|
|
"BARGAIN" GUITARS
Unless you are knowledgeable about guitars, picking up a guitar at a pawn shop or yard sale, or trying to revive that old guitar Uncle Ed left out in the garage 10 years ago may simply turn out to be an expensive excercise in frustration. What I recommend is that you put out a few dollars and get a nice guitar at a reputable dealer that will be guaranteed to work for you. Please see my Seattle Guitar Stores and Luthiers Blog for recommended dealers. If you're determined to try to save money, however, here are a few pitfalls to avoid :
1. If it's a used guitar make sure there are no cracks anywhere. A worn or chipped instrument may still play well, but if it has cracks it may not stay in tune. Also look for any loose parts. Especially check the bridge (where the strings attach to the body of the guitar) to make sure it is securely glued on, and the tuning pegs, to make sure they are not rusted, coming unscrewed or so worn out that they are losing traction and about to give way. Your $5 yard sale guitar could wind up costing $200 in repairs otherwise.
2. Guitars that have been sitting in the closet or garage for years usually have rusty strings, which are extra hard to play, sticky and sound bad. So if nothing else, that old guitar is almost certain to need new strings.
3. Action: this is the name used to refer to the space between the strings and the fingerboard of your guitar. It is especially important on steel string guitars. Ideally the action should not be too high or too low. Also, it should be lower near the nut (top of the neck) and higher near the sound hole. You can measure it near the sound hole with a ruler. You are not likely to want it higher than 1/4 inch. If it's much higher than that, the guitar will likely need a neck adjustment before it will be playable (this costs at least $40 and usually more like $70). Additionally, depending on the construction, some guitars are impossible to adjust (see "truss rod"). If the action seems very low, try plucking a string. Do you hear any buzzing sounds? This could be a sign the action is too low, and this will also require an adjustment.
4. Truss rod - this is a metal rod inside the neck of the guitar, used to adjust the action. All steel strings guitars should have them. Don't buy a steel string guitar that doesn't have a truss rod unless you just want it for a decoration. Classical (nylon) string guitars do not necessarily need truss rods, although some of them do have them. You can check by looking inside the sound hole at the base of the neck for a small round metal circle that looks like the tip of a pipe. If you don't see anything there, look for a small metal patch screwed on the base of the neck at the back.
5. If you buy your first guitar from a reputable dealer you won't need to worry about checking these technical points. Remember, a quality guitar is an investment that won't lose its value!
|