Buying second hand guitar

[Chris Robertson]

Hey Guys,
So a question I have, I found a guitar second hand that is being sold on gumtree (if you dont know what that is, think similar to ebay etc). The guitar is half the price it is in the shops and I have been eyeing it for a long time and this is well within my price range and I really want a second guitar for dropped tunings.
What do you look out for when buying second hand guitars, it always feels to good to be true when such deals come along, like it feels there must be something wrong with it. I have checked the pictures and looks like its in mint condition and no scratches.

 

[idssdi]

Always test them before you buy! On ebay for example there are a lot of chinese knock offs. So test the pickups and test it without an amp to be sure ot is working properly

 

[Chris Robertson]

Thanks Ids, You know my problem is I once bought a second hand PRS SE Santana long long time ago and while I played it at first it seemed great. Got it home and after a week something just didnt feel right. It felt like the G string wouldnt hold its tone (if thats the right word) properly. I could never seem to keep that string in tune throughout the fretboard and I did research and found with the bridges the PRS used that they sometimes have that issue and it cant be fixed. So I hope to avoid that. The guitar this time is an Epiphone Matt Heafy version with EMG pickups and I dont know much about epiphone.

 

[idssdi]

Epiphone is a sister brand of gibson. They basically cheaper gibson models. Some professionals even play on epiphone. If you get a new epiphone in the range €300-€1000 you are getting yourself a pretty decent guitar

 

[Daniel Sobota]

Funny that you want Matt Heafy’s model, as I’m contemplating buying a second hand Corey Beaulieu model lol.
But my biggest gripe about used guitars is that they always come with either a damaged or a missing part. The edge of the V that I want to buy is pretty damaged, and I don’t really want my first legit electric guitar to look half-assed (still playing on acoustic).
So idk man. If everything’s okay with the guitar for pretty much 98%, I’d suggest buying it. But if you feel like you won’t be happy with it, save some more for the brand new one.

 

[Chris Robertson]

yea Daniel, ive always felt that way. Im so unlucky with things that If I buy new I have the security of being able to return to a shop. But its so tempting when the guitar is less than half the price haha.

 

[idssdi]

I always feel like if it is half the price there really could be something wrong with it. That’s kinda why I never buy second hand guitars online so I can test it before I buy

 

[Chris Robertson]

Went looking around and think I found a guitar thats calling my name
https://www.andertons.co.uk/prs-se-chris-robertson-signature-guitar-in-kentucky-blueburst-secrkbb
Never knew a dude with my name had a signature guitar. But as I said I bought a PRS before and had issues. Would it be worth chancing a new one?

 

[idssdi]

That’s a pretty guitar. PRS does have a pretty good name for themself so would be worth a try

 

[Zoltán Barna]

Hello there!
I owned only second hand guitars, but I had almost 20 guitars. I’m living in Hungary, and the second-hand market is very awesome here, so I don’t have negative exp. with it. As you read above, You should not buy the guitar without testing.