Unless you are a rock star with a guitar tech stringing your guitars for you, chances are you’ll want to do some work on your guitar from time to time – whether it’s just changing strings, fiddling with the setup, or doing bigger modifications. This also means that you need some tools. Sure, a multi-tool will get you quite far, but life is much easier with the right tools at hand.

What you need

These are the things that I would consider essential:

• A Philips screw driver for pickguard and back plate screws, and pickup height adjustment.
• Allen (hex) keys for string height and truss rod adjustments – these are often (but not always) supplied with guitars, and might be necessary both in metric and imperial.
• String cutters.
• A string winder.
• A 0.5″/13mm socket + grip for output jack nuts.
• A string height gauge or feeler gauges for measuring string height/action. I used feeler gauges for  a long time, but actually prefer height gauges as they work much quicker.
• A capo for depressing strings at the 1st fret for measuring the fretboard curve.
• Several brands sell universal wrenches that can be used for hex nuts (like those used on some tuning machines), but these don’t work on Stratocaster output jacks.

For cleaning, I recommend a cleaning polish. This will also be fine for lacquered (maple) fretboards, but for rosewood and ebony I would get a fretboard conditioner or lemon oil. The Dunlop Formula 65 range is well-known. Standard household microfiber cloth is find for application and polishing, old cotton rags can be useful, too.

What you might want

If you want to be able to do all setup work, and maybe flip the occasional guitar after going over it thoroughly, or look after the guitars of friends, there are a few other useful tools:

• There are special mats to rest your guitar on to prevent scratches, but a towel will do fine.
• A neck rest keeps the headstock above the bench. I 3D printed mine.
• A straight edge (even a string height gauge can work here) helps identify low and high frets.
• Fretwork benefits from all kinds of tools, from files for dressing fret ends to Dremel-powered polishing wheels. More specialized tools are fret-crowning files and sanding blocks with the correct fretboard radius.
• Nut files are for a very specific but important job, filing nut string slots to the proper height.

Guitar tool kits

You can buy many guitar-specific tool kits, with large differences in contained tools and price. Here are a few examples:

Thomann’s Harley Beton Guitar & Bass Tool Kit comes with Allen keys, a ratcheting screw driver handle, various bits, a string winder, capo, string cutter, and feeler gauges, all for €20. I would add a string action gauge. You’ll also need a separate socket for the guitar jack.

The Ernie Ball Musician’s Tool Kit is quite similar, with Allen keys, a bit holder, ruler, and string cutters. Price around €40.

That other guitar accessory brand, Jim Dunlop, offer a large range of tools and kits. On the affordable side are the System 65 Guitar & Bass String Change Tool Kit (€50), Setup Kit (€110, pictured below), Groovetech Stagehand Kit (€45), and Groovetech Guitar Player Tech Kit (€60). The more expensive String Change Tech Kit (€170) and Complete Setup Tech Kit (€230) add a protective mat and neckrest, among other items.

Fender sell a Custom Shop Tool Kit that is made by Groovetech (by Dunlop, see above) with contents similar to the Groovetech Guitar Player Tech Kit, at a street price of €65.

Finally, German tool company Wera sell a guitar tool kit consisting of a bit holder, stainless steel Allen keys and bits, a string winder, two nuts (10mm and 0.5″), a Knipex cutter, feeler gauges, and a metal pick tin. Wera make nice tools, but at €130 this is not a cheap set for what’s included.

Or building your own tool kit

The alternative to buying a complete tool kit is of course building your own. Chances are that you already have the basic tools like a few screwdrivers, wire cutters, and a socket set. I have all the Allen keys that came with my guitars in a single box. This means that you can limit your purchases to a few guitar-specific items such as a string height gauge and a string winder. Here are some recommendations of mine for the basic tools, should you not own them already:

• Wera Kraftform XXL 12-part screwdriver set (05051010001): This set, priced at around €45, will cover 99% of your household screwdriver needs.
• In Germany, Knipex is THE company for pliers, and one of their smaller wire cutters will do fine for guitar strings.
• Should you not own a socket set, then a Wera Tool Check Plus (€70) would be my recommendation. This also comes with screwdriver bits, so there would be no need to buy a separate screwdriver set. You can of course get much cheaper no-name socket sets, but I’d go for a (budget) brand.
• String winders are cheap, the standard plastic ones are a few bucks at most. Most will have a built-in pin puller for acoustic guitars. You can get powered string winders, which might make sense for those who setup a lot of guitars.
• Thomann sells very affordable tools under its Harley Benton brand. I own their string action gauge which works fine, and they’ve got practically everything else, including affordable nut files, too.
• Other more advanced tools can be had from Luthier-oriented stores like Stewmac.