Re: Teens Electric Guitar [message #62859 is a reply to message #62855] |
Tue, 25 May 2010 10:54 ![Go to previous message Go to previous message](/forum/theme/AudioRoundTable/images/up.png) ![Go to next message Go to previous message](/forum/theme/AudioRoundTable/images/down.png) |
Thermionic
Messages: 208 Registered: May 2009
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I second the choice of Musician's Friend. They're a fine company with fine service. Another great online retailer is Sweetwater, which is my personal favorite.
But, as CountryFried indicated, a local pawn shop is often your best bet, that is, if you can get lucky and find what you're needing. A lefty model will of course be tougher to come by in pawn shops than in online or brick-and-mortar retail outlets.
My experience has been that some pawn shops seem to have only very low-end instruments, while others tend to have quite good instruments in stock at any given time. Still others typically have a mix of the two. Of course, it depends on your particular locale, the area the shop itself is in, and the shop owner.
Here in my town of 28,000, you'll find junk at most of the pawn shops, and mixed fare at the rest. In the cities and very large towns, you'll find only junk at a few, mixed fare at most of 'em, and a couple with a reputation for carrying decent stuff almost exclusively. Often times, you'll find the owners of those shops are guitar players themselves, who have an eye for the better stuff and are knowledgeable about it.
The good thing about a nice used guitar (besides lower price) is that well, it's used! When you buy a new guitar, you'll most always have to do some adjustments after the first seasonal change, especially if it's been played quite a bit by that time. A used guitar is more stable, as it's had time for the wood to settle in and figure out what it's gonna do. Although rare, I've seen new guitar necks twist after some time has passed, which demands a very expensive repair by a highly skilled luthier if it's a glued-in or through-body neck, or a complete neck replacement if it's a bolt-on neck.
But, when you buy a used guitar that's at least a year or two old, it's already stabilized and you won't get any surprises later on. Used, well-played guitars will also typically sound a bit better than the same model bought brand new.
Thermionic ![Smile](images/smiley_icons/icon_smile.gif)
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