Guitar Accessories: Some Helpful Goodies

You can treat yourself to a number of other little guitar accessories, doodads, and contraptions that make guitar playing a lot more painless and convenient. In no particular order, consider some of these guitar accessories, which are often worth their weight in thumbpicks.

Batteries: Tuners, effects pedals, and even some guitars run on batteries. Stock up on a couple of nine-volts and a few AAs and store them in a sealed plastic bag.

Bridge pins: These little plastic pieces wedge your strings into the bridge of your acoustic guitar. The problem is this: If you lose one (because it goes flying off a dock or into the grass after you yank it out), you can't find anything to substitute for it. Matchsticks are the closest things, but who carries those around these days? The next time you're at the music store buying strings, make sure that you also pick up a couple of extra bridge pins.

Cords and cables: A crackling cable is no fun for either you or your audience. That nasty sound means that your connections are worn and bad - it happens. Keep extra cables on hand of both the long variety (for connecting your guitar to an effect or an amp) and the short (for interpedal connections).

Cassette recorder: Don't miss capturing a once-in-a-lifetime musical moment because you don't have a tape recorder on hand. You never know when inspiration may strike. If you play with other people - especially those who can teach you something - keep the recorder handy so that you can preserve licks, riffs, and other cool moves for later study. Microcassette recorders are great because they fit right into your guitar case. After you get good at recording your ideas, you may even consider taking along a four-track recorder (one that enables you to overdub, or add parts to, existing tracks). You can create multipart arrangements with a four-track instead of being limited to only the simple ideas that you can capture on a normal cassette recorder. You can get a four-track for as little as $200.

Cloth: This is one of the guitar accessories that are often overlooked, but essential. You should always wipe down your guitar after playing to remove body oils that can corrode strings and muck up the finish. Cotton is good, and chamois is better. At least give your fingerboard a wipe before you put it in the case, and if you're playing with short sleeves, give the top a rubdown, too.

Singer and songwriter Jim Byrne has been a guitar player all his life. His songs has a twist of bluesy folk, country, Americana and Scottish. Discover more tips to help you choose the right guitar accessories and learn valuable guitar playing tips as he offers some great all-around advice for beginner and advanced players alike. Visit Jim's website for more tips and to download two of Jim's latest songs for free => http://www.songsbyjimbyrne.com/freemp3music/index.html

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