Used Guitar, Strings and Fails

[aldo.h24]

Hi guys, My friend will sell me a 2year's old classic guitar (not BEST quality) that he hasn't used and just keeped it in it's case. What should I beware in this case? Obviously Im gonna need new strings, should I take it for a set up when changing them? This is the guitar http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tenson-F5000.../dp/B002BBRR5C
Does the quality of the guitar effects the string tension Im going to use? Sorry, if my questions are "dummies" but IDK. My last cheapy handmade guitar, always made a strange noise while I was tuning, it was so annoying, like you ALWAYS NEW they gonna FAIL/BREAK/EXPLODE or something. Then I realized that the saddle was really high it doesn't even touched the bridge, I now have it for fix, but im getting my friend's guitar ANYWAYS...
Thanks for your time

[dosland]

At that price you need to beware of everything. The neck will probably warp, the action will be very high or so low that there's fret buzz - or both, the frets will need to be cleaned up or dressed, you'll have to replace or adjust the saddle, and as you've guessed already the strings will likely be shot by now. This isn't just a cheap guitar, this is closer to a toy guitar than a classical or concert. The big advantage that I see is that if it's prone to warping or anything else it has probably already gone through that, and it'll be reasonably stable from here on out. I'd also expect it to be extremely sturdy, so you won't have to worry about dings and drops. Tuning it will be incredibly frustrating, though, as the strings will probably cause the tuning machines/rollers to slip. I've owned or worked with many guitars in this price range, and they're all prone to lots of irritating issues, but every once in a while you get lucky and find a playable instrument. I hope this turns out to be one of those!

[aldo.h24]

Oh, thanks, that was helpfull... I think it was enough to make me wait and make some money for a PLAYABLE, GOOD INSTRUMENT...

[Ned Milburn]

Originally Posted by dosland

At that price you need to beware of everything. The neck will probably warp, the action will be very high or so low that there's fret buzz - or both,

Have you tried these instruments before?? I haven't. I would be just stabbing in the dark if I were to make absolute pronouncements on a guitar I know nothing about.

Classical necks rarely bow excessively, since they are so beefy compared to steel string necks and carry only half tension.

[dosland]

Originally Posted by Ned Milburn

Have you tried these instruments before?? I haven't. I would be just stabbing in the dark if I were to make absolute pronouncements on a guitar I know nothing about.

Classical necks rarely bow excessively, since they are so beefy compared to steel string necks and carry only half tension.

Not the brand, but the genre, if that makes sense. As I said, I've had my hands on quite a lot of bottom end instruments (which this purports to be), and the issues I've described are common throughout. This includes warped necks, which can also lead to some pretty significant fretboard issues. I'm not sure how my claims above are controversial, but if you have any useful comments for the OP (apart from the observation that the neck may be fine), I've already added what I think are some useful comments. Oh, one issue I didn't remember to mention - the bridge may or may not be in the exact right spot, and it may or may not be particularly well attached.

[Mr. Scott]

I think if Aldo took this guitar to a luthier for a set up (which it will most likely need), the cost of the set up would be as much as, or more than, the guitar is worth.