So you have signed up for guitar lessons. Now you want to go out and get a used instrument but you don't know how to buy a second-hand acoustic guitar. These 9 helpful tips will explain what you should look for.
First thing, a word about buying a second-hand guitar.This can be a very good choice, a way to get a good quality instrument at a lesser price. While instruments do hold their value, a lot of people are still willing to pay more for that shiny, brand new, never been used, never been scratched instrument. If you can get past that, you can get yourself a good deal. One thing to keep in mind as well, is that no matter how careful you are with your instrument, if you use if often, it's going to get a scratch here and there.
That being said, let's see what you should be looking for -- what things will tell you whether your guitar is in good shape or bad shape! Let's take a look.
1. Overall Condition. Look at the guitar as you would a piece of furniture. What is the condition of the wood? Does it look good or does it look dried out? If it looks dried out, chances are that some of the glue has also dried out. That could lead to all kinds of problems. Steer clear of that one.
Also look for any chips or cracks. If the guitar is old, it will probably have chips and cracks.Take a closer look. Are they just on the surface? Just in the finish? Or is the entire piece of wood cracked? If the wood is cracked through, steer clear of that one too.
2. Neck -- Body Joint. This is where the guitar joins the body. Make sure there is a good solid connection. Check for anywhere that the neck is lifting away from the guitar. The strings are tuned very tightly. There is a lot of tension on the neck -- this joint has to stand up to a lot! You don't want a guitar that has even the slightest flaw in this connection.
3. Guitar Back . Some guitars are made from one piece of wood, some with more than one. This doesn't mean an inferior design, it is part of the style of the guitar.Turn the guitar over and look at the back. Observe the seam, where the two pieces meet, very carefully. Check to make sure it's solid and not coming apart and doesn't look at all dried out.
4. Body Side Seams. Check all along the sides of the guitar, both where the front "face" of the guitar meets the sides and where the back piece meets the sides.This part of the guitar is often what gets the bang when a guitar is bumped around.This is also a spot where glue might give way if the guitar has been subjected to a lot of dryness.
5. Straightness of the Neck. As already mentioned the neck has to handle a great deal of tension. Guitars in good shape often need an adjustment from time to time and a guitar that's not in good shape will undoubtedly have problems with the neck.
Take the guitar stretched out in front of you with the end of the body closest to you and the neck farthest away, so that you are looking down the neck towards the head. Observe the neck. Look for turning or twisting. It should look straight to your eye. Small adjustments can easily be made by a qualified professional "luthier", but big problems are "big problems!"
6. Check the Action. The "action" is how far the strings are off the neck (the fretboard) where you place your fingers to create the notes. The strings ideally should be very close to the neck! Often when there is a problem with the neck, the strings are very high off the fretboard. It is normal for the the strings to be higher where the neck meets the guitar, but not a lot higher. If the neck is in trouble, there is often a very big difference.
The action has a great deal to do with the playability of the guitar! When the strings are high off the fretboard, the guitar is difficult to play and it is very hard on the fingers. This is an extremely important point, and often inexperienced people do not know to look for this one.
7. Tuning Keys & Machine Heads. On the head of the guitar are the tuning keys and machine heads. You want to make sure that everything is in a straight line. Often a guitar that is out of shape will have bent tuning keys that are difficult or even impossible to turn. And sometimes the key is missing altogether and there's no handle to turn!
You want to be sure there's no rust or anything broken or chipped. It is best to turn the tuning keys too. They should turn fairly easily and feel very smooth as they turn. A guitar with hard sticky keys is very annoying and difficult to get into proper tune. And you tune your guitar every time you play! So, do keep that one in mind.
8. Check the Tuning. Here is another way to check out the neck. Find someone who has a good ear for pitch, if you don't, and it doesn't have to be a musician. My sister has a very good ear for pitch and doesn't even play an instrument.
Play an open string and then play the same string pushing it down at the twelfth fret (usually marked with a double dot).These notes are an octave apart. If the neck is out, this note will sound sour. It will not be the same pitch. Do this on every string! This is something I always do when checking out even brand new guitars! Pitch is extremely important to get a nice, sweet sound from your guitar.
One note here about pitch. If the guitar checks out on all the other points and the neck looks good and maybe just one string is a little out, that could mean only a minor adjustment. Look for big differences. If a guitar has been sitting awhile it is only logical that it may need an adjustment.
9. Where to Look for your Guitar. I had a student who found a very decent guitar at a yard sale, but I consider that she was lucky. It was old and dirty and had no strings. I cleaned it up, put strings on it and was amazed that it turned out to be O.K. But that's a risky business.
I would recommend, however, consignments at music stores or pawn shops.
About consignments -- you are probably stuck with it once you've bought it, so take your time and be sure. I can't speak for every music store, but I can say that the store I deal with would not want to have a piece of junk in their store, so you would not likely find a "bad" guitar on consignment there. But still you must take responsibility for your choice.
A word about pawn shops. Don't listen to any sales pitch about the condition of the guitar, use this check list and decide for yourself. The local pawn shop in my area will allow returns on items within 30 days. If you have that option, take the instrument to your teacher and have him or her give you the O.K. That's what I recommend to my new students. A note about location, if you are handy to a large city, you'll find much more selection there.
So those are my tips on how to buy a second-hand acoustic guitar. Buying second-hand can get you a really nice quality instrument. Many musicians feel that an older guitar has more character than a brand new one, so there you go!
