Which guitar purchase disappointed you the most?

[Bluenose]

Originally Posted by s2y

About the only disappointment I had was when I was too aggressive with the fan of a multiscale 7 string flat top. I took a chance and missed the mark. That's on me.

I'm sure the guitars are perhaps the ones disappointed in me. My 7 string archtop was once played by Charlie Hunter. I'm sure that guitar asks if I'm even trying.

Charlie Hunter is amazing but you're no slouch yourself.

[stephenT]

Gibson L-00, lasted a week. Maybe an early 2000 model, a dead sounding guitar. Luckily Elderly had a friendly return policy.

[zuzu]

Takamine G-72CE 12 string. Excellent fit&finish, great action, sounded great plugged in, beautiful big maple body guitar, really lovely...but a whispering giant. My friend's Guild 12 string could whisk it aside like a gnat.

[movehome]

The new Yamaha Red Labels. I bought three in total that I had to return. I tried a couple more in the store that also had obvious issues.

The final one I returned had 3 tuners that barely worked. Even without much tension on them they were very difficult to turn. Yamaha branded turners too so there's really no excuse.

Another one in the store had the exact same problem.

I really wanted to like those guitars but the quality control is just really bad. Finish issues as well, intonation issues, glue squeeze out, etc. even with the made in Japan ones. At the time I had recently bought a new $150 guitar and it had significant better fit and finish.

[sinistral]

Originally Posted by Moldstar

I just wanted give my appreciation for this thread, and how interesting the answers have been.

If you read Br1ck’s post:

Originally Posted by Br1ck

How often have you heard the story someone just didn't bond with a guitar, but the guy they sold it to loved it? One pan's nasally is another's crisp and punchy. Such was the case when I was enjoying the heck out of a 66 D 18. Guy came along and said that guitar is nasally. His guitar? A D 28 Marquis. Enough said.

You realize that “one man’s toy poodle is another man’s rat with a perm,” as the saying goes.

John Thomas (of Kalamazoo Gals fame—if you haven’t read it, I highly recommend it) brought up the ‘Laurel/Yanny” auditory illusion on the forum. At a presentation at the Artisan Guitar Show this spring, John played the clip to a room full of 30 people. About half heard “Laurel” and half heard “Yanny.” That result was even more striking to me than the results of the poll he conducted on the forum, because there people were listening through a wide variety of media of varying sound quality. In the room at the AGS, the clip was being played back through the full-frequency sound system in the room.

The results were astounding. I have been able to hear either “Laurel” or “Yanny” depending on what I’m listening on or through (iphone, quality headphones, etc.). But in that room, I distinctly heard “Laurel.” That half the audience heard “Yanny” was really mind-blowing.

I bring this up because we think—or assume—when we see the color red and say, that’s red, that other people see the same thing. But with hearing, it’s almost as if I look at red and see red, and you look at the same thing and see blue. So a guitar that sounds like it’s stuffed with socks to one person can sound glorious to another person. Did the first person have high frequency hearing loss? Who knows.

At a recent peak I owned over 35 guitars, although I’m working (somewhat unsuccessfully) to cut that number in half. One of the more disappointing guitars for me in that bunch was/is (it hasn’t sold yet) a Waterloo WL-S Deluxe. That guitar gets frequent praise on this and other forums—I’m hoping the next owner will enjoy the guitar a lot more than I do/did.

[Jamolay]

So much influences what we hear. One small example…

https://www.britannica.com/video/249...ct-linguistics

[Hogs150]

A Recording King RP-342 tonewood reserve single 0. bought on reverb for $700 didn't like the V neck, didn't like the tone. it looked terrific. couldn't sell it even at a big loss ended up trading for a epiphone les Paul 58 reissue ( I don't play electric) and finally sold that for almost all my money back. TRY BEFORE YOU BUY.

[6L6]

1982 Gibson ES-335. Unless you were on the bridge pickup it was nothing but mud when it came to tone.

I sold it quickly and bought a '67 ES-335. That one was fantastic.

[iparkforfree]

My worst purchase was my second guitar, a used Martin HD-28. I hated everything about it, making me miss my cheaper laminate Martin.

[SRL]

Some of my disappointing purchases have been due to issues with the guitars but most were dishonest or uncaring sellers:

• Blueridge BR-163A - sound was loud but discordant and ugly, seller didn't disclose a sloppily done neck reset and other cosmetic issues. Sold it, disclosing these issues, nearly broke even.
• Eastman E-20-OM - sounded fantastic in open position, but the bridge was in the wrong spot and intonation was off. Seller didn't disclose myriad issues and tried to hide serious wear under a new pickguard. Lost some money but not a ton.
• Eastman E-20-D - the deadest guitar I've ever played. It was brand new though, so it may have opened up by now. Sold it on but broke even. Swore off brand new adirondack guitars.
• Gibson LG-2 American Eagle - the low E string had almost no volume, guitar was heavily built, seller didn't disclose significant issues. Got it fixed and only lost a little on it. In hindsight, I should have kept it and shaved the back bracing a bunch to lower the fundamental and main air down in frequency for a better low E string. I might buy another LG-2 in the future, it was good otherwise.
• Breedlove OM SMYe - a great Oregon-built guitar, loved the build and the sound, but it had a big undisclosed chip in the headstock, conveniently hidden in the photos. Returned it.
• Guild F-512 (Oxnard build) - came covered in dried super glue. I don't even know what happened. Returned it. Awesome sounding guitar though, and well-built otherwise.

All the above were used guitars, by the way.

I think that's about it. There are several others from a variety of brands that I bought and later sold just cause I didn't get a long with the neck or upgraded to something else, but were otherwise fine guitars. I wouldn't count those as disappointments, just "not for me" guitars

[Larry22]

A Martin DRS2 with an underset neck that I bought from an online dealer that recently went out of business. It was the first guitar I bought when I was learning how to play. I didn't realize it until several months later when my guitar teacher said I should have my action lowered. When I took it in, the repair guy sighted down the neck and pointed out the problem. I could definitely see what he was talking about. Said a reset would cost $600-$700 and is dangerous to do because of the fumes from melting the glue. He did tweek the truss and lowered the action and it was a lot better. I was still disappointed though.

[NotveryGood]

GS Mini Koa. Nothing wrong with the guitar as such, but the hype led to me to expect more. I found the neck too cramped and the sound rather thin. Overall like a toy. Moved it on. Guy who bought it loved it though.

[rmoretti49]

Taylor 322ce. Everybody else seems to love them, but I returned mine. Then I tried another one. Same thing. I thought both of them sounded thin and quiet compared to other guitars that I own of the same size.

[LakeRidge]

Koa Taylor K22. Absolutely beautiful and absolutely dead sounding.

[stephenT]

Originally Posted by Jamolay

So much influences what we hear. One small example…

https://www.britannica.com/video/249...ct-linguistics

This example has nothing to do w/ how we perceive sounds from guitars (at least my guitars, which have no lips).