In this article, we are going to look at some of the products available in the guitar accessory market place you DO NOT need to buy.
Finger Expansion Sleeve
This should not exist. It’s a piece of plastic that is claiming to be able to help you increase the space between your fingers and reach more of those tricky chord positions.
In my opinion, its a waste of money and plastic and should not exist. Playing the guitar, enjoying playing the guitar and repetitively attempting tricky chords, licks and phrases will make your fingers and hands adapt. You do not need a piece of plastic. This device that essentially promotes itself as being a short cut, is unlikely to work or make you any better at guitar. Even if it does stretch your fingers you’ve still wasted valuable practice time.
Chord device thing.
This shouldn’t exist either. If you own one of these you need to question why you started learning the guitar. Another device to provide a short cut to learning fundamental chords and making playing guitar easier. Sounds great, but it’s not. It masks the fretboard from view, restricts the player to a set of positions and teaches you nothing but how not to play the guitar. Learning the guitar takes time and dedication and these devices do not help.
Finger protectors
No. Just No. These are not helpful. You may find it difficult and uncomfortable to play the guitar at first but with time this will get better. You do not need little rubber covers for your fingers.
On the other hand, if you have a cut across your finger this might genuinely help.
In addition, if you are considering these cause your strings feel rough or rusty then buy a new set of strings instead.
Guitar Fretboard labels
Ok, so these look like they might be useful. But I don’t believe they are. If you are starting for the first time these might help you navigate the fretboard, but you should only consider placing the thick E string and consider using some theory to work out the rest. The longest process of learning the notes is typically the most effective.
On some guitars, these stickers will just eventually leave a sticky mess or marks on your fretboard. Making your guitar look ugly.
Conclusion
So that’s it! My opinion of some of the worst guitar accessories I have seen so far. Most of them appearing in my social media feeds from Wish.
I don’t believe any of the above will help you learn the guitar any better or quicker. Learning guitar is fun and rewarding but does take time and patience. You will progress much better if you do not waste your time or money or short cuts.
I will add more accessories to this post as I discover them.
Disclaimer: This is my opinion only. If you do not agree, thats fine.