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How to buy a used acoustic guitar

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Nick Torres London born, Washington DC area native Nick Torres has been involved in music for more than 20 years. From singing with the Paul Hill Chorale at the Kennedy Center, to Regional Chorus, soloist at Trinity UMC in... See more » Nick Torres London born, Washington DC area native Nick Torres has been involved in music for more than 20 years. From singing with the Paul Hill Chorale at the Kennedy Center, to Regional Chorus, soloist at Trinity UMC in Alexandria VA, bell ringing, amateur and professional musical theater, and a band or two along the way. Currently Nick is focused on spending as much time as possible with his lovely wife and two children. When he's not doing that he's practicing his acoustic guitar and hanging out in the Songwriters Forum here on Guitar Noise. And writing articles and reviews, let's not forget that... Nick Torres has written 13 articles for Guitar Noise. View all articles by Nick Torres Ooooooooh, don't you dare turn up your nose at used guitars. That's precisely the reverse of what you should be thinking. If you offered me two guitars, exactly the same except one was brand spankin' new and the other had been gently played for the past 30 years, I'd pay more for the used one. Let me give you eight reasons why. 1. The wood ages and the sound matures, bringing out overtones you never knew existed. When you buy a new acoustic guitar you need to be very careful the first several years that they don't dry out or get too much humidity. Why? The wood hasn't settled into its cured state yet. Curing of wood is so very important that done right the wood goes for a pretty penny. The old forest wood that is being pulled up from the bottom of the Great Lakes is prohibitively expensive. Some believe that Stradivarius aged his wood under water so that the cells would lose moisture slower and also be affected by anaerobic bacteria. Personally I haven't got time to wait, so I'll go with a used guitar. Now maybe you can't tell the difference, but you will be able to tell the difference in the next item. 2. Used guitars are generally a lot cheaper, 50% less than what they retail for isn't uncommon. The PK30 from Tacoma sells for $1469 US online, you can get it from guitarweb on Ebay with a cosmetic finish flaw for $749. That's a practically new guitar. My 1979 Flyde Orsino cost me $300. New that guitar is $1500. To get the tone that my 25 year old guitar has you'd have to spend $2000-3000. All those numbers are retail folks. That brings up an interesting point, I classify "used" guitars into four categories: old used, new used, refurbished, needs work to play. Here is how I break them down: Old used is at least 10 years old. These guitars have a history. They weren't turned over just because a new model came out. Most have been gently played or played and forgotten. This is where I recommend you buy. The best bargains are here. New used is less than five years old. "I bought it for my son and he lost interest" guitars fall into this category. "I thought a better guitar would make me play better" guitars fall in here too. Generally these are low to mid range guitars. Still you can find some decent bargains in here too. Refurbished guitars are factory seconds or used trade in guitars that have been fixed by a reputable dealer like my friends at guitarweb on Ebay. You can find some great deals on very recent models at places like this. If you go this EBay route, look for a seller with lots and lots of positive feedback. Needs work to play is something you should just steer clear of, unless you find a 1943 Martin that needs a new neck for $200. Buy it and take it to your local guitar shop to be fixed. The other time you might buy a guitar like this is if you are looking for a specialty guitar. For instance an old archtop Jazz guitar could be had for next to nothing. Take that into a luthier to have the neck reset for a couple of hundred bucks and you could have a real gem. 3. Most guitars don't get used that much in the first place. More people give up rather than stick to playing. I have no idea what the actual numbers are, but I'm sure there are more guitars in basements, under beds, in attics that aren't being played than there are guitars being played. Wouldn't that be nice to find an old Fender Strat that was only driven to church on See less »

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acoustic guitar, buy acoustic guitar, guitar, guitar lessons, guitar tricks, how to play guitar, learnguitar, playguitar

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How to buy a used acoustic guitar

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