Guitar doo-dads, snake oil and otherwise

[Leevibe]

I will probably never own a directional cable or a NOS bumblebee tone cap, but I may from time to time fall prey to gizmos and gadgetry when it comes to guitar stuff. In this cynical world of "There's no pulling the wool over our eyes because we're pedal builders and we know what's up," are there any others who occasionally give in to the hype?

These are a few of my favorite things:

Fast Fret - This is possibly pure snake oil in a bottle but I love it and use it all the time on my acoustic. I even swipe a bit on my fret board when I change strings.

nut and saddle lube - Was recently turned on to this stuff. I love it for my bigsby equipped guitar. Instant improvement in tuning stability.

Pick Punch - Because it's really fun to make picks out of Starbucks gift cards! Actually, the "ultem" plastic sold on the pick punch website is my very favorite material for acoustic picks. It's thin but it has a special kind of snap and I love the tone I get with it.

Turbo Tuner ST-200 - This is a true stroboscopic tuner, not a simulation and it is far and away the best tuner I've ever used. These are hyper-accurate and they tell the whole story. Mine will never be replaced on my board. I'm amazed that these aren't more well known.

ISP Decimator - I just have the basic one and I love it for getting rid of all of the single coil hum. I have it first thing in my chain.

Ken Smith guitar polish - This stuff is the best! It works so well and is 100% non-abrasive. Trust it on any finished wood.

Digitech istomp - There, I said it. I just like having one slot on my board that can be anything I want/need at any time. It's pretty fun and handy to have around and digitech gave away all of the "e-pedals" for free a while back to make up for an apple lightning cable incompatibility issue that took forever to resolve. Now I'm going to admit that I own two of them because MF had them down to $39 for a while. Digitech told me via email that they will be releasing more epedals but none have been out for over a year, so we'll see. Still, I like this cheesy thing.

The Spider Capo - I don't own one yet but these look so fun.

OK, that's my list for now. Tell me I'm not the only one! While we're at it, I'm also a bit of a bigfoot believer too.

EDIT: I forgot to mention the Guitar Toolkit phone app. It's great and the tuner on there is second only to the turbo tuner

[GermanCdn]

The Cruztools multitool - you really shouldn't use it for everyday things because it's not the sturdiest toy in the world, but it covers so many bases in a pinch.  I also keep one in my overnight kit for when I travel, you know, in case a guitar finds its way back home with me.

Stewmac fret erasers - do a good job cleaning up neglected frets without much mess, marring of the fretboard, or steel wool remnants sticking to your pole pieces.

Dunlop No. 65 fretboard oil - it amazes me how many people never condition their rosewood boards, I've had to hit some I've picked up used with two hits of the No.1 conditioner and three coats of the No. 65 to get all the grunge off.

Fender microfibre polishing cloth - does a good job getting rid of fingerprints and dirt without having to use any cleaning medium.

Planet waves guitar humidifiers - in all my acoustic cases.  Inevitably causes a little rust on the strings, but that's a pile better than splitting a top.

ESP Multispanner wrench - have one for pedal building, one in my repair kit, and one in my gig kit.

Used Fast Fret once.  All the skin on my fretting hand blistered and fell off, so either I'm allergic to it, or it causes temporary leprosy.

[bcalla]

Planet waves guitar humidifiers - in all my acoustic cases.  Inevitably causes a little rust on the strings, but that's a pile better than splitting a top.

I switched over to the Planet Waves Humidipak system.  It is supposed to work to both add / remove humidity depending on what's needed.  And I found out it is possible to reuse the inserts.  I now have one in every guitar case - acoustic and electric.

[alanp]

The Spider Capo - I don't own one yet but these look so fun.

That looks neat! A guy on another forum LOVED it when he found out about trigger capo's, because he could capo some of the strings and leave one or two bass strings as per normal.

Capo's have a special place in my Dad's heart. Whenever a song is too low, out comes the capo every time. (When it's too high, he pulls out his cheatsheet of transposing, lots of keys on it.)

One time, we had a classically trained pianist come to worship practice. She had a bit of a rough time.

Her: "What key is this in?"

Dad: (knows absolutely no music theory) "Capo two."

Her: "What key is that?"

Dad: ".... capo two?"

[jkokura]

Dad: (knows absolutely no music theory) "Capo two."

I've known a few musicians who are like that. I've taken Theory classes, so I'm super knowledgeable about most things in most music, so I tend to be able to transpose in my head and stuff like that. But when you play with someone who doesn't, it's hilarious to watch people who don't understand 'capo two' try to deal with that.

Jacob

[Clayford]

My snake oil that isn't...
Ducks Deluxe:
Dr Ducks Axe Wax and String Lube

LOVE it. A dab'll do ya. Polishes, cleans, lubes ( It slices, it dices, it jullianes!) just about everything that needs polished, cleaned, and lubed on a guitar. It's solvent free, no CFC, no wax(wait wut?)yadda yadda...  I trust it to my Taylors and all the way down to my Squires.

I use old repurposed torn up cotton t-shirts with it, keep the piece of shirt in my case, wipe the strings down when I put em away. String change, just a dab on a finger of the shirt, get the board "wet" (not soaking, but it will change where you rub) then go back from with a dry finger and get the extra off. Cleans your board while you're doing it to. Got a sticky high gloss neck? Rub the back of your neck when you're done, and it's smooth as buttah!

I have NO affiliation with them, just use the product on a very regular basis. 

4oz will last forever for a musician. Between my instruments, the casual 1-2 month setup/upgrade I see, and my band mates, 4oz is only 1/3 used after 2 years and I know I've knocked it over at least once.
They have it at Amazon or GC. Or you can order from them direct. He's an absolute pleasure to deal with.
FYI he ONLY ships on Saturdays. If that's a problem, order from Amazon or GC. The neck rest is pretty awesome too if you need one. If you do, call and talk to him, there's a special for a Neck Rest and the Axe Wax.

[GermanCdn]

Seeing the Axe Wax made me think of the neck rest like Clay mentioned.  I've got, err, probably four different kinds, but I find the Dunlop (no affiliation to Dunlop) work station is better than the rest.  Firstly, it has a large enough footprint that it doesn't get knocked over easily, it has a deep padded V on one side for when you're working on the front of the guitar, a flat padded surface for when you work on the back of the guitar, and it works equally well on electrics, acoustics, and basses.  It's a little big to carry around on a regular basis, but does a really good job, especially in combination with a good work station mat.

[billstein]

My snake oil that isn't...
Ducks Deluxe:
Dr Ducks Axe Wax and String Lube

LOVE it. A dab'll do ya. Polishes, cleans, lubes ( It slices, it dices, it jullianes!)

Wait! Let me see if I've got this right. While you're playing guitar you're also making French fries!

**runs off to GC to pick up one of these bad boys before the news gets out**

[jkokura]

Ok, here's the stuff I use. I'm probably going to sound like a salesman. I'm the kinda guy that hangs out at my local shop and helps my friends (the guys who actually work at/run the place) sell stuff to people. I've been known to sell guitars for them when they're really busy. Anyway... here's my go to stuff.

Shubb Capos (both the original and the cut capo):
http://www.shubb.com/original/index.html
http://www.shubb.com/partial/index.htm

Love these! I have used some Dunlop Trigger types and a Kyser in the past, and while I can use them, I can't stand having to retune my guitar all the time. The Shubb can be adjusted for tension, so it's super easy on the strings and I like it. Only wish it would clamp to my headstock, which brings me to...

Planet Waves NS Tri Action Capo with Tuner (link is to the non tuner type):
http://www.daddario.com/pwProductDetail.Page?ActiveID=4115&productid=612&productname=NS_Tri_Action_Capo_Black

I like it, and the tuner version was on sale so I picked one up for like 12 bucks. It's also adjustable, which I really like, but it will clamp to a headstock. It now lives with my main acoustic in it's case. Speaking of the NS tuner...

Planet Waves NS Micro Tuner (I have 2 originals and one of the new type):
http://www.daddario.com/pwProductDetail.Page?ActiveID=4115&productid=592&productname=NS_Micro_Headstock_Tuner

I sneered at headstocks tuners for a long while because of the ugly addition they made to the guitar. Couldn't stand how they looked. Those Snark things look comical to me. Then I saw this, and I bought several. It's tiny, and mounted properly it just disappears to the crowd. It's so lightweight and easy, it would be impossible to actually feel it on there, and it works perfectly. Only hitch is that it's not rechargeable, which is what I'd prefer.

Planetwaves Headstand:
http://www.daddario.com/pwProductDetail.Page?ActiveID=4115&productid=548&productname=Headstand

Great for changing strings and doing small repairs on a table. Holds the guitar fine as long as you're not too rough, and I think I got it for about $10. I wouldn't use it if I were doing extensive work, but it folds up and fits easily in a case, so it's super useful in situations where you wouldn't have access to a proper work station, or on your kitchen table or wherever.

Planetwaves pro-winder (I use an earlier edition):
http://www.daddario.com/pwProductDetail.Page?ActiveID=4115&productid=551&productname=Pro_Winder_Guitar

I have some of of those simple winders, but the one I use for string changes is usually this one. I think winders are really useful tools, and the one I have winds, and it also cuts and stretches strings, plus it can be used to bring up bridge pins on my accosting, and the end for winding actually has two different sizes so it works with little or big tuner buttons.

Dunlop Slides, 218 glass and 228 chromed brass:
http://www.jimdunlop.com/product/tempered-glass-slides-heavy-wall-thickness
http://www.jimdunlop.com/product/brass-chromed-slide

Love these both. The 218 glass is good because it's a shorter slide, as opposed to the common longer 215 that lots use (I just gave my 215 away this morning I think). I use my slide on my ring finger, and I was running into the issue where the long slide actually pokes up above my middle finger because of the way my hand is on the neck with my ring finger bent. This caused the issue of having a slide on strings that weren't being muted by my middle finger behind the slide. The 218 size is shorter, perfect for the way I play slide. The 228 is identical in size to the 218 glass, but it's like 3 or 4 times heavier and it sounds sooo heavy and metallic. It's a beast of a slide. I do hope to find a ceramic in a similar size at some point.

Dava Jazz Grip Delrin tip picks:
http://www.davapick.com/picks/jazz_grip

I tried a grab bag of Dava picks on a whim, and fell in love with the Jazz sized grip picks. Not sure on how they're constructed, but they're made so they bend a little in the middle, which means you can go from a fairly thin feeling for rhythm strumming, right up to a really heavy thick pick for picking - all depending on how you hold the pick. I like the full size ones for acoustic playing, but the Jazz size is my go to on electric. I also use a Madbean pick and now a Function FX pick as well . If I'm not using one of those, I'm either using a Dunlop orange tortex, and occasionally a Dunlop Stubby (jazz or full size, 1 or 2mm thick).

Oasis Humidifier:
http://oasishumidifiers.com/index.html

I got turned on to these at my local shop, which sells them. Humidifiers are basic tech, and soooo necessary when you live in saskatchewan. Over 12 years of heavy use and abuse across western Canada, my Alvarez DY91 has a couple cracks in it, but the humidifier keeps them from getting worse. Almost time to regret that thing.

Pedaltrain pedalboards (2 nanos, 1 mini, 1 jr, 1 PT2):
http://www.pedaltrain.com/products/pedalboards/pedaltrain_nano.php

You probably all know these pedalboards, but I can't think how I could do this hobby without a PT-nano. It makes it SO easy to swap in and out pedals, trying out all sorts of combos and configurations. I really, really am glad for the simple design, and they're relatively inexpensive compared to many options out there. If you can't build your own, grab a nano at a local shop because it's perfect for 5 125B pedals with top mounted jacks - and it comes with an awesome little case for carrying! Brilliant!

Hercules guitar stands (I have several guitar stands, and I have an iPad mount for a mic stand as well):
http://www.herculesstands.com/guitars/guitarstands.html

This company produces the best bang for your buck stands I've ever seen. Simple stands that are super easy to use, well thought out, and miles better than the cheapo stand your local shop has been selling buckets of forever. Between the wall mounts and the rack stands, the various accessory products they produce, and the standard stuff, there's something that Hercules has that will work for anyone. I have a Rack stand that holds 4 guitars (3 guitar version with a kit to add a 4th), a mini folding acoustic stand and the electric version, and a mount that holds an iPad on my mic stand (perfect for set list and chord/lyric charts).

Velcro cable ties:
http://www.homehardware.ca/en/rec/index.htm/Hardware/Fasteners/Fasteners/Velcro/6-Pack-1-2-x11-Black-Bundling-Strap-Fasteners/_/N-2pqfZ67l/Ne-67n/Ntk-All_EN/R-I2353191?Ntt=velcro

I couldn't find the 25 pack version that I've gotten in the past, but a 6 pack will do. No joke - best $10 you'll ever spend for your guitar rig. Put one on every cable, and you'll never have a cable mess again. Every one of my (very many) guitar cables, mic cables, and power cables has one of these on them. I have to get another pack cause I'm down to 1 from my original batch of 25 (plus a 5 pack I bought some other time).

Jacob

[GermanCdn]

Jacob - Velcro ties, Home depot (next time you're in Regina or the Toon, don't think they have one in Y-town), 25 pack, $4.87.

http://www.homedepot.ca/product/velcro-8-in-x-1-2-in-reusable-ties-25-pack/969454

And plus 1 on the NS micro tuners (especially the new design, where you can flip the display depending on the tuner orientation).  And I love that the new NS cap with the tuner mount also has a pick clip.

[Leevibe]

+1 on the shubb capo.

I'm still faithful to the one I bought about 15 years ago. I remember thinking 'if it's good enough for Phil Keaggy, it's good enough for me.' I have no idea if he uses the shubb. I just remember seeing him use one in a video and I went and got the same raw brass version. Now it's got that killer old brass patina and it's going strong.

It would be nice to have it clip to the headstock but I can't get along with a kyser because of tuning issues.

[jkokura]

Try the newer Planet waves one if you really need a headstock clipping one. It's a ways cheaper than those g7th ones, but they do almost as well as the Shubbs for me.

Jacob

[Clayford]

Try the newer Planet waves one if you really need a headstock clipping one. It's a ways cheaper than those g7th ones, but they do almost as well as the Shubbs for me.

Jacob

My planet waves NS capos are great, except for the fact they don't clip to the headstock. I love that they don't get in the way of playing, like some other capo's do.

My snake oil that isn't...
Ducks Deluxe:
Dr Ducks Axe Wax and String Lube

LOVE it. A dab'll do ya. Polishes, cleans, lubes ( It slices, it dices, it jullianes!)

Wait! Let me see if I've got this right. While you're playing guitar you're also making French fries!

**runs off to GC to pick up one of these bad boys before the news gets out**

Point was it does a ton of things for your guitar, and that it was one product (to rule them all!) I think we all (ok americans) remember Ron Popeil and all of his Ronco products on TV yes? They each one of them did everything you could possibly need. Google veg-a-matic if you're curious

[rullywowr]

Snark tuners are cheap and work awesome!

[Leevibe]

Try the newer Planet waves one if you really need a headstock clipping one. It's a ways cheaper than those g7th ones, but they do almost as well as the Shubbs for me.

Jacob

Wow, that is pretty cool. And a pick holder? Haha. That would solve the problem of losing my clear ultem DIY picks.