Do you have to play it before buying it rule?

sleewell

sleewell

Shredder
TGF Recording Artist
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1,610
So I'm sitting here playing my mayones and remembered a conversation I had with someone who was like yeah I only ever buy a guitar if I can play it first.

Got me thinking I don't really know who sells them around here or if I ever would have gotten the chance to ever play one. I freaking love this guitar, like a ton. Same with my EGC. I can't imagine never getting either of them bc they aren't around here at all.

Everyone is different which is cool. I'm sure if you have that rule you get really good guitars you love too so that's not what I meant. Plus probably less impulse buys lol and you don't get a stinker which is a huge plus. Pros and cons each way.

Was mainly just curious...
 
Nope. The last 5 I bought I didn't play or see in person first, used and new guitars.

I know I can set a guitar up well enough to make a shitty playing one play great, that's never a concern. I sus out the seller the best I can, mostly just with the description and noting if they're a dumbass or not. Like when I was looking at partscasters on Reverb, lots of dudes made it real easy to not buy their guitar based off how/what they wrote about it, regardless of how well it looked in pics or the specs.

I haven't been disappointed yet, fortunately. Definitely way more surprises, I actually would have to say it's more exciting than grabbing one at a store. You never know what they'll really look like until you get them in person and it's just that much more of a surprise. I never even saw a Solar in person before I bought mine, I was stoked I dug the way it looks all around, quite a bit more than what I see even in HD video.

Biggest risk I took was the partscaster/Old Man Strat, but seeing where he got the parts, I figured the worst I was looking at was a refret/new nut, which I figured into what I was buying it for.
 
It’s preferable but if you have a no issues return policy not essential. I generally only buy things I have played but I get that’s a luxury .
 
Also remember some guitars are safer bets . Anything that has carbon reinforcements or a multi laminate neck construction is unlikely to have neck issues with playability beyond a good setup ( taking in to consideration fret wear). Guitars with uncovered truss rod access at the head are good because you can see any slight damage around the access. This is a good indicator of incompetent adjustment ( warning signs). The thing you can’t tell in pictures is weight (ask) and what it sounds like but something familiar in the ballpark weight is unlikely to have issues. Dead spots can’t really be found without playing it unfortunately and this is the main reason you need a no quibble return policy.
 
Vintage guitars I always want to see before I buy, issues have a too big of an impact on the value to take risks.
So, I have been very patient to wait for stuff to come up within a 2 hour drive. I’ve never been set on very specific models.

New, I always play, cause it’s possible for me to visit a shop with a large collection.

Used non vintage from reputable brands, and polulair models, I have no problem buying unseen. PRS, Yamaha, brands like that, you know what you are gonna get, never a total dud, and if it’s not “for me”, you can always let it go without taking a bath on it.
 
AFKAEjay(retired) said:
Vintage guitars I always want to see before I buy, issues have a too big of an impact on the value to take risks.
So, I have been very patient to wait for stuff to come up within a 2 hour drive. I’ve never been set on very specific models.

New, I always play, cause it’s possible for me to visit a shop with a large collection.

Used non vintage from reputable brands, and polulair models, I have no problem buying unseen. PRS, Yamaha, brands like that, you know what you are gonna get, never a total dud, and if it’s not “for me”, you can always let it go without taking a bath on it.
Click to expand...
Vintage gear is totally different.
 
It depends on the guitar and brand. I have bought 3 without the chance to play first and one was great, one OK, and one a dud that had to go, so it is a bit of a gamble.
 
I haven’t been in a music shop / store for over two decades.
I always buy from online retailers that have great returns systems in place and collect from me If I don’t like something or if it’s faulty.
I will be going into a music next week though to collect a Black Orange PPC412 4×12 Celestion Vintage 30;240w 16ohm Cab with my kids to do the lifting👍
 
guitars, absolutely always unless i built it.. cant replace the tactile feedback cause thats basically 100% of what matters to me. granted- setup- but you can hear and feel through that most times.

amps you haveta look at and make sure theyre not torched, but thats a little negotiable.

pedals are a who cares scenario cause theyre what they are.

cabs... last cab i bought i didnt hear first. but it has zero original speakers left in it 😄 i bought it for the box and got rid of its v30s as fast as i could. in that instance i was glad tove not heard it first.

i think with something like a bean or an egc, youre pretty safe being as aluminum isnt wood!
 
I'm lucky that I live 10 minutes away from the Guitar Sanctuary and over the last few years, we now also have "The Toneshop Guitars" store (that's where I got my Fender Strat) along with a few Guitar Centers.

Even so, I have bought the majority of my guitars online- Schecters have always stood out as being great out of the box.

I also have couple of "custom" Carvin guitars that I bought sigh unseen from the catalog. I ordered the first one over the phone (this is before sales over the internet took of).
 
My nearest, well-stocked, music stores are an hour-and-a-half away, so trying first isn't practical. I'd burn more time and gas/tolls than the cost of return shipping. Of my last 5 guitars, 1 was used, and it was dead mint. Plus they were all EBMM, so that was a factor in my not feeling the need to try it first.

Of the 5, the only 1 I needed to try was the 7 string, b/c I'd never played one. So I coordinated that trip to DC with going to see Dream Theater, and it worked out that I bought it.

The other 4 were all fine. (But I do look closely at the pics for string alignment, since that seems to be a QC issue with EBMM. WTF!)
 
AlbertA said:
I'm lucky that I live 10 minutes away from the Guitar Sanctuary and over the last few years, we now also have "The Toneshop Guitars" store (that's where I got my Fender Strat) along with a few Guitar Centers.

Even so, I have bought the majority of my guitars online- Schecters have always stood out as being great out of the box.

I also have couple of "custom" Carvin guitars that I bought sigh unseen from the catalog. I ordered the first one over the phone (this is before sales over the internet took of).
Click to expand...
Oh lordy. The Guitar Sanctuary has taken over my FB advertising feed and those PRS' are absolute crackers for the eyeballs. Oof.
 
Buy online in Canada whoever has what I want for a good deal, only products I've never been satisfied with are MiM products others that I bought never had any issues,
So no never tried guitars before buying.
 
Of my two favourite guitars that I currently own, one was bought without me trying it first (PRS McCarty with P90’s and rosewood neck) and one I was able to try first (my Gibson Les Paul CS ‘58 reissue (R8)). Both were bought from serious and trustworthy stores though.

Both are fantastic guitars in my opinion!
 
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