As far as guitar accessories go, Taylor’s new Beacon tool is somewhat of a Swiss Army knife.

Touted as a “five-way accessory” – boasting a tuner, metronome, timer, countdown clock and even a flashlight – the Beacon clips right onto your guitar’s headstock, and features a Thin Film Transistor (TFT) colour LCD screen for a sharp, bright
image for easy visibility.

• READ MORE: A Brief History of Taylor Guitars
  

An “indispensable tool for everyone from beginners to gigging musicians”, the Beacon features a tuner with five selectable modes – Chromatic, Guitar, Bass, Violin and Ukulele – an easy-to-read dot/strobe display for “fast, precise tuning calibration”, and reference pitch Hz values selectable from 430–450 Hz.

Meanwhile, the unit’s built-in metronome is loaded with 12 pre-set time signatures, a range of 30–208 bpm, and a click volume adjustable to three different levels: no sound, low and high.

There’s also a timer, which is handy for guitarists looking to measure how long songs last for setlist planning, for example. This can be set for up to 99 minutes and 59 seconds, and continues to count down while in any other mode. While the timer counts up, there’s also a countdown clock feature, for more accurate measuring of live sets or practice session duration. The countdown clock feature includes a sonic alarm, which will sound when the pre-defined time is up.

And finally, there’s even a flashlight located on the back of the device – which may come in handy when reading sheet music or looking for a lost guitar pick in a dark environment.

As previously mentioned, the Beacon is full rechargeable, and boasts a long-lasting charge with a three-band battery life display.

Price-wise, the Beacon has an RRP of €49.99, and will retail for closer to £45 in the UK. For more info, head to Taylor.