Accessories

It's been a bit since I bored you all with a guitar post.

Today I thought we'd look at some of the little products that are available to aid guitarists. Some are cool, some are stupid, some are cool AND stupid...

Slide players always claim that slides have a way of getting lost. For all the Greg Allman immitators out there we have this solution...

Made by Peaceland Music, these slide rings don't interfere with normal fretting and they make it possible to always have your slide on hand (did you see what I did there?). I'm thinking this falls into the "cool" category.

Of course, the other item that most guitarists can never keep track of is picks. While there are many companies that solve this problem by sticking picks all over your guitar or strap, Pikcard has taken their cue from male condom habits. Now your wallet can help you be prepared in more ways than one...

This credit card-sized package holds four picks that you can snap out when you need them, and then pop back in when you're done. Unfortunately they are currently only available in medium stiffness, but they come in about 20 different motifs, ranging from drugs to patriotism to psychedelia. Cool, I think, with a hint of stupid.

When I bought my electric, I was particularly enamored with it's smooth shiny blackness. I joked that the only thing which marred its perfect ebon beauty was the presence of silver strings. DR strings has come to my rescue...

Although these examples are "Red Devil Red" and "Peacock Blue" their website assures us that "Evergreen" and "Hot Pink" are also available... as is "Black Beauty." DR claims that these coated strings last longer, but I don't even care; they're BLACK. Totally stupid and completely cool.

I cringed when Levi told me of his father's Telecaster; it has a huge scratch across the back from repeated contact with his dad's belt buckle. While some guitarists may like their ax to have a few battle scars, I think protection is in order, and so do the folks at Scratch Pad USA.

In addition to making several versions of this nifty stick and restick pad, they are also amassing a collection of "Scratchpad Girls." Lovely Alex here is the first, and they plan to add more. Cool idea.

The continual search for ways to wring new sounds from guitars is usually costly. Effects pedals and other processing units are kind of pricey, but Jellifish offers us a pretty convincing chorus effect for about $10.00.

This little guy replaces your pick. By holding it at different angles, several different sounds can be achieved. It looks to me like it would be hard on your strings, but maybe it's worth it for a cheap effect. Cool, I guess...

And now we come to the just plain stupid.

The Little Fretty is a piece of hard foam shaped like the first five frets. You are supposed to use this thing to work on finger strength, dexterity, speed, and reach. Not cool; definitely stupid.

So we don't end on that low note, here is something that I will be buying in the near future...

The iMic allows you to plug directly into your Mac and record your guitar straight into GarageBand or Pro Tools. Soooo cool; with the mixing capability of GarageBand, even I will sound good in mp3 format...

OK, you've suffered enough. Fine, go then - you've stayed your hour...