Working calculators
Pickup Output Selector by StyleMatch pickup output (kΩ) to your music style — clean jazz to high-gain metal. Pedalboard Buying OrderWhat pedal to buy first, second, third — by music style and budget.Plain note about money: Some product links are affiliate (eBay Partner Network). Small commission on purchases. Doesn't change your price. The math comes from real hands-on time, not marketing.
Gear actually worth buying
Smart eBay searches we'd start with ourselves. We earn a small commission on qualifying sales through these links; the price you pay is the same whether you use them or go direct to eBay. Full disclosure.
Acoustic guitar stringsD'Addario EJ16 (phosphor bronze 12-53) and Martin SP are the two strings acoustic players keep buying. Change them every 3–6 months.
Clip-on chromatic tunerD'Addario NS Micro and Snark ST-8 are accurate and stay on headstocks without slipping. Tuning by ear is slower and less accurate.
Guitar capoShubb C1 and G7th Performance 3 are the two capos that don't pull strings sharp when you clamp them. Avoid spring capos for live use.
Guitar slideGlass slides have warm tone; brass is brighter and heavier for slower vibrato. Dunlop makes reliable versions of both.
Leather guitar strapA padded strap matters on instruments over 8 lbs. Levy's and Couch are the two leather strap makers that don't smell bad and last.
Guides
TroubleshootingWhy your guitar won't stay in tune — and why it's rarely the tunersThe open G keeps sagging flat and the forum says buy locking tuners. Before you spend: drifting is a friction-and-settling problem, not a tuner that won't hold. Read which way it drifts to name the real cause — most fixes are free.GuideA setup will do more than a new guitarThe guitar feels hard to play, so you start shopping for a better one. The problem is usually not the guitar — it's that nobody has set it up. A cheap fix be…