Most important things to check when buying a used acoustic guitar?

[imc2111]

When buying a used acoustic guitar, what are the things I should be asking (if buying online) or checking if I'm able to get my hands on the guitar.

[RustyAxe]

Buying on line, the most important thing to know is the vendor's return policy. Trust me.

[Acousticado]

Rather than detail everything here, here are some links that should cover it...

http://www.guitarnoise.com/lessons/h...oustic-guitar/
http://www.acousticmagazine.com/feat...res-our-guide/
https://www.guitartricks.com/blog/Buying-a-used-guitar

Likely, there are some good videos as well.

[Swamp Yankee]

Originally Posted by RustyAxe

Buying on line, the most important thing to know is the vendor's return policy. Trust me.

I agree. Sellers like Guitar Center and Sam Ash have 45 day return policies. With GC you can return them in person to any GC location... no restocking fees - 100% refund including your shipping costs.
Without a return policy you're entirely at the mercy of the seller, and not all sellers have good intentions.

[ChrisN]

I think you need to get familiar with the mechanics of guitars, and with the shenanigans of some sellers, before committing serious $ to purchase.

For example, "neck angle" is important - it tells you if the guitar is approaching the need for a major repair due to structural changes that happen to most guitars over time (caused by string tension). Can easily be $400-500 and up, depending on what's needed (eg extra fretwork).

So you know that, and you ask the seller "how's the neck angle?" and he says "great." That tells you nothing. Because the typical "keep it playable" fix is to reduce the saddle height over time, most guitars approaching "needs reset" have low-to-no saddle height left to reduce, AND too-high action (if you don't know what "action" is, you're not ready to buy used). You need to know the action (height from E and e string bottoms to top of 12th fret) and the saddle height. "Action is fine" is no answer. Need an actual measurement in decimal or fraction (typically 64ths), but you also need to know a good action height for what you're playing. Big strumming? Higher action OK. Intricate quiet fingerstyle? Lower action is better.

Another check for neck angle is a 24" straightedge laid across the fretboard down to the bridge - where does it land? At or just above the bridge? Great. Below the top of the bridge? Danger zone for reset.

Say it passes the action, saddle height and straightedge tests - all done? Nope. One trick used by sellers to move a "needs reset" guitar is to string the guitar with lighter gauge strings than the guitar was designed to take. For example, a guitar built for .13s (high e string) being strung with .11s. Because it takes less tension in the string to bring it to tune, there is less tension applied to the neck. Less tension to the neck means reduced neck bend, and that means the neck will lay flatter than normal, which means: (1) action will be better at every saddle height, (2) a taller saddle may be in place to deceive you, and (3) the guitar will pass the straightedge test. Because of this, you need to know what string gauge the guitar came with (most are sold with "lights" meaning .12 e string), and what gauge is on the guitar today. If lighter strings are on it today, it MAY mean the seller's hiding a needed reset, but not necessarily. Some players like lighter gauges for a variety of reasons, but you still need to know all of the above to avoid a mistake.

That's just one example of what could be a potential problem. There's also neck twist, excess fret wear, loose/broken braces, lifting bridge, dents/dings (undisclosed because seller considers "normal" wear to used instrument), poorly installed electronics, structural issues due to being left in a car trunk on a hot day - the list of potential issues is long.

So, are you buying a used Olson ($16k)? Or a used Yamaha ($200)? How much you're spending impacts how much you need to worry. If you're at the lower end, buy it and try it, better yet, have a luthier look it over during the return period. High-end? Get educated, and maybe have a pro look it over on the seller's end. It'll be money well-spent. Knowledge is power.

95% of sellers are honest and almost all of the guitars you consider will be fine, and their personal guitars have only modest use. 4% of sellers are honest, but don't know enough to determine if their own guitars have specific problems, so it's up to you to ask the right questions in the face of a good return policy. There are other sellers, maybe 1%, who buy "problem guitars" on the cheap and hope to resell to the unsuspecting for more money than was paid. You need to know how to avoid them.

Good luck.

[FOG01]

I have had good luck buying and selling on Reverb. There are retail sellers on the site. I bought a used guitar from Boutique Guitar Shop out of Little Rock, on Reverb and the owner Jesse was a pleasure to deal with. I took some time to figure out what I wanted and what I was willing to pay.

He also provided a sound clip, which while not perfect, gave me a good idea I would be happy with the sound.

Oh, and I would never do PayPal friends and family...

[jseth]

My first thought when I read your post, was "If you have to ask these questions, then DON'T buy a used acoustic!"

I'd amend that to "take someone along who DOES know what to look for...".

Great to have a solid return policy, certainly, but there are a myriad number of "checklist" items to go through when looking at a used acoustic guitar, and cosmetic appearance isn't even one of them! I wouldn't even consider buying unseen and unplayed, were I in your shoes.

Like ChrisN replied, you could go ahead and get very well acquainted with all the ends and outs of what makes acoustic guitars work well, but that's likely to take a good long while - and you would STILL need someone as a "road guide" to teach you a lot of that stuff.

Much easier to take a friend who actually knows what he's looking for... you'll save yourself many heartaches and many dollars...

[ManyMartinMan]

The seller.

[jpd]

Originally Posted by RustyAxe

Buying on line, the most important thing to know is the vendor's return policy. Trust me.

+1........................

[wooglins]

Neck angle, fret condition, and humidity condition.

Anything else is visual or can be resolved inexpensivley.

[TBman]

No bump in the fret board where it meets the body. A saddle that has a lot showing. You should generally avoid guitars that have just a sliver of saddle showing.

[imc2111]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys! It's time to go hunting for a great second hand acoustic now.

Originally Posted by imc2111

When buying a used acoustic guitar, what are the things I should be asking (if buying online) or checking if I'm able to get my hands on the guitar.

Don't buy from anyone who doesn't allow returns.

If you can, have them play the guitar for you over the phone. Sounds cheesy and unlikely to be useful, but I've actually found it useful and have asked several store sales people to do this over the phone. If the guitar is in a warehouse they won't be able to though.

When you get the guitar look inside at the braces and makes sure they're tight.

Make sure there's plenty of saddle showing above the bridge.

Make sure the neck is straight.

Make sure the frets are level (no raised frets).

Check for dead notes and wolf notes on the fretboard.

Play the 12 gauge E string down by the 19th/20th fret and make sure it rings out bright and clear (this is a really good test of quality of construction and responsiveness of the guitar).

Pluck the B string open and feel how much vibration there is in the lower bout on the side. That part is hardest to vibrate and yet you want to feel some vibration there or the guitar isn't resonating all that well.

See how well you can play barre chords on it.

Can't think of much else although I've probably forgotten to mention several things. Oh, yeah, I remember one: kick the tires.

[jwellsy]

Inspect a guitar with strings up to full tension, some sellers will even remove strings to try and hide issues.

- look for cracks in the neck right below the headstock.
- Is there a gap between the heal of the neck and upper bout?
- is the bridge lifting off the top?
- is the top itself bellying up or caving in?
- are the ends of the frets sharp?
- are the tops of the fret wires flat?
- have the strings dug excessive grooves in the nut or saddle?

[Rmz76]

Originally Posted by imc2111

When buying a used acoustic guitar, what are the things I should be asking (if buying online) or checking if I'm able to get my hands on the guitar.

In general-

* Are you the first owner? (not a deal breaker, just interesting to know)

* Has any major work been done? If so what?

* Does the truss rod still work? (might be difficult to get answer for on-line)

* To get an idea of where the action is at, asked them to get an up close photograph of a quarter between the string and the fret at the 12th fret on the low E. The guitar has been setup well there will be just a little space between the quarter and the string. If the action looks good or is just a little higher than normal, I usually take the risk. If I look at the photo and see that I could probably fit a small stack of quarters, that's a deal breaker

* Ask for a photo looking down the fretboard from the headstock. When looking at this photo, make sure you don't see a twist in the neck like this (a twisted neck a deal breaker for me)



If buying vintage-

* Are all the parts original?

* Has the guitar been refinished?

* Does it include the original case?

* Has any major work been done?

This isn't a universal list of deal breaker questions, it's just an assessment I would use to decide if the guitar is worth the asking price... Depending on what the guitar is and how badly I want it and what the asking price is, I would compromise on some of these items but would also probably use them as negotiating points to get a bit of a discount.