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Playing guitar is a fun hobby, and nobody wants to give up playing just because they’re leaving for college. It’s very possible (and easy) to take your hobby with you when you leave for school, but you want to be smart about it.

Choosing which guitar to bring, what kind of guitar to bring, and (possibly) what kind of an amplifier to bring can be tough choices. If you want to make sure that you can safely bring your hobby with you, make sure you choose carefully.

Should I bring an acoustic guitar or an electric guitar to college?

First, choose between bringing an electric and an acoustic guitar.

In deciding what kind of guitar to bring with you, you should first consider the type of music you like to play. That should matter first. If you normally only play with heavy distortion, you won’t really get any satisfaction out of bringing just an acoustic. Your choice should come first and foremost down to what kind of music you’re into playing.

Acoustic guitars tend to be more “social” in a college setting… it’s not uncommon to see students outside playing their guitar on a bench. Acoustic guitars are louder and more portable. If you’re interested in playing with people in a casual setting, an acoustic guitar would be wonderful.

Electric guitars are more of a hassle, since you need to bring an amplifier to make them worth taking… an electric guitar that’s unplugged won’t be much use. Electric guitars aren’t quite as social as acoustic guitars since you’re limited to where there is an electric outlet, so for the most part your playing will only be indoors. But you may find other students with electric equipment, and if you’re interested in starting a band, an electric guitar will come in handy.

You could, of course, bring both, but be aware that you’ll now have two guitars to keep an eye out for.

Bring a cheap guitar.

If you have a nice guitar that you spent $700 on, don’t bring it if you can help it. Guitars are prime targets for theft, and chances are great that the guitar will get beat up a bit in your dorm.

Bring a low-end guitar, like one you started out playing. Sure, it’s not quite as nice, but you’ll be a lot less devastated if something happens to your low-end guitar than if something happens to your favorite axe.

If you don’t have a cheap guitar, considering buying a used one on eBay or at your local music store.

Make sure you have a guitar case.

Having a guitar case will come in extremely handy if you decide to take your guitar somewhere. If you’re walking across campus, you’ll be glad if you don’t have to leave your guitar out. Keeping your guitar in a case when you’re not using it will keep it from getting dinged up.

If you already have a guitar case, of course, use that. If not, you can buy them pretty cheap from eBay or Musician’s Friend.

Bringing a guitar amp to college

I had a hard time deciding how to handle bringing an amp to school, since amps are large, bulky, and all-around inconvenient in a dorm setting. Small guitar amps usually sound terrible unless you fork over a good price. I couldn’t decide the best setup.

The POD GX by Line 6 is very small, perfect for a dorm desk.

I found the answer in the form of the POD GX from Line 6. Using the GX, you can play your guitar through your computer by just plugging in your computer speakers. The GX is small, cheap ($100 isn’t much in the world of guitars), and very portable. It comes with a ton of presets on the computer and is highly customizable beyond that. It’s also very easy to set up with recording. All that combines to make it perfect for just jamming in a dorm room, giving you great sound but without the inconveniences that larger amplifiers create.

I got a GX last Christmas and it’s actually helped out a lot, definitely one of the best pieces of guitar equipment I’ve ever had.

However, if you’re interested in serious jamming, like with somebody else, you may need to bring up an amp anyways to try to match the sound level. But if you’re just jamming around, the POD works great.

I’m not sure if there’s a bass equivalent to this, but there may be. Hunt around online.

Any other tips for bringing a guitar to college?

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