How to buy an electric guitar second hand?
just me asked:
We are looking to buy second hand electric guitar for out daughter, we have no clue in guitars what so ever.
We are looking to buy second hand electric guitar for out daughter, we have no clue in guitars what so ever.
When we go to buy second hand, what should we look for? Any specific things to pay attention to?
What parts of the guitar we have to test out?
What are some of the bad stuff we can’t see but need to look for before we buy?
Thanks. Any information would be greatly appreciated.
The best way to buy a used guitar is to take someone experienced with guitars along with you, but assuming you can’t, this is what you need to look/watch out for:
–Good electronics–
*Plug the guitar into an amplifier and move the selector switch to one side. Strum the strings and then while the strings are ringing, wiggle the pickups and knobs to look for bad connections. Move the selector switch to the next position and repeat. You are listening for the signal to cut out or crack, which means a bad connection.
*The electronics are usually easily repaired, but it is better to know what you are buying before hand. Also, if you have an unexperienced sales person, you can get a HUGE discount off a “faulty” guitar.
–Cracking–
*Small cracks in the finish aren’t a problem, they might not look nice, but they won’t effect the sound
*Cracks in any part of the guitar made from wood are major problems.
*If there is a crack in the neck or head stock, the guitar could fail and send wood flying under the high tension of the strings.
*If there is a crack in the body, the risk of “catastrophic” failure is low, but it will effect your sound significantly.
–Warping–
*Warping the twisting of neck. When playing, the strings require a neck that is free from any twist or risk “string buzz” (the strings bounce off the neck and make a nasty noise).
*Turn the guitar so that the body is away from you and the headstock is near your eye. Look down the fretboard - if the neck is straight, you should be in the clear, if not, DO NOT BUY THE GUITAR.
*Unlike the electronics, you cannot fix a warped neck, only replace it.
–Misc–
*Make sure the gears in the tuning heads (what you turn to tune the guitar) all work well.
*Make sure that the jack can hold the chord without any problems (easy to fix, but check anyways)
*Look for fret-wear. Guitars that are old/abuse will have fret damage that makes it difficult to play the guitar. The frets are the silver “wires” the run perpendicular to the neck. Just make sure they aren’t nicked or have flat spots.
—What to look for (in general)—
*Look for a clean guitar without much surface damage: the better the outside was taken care of, the better chance the “insides” were cared for as well.
*Look for a guitar without oxidation (rust). If the frets, knobs, or other parts are rusty/oxidized, the guitar was kept in a moist environment. This means that the electronics are oxidized as well. This can also lead to warping due to the excess humidity.
—–A bit of advice—–
After you buy the guitar, take it to a guitar/music shop to get set up by a professional. They should replace the strings, adjust the truss rod, set the action, set the pickup height, and clean the pots. This probably doesn’t mean anything to you, but the luthier will understand. To get the best performance out of the guitar, it needs to be tuned like you would a car. This might cost anywhere from $30-45 depending on the guitar and the place. Charlie