Essential guitar accessories

At this point you should have a guitar or be very close to buying one. Here are a few things you will need:

• Guitar case or padded gig bag
• Tuner
• Extra strings, string winder & wire cutters
• Capo (what is a capo?)
• Microfiber polishing cloth
• Guitar Polish
• Guitar strap 

I also recommend purchasing guitar instruction books but that is completely optional because there is an abundance of free instructional material on the Internet. Books will allow you to practice and learn when you don't have access to the Internet.

Mega Guitar recommended guitar accessories:

• Guitar Cases/Gig Bags: Road Runner, SKB, Gator and TKL make nice cases and gig bags in the sub $100 range. I recommend Road Runner cases and SKB gig bags.
• Tuners: Korg, Boss and Snark make great tuners. I  like the Snark tuners. They clip on the headstock and work well. They are also inexpensive. You can find them for less than $10 on line: Snark SN-1. 
• Guitar strings: D'Addario, Ernie Ball, Elixir, GHS, Martin, Fender, Gibson and DR make excellent strings. I recommend buying strings from Strings and Beyond. They have excellent prices and outstanding customer service. They also offer free shipping on orders over $35. I use D'Addario EXP16's on my acoustics and D'Addario XL 110's on my electric guitars.                               
• Capos: G7, Kyser, Shubb, Planet Waves and Dunlop make nice capos in the $12-$40 range. I am a big fan of Kyser capos. I also like the Planet Waves NS capos. 
• Micro fiber polishing cloths: You can find them guitar stores and automotive stores. They are designed to clean high gloss surfaces without scratching. I recommend the Dunlop Microfiber polishing cloth.
• Guitar Polish: Martin, Gibson, Dunlop, Kyser, Music Nomad, Planet Waves and Clayton make goo guitar polish. I recommend Gibson and Guitar One by Music Nomad.
• Guitar Straps: Levy, Planet Waves, Ernie Ball, Dunlop, Moody, Fender, Taylor and Martin make high quality leather and synthetic (nylon / polyester) guitar straps in the $10- $200 range. I recommend buying strap locks if you plan to play standing up. Strap locks prevent the strap from coming off the strap button. You can find them in th $10- $25 range. I recommend Planet Waves and Fender synthetic straps. I recommend Levy and Moody leather straps. I recommend Fender and Schaller strap locks.