes to the flexibility of the guitar is the gear that goes with it. Extra gear is often one of the great temptations of guitarists too, so beginners beware! It can be quite the rabbit hole!

Some Gear Essentials:

• Pick: There are lots of different shapes and styles of pick (plectrum). They are made out of a variety of materials too. Each gives a unique twist.
• Capo: The capo allows you to fret all strings at once while all fingers are still available to fret individual notes.  The effect is to raise the “key” of the guitar.  The most common use of a capo is to allow the guitarist to finger simple chords Keiser Capos are my favorite.
• Strap: It’s a necessary piece of gear for most any guitar. Having your guitar in good position is essential for playing clean and fast, and for long-term hand health!

Electric Gear:

• Amplifier: Amps are an amazing tool. Basically, the way we talk about them today, the amp is what you plug your guitar into to make it loud (a combo amp).  An amplifier is actually the device that powers a speaker and there are a lot of options that provide a lot of different features and sounds.
• Effects: There are many things that give electric guitars their tone. One of the things that has been a huge phenomenon for decades has been the use of effects. Here are the basic styles. I’ll go into more detail about them soon!
  • Foot Pedals
  • Amp Effects
  • Rack-mounted Effects Processors