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Everyone seemed to enjoy my essential guitar accessories article… so I’ve decided to share whats in my guitar accessory bag.
So here we go….
Guitar Accessory Bag
The bag itself is just a messenger bag.
This particular one I stole from my wife (who wasn’t using it).
Prior to that I used an old Dell laptop bag (that I stole from my previous job).
If I were to get a new bag, I’d probably go with a Timbuk2 Bag. They’re extremely versatile, durable, and I believe they have a lifetime guarantee.
When looking for a bag to handle all of my guitar accessories I generally look for a few things:
- Ability to carry a laptop and/or iPad or tablet
- A few separate pockets for guitar strings and related tools
- Ability to fit standard sized papers (usually guitar tabs or music books)
- A little pocket for my picks
- An easily accessible back pocket for random stuff (tuners, capos, etc)
- A strap AND a handle
That’s it. The Timbuk2 messenger bags handles all of this stuff with ease.
Guitar Accessories in my Bag
In my bag, I always have the following:
Guitar Strings
For obvious reasons a guitar teacher needs to have a lot of extra guitar strings. I usually have a wide selection of acoustic steel strings, nylon, and electric guitar strings.
These are my favorite guitar string brands:
Acoustic Guitar Strings: D’Addario Light Gauge Strings
Electric Guitar Strings: Ernie Ball Regular Slinky
Classical Guitar Strings: D’Addario EJ45 Pro-Arte Nylon Classical Guitar Strings
A Clip-On Tuner
I seem to break and/or lose tuners a lot. I like the Snark Tuner because it’s pretty indestructible and it’s not easy to lose.
Clip-on Guitar Tuner: Snark ST-2 Multi-Instrument Chromatic Tuner
A ton of guitar picks
Again – obvious. I always lose them (or give them away to students).
I usually go with Dunlop guitar picks, but feel free to use whatever you like.
A few capos
I usually have two or three capos in my bag. I tend to lose these as well (or leave them at my students’ homes). I usually like the clamp-style capo.
Check out this write up on capos for detailed information and choices.
A string winder
I still have the same string winder that I got when I was in fifth grade (almost 30 years ago). It still holds up and does the job perfectly. And you can still buy them!
Bridge pins
I always keep a few extra bridge pins. Sometimes when changing strings I misplace (i.e. break) a bridge pin.
Now I don’t worry if that happens.
They’re cheap – but worthwhile to have on hand.
Guitar Cable
This is a little weird.
I keep an extra guitar cable in the bag – it takes up more space than I’d like – but I like to have it on hand. It’s saved my butt in more than one instance.
Other Accessories in my Bag
In addition to guitar-related stuff, theres always a fair selection of pens, pencils, business cards, my PayPal card reader (for payments on the go), and a ton of random papers of tabs, songs, chord charts, few guitar books and my Macbook Air.
I also keep a Leatherman multitool.
I mean – this is just common sense, right?
Need to cut the ends of newly replaced guitar strings? Boom – Leatherman.
Need to pull out a sticky bridgepin (carefully)? Boom – Leatherman.
Speaking of tools, I also keep a selection of random allen wrenches and guitar parts.
I use the allen wrenches for setting up electric guitars on the go (usually just adjusting the action on the guitar).
I have random parts of electric guitars (inputs, and wires, and nuts).
That’s it! That’s my EDC (Every Day Carry).
What guitar related stuff to you take with you wherever you go? Let me know in the comments below!
(Jake Posko does Online Guitar Lessons and Coaching as well as in-home lessons in the Annapolis, Maryland area including: Annapolis, Edgewater, Severna Park, Pasadena, Crownsville, Arnold and Kent Island, inquire about lessons by e-mailing him at jake@jakeposko.com).