Music gear recommendations

Here are the products I really like and use having tried out a ton of different music products over my 20+ years of playing guitar and banjo. Disclosure: If you purchase some of these products by clicking on the affiliate links I will get money which I will donate to GiveWell’s recommended charities.

12 Packs of e and b guitar strings. It’s a guitar player’s nightmare: you’re at a gig and your high e or b string snaps. Best case scenario you have a backup set of strings in your case and can quickly restring. But now next time you change strings your package of strings is missing its e or b string! Luckily, JustStrings sells amazingly cheap 12 packs of just high e or b strings! (They actually sell 12 packs of any string you want, but these are the most useful). Now you can toss a few of these in your gig bag and not worry about being without a backup if you break a string. (Thanks to Jonathan Stout for this tip).

String winder (or, drill bit attachment). This can greatly speed up the process of changing strings, which (see entry above) can be particularly important during a gig. Toss the small string winder in your gig bag and relax knowing you’ll be able to change strings even faster mid-gig.

Strap locks. The hole where the strap connects to your instrument stretches out over time, and this can cause the instrument to disconnect from the strap and fall. Simple and cheap strap locks — basically just rubber washers — fit over either end of the instrument pin and hold the strap on securely so you can rest easy.

Rechargeable vibration-based tuner (small two pack, larger rotatable one). When the original “Snark” tuner came out a few years ago, it was a real game changer — instead of using sound waves vibrating through the air it used the vibration of the instrument itself, which meant that even in a loud gig environment you could tune reliably. The only annoying thing about the snark is that it uses watch batteries, which can run out at inopportune times and aren’t available to buy just anywhere. A better option are these USB-rechargeable ones. As long as you have a charger nearby you don’t have to worry about making sure you have enough batteries on hand. You can get a two pack and always keep a spare around incase the one you are using needs to be charged. I find it is easy enough to see them, but some people prefer this larger rotatable one that swivels.

Blue chip pick. I was skeptical that this much-touted pick was actually better than other picks and worth the price. Since I got one, though, I have become convinced this is actually a better pick, largely because it is made out of a superior and expensive polyimide material called Vespel. (Here is their patent that mentions the material). It sounds great, and I have used this pick pretty much daily for about a year with no discernable wear at all. In this video this guy compares a new and used blue chip pick under a microscope and you can see there is little if any wear. Makes a great gift because you can engrave something nice on the back.

Dunlop primetone pick. My second choice for best pick is the dunlop primetone. It is not made out of the same material as the blue chip but it is a reasonably hard material that wears slowly and sounds good. It is a fraction of the price of the blue chip so a good choice for someone who loses picks.

Lunchbox Amp. If you enjoy storing a large amp and lugging it to gigs, this amp is not for you. If, like me, you live in a small apartment and don’t want to store a big amp or haul it to gigs then check this out: this is a 100 Watt amp that weighs less than 10lbs(!) and is literally as small as a lunchbox! You can make it even louder with a similarly lunchbox-sized cabinet. Tons of clean headroom and works great with pedals. Video review. (I have the the “Acoustic” version which sadly is not made any more but it is excellent because it also has a mic input. Look for it on reverb or craigslist).

Portable power supply for playing in areas without power. If you ever need to play in an area without power supply (e.g, during an outdoor wedding, or while busking) you might think you need to buy a specialized battery powered amp like this or this. (I have owned both, now sold them). A better option to limit your extraneous gear and heavy batteries is to pick up a new rechargeable portable power supply that uses improved battery tech so that it weighs only 7lbs and gives you 300 watt/hours. That’s enough to play the Lunchbox or another 100-Watt amp for several hours at full volume — but you’re likely to be playing at less than max volume at all times so should get even more playing time.

Collapsible guitar stand. Continuing with the theme of things that are easy to take to a gig, this collapsible guitar stand is great: lightweight and collapses into a very small package.

Paige Capo. If you play guitar in a genre of music that uses open strings, like bluegrass, you need a good capo that is easy to move around between songs and that you can dial in the pressure so it doesn’t cause the strings to go out of tune like the cheaper spring based ones do. This is the one I use; you can easily store it behind the nut of the guitar, and you can twist it to adjust the pressure just right for your guitar neck and it stays that way.

Portable recorder. If you want to hear how a gig, rehearsal, or jam sounds after the fact this is a relatively cheap and surprisingly high quality option. Also works as a USB microphone you can plug directly into your computer and record. And it can be fun to record a concert or festival you are attending :)

Humidifier and humidity meters. Instruments made of wood typically need to be kept within a certain humidity range (40–60% for guitars is a rule of thumb). Use this simple humidifier to prevent problems. The humidity meters are so cheap you can pick up a few and keep one in each case to make sure you’re not drying out your instruments too much.

iReal Pro and Fakebook Pro software plus a cheap tablet like this or this. Another gamechanger in the last few years, especially for jazz players, has been iReal Pro, Fakebook Pro and other “gig book” software. Back in the dark ages like five years ago, a jazz player going to a jam or a gig might need to bring several RealBooks/Fakebooks/Gig Books to make sure if someone calls a song they don’t know they can flip to the right page and play it. And if you need to play it in a different key — often required when playing with a singer — you have to transpose in your head which is tricky. In comes iReal Pro, which has the chord progressions of every jazz standard, and a very active crowd-sourced forum that adds new songs in every style all the time. Features abound: with a single click you can transpose a tune to any key, and iReal Pro will even play a midi version of the chords, drum, and bass so you can practice soloing. Amazing. What iReal Pro does not have, due to copyright reasons, is the melodies which the paper RealBooks do have. This is where Fakebook Pro shines. The developers have indexed most major fakebooks and allow you to download them from their site and load it onto your tablet in a searchable indexed format. So instead of paging through multiple paper books to find a song, you can simply search for it by name. Amazing! Load these on to a cheap tablet like this or this that you bring to gigs or jams and you’ll never waste time thumbing through gig books again.

Eargasm concert ear plugs (or similar knock off). Concerts are too loud. Unfortunately due to the physics of sound as a practical matter they kind of have to be to get sound to all parts of the venue. These ear plugs provide enough decibel reduction so you don’t damage your hearing but you can hear the concert. Once you start using them at loud concerts you’ll never go back.