We have covered the guitar, amp, cables and pedals.  We will now cover other things you may need to play rock guitar.

- Guitar Strings.
String set your sound and how easy it is to play.  As a beginner use lighter gauge strings, 8's or 9's as these are easier to play.  The gauge is set by the width or size of the first e string.  Easier to press down and bend.  Also they give brighter sound.  Try heavier gauges such as 10's and 12's once you are playing a while to see if you like them.  They are harder to play (and harder to break) and give a heavier, darker, bassier sound while you might prefer.  Also try different materials and alloys.  I have liked Gibson Brite Lites myself.  I like the feel and the sound of them.
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Guitar Strings
- Guitar Picks.
Plectrums or picks also come in different sizes or widths and materials.  You can get any size from 0.4mm, 0.6mm, 0.7mm so on up to 1mm and 1.2mm.  I would recommend buying a range of picks as they are cheap to see which one you like. 
They also come in hard or soft material, from plastic or nylon to metal.  The material will give a different sound depending on the string attack (how you hit the string).  Most people use plastic or nylon plecks although some lead guitarists use the metal picks.
I use 0.6mm Dunlop Nylon picks.  Sometimes you might prefer as few different types depending of what guitar and style of playing you are at.

- Guitar Strap
You can get any strap you like as long as it is comfortable.  Make it is wide enough that it will not cut into your shoulder.  Softer material is also more comfortable but a wide leather strap can be okay too.

- Guitar Case
Get a guitar case if you are going to take your guitar outside.  If you are going to carry if it a soft case is okay.  A soft case can cost from $25 up.  If you are transporting it on a plane or vehicle a hard case is really required to stop the guitar getting damaged.  These are more expensive and should fit the shape of your guitar.

- Guitar Stand
I would recommend you get at least a cheap guitar stand for storing your guitar at home.  You can get one for $25 which is a lot cheaper than having to buy a new guitar if it is damaged by falling.  Also store it in a dry cool place, not beside a hot radiator.

That concludes the main items and accessories you may have to buy for your guitar. 

 
This is a a story and a video about a Gibson Les Paul Black beauty Guitar with gold hardware worth £2,000 that Iron Maiden auctioned off for charity.  It was signed by all the band.

The price of the bids reached £120,000 sterling at one stage, but this was found to be a fake bid.  The winner of the auction bid under £17,000.  He also turned out to be fake. 

The guitar was re-auctioned again and went for £2,500 in the end.  A good bit down from 120K.  Still a very nice rock guitar for someone to play.
 
As you play rock guitar and progress you will eventually need to get some guitar pedals.  If you bought an amp with built in distortion this will keep you going for a while.  This is okay when you are playing with the one sound only.  But you will find that you will want to change sound to a non distorted clean sound for some songs.   Having to press the built in button on the amp to turn off the distortion to change your sound while playing will be awkward.
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Distortion Overdrive Pedal
This is where floor pedals come in.   Your first effect pedal will probably be an overdrive or distortion pedal, absolutely essential for playing rock guitar.  You can switch between effect on and off with your foot.

Later you can look at getting one of the more commonly used pedals as well.  A chorus, delay, flanger or reverb pedal.  Pedals generally cost about $100 each.  You can get specific brands and makes which are more tailored to a music genre sound such as rock or metal.

Also you can get multi-effect pedals.  These contain electronic digital processors which mimic the sound of all the pedals together in one box.  They have patches which you use to select which pedals and settings you are using to make an overall sound.  They cost from around $200 up depending on whether they are for home use or professional gigging.  The cheaper ones are good enough.  But try and get one with two to three pedal switches rather than just one switch.  Makes it easier to switch between different sound patches  such as a rhythm, lead or clean sound with one click rather than having to press many times with one pedal to toggle to another sound patch.

If using multi-effect unit, do mess around with and adjust the settings in the patches to learn what each pedal does and how the sound is made up.

 
At some stage you will want to get a Guitar Amp to play rock guitar.  You can play an electric guitar acoustically but you will want to get a dirty distorted rock sound of your guitar at some stage.
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Guitar Amplifier
For starting playing guitar you only need a practise amp which you can pick up for around $100.  A lower power amp is okay, somewhere between 15 watts and 30 watts.  10 wats can be a bit low and quiet when you want to push it up and over 30 watts will be too loud for your bedroom or house.  Some people even use 30 watt amps for gigging.

The brand of the amp is not too important, if you can try it out in a shop and check the sound is okay then that is great.  I would be fussier about the guitar than the amp at the start.  But at least check out some reviews of the amp brand to ensure they are reasonable quality.

Go for an electronic amp at the start rather a tube amp, will be cheaper and more robust.  If it has a built in overdrive or distortion (or reverb) this will save you a few quid.  You will not need to get pedals right away as the built in effect will give you a good sound to practise.

Also spend at least $20 or more on your guitar lead or cable.  Get a good quality thick one.  Don't get a really long one, 2 or 3 meters long will do.  Longer ones (5 0r 10 meters) cause more signal loss and noise.  Cheaper ones don't last and can cause unwanted noise especially before they begin to fail.   Not all noise in rock is good.

Powering up with an amp will open up a whole new world for your rock guitar playing.

 
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Guitar 2 Humbuckers 1 Single coil
So if you have decided to Play Rock Guitar, then you will need to pick the right guitar.  Generally for rock you would pick an electric so that you can get the right range of sound for rock.  Especially for the distorted sound, you can't really get that from an acoustic.

I would recommend for a beginner spending what you can afford within a budget of $300 to $600.  Any cheaper than $300 and the guitar will not be of good quality to last and may not even stay in tune.  Over $600 is too much of an investment if you decide not to continue playing or you find you don't like the particular guitar you have bought.

Hardware wise, get a guitar with two pickups at least.  One at the bridge an done at the neck.  A guitar with one pickup is not enough, you will be limited in sound, three pickups is nice to have but you may not need or actually use the middle pickup.

If you can get a guitar with a humbucker pickup this will help you get a beefed up sound for rock.  With a single coil pickup you can always use amp and pedal settings to get a good sound also so don't worry if it is a single coil.

You don't really need a tremelo unit or whammy bar at this stage.  You will need to be playing quite a while before you can use it.  If you do get a guitar with a bar, get it fixed in place while you begin to play.

Check on line for the best price but also go to your local guitar store to try out guitars and to haggle for a best price too.

As for the brand, if you have heard of the brand it is of good quality.  Like Fender, Gibson, Squier, Epiphone, Jackson or Ibanez.  Research the guitar on the net before you actually buy it.

 
So you love rock music.  Playing an instrument enhances your enjoyment of music.  After playing music you listen to it with new ears.  You hear how it is put together, how the music is made up.  You hear notes and beats you never heard before.

So if you decide to play an instrument, pick the one that you dream of playing.  The Guitar or bass or drums or maybe even the keyboards.  Pick it for you alone, learning to play takes time and is difficult.  You should only do it for you alone.

So look a your dreams and wishes and pick your instrument.
 
Welcome to my new Play Rock Guitar blog at Weebly.  If you are into rock music and playing rock guitar then I hope to have some good info for you coming over the next few weeks.

So bookmark this page and check back in the future.

Thanks for reading,
Steve.