5 Things to Know Before Buying a Used Guitar

5 Things to Know Before Buying a Used Guitar Jill Cole If youre in the market for an inexpensive guitar, youve probably noticed there are many, many used guitars for sale. How do you find a great guitar and avoid the lemons? Follow this guide from guitar teacher James W. and youll be on your way to finding the perfect new-used guitar Buying a used guitar can be a fun and rewarding experience if you know what to look for and what to avoid. Let’s delve into the details in a step-by-step way that makes sense. First off, what kind of guitar do you wish to own? Since buying is the pain and owning is the pleasure, it is good  to know what to look for. 1. Let Me Give You A Hand Are your hands big or small? I recommend that you choose a guitar based on your ability to wrap your  hand all the way around the neck. This is not just personal taste, its a physical thing. There’s no point in making things harder by picking a neck that is too big to  play comfortably, with strings too high off the fretboard to play a chord or two. Search for the kind of guitar you love to play and check it to see if the setup was done recently. If  you are not sure, ask the owner. Chances are they bought this guitar used or new and had to have the strings lowered and the  intonation set for it to play in tune. Are the tuners looking new? Were they an upgrade? Good tuners will keep the strings in tune longer, and a good setup means the guitar will be easier for you to play. 2. Tonewoods Mahogany, maple, rosewood, spruce, alder, ash, and basswood.  Ah the wonderful phrase:  â€œThat guitar has good tonewoods.” Most good acoustics have a spruce top and mahogany back and sides. Some use maple for the  top or other laminated woods for the back and sides of the guitar. I do not recommend buying a guitar with laminated back and  sides. Laminate guitars can be too easily damaged and dinged or dented. Stick with quality solid woods.  Something else to consider: Tonewoods have warm aural qualities and improve in sound with age. 3. Pickups Look for guitars for sale with stock pickups by Fender,Fishman, Gibson, Godin, Dimarzio,  EMG, or Seymour Duncan, as these are all quality makers. Today there are  as many types of guitar pickups as there are musical genres. If you listen to Stevie Ray Vaughn play blues you  may say single coil is the way to go. Both single coil and humbuckers are passive and rely on magnets to work. Listen to them and  compare the tone of each one through a good amp like a Marshall all tube( valve) amp or a Fender Champ Amp. Then decide what  you prefer. Remember to keep it simple and put good strings on that guitar once you get it home. Ernie Ball Slinkys (0.10’s) for  electric guitars and Elxirs for acoustic guitars are good choices. I also like EVH Premium electric guitar strings. 4. To Coil Tap or Not to Coil Tap Coil tapping is simply rewiring the guitar tone and volume knobs (a.k.a. pots) to “push and pull” so  you can get more variety of sounds out of one guitar. In the case of my Telecaster, coil tapping has given me the sound of up to 7 guitars in one. If you see an electric guitar with  this built into it and everything else looks good including the price then you may have found your prize. Snap it up! 5. Invest in a Hard Shell Case A hard shell case can keep your pride and joy safe from just about every  calamity known to man. It may be a used guitar but you still invested your hard earned dollars in it, so it’s wise to protect it. A hard shell case will cost more than a gig bag, but it  will pay for itself in peace of  mind. Trust me on this. I cannot express the trauma you feel when a baggage handler at the airport throws your guitar on the conveyer belt! It’s good to understand the choices and maybe even be a bit picky. Educate yourself by going into your local guitar store  and trying out several of their guitars for sale to see what makes you smile- “I like that one but I don’t like that one” and so on. Always buy trusted brands  like Fender and Gibson and Martin with quality parts built right in. Look for a guitar that has been maintained in good shape by the previous  owner. Guitars are like cars; they must be maintained and cared for.  And remember, if you have any questions along the way, your guitar teacher will be happy to help! Post Author:  James  W. James W. teaches guitar, singing, and acting  lessons in Jacksonville, FL. He specializes in teaching pop, rock, and modern country styles. James has been teaching for 10 years and joined the TakeLessons in 2010.  Learn more about James  here! Interested in Private Lessons? Search thousands of teachers for local and live, online lessons. Sign up for convenient, affordable private lessons today! Search for Your Teacher Photo by  nlnnet