Buyer's remorse: I bought the wrong type of guitar.

[Dru Edwards]

Originally Posted by rllink

I think that sometimes we get a particular guitar in our head and we spend weeks on the internet looking at pictures, reading reviews, listening to sound samples, and especially reading forum posts about how great this particular guitar is and going to be. Then when this wonderful guitar shows up and we play it we are disillusioned that what we got is a guitar. We've ruined the whole experience because we built it up so much in our imagination that the reality will never rise to meet our expectations. Been there.

Great post. I had a similar experience this past winter with Ibanez electric guitars with the Wizard III neck. I did my research and loved it but then I played a bunch at a few different guitar stores and none were for me ... at least not yet.

[tired fingers]

Originally Posted by LakewoodM32Fan

Yeah I bought a Taylor 714ce and a 914ce v-class for the name on the headstock (and the bling of the abalone on the 914). Both are no longer part of the arsenal.

My personal strategy is to bring my current guitar(s) with me when I audition new ones. Because depending on what the store setup is, they could have a sweet sounding room designed to make their guitars sound great...in which case it will make yours sound great too. A/B the heck out of the guitars. Does the prospective new one do what your current one does, only better? Or does it give a tonally different flavor altogether, one that is complementary to the one you already have? Play a lot on it. A good dealer won't try to hurry you to decide in a few minutes. Unless you're a seasoned vet (and even then, maybe not) you won't really know how you bond with the instrument right away. But you should be able to try it out in the store for a decent amount of time (or spread it out over a few days)

These suggestion are great. Having a reference point is a very good starting point. Also if you have a friend with a guitar you really like, see if they'll either let you take it for comparison (or if they're nervous about their baby, come along with you and provide their input as well) If you're not too impatient -- and it sounds like you're not, you'll succeed in the end.