My Setup

Before we go anywhere near gear guides and buying advice, you should probably know what’s actually on my wall as a fingerstyle picker.

I’m not going to pretend I’ve got some immaculate setup, carefully curated over decades with an eye for tone and resale value. What I’ve got is what I’ve accumulated as a fingerpicking guitarist — the guitar I saved up for, the one I’ve had since forever, the one that cost me five quid from a charity shop, and a Les Paul that mostly just hangs there looking at me. There’s a capo, a homemade stool, and a phone app that tells me when I’m out of tune. It’s not a pro rig. It’s a real one.

The Guitars

The Taylor 214ce is the one I reach for. Solid Sitka spruce top, layered rosewood back and sides, and sound that I’ll never tire of hearing. It’s a mid-range guitar that does exactly what a mid-range guitar should: sounds good, plays comfortably, doesn’t require a second mortgage. I love it. It lives on the wall by the kitchen and gets picked up more times than I can count, usually while the kettle’s boiling.

Then there’s the Vantage VS-30. If you’ve never heard of Vantage, you’re probably younger than me. This guitar has been through more gigs, sessions, and late nights than I care to remember, and it still plays. It’s indestructible and sounds it. I’m not sentimental about gear as a rule, but I’d be lying if I said I’d ever sell this one. I love this one too. There might be a theme appearing.

The surprise of the collection, and honestly the guitar that gets the most comments, is a Century CG-362B. Three-quarter size, nylon strings, bought for five quid from a charity shop. Five quid. I was running late to watch Scotland play Italy at Hampden and nearly didn’t stop. But when you see a guitar for a fiver in a charity shop window I have one piece of advice: buy it. Without a doubt the best fiver I ever spent. It’s the one I grab when I want to noodle without commitment: slung over the shoulder, walked around the room, played to the window like it’s Glastonbury. It doesn’t sound like much on paper. In practice, it sounds like a guitar. It’s unplayable above the ninth fret, but guess what, I love it too.

Keeping It In Tune

The Fender Tone app on my phone. Free, accurate, does the job. Over the years I’ve owned what feels like hundreds of clip-on tuners. Little plastic things that live on the headstock, fall off in a gig bag, get left on someone else’s kitchen table. I don’t lose my phone. Problem solved.

Strings

D’Addario EJ16s. Light gauge 11s. I change them when they start sounding wrong and don’t spend too much time thinking about it. I’ve tried others over the years and I keep coming back to these: not because they’re transformative, but because they’re consistent and widely available. You can overthink strings. I’d rather just play.

The Capo

A Shubb. I’ve had it long enough that I can’t remember buying it. It just works. End of section.

Picks

Mainly fingers. That’s the whole point, really. But occasionally a song calls for a plectrum, and when it does I reach for a Jim Dunlop Nylon 0.88mm. Not as light as you might expect from someone who mostly fingerpicks, but I like a bit of resistance. A thin pick feels like nothing in my hand. Your mileage may vary.

The Amp and Headphones

A Harley Benton table-top practice amp. Small, cheap, does the job when a mate comes round and you want a little oomph without rattling the windows. It is not a performance amp.

The Sennheiser Accentum Plus headphones get used for listening back to any recordings I make. Good headphones, but nowhere near as interesting to write about as guitars, so I’ll leave it there. I’ll do a proper cables and accessories piece another time.

The Stool

I made it. Bit of wood, the right height, solid enough. I sit on it when I’m not wandering around the room pretending to be at a festival. The guitars hang on the wall rather than sitting in stands: takes up less space and means they’re always in reach, which means I play more. That’s the whole point.

That’s the setup. Nothing here will make a gear obsessive swoon, and that’s the point of this site.

If you want to tell me what’s in your setup, leave a comment.