The Classical Music Blog

Dean Markley

Essential Gear For The Beginning Guitarist

If you have recently bought a new guitar, whether that guitar is electric or acoustic, what follows are some essential items you will need as a beginning guitarist.  Probably the number one rule is change the strings.  Factory strings are really inferior, and if you do not know how, then a trip to the local music store, or some help from one experienced, to change these strings is essential.  As a guitarist, I  would recommend one of the following to suit your tastes:

Electric:  Rock and Roll, Heavy Metal, Blues, Country - Ernie Ball Super Slinky - Extra Light

Acoustic Steel String:  Popular, Folk, any genre - a good start would be either some Martin Light strings, or if you wish to spend a few more bucks, the Dean Markley Alchemy in Gold or Phosphorous (Light) are excellent choices.

Acoustic Nylon/Classical Strings - The Dean Markley brand is quite cheap, and fairly good sounding for an aspiring guitarist.

My suggestion would be to change strings about once a month, especially after much use.  More expensive strings, nanoweb-coated such as Elixir last longer, but you will have to fork out a few more bucks.

What is important is your guitar's ACTION.  This is essentially how close the strings are to the neck.  If the action is lower, the guitar will be easier to play.  If you have bought an electric guitar, you may need to have your action adjusted by a professional, to make sure you don't have blisters on your fingers after a week of rehearsal.  There are also many brands of "finger-ease" coating to help you play, as well as keep your strings clean.

In addition, action modifications, can also be accomplished by a professional on acoustic guitars, steel or nylon strings.

In addition to new strings on your guitar, you will need to invest in a way to tune it.  There are many devices out there, ranging from PC tuners, hand held tuners, as well as the tried and true pitch pipe, for tuning up your guitar to "440"  - a normal tuning (from the top-lowest-fattest string) of E-A-D-G-B-E.  If you find you are having trouble, turning the guitar tuners (machine heads), for a few bucks you can buy a string winder, which will help you accomplish tightening the strings.  String winders, usually also double up, on being able to pull the guitar pegs, located on the bridge of the guitar.

If you only know a few chords on the guitar, you may want to consider purchasing a capo.  Essentially a capo is attached across the frets, so that the guitarists can play in different keys while using the same simple chords. Capos come in all varieties and are inexpensive.

You will need some guitar picks and they range in thickness.  I prefer Jim Dunlop 60 mm.  which can be used for rhythm as well, as lead guitar.  They also tend to last longer, than the regular pearloid guitar picks which tend to break, if you do a bunch of strumming.  Again, this will become more apparent with practice.  Choose a pick that you are comfortable with.  The Jim Dunlop's I use usually run about 4 for a buck.  Most music stores will give you a few freebies, if you are a customer.

It always a good idea, to invest in a guitar kit, which includes polish, as well as string cleaner.  Having clean strings and great looking shine to your guitar add to the overall enjoyment and aesthetics of playing.  Martin guitar polish is a great choice for acoustic guitars.  GFS has a number of different quality items for guitar polish, as well Fast Frets, for cleaning and maintaining strings

You may want to begin rehearsing guitar sitting down, but sooner or later, especially if you are an electric guitar player, you will need a strap.  Straps come in all varieties, and made from various materials.  Much of this choice will be of personal preference, such as color, logo such as Fender – what counts is the strap being comfortable.  You may want to check out eBay to shop around and compare products and prices.

If your guitar did not come with a gig bag or case, I would advise you to invest in one.  Guitars get nicked and scratched up very easily.  A gig bag should cost you about 10 or 15 bucks, depending on the quality, but if padded with styrofoam or other material, can be more expensive.  Good quality guitar cases can also be expensive.  In essence, you may ask yourself, is this guitar I value, and wish to protect.  I tend to have guitars which are encased, but also have a "beater" guitar, which I can take to a campfire or jam, and not worry about the potentials of damage occurring.  Plus it doubles up as a canoe paddle, if needed.  But seriously, your investment today on a guitar may increase in decades to come.  I bought a used Fender Telecaster in 1975 for $200, which is worth about $2000 today.

If you have an acoustic-electric, or an electric guitar, of course you will need a cord to plug in, for amplification.  Don't skimp on this item.  There are very inferior cords out there which will deconstruct on you.  Nothing is worse, than screaming feedback, unwanted buzzes and noise, if an inferior chord is used.  This will drive you nuts.  Been there, done that.  Invest in a plastic molded cord of high quality, avoiding the screw together, and soldered type.  You may have to spend 20 or 25 bucks, but you will not be spending 10 bucks a pop repeatedly on junk.

If you have not bought a guitar, then you may be interested in one of the guitar kits available in local music stores or online.  Usually such a kit, such as the Epiphone Les Paul II kit or the Fender Squier kit, offers a good deal of these items mentioned, as well as an amplifier to plug your guitar into.  I would take time to read the reviews of these items, of which there are many posted, in online stores such as "Musician's Friend."  This site is really hard to beat, especially when shopping.  It provides a good touchstone for comparing prices and values for music gear, in general.

In Conclusion

New Strings - $7-$15

String-winder (optional) - $10 or so

Capo (optional) $10 or so

Finger-Ease Coating for Strings - $8 - $10

Guitar Picks – 4 for $1 and Up

Guitar Polish - $8 - $15

Guitar Strap - $10 and up

Tuner or Pitch pipe – (Free online) $15 and up

Gig bag or Case - $15 and up

Guitar cord - $20 and up

A life time of enjoyable guitar playing – PRICELESS!

About the Author

Written for the owner of http://www.jacksaxe.com/
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Is it a good price for a guitar package?

I was wondering if the following items was worth $800?
Sales guy gave me a list >.<

Mansfield Sunburst Guitar
Dean Markley K-20X amp
Gigbag
Belmont Folding Music Stand
Martin Guitar Polish Cloth
Darco Electric Guitar Strings
3 Picks
2 Amp Cords
Guitar Strap (Plain black)

in terms of quantity, yes, but quality, you'd have to look at the guitar and amp to determine whether or not the price is reasonable. Everything else is pretty standard. I haven't had experience with either of those two companies, so i can't say honestly, but i wouldn't say the pack was worth it.