When buying a secondhand guitar use these pointers to ensure your purchase is one you’ll be very pleased with.
Often cheaper than a brand new guitar and just as ready to rock , a secondhand guitar could
be a great addition to your collection or the ideal thing to start you off, but how do
you know that your potential purchase isn’t a potential waste of cash?
The truth is that some amazing guitars, while expensive when new, are relatively cheap
secondhand. Sometimes you can find a custom or a limited edition guitar that someone is
selling quickly for the cash and you can often get a real bargain if you know what you are
looking for. It really pays to do some searching before thinking about buying a used
guitar as some sellers will push their price up to cash in, especially if they know they are
selling to a beginner who doesn't know that much about guitars.
So, as a beginner who may not know much about guitars, what should you look for when
inspecting a used instrument?
Let’s just say that you have found a secondhand guitar in the musical instrument section
of the weekly classifieds and you are quite keen to go and take a look at it. Below is a list
of hints that will help you when inspecting the guitar and talking to the seller:
When talking to the seller, ask them the following:
The make and model of the guitar – It is best if you can find some info on the guitar
model to find out the asking price elsewhere, both new and used, and whether or not
other people are experiencing problems with it. You can find reviews for almost any guitar
submitted online you can go and ask at your local music
store.
About the condition of the guitar – If they are trustworthy, the seller may tell you about any
impairment that is unnoticeable upon rough inspection.
How long they have had the guitar – If they have had it for a long time, they should have
a good knowledge of its history of use, repairs and maintenance etc. If they are not
co-operative with that sort of information, they may be trying to con you.
When inspecting the guitar, check the following:
The overall condition – Look the guitar over and make note of any obvious damage –
guitars often take a bit of wear and tear and if its just small scrapes and scratches then
the guitar will probably be fine. Look for rust also , not on the strings, but on the hardware
that is holding the strings and the pickups. If there is any rust in these places… run! It’s
not worth it. What good is a guitar that may fall apart on you in the near future? Trust me
– leave it alone.
The neck of the guitar – the neck is vital. Here are some areas to look at:
Make sure that the neck is not warped or out of shape in any way.
Check the area where the neck joins to the body of the guitar – look for cracks where it
may have been damaged in the past.
In the same fashion, check the area where the neck joins the head of the guitar.
Check the action – Action is a word that describes how close the strings are to the fret
board starting at the head of the guitar all the way down to the bridge. It is preferable to
have the strings very close to the fret board as to make it easier to press them down (not
so close that they are touching of course). If the strings are nice and close to the fret
board all the way along, you would say that the guitar has a good action. Pictured right is
a guitar with poor action. Notice that the strings sit quite far off the fret board. Guitars with
poor action are harder to play and don’t sound very good. You can fix the action on your
guitar by taking it to a guitar technician, but it will cost you between £40 and £90.
The Intonation of the strings. Intonation is a word that describes the accuracy of each
actual note that the guitar can produce on any string. If the intonation is correct, every
note on the guitar will be the correct pitch – If it is out, the guitar will be impossible to tune
and it will sound horrible. To roughly check the intonation, play the E shape barre chord
on each fret of the guitar. As you move towards the bridge of the guitar, you should hear
the chord keeping its pitch – if not, the intonation is out and you will need to get a guitar
technician to work on the problem.
If the guitar you are looking at is an electric, you must plug it in and see how it sounds
through an amplifier. Ask the seller if you can play it through your amp and if you don’t have
one, ask someone if you can borrow theirs. Try the following when testing an electric
guitar through an amp:
Turn the amp up to a fair volume level and then play with the volume and tone controls
by turning them to full and then back to zero. Test the pickup selector by flicking its
switch back and forth. Carefully listen to any sounds that are being made while doing
these things. You are looking for scratchy sounds or clicks that might indicate old or worn
electrics.
Strum a single chord and while the chord is ringing start playing with the controls like
before, still listening for scratches or clicks or any other nasty sounds. Guitar technicians
can fix these problems and most guitars need to be done about once every 5 - 10 years.
Just be aware of this fact or you could find yourself spending more money than you first
intended.
Check the sound of the guitar – Before you buy, you want to know that the guitar sounds
like it should? Once you have tested the guitar sound, go to a music store and ask to play
. on a new model of that guitar If at all possible, use a similar amplifier to the one that you
tested the second hand guitar on, and see if you notice any BIG differences. There is a
simple rule that I like to follow: If you’re not happy with the guitar sound… Don’t buy it!
The most important thing to remember when shopping for any guitar is... Don’t shop
impulsively. A guitar is a major purchase and you want to get the right one. Leave
yourself time to go away and think about the purchase. If you have doubts when checking
out a guitar, you are probably better to leave it and hold out for something that better
suits you.
If you are new to the guitar and a little worried about testing guitar in public – don’t worry.
It is important to remember that you are not there to display your playing ability – you
are there to discern whether your proposed buy is a good deal or not so just go for it.
If you are still worried, take an experienced guitarist along with you when you are looking
at a possible buy. See if you can ask a teacher or a friend – most musicians
love to help newbies. Not only will they be able to offer helpful advice – they will be good
moral support when it’s time to pick up the guitar and test it out in public.
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