Almost any guitar you buy used can be fixed up and made custom (loved by you). Some are of higher quality than others but not everyone needs everything the same.
What you need is a clean, functional instrument that looks, sounds, and plays good for you. Some prefer new, but even a new guitar is not set up for you. The weather, make, and prior use and Murphy’s Law can affect your guitar.
If you want to invest in your guitar and make it yours, Guitar Care CO. is ready to show it the love it needs so you’ll love your guitar. By Appointment only but ready when you are. Outstanding personal service is what this little home based business is all about. If you have a favorite type of strings you can bring them.
For an electric guitar look at the following when you are considering to buy it:
- Neck: look down the edge of the fretboard from the headstock to check how straight the neck is. If it isn’t straight, see if you can adjust the truss rod.
- Headstock: feel each machine head to make sure each one is appropriately tight and holds the strings properly
- Nut: look for signs of wear caused by high gauge strings or damage
- Bridge: check each saddle for damage and rough edges. If the guitar has a tremolo system, use it to see if the guitar holds tune
- Jack: plug a lead in and listen for connection issues. Feel if the lead is held in position or if it moves around loosely
- Volume and tone knobs: slowly adjust each one back and forth and listen for any signal issues caused by dirt in the pot
- Pickups: listen to each pickup with clean and gain sounds. Listen for any excessive hum or intermittent noise. Use the pickup selector and listen for any unusual sounds as you switch between pickups
- Guitar body: look over the entire body for scratches, dents, or cracks. Pay close attention to the neck joint
- Look for modifications on any of these. Sometimes good parts have been substituted for cheaper.
For an acoustic guitar look at the following when you are considering to buy it:
- Bridge and the saddle. Make sure there isn’t a gap between the bridge and the top of the guitar.
- Body: Acoustic guitars are generally a lot more fragile than their electric counterparts, and the hollow body is usually the place where most of the knocks happen. As wood improves over time and will sound better. Wood ages and is much less likely to have issues with humidity. Older is better.
- Neck: look down the edge of the fretboard from the headstock to check how straight the neck is. If it isn’t straight, the neck is essential for maintaining the tension, so it’s usually the first thing to check. Hold it up so the guitar is at eye level, then and look down the neck (with the headstock nearest you).
- Fret board: look for dents or scratches on the frets or any wear and tear. Do any frets stick out? If so, the fretboard wood may have contracted slightly causing the fret wires to now be too wide for the fingerboard.
- Headstock: If the machine heads are open tuners (where the inner workings are exposed) is there any build-up of rust or decay?
- Bridge: check each saddle for damage and rough edges. If the guitar has a tremolo system, use it to see if the guitar holds tune
- Action: the harder the action the harder it is to play although the height of the strings is personal preference. Higher is generally louder.
- Sound: How does it sound? Play the whole spectrum of stuff you’d normally play, and even stuff you might not normally. Play some open chords, string bends, hammer ons, pull-offs, give it a proper road test.
Guitar Care Company is a passion project for Rev. Kenn Blanchard. Call for information 202-437-1972. He is located in Upper Marlboro, Maryland by appointment only.