Buying an Electric Guitar: 8 Point Buyer's Guide Checklist

Buying an electric guitar. Learn how to spot a great deal when buying an electric guitar. This 8 point checklist is an essential electric guitar buying guide.
In this video Jon Gundry of ThroBak Electronics explains the 8 key details that any electric guitar buyer needs to investigate when buying an electric guitar.
Whether buying a used electric guitar or a new electric guitar you have to make sure you understand what makes a great deal before you put your money down to buy an electric guitar.
Details covered in the video include.:
#1. Checking the nut. Learn how to spot a nut that is properly cut.
#2. Neck relief. Learn proper truss rod adjustment.
#3. Check the frets. See when frets need replacement or leveling.
#4. Check the action. Learn when the strings action and neck set is correct.
#5. Plug-in and play. What to pay attention to when playing the guitar.
#6. Check the condition. How to spot mechanical and cosmetic condition problems.
#7. Smell the guitar. Yes we said it, you don't want a guitar that stinks.
#8. Check the pricing. Tips on how to see if the price is right.
Follow the above check points and get a great electric guitar that you can enjoy for years to come.
For more information about ThroBak P.A.F. reproduction pickups visit.
www.throbak.co...
www.throbak.com

[@luckyno888]

1. Measure the thickness of your steel rule an use it as a "feeler / go-no go" gauge. 2. Take a clip on tuner. 3. Tune the guitar to pitch, adjust truss rod to see that pitch either lowers or raises as you adjust the truss rod. 4.Take allen / bondhus wrenches to adjust the truss rod. 5. Watch out for saddles bridges that are either at their max or their min range of adjustment -- neck may need to be shimmed or reset. 6. Look for evidence of part swaps -- mismatched hardware, extra holes, mis-matched uneven dirty finis, tan lines. 7. Know the cost of a new/used neck, a neck reset, a fret job or truss rod repair -- these are usually deal breakers greater than the cost of a budget guitar.

[@jjemsnd7]

This is pure gold! Thank you!

[@danyukhin]

thank you!

[@henryhunter5026]

Great advice. I’ve been buying used guitars for over 50 years and agree with all your checks. The trouble is that even now sometimes something catches me out, I think that you have to live with a used guitar for a while before you find all its good and bad points. With the sky high prices being asked for vintage Fenders and Gibson’s etc these days unscrupulous sellers will do a lot to cover up quite bad faults.

[@Mark70609]

I bought a Tokai Strat (online) that looked great in photo's but when I got it the frets were shot, the action was high and I found out the bridge was cast. It's now refretted and has a Callaham bridge. It sounds great, but as you mentioned with extra and expensive work. I'm now very weary of buying online, once bitten.......

[@starrior7221]

Great advice on the smell of the guitar, also the case. I bought a used strat that had a case with an odd smell that I couldn't identify. I returned it and the strat which had a faint trace of that smell also. Another point of aggravation is idiots that sell guitars with cats laying on it or it's case, really !!! Why would you let animals play with your equipment,what else has been going on? The last point I'll make is sellers too lazy to take the guitar out of the case(online buys) when they take pics. A black guitar in a black case sends out a red flag or a guitar pictured against a similar colored background to hide flaws.

[@number6photo]

Good advice Jon. No kidding about smelling the guitar. My pet peeve is one that reeks of cigarette smoke. I bought a hollow body electric, which had killer tone, a great neck, setup, etc., but I tried for a year to get the cigarette smoke smell out (stripped all the hardware, put it in a guitar shipping carton for a week with an ozone machine, etc.). I was able to reduce the smell to a point where it was only faint, but I still ended up selling it because even the residual smell constantly bothered me.

[@jeffreybranco5702]

Great advice!

[@LPCustom3]

Let’s not forget that the wood is still trying to forget it was a tree...

[@sobo2001]

If you are going to eye the neck, look from the body side, then the nut isnt in the way

[@jjemsnd7]

One last thing. If there's no mojo happening with the instrument acoustically I don't bother putting it in. If I like the way it feels and sounds acoustically then I'll plug it in and check the electronics. Anyone else do that?

[@ThroBakChannel]

With an electric guitar I pay the most attention to how it feels and plays. Does the guitar feel balanced, does the neck feel good, can I feel the guitar resond... I like to have an electric that sounds good acoustically but I don’t find it to be the only or even most import detail in making a great sounding electric.

[@Mark70609]

ThroBak Guitar Lounge I think there was a thread on one of the LesPaul forums where they were complaining acoustically loud LP's didn't sound as good electrified.

[@jjemsnd7]

Mark70609 that's never been my experience but tone is subjective.

[@Steaminlidz]

I absolutely agree with you for set neck guitars. Get an LPJ that's loud and resonant acoustically and in my experience, it will bark plugged in. All the best Les Paul's I've played are the same (I think having grown-up action and at least 10's on goes some way to this as well). I say set necks, cos I've got a Strat that sounds amazing plugged in but (like all bolt on neck guitars) isn't anything special unplugged. I think it's like buying a cantaloupe. If it doesn't smell of anything, it won't taste of anything either. If you play a guitar and it doesn't sound right acoustically, you're fighting an uphill battle with it plugged in. Yes, you can get better pickups and caps etc. but it'll still not sound as good as one that sounds great acoustically with that same stuff in it..

[@anechoicmedia]

a good way to get rid of odors is to place the guitar (the case might be more resistant to this) in a small space (closet or bathroom) with an Ozone Generator. Keep in mind that these devices are not allowed to be sold in certain states (California being one of them) so you might not be able to do this depending on where you live.

[@ThroBakChannel]

I actually tried an ozone generator. I own one. Mildew was still a problem after I treated the guitar with ozone.

[@byronofcalgary6985]

vinegar on a plate is an old school purifier etc - so is baking soda - obv don't mix em

[@RDHamel]

also beer. Smell for beer.

[@jjemsnd7]

What about mods? Non stock bridges, term blocks, saddles and pickups? I've recently been trying to sell a couple guitars to get another one and being told that's an issue with valuations. Can you speak to that?

[@ThroBakChannel]

I touch on originality with tuners etc.. Originality is a bit of a grey area, some of it comes down to personal preference. For me if the mods upgrade the guitar without changing the character of the instrument, then mods can be a net plus. But with a newer or particularly a vintage instrument, mods can drop the value especially if they change the character of the guitar. Researching pricing helps clarify when a mod is value changer.

[@Mark70609]

Jeff Richards it depends on the mod. A Callaham bridge is far better than a stock zinc one. I preferred it to my stock Fender 1982 vintage Strat bridge. I found it to be chimier and more vintage like. It stays in tune better than my stock 82 bridge.

[@Mark70609]

Jeff Richards on bad mods, I bought a Les Paul which had locking tuners and it sounded acoustically louder with regular tuners. I sold the locking tuners.

[@ryanstark2350]

The nuts on new guitars are hardly ever right. I carve my own from bone which is tedious but then I can get it perfect.

[@byronofcalgary6985]

#1 - ARE THE FRETS WORN FLAT ? - it's +/- $200 to re-fret a gtr - but it's obv a BIG HINT that a PRO thought this was a great guitar ! ! - prob the best buy you can find is a USA Fender that needs frets - for Squiers look for Full Name STRATOCASTER decal - Strat or Tele etc has 1 5/8" Thin bodies