Whether you’ve just unwrapped your first acoustic or you’ve been playing for years, the right accessories can change your sound. They improve your practice and care for your instrument. They can also change how you practice and care for your instrument. The good news? Most of the best gear won’t break the bank.
Here’s a look at the must-haves — and a few delightful extras — for guitar and ukulele players alike.
Tuners & Tuning Accessories
An in-tune instrument is a happy instrument. Clip-on chromatic tuners work beautifully for both guitar and ukulele, picking up vibrations directly from the headstock. For a discreet on-stage choice, a clip-on with a flip screen is invaluable. Alternatively, phone-based tuner apps are surprisingly precise and always in your pocket.
Clip-on Chromatic Tuner
Attaches to the headstock and reads vibrations — fast, precise, and battery-powered.
Pedal Tuner
Sits on your pedalboard, mutes signal while tuning — the gigging guitarist’s best friend.
Low-G Tuning Set
A restringing to low-G opens up a deeper, guitar-like tonal range on soprano and concert ukes.
Strings
Fresh strings on a guitar breathe new life into a dull sound. For acoustic guitars, phosphor bronze strings offer warmth and clarity; coated strings last much longer at a small price premium. Electric players prefer nickel-wound for their smooth feel and balanced tone.
Ukulele strings deserve equal attention. Nylon strings are the go-to for bright, traditional uke tone, while fluorocarbon strings offer a mellower, more consistent pitch. Experiment — string choice is deeply personal.
Phosphor Bronze
Warm, articulate tone with good projection. The acoustic standard.
Coated Strings
Last 3–5× longer than uncoated. Ideal for players who don’t change strings often.
Aquila Nylgut
Synthetic gut material; punchy, bright, and quick to settle in tune.
Fluorocarbon
Clear tone, excellent intonation, and stays in tune beautifully in humidity changes.
Capos
A capo is a tiny device that transposes your open chord shapes into new keys by clamping across the fretboard. This feature is great for matching a vocalist’s range. It also helps in finding a brighter sound higher up the neck. Trigger-style capos (like those from Kyser) allow for one-handed, rapid repositioning mid-song. Screw-style capos offer slightly more precise tension control, which matters for intonation on higher-action instruments.
Ukulele players gain from capos too, though the instrument’s narrower neck requires a uke-specific model. Don’t try to force a guitar capo onto a soprano — it will buzz, slip, or simply not fit.
Picks & Thumb Picks
If you play guitar, your relationship with picks is lifelong and oddly passionate. Thin picks suit strumming; medium picks are the versatile workhorse; heavy picks reward precise lead playing. Material matters too — celluloid has a classic bright snap, while Tortex and Ultex offer grip and durability.
Most ukulele players fingerpick, but a felt pick produces a lovely, muted strum that suits the instrument’s softer voice. Some players use their thumb; others prefer a traditional thumbnail. There’s no wrong answer — just what feels right in your hand.
Pro Tip
Buy a sampler pack of picks in varying gauges and materials. Spend a week with each. Your preferred pick will surprise you.
Straps
A strap keeps your instrument stable while standing — and even sitting, once you get used to it. For guitar, leather straps are durable and break in beautifully over time; woven straps are lighter and more colorful. Wide straps (3 inches or more) distribute the weight of heavier guitars far more comfortably across the shoulder.
Ukulele straps attach differently, often looping around the soundhole button or using a clip-hook system. A uke strap is especially useful for concert and tenor sizes, where the instrument tends to wander without support. Look for the “sound hole hook” style for smaller sopranos without strap buttons.
Cases & Gig Bags
Your instrument is only as safe as what you carry it in. Hard-shell cases offer the best protection for travel and shipping, with a molded interior and lockable latches. For everyday use, a padded gig bag is lighter and easier to carry. It usually has pockets for cables, picks, and tuners.
For ukulele players, the lightweight nature of the instrument makes a gig bag ideal. Many options have backpack straps. This feature is lovely if you’re carrying it on a bike or commute. Just make sure the interior padding is at least half an inch thick.
Humidifiers & Care Products
Acoustic instruments are made of wood, and wood hates extreme humidity swings. A small in-case humidifier keeps the relative humidity around 45–55%. This prevents cracks, warping, and fret sprout. This is especially critical in dry winters or arid climates.
Use a good fretboard conditioner for unfinished rosewood or ebony boards. Include a soft microfiber polish cloth to round out your care kit. Clean your strings after every session — the oils from your fingers shorten string life significantly.
Worth Knowing
Laminate ukuleles are more resistant to humidity damage than solid wood instruments. Yet, solid wood rewards you with better tone. The care trade-off is generally worth it.
Stands & Hangers
An instrument on a stand is an instrument you’ll actually play. When a guitar or ukulele is out in the open, it offers an invitation to play. This is far more inviting than one locked in a case under the bed. A simple A-frame stand works for most instruments, though wall-mounted hangers save floor space and double as décor. Just make sure any stand or hanger has a rubber or foam coating. It should not react with your instrument’s finish. Some older nitrocellulose lacquers are sensitive.
Slides & Fingerpicks
Using a glass or metal slide can enhance bluesy textures. It opens up an entirely different vocabulary on the guitar. Glass slides produce a warmer, rounder tone; brass and steel slides are brighter and sustain longer. Try a few before committing, as weight and wall thickness affect playability considerably.
Fingerpicks are small plastic or metal picks that fit over fingertips. They are popular in banjo and steel guitar traditions. Many guitar players find them transformative for fingerstyle work. They offer projection and precision that bare fingernails can’t always match.
The most important thing about accessories is that they serve the music — not the other way around. Start with the essentials: a tuner, a spare set of strings, and a decent case. Then, over time, let curiosity guide you. Every player’s kit ends up a little different, and that’s exactly as it should be.
Have fun!
