Buying a Used Guitar Guide

One of the best reasons for choosing to buy a used guitar is that you will get a better deal and more guitar for your money. Getting better bang for your bucks is one of the primary reasons that guitar players choose to purchase a used electric, acoustic or bass guitar. Popular online auctions have made it much easier to source a wide range of used musical instruments. Before the internet your only option for finding a second hand bargain have would be en to try your local guitar store, buy one from a friend, colleague or member of your family, or a second hand shop.

So we have established that finding a bargain is now much easier than it used to be. Now we shall consider the reasons why, besides money saving, a guitarist might choose to buy used instead of new. Well, there is the fact that lots of buyers like to purchase vintage instruments that might be rare or just sound better because of the aged parts and wood. You tend to find that famous music artists like to build up a collection of very rare guitars. They like to have a piece of history. Their loved ones also like to buy them vintage instruments because no two old guitars tend to be the same. This makes the gift all the more special.

So what makes a guitar feel and sound good in the first place? There are numerous factors that make a musical instrument worth playing including the wood used, the hardware (including tuning pegs, bridge, but, frets, pickups, wiring and sockets). The reliability of an instrument can also be vastly improved if good, solid wiring and joints are used. This is of particular concern for the gigging musician. You should always have backup equipment when you are playing live in front of an audience but ensuring that each of your instruments are in tip top condition and using the very best parts that you can afford makes your guitars as reliable as possible.

I had a bit of an issue recently with a and new guitar that I bought many years ago. It's a cheap one and I bought a replacement pickup for it to improve the sound which it did. But as some of the frets became quite warn near the twelve and fifteen frets (wear I'd been bending whilst playing lead guitar quite a lot) I did not have the frets repaired because my perception of the overall value of the guitar is not worth the repair. But my used guitars will get a fret dress when they need one because I bought them second hand and got a much better guitar for the price I paid. So the moral of the story is to buy a more expensive instrument used so that when it comes to replacing parts, upgrading and general maintenance, you will feel much better than repairing a cheap instrument.

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