Buying A Used Guitar
June 24th, 2007Hints on Buying Your Second Hand Guitar and Questions to Ask the Seller
The model and make of the guitar – It is best if you can research the guitar model you are interested in to find out the asking price elsewhere, both the new and used price. Also in your research, find out if other people have experienced any problems with it. You can find reviews for almost any guitar submitted at www.harmony-central.com/Guitar or you can check it out at your local music store.
Check the condition of the guitar – Ask the seller about any damage that would be undetectable upon rough inspection. An honest seller may tell you.
How old is the guitar, how long have they had it? – If they have owned it for a long time, they should know the history of its use, repairs and maintenance etc. If they are not forthcoming with that sort of information, they may be trying to pull one over you.
Check for the following when inspecting the guitar:
The guitars overall condition – Examine the guitar 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 should probably be OK. Check for rust also, not just on the strings, but also examine the hardware that is holding the strings and the pickups. If you find rust in any of these places… run! It’s not worth it. A guitar that may fall apart on you in the near future isn’t much good, is it? Trust me – leave it alone.
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