What's in your guitar case (besides a guitar . . . duh!)?
Posted: Sun Sep 05, 2010 3:10 pm
So, what’s in your guitar case? Or is that too personal of a question?
Last night, I was restringing a guitar and decided to clean out the case, too. As I pulled the stuff out of the little storage compartment, it got me thinking about how and why I selected all of it when there is such little space and so many possibilities on what can be kept in there. Here is a photo:
If you are interested in what this stuff is, here you go . . . . starting upper left and going clockwise:
Planet Waves sound-hole humidifier – A must in dry winter climates. I’ve also added a home made one that fits in the area of the headstock made out of a soap travel case with a few holes drilled in the top and a large sponge inside. The second and larger one increases the amount of time between re-moistening these guys.
Dunlop curved capo – never used one too much in the past, but when one is needed, it’s a must.
Two sets of strings – I can’t say how many times I’ve been somewhere and someone breaks a string or has a crappy worn out set and can’t afford to replace them. I buy in bulk and jump on discount specials when they appear. I can usually get enough to keep all my guitars in new strings and give a few sets away for around $100 per year ($3.25 - $4 per set).
Dunlop ergonomic pick holder – Keeps all my picks in one place. It’s loaded with Dunlop Tortex picks in three different thicknesses.
Korg CA-40 tuner – Just recently, I switched from an “A” tuning fork held to the bridge and then harmonics to tune the rest of the strings. The last couple of guitars that I got have the Korg TM-40 tuner/metronome. It is a little larger, but it sure is handy having that metronome, too. It takes up less space than a separate tuner and metronome.
Caliber III thermometer/hygrometer – This probably saved a guitar when I discovered the case was overheating while direct sunlight was falling on the case for 5 – 10 minutes during the day. The HI/LO recording feature is very handy that way. During my periodic monitoring, it showed that the temp was somehow getting too hot in only that case, and I was able to figure it out and remedy.
Planet Waves all-in-one string winder/cutter/stretcher and bridge pin puller – Takes up less space than the old side cutters that I used to carry and does more stuff.
That’s the basics. Some of my other cases have other things such as spare bridge pins, keys for the case lock, spare saddles, etc., but this seems to be the common stuff. One thing that I don’t carry (no space) is a guitar strap. I have switched to wider straps that take up so much space that there wouldn’t be much room to carry anything else. But, 99% of the time, I sit on a chair or stool while playing and haven’t used one in about a year. No big loss.
Hydroman52
Last night, I was restringing a guitar and decided to clean out the case, too. As I pulled the stuff out of the little storage compartment, it got me thinking about how and why I selected all of it when there is such little space and so many possibilities on what can be kept in there. Here is a photo:
If you are interested in what this stuff is, here you go . . . . starting upper left and going clockwise:
Planet Waves sound-hole humidifier – A must in dry winter climates. I’ve also added a home made one that fits in the area of the headstock made out of a soap travel case with a few holes drilled in the top and a large sponge inside. The second and larger one increases the amount of time between re-moistening these guys.
Dunlop curved capo – never used one too much in the past, but when one is needed, it’s a must.
Two sets of strings – I can’t say how many times I’ve been somewhere and someone breaks a string or has a crappy worn out set and can’t afford to replace them. I buy in bulk and jump on discount specials when they appear. I can usually get enough to keep all my guitars in new strings and give a few sets away for around $100 per year ($3.25 - $4 per set).
Dunlop ergonomic pick holder – Keeps all my picks in one place. It’s loaded with Dunlop Tortex picks in three different thicknesses.
Korg CA-40 tuner – Just recently, I switched from an “A” tuning fork held to the bridge and then harmonics to tune the rest of the strings. The last couple of guitars that I got have the Korg TM-40 tuner/metronome. It is a little larger, but it sure is handy having that metronome, too. It takes up less space than a separate tuner and metronome.
Caliber III thermometer/hygrometer – This probably saved a guitar when I discovered the case was overheating while direct sunlight was falling on the case for 5 – 10 minutes during the day. The HI/LO recording feature is very handy that way. During my periodic monitoring, it showed that the temp was somehow getting too hot in only that case, and I was able to figure it out and remedy.
Planet Waves all-in-one string winder/cutter/stretcher and bridge pin puller – Takes up less space than the old side cutters that I used to carry and does more stuff.
That’s the basics. Some of my other cases have other things such as spare bridge pins, keys for the case lock, spare saddles, etc., but this seems to be the common stuff. One thing that I don’t carry (no space) is a guitar strap. I have switched to wider straps that take up so much space that there wouldn’t be much room to carry anything else. But, 99% of the time, I sit on a chair or stool while playing and haven’t used one in about a year. No big loss.
Hydroman52
