Guitar buying conventional wisdom

[Jerry K]

One often hears 'try before you buy' about guitars. I have gradually come to the conclusion that the value of try before buy may be somewhat overblown. Often when I try a guitar in a store it has clapped out, corroded strings, high action and a setting of the truss rod that doesn't work for me. The situation in a store with pushy sales people, nearby shredders and faulty humidity control often makes it difficult to impossible to really get a sense of what I can do with a guitar and how it might eventually sound. I can't really judge a guitar until I get it home, set it up the way I like, put on the kind of strings I like, play it in my own playing environment and get to know it for a few weeks. Often there is a learning experience in me the player as to how to get the best out of a guitar. OK, flame away!

[Rosewoody]

I have played guitars in stores that sounded "good," then got them home and became disappointed. Likewise, guitars that were so-so sounded better after I learned some idiosyncracies. But I do like to start with a guitar that at least shows some promise.

 

The try/buy thing might be more important in an area like neck width and overall comfort, or in a body style that is a departure from what you're used to.

[Jerry K]

I have played guitars in stores that sounded "good' date='" then got them home and became disappointed. Likewise, guitars that were so-so sounded better after I learned some idiosyncracies. But I do like to start with a guitar that at least shows some promise.

 

The try/buy thing might be more important in an area like neck width and overall comfort, or in a body style that is a departure from what you're used to. [/quote']

 

Agreed.

[zombywoof]

Reminds me of when I used to sell high end audio equipment. We had all these specially designed sound rooms in which anything would sound good. The customer would take the gear home and lo and behold it just did not sound quite as good.

 

But I could not disagree more. Buying an acoustic, any acoustic, you have not held in your sweaty little hands first is a crap shoot at best. You are assuming there is a consistency there that just ain't the case (well, except for maybe Taylors - but it only means something if ya like Taylors).

 

Buying any guitar takes a certain leap of faith. I agree you never know how a guitar that has been hanging on the wall for a months or stowed away in a case for years is going to sound several months down the line. I will also admit, after playing Gibsons for so many decades, alot of it is gut instinct. It ain't really as much tone as for example, a presence that a good guitar will have that no dead strings or background noise can totally obliterate. You can, if nothing else, feel it in the vibration that travels through it - how responsive it is. The key is to be able to recognize it

 

Then again, it is never any of us who own a lousy guitar - it is always the next guy's guitar that is a dog.

[drathbun]

There is much in what you say, but if you go in knowing what to look and listen for when you "try" the guitar, those extraneous things of atmosphere, bad strings etc. can be mitigated.

 

Firstly, are you REALLY trying the guitar before buying? Or are you just browsing? If you are actually in the guitar buying mode, then you would have done some homework first. You would have brought some things with you when you try the guitar like;

 

- a pick

- a capo

- a straight edge

 

If you are in buying mode, run your straight edge down the fretboard of the guitar you are interested in and check the neck angle. You'd be surprised how many guitars (even high end ones) ship with bad neck angles, which makes them doorstops IMO. If neck angle is ok, have the store change the strings on the guitar if they are toast (I don't think I've seen a single Martin guitar without cruddy strings). Then play the guitar for tone, balance etc, but don't worry too much about playability. If the neck angle is good, the saddle, nut and relief can be adjusted to you like a tailoring a good suit.

 

Checking neck angle... the straight edge should rest perfectly on top of the bridge. If it points below the bridge surface, then put the guitar back and forget it...

 

Play every note on the guitar at every fret and check for any uneven or high frets. Play each string open and then play the harmonic at the 12th fret to check intonation. This can be fixed too as long as the intonation is way off on all strings (bad saddle placement).

 

Check to see how much saddle is protruding above the bridge. If you lower the action (most new guitars are shipped with high saddle and nut action so they can be adjusted), how much more room will you have to lower the saddle as the guitar ages? So how much mileage will you get on the guitar before it needs a neck reset? If you're paying $1000 or more for a guitar, you don't want to have to spend $400 for a neck reset after only five years because there was no saddle left to work with.

 

Play the guitar with a capo (if you do any capo work at all) and see how it responds sonically. If you play altered tunes, put the guitar into DADGAD or Drop D or whatever and see how it responds sonically. Again, don't worry about playability, just the sound. If the neck angle is good and you have room in the saddle, you basically have a suit off "off the rack" that can be tailored. If the suit doesn't have the material to let out, then you're hooped! Same with a guitar.

 

The other thing I like to do, is either bring one of my other guitars with me, or find a guitar similar to the model I already own in the shop, to compare to. I also like to either bring a friend or get the salesperson to play the guitar for me while I listen. The sound from the guitar when you're sitting in front of it is much different than what you hear when you're in playing position. So if you care about what others are playing, listening as an audience member is important.

 

I like to A/B guitars as well... get the salesperson to hold guitar B while you play a short guitar pattern (strum, fingerstyle) guitar A and then switch to B and play the same short pattern... and go back and forth like that a few times. This can be really telling.

 

All this takes time and patience and therefore you only do it when you're seriously buying. Otherwise, you're just browsing.

[Acousticat]

+1 Great advice Doug.

[ksdaddy]

I've been buying and selling on ebay since '99 and buying 'over the phone' since about 1984 and buying pawn shop junk since the mid 70s. I know all about buying pigs in a poke and I'm okay with that. The key is to buy it right so if you don't like it you can flip it and maybe not lose anything. Maybe even make a little profit, who knows?

 

There are a lot of lottery tickets sold every day and the odds are a LOT worse playing that game....

[rar]

The situation in a store with pushy sales people' date=' nearby shredders and faulty humidity control often makes it difficult to impossible to really get a sense of what I can do with a guitar and how it might eventually sound. [/quote']

 

Well, it helps if you're not shopping at Guitar Center.

 

-- Bob R

[Jerry K]

 

Well' date=' it helps if you're not shopping at Guitar Center.

 

-- Bob R[/quote']

 

LOL. Touche!

[cradlehall]

'try before you buy' for a lefty in the highlands of Scotland is an impossibility. No-one stocks lefties.

I have to buy over the internet and hope for the best.

I've been pretty lucky so far.

[rar]

'try before you buy' for a lefty in the highlands of Scotland is an impossibility.

 

If it is any comfort, you wouldn't have much better luck in the lowlands of California.

 

-- Bob R

[DonCarlos]

Doug. Great Tips. Thanks.

 

And of course I had to try this after reading your post........

.Checking neck angle... the straight edge should rest perfectly on top of the bridge. If it points below the bridge surface, then put the guitar back and forget it...

 

And......... Whew.........my J45 is right on the money=d> . I was a bit reluctant to get the ruler out since I already have bought the guitar, but glad that I did.

[Gibson101]

 

If it is any comfort' date=' you wouldn't have much better luck in the lowlands of California.

 

-- Bob R

[/quote']

 

You would think that there would be a nice selection in the Bay Area, I bought my J-45RW from Gelb and it was the only Gibson they had at the time. I ended up ordering guitars without being able to play them. I figured the chances of running into an SJ-300 were nill and same with an RJ L-1.

I hear there is a nice 5 star dealer in San Jose have you been??

[rar]

You would think that there would be a nice selection in the Bay Area' date=' I bought my J-45RW from Gelb and it was the only Gibson they had at the time. I ended up ordering guitars without being able to play them. [/quote']

 

The Gibson selection in the Bay Area is nowhere near as good as a few years ago, when there were something like seven Five Star dealers between Tall Toad up in Petaluma and Guitar Showcase in San Jose. But Showcase still has a nice selection -- I'd guesstimate 20 or so from Bozeman in stock -- and the SJ Guitar Center a fair selection, so I'm not complaining!

 

However, I don't think I've ever seen a single lefty at a local dealer, even if "local" is expanded to include the Five Star dealers in LA. The only place I've been that had (a small bunch of) leftys in stock was Guitarsale (a/k/a Woodwind and Brasswind) in South Bend prior to the GC acquisition. Though a few dealers, such as Fuller's and Southpaw (duh!), stock leftys, not many lefty players have a realistic chance to try before they buy.

 

I figured the chances of running into an SJ-300 were nill and same with an RJ L-1.

I hear there is a nice 5 star dealer in San Jose have you been??

 

Showcase has had both in stock in the past. That SJ-300 was a nice guitar! I've also seen other RJs locally, including one at Gryphon in Palo Alto. If you keep checking, I'm sure you'll run across one sometime.

 

-- Bob R