Do you really know what to look for in a good guitar?

[J San Dimas]

My best guitar was bought sight unseen. Of course it was brand new...but one I played that was identical to it was a dream to play. 2009 Charvel san dimas so-cal in red with a black pick guard. I've had a LOT of guitars but this one really begs me to play it, and I listen. It's sound, feel of the neck, the way I can bend the notes, dive bomb the hell out of it and it comes back in pitch every time...it's awesome! This is a guitar I will never sell...even if I am down to my last cent.

[Doctor49]

Exactly.

 

 

you, me and Gary Moore.

When asked he said "unplugged first. If it doesn't sustain then and ring, forget it" (more or less)

[soundcreation]

 

I think the unplugged argument is true, but kind of silly at the same time. Because I usually play my electric through an amp, I test them through an amp as well. It might be a good approach if you are buying a guitar knowing you are going to have to upgrade pickups and other components and are trying to find the best "blank slate" to work with, but my goal is always to find a guitar that I really dig as it is. Which means evaluating what it sounds like plugged in. On a side note, I think there's a certain reality to the fact that some people are a lot pickier/more sensitive about guitars and tone than others. Not that anybody's really right or wrong, because they're your ears, but some people are out there just to get some guitars that play pretty good, look good, and make sounds. Whereas others are interested in the particulars. So you get pretty divergent opinions on people's approaches to buying.

 

 

Of course. I don't think anyone is saying otherwise. People who think unplugged resonance is important see that as only the first step in the process. Not the ONLY reason to buy the guitar.

 

I remember helping on of my friends buy his first electric. He narrowed it down to a strat or tele. Mid range price point. I was amazed after playing somewhere from 20 to 30 of them how inconsistent they were in terms of resonance. Some terrible, some OK, some good, but none amazing. He ended up with a very nice Highway One tele but it took a while to find that one.

 

I'm like you...I go for the best quality I can get at whatever price I'm looking to spend. I don't mod. Not that I wouldn't....just have never had a guitar I WASN'T happy with the way it came to me.

 

With regards to your last point I think it is very much a matter of experience. The more guitars you play the more quickly you can identify the ones that don't measure up. It's like, if all you've ever had is rump steak...you might think that's just the greatest thing. Until you try a nice sirloin. Then you're like "wow...I didn't know it could be better than rump"....and you go along thinking sirloin is the greatest thing ever..you may even brag about the greatness of sirloin on steak message boards.......until you try a Filet Mignon.

[cratz2]

In general, I think we all prefer instruments that sound nice and vibrant unplugged and that have scads of sustain and sound glorious when plugged in as well, but I've seen a couple VERY notable exceptions. I had an older strat with a plywood body that was probably one of the top 5 most vibrant sounding guitars unplugged I've ever played. And I wouldn't say it didn't sound good when plugged in, but it was... unexceptional. Tried three or maybe four sets of pickups. Again, it never sounded bad, but it was usually my worst sounding strat when plugged in.

 

Back in the days when Valley Arts was a name mentioned in about the same breath as Anderson and Pensa/Suhr, I played a number of the Valley Arts. I always liked them because of their slightly reduced size body. But out of probably 8 or 10 of them that I played, every single one of them sounded pretty dull, dead and just not very lively. And every one of them sounded great plugged in.

 

So yeah... like most folks, I almost always play a guitar unplugged for a few minutes and if it doesn't grab my attention, I hang it back up without plugging it in but if it feels good and I like the looks of it but it doesn't have much resonance when unplugged, I will still consider buying it or at least plugging it in. That's just common sense. To rule an electric guitar out without plugging it in would be like dismissing a car without having driven it or looking at art in extremely non-flattering light.

 

[Flintc]

I was always a "try before you buy" person. And most of my guitars passed some pretty intensive comparison tests. They all play well and sound fine. So how come I spend most of my time playing the Carvin I had made to my specification, sound unheard? And why do I always think WOW, this sure is a fantastic guitar, every time I pick it up after playing some of the others?

 

So I'm making an exception to my general priciples. And when it comes time to get another guitar, I know where I'll be shopping...

[docjeffrey]

I was always a "try before you buy" person. And most of my guitars passed some pretty intensive comparison tests. They all play well and sound fine. So how come I spend most of my time playing the Carvin I had made to my specification, sound unheard? And why do I always think WOW, this sure is a fantastic guitar, every time I pick it up after playing some of the others? So I'm making an exception to my general priciples. And when it comes time to get another guitar, I know where I'll be shopping...

 

I think you can do that with Carvin, PRS, Fender Custom, possibly Rickenbacker, and some of those boutique brands that are foreign to me. Carvin will stand behind its instruments, as will the others I mentioned. Rickenbacker can be tricky. John Hall is kind a a dick (I used to spend lots of time on the Rick Pages back in the day). He's gone on record defending the 6 saddle bridge on Rick 12's saying that most people can't hear the intonation problems and 12 strings sound fine when one of the strings is a bit out of tune. He's also refused to build a 300 series 12 string guitar with a reasonably sized neck because, after all, the Rick 360 is the standard by which other 12's are measured.

 

I wouldn't hesitate to buy a Carvin sight unseen. They are a great company and I desperately want one of these:

 

[PINKUSFLOYDUS]

What to look for?

First and foremost, you have to know how to look at the neck of the guitar to see if there is twist and/or bow.

If the neck is twisted, there is no easy adjustment. The frets have to be pulled and the neck has to be planed flat.
This is not cheap.

If there is bow... either concave or convex, if the guitar has a truss rod, the adjustment can be easy.

BUT...

The bow may not be adjustable if the rod is already adjusted to its limit.

That is only half of the issue.

If those issues are O.K., the next issue is to see if the intonation of the guitar is at least in the ballpark.

Intonation is probably best described as:

If you have all 6 strings perfectly tuned, playing, say, a "D" chord at the 2nd fret, should sound pretty good.
If the intonation is close to perfect, playing the "D" chord at the 14th fret will sound good.
The same applies to, let's say the "E" chord, "G" chord etc.

Since most acoustic guitars have no intonation adjustment, you are stuck with what you have.

Some guitars will be better than others.

If you have a guitar with adjustable intonation bridges, invest in a tuner like a strobotuner to dial the guitar in.
If you get a mastery of the intonation concept, you will be able to pick any acoustic guitar out of the bunch with confidence.

Intonation is really important.
Tone is also...

They are both key!!!
On acoustic guitars, there is usually no ability to adjust the intonation, like on electric guitars... you are pretty much stuck with whatever the "D" chord, The "E" chord, and the "A" chord, etc. sound like when the guitar is tuned up.

[Rxtele]

Interesting discussion
I believe each guitar is unique==no two pieces of tone wood have the same density, no two pickups sound exactly the same, the value of the capacitors when measured on a meter will drift one way or another. The sum total of all the components and build quality make each guitar unique. I have bought a few guitars online and got lucky. As many have mentioned, often there is not a huge choice among the guitar shops near where they live. In the end, it is your ears and hands that know if it is the right guitar.

No matter what the reviewers and experts say, if you don't like the way your guitar looks, feels and sounds, you won't want to play it much

[JTEES4]

The truth is....each one of us knows what we like....we'd probably generally hate each others guitars. Personally I could care less how an electric sounds unplugged since I don't play it that way. I also believe that the more resonant an electric solidbody is the LESS it sustains, which actually makes sense if you think about it. I think resonance is a bad thing, although I know it is one of the new buzzwords among players and the industry. Of course it's a great and necessary thing for an acoustic guitar.

[artiem]

I never understood all the hype around guitars. They're very simple devices. The difference between a very inexpensive one and a very expensive one these days has more to do with the economics of international trade than anything about the guitar. I can get a great sound even out of a cheap Chinese one. In the old days there was a huge difference but not any more. Just make sure the action and build quality is good and it sounds how you want it to. Done. It's like some carpenter spending all day at a Home Depot trying out all the different hammers for the "perfect feel" , "perfect balance" "perfect swing".... A bunch of carpenters arguing on some website about how hammers made in China can't compete with American hammers that are made in some old factory since 1855 for driving nails. Different alloys being analyzed. Some dude with a collection of hammers...a different one for each type of nail he's driving. With some antique ones he only uses on special occasions. Then there's this one guy who thinks that the more expensive the hammer is, the better it is. He's got one made from 18K gold. They only made 10 of them and it's got a letter of authenticity. Funny thing is that gold is kind of a soft metal so when you use the hammer it dents easily....but dents in a hammer have mojo. Some guys actually tie a hammer to a string and drag it around on the back of their car. It creates this artificial wear on the hammer, so that when they show up at a job site, they look like they are more experienced to impress clients. And then there was that one famous carpenter. Everybody wants a hammer just like he used his whole career...I think the factory that made it just came out of bankruptcy and now makes a reissue of that legendary tool. Somewhere in all that craziness I guess houses are still getting built.

That's a great post--not surprised that some folks took exception to the analogy, but I think I agree. I've always been confused by those who say you have to go to a lot of guitar stores and try them in person to find the one that's just right...when I go to guitar stores, most of the ones I find hanging on the wall aren't even in tune, let alone set up really well. Are people who pull 20 guitars off the wall to find THE ONE really buying based on the inherent build quality of that particular guitar, or are they just responding to the one guitar that happened to have fresh strings & a setup to their liking?

[dcooper830]

That's a great post--not surprised that some folks took exception to the analogy, but I think I agree. I've always been confused by those who say you have to go to a lot of guitar stores and try them in person to find the one that's just right...when I go to guitar stores, most of the ones I find hanging on the wall aren't even in tune, let alone set up really well. Are people who pull 20 guitars off the wall to find THE ONE really buying based on the inherent build quality of that particular guitar, or are they just responding to the one guitar that happened to have fresh strings & a setup to their liking?

 

I couldn't agree more.

 

I come across a lot of guitars that play like total crap...... but after I lower the action, tighten the truss rod, and set the intonation they're like a totally different instrument and play like a million bucks.

 

Sometimes a fret level is also necessary.

 

But I don't think it's rocket science.