I used to buy my guitars in Hanwell London (80-90 miles from my then home) same area as Jim Marshall set up his shop, other guitar shops were there too (the area was frequented by Hendrix, The Who, Eric Clapton et al in the 1960s). I used to like going into Cook's (John Entwistle's bass tech - amongst others), bought half a dozen guitars from them over time. I even met - had work done on my guitar by - Jimmy Page's guitar tech, great guys in there. Also you might have five guitars lined up, all looking the same, all expertly set up by the staff (not all shops did that), yet every one of those guitars would feel and play differently - can't do that with an online purchase. Sadly one by one the guitar shops in that area closed. Cook's is still going, not sure if it's in the same place though. So called progress and change isn't always for the better.
I'm probably the worst one to give any advice. But for me, a nice guitar makes me want to play (which means practice, because I'm still lousy at it). Also, don't be afraid to buy something and grow into it. The one's like the greats used are the one's to get. Last, If it makes you happy, you win.
I used to go into a guitar store and try about 15-20 guitars, till I found the one that had the right "feel" and was at a decent price that would not break my bank account. My all-time dream guitar is the Gibson Hummingbird...it has THE most perfect feel I have ever encountered, but....$4G, it's kinda out of reach for the time being.
Yeah, I sure do miss the Mom&Pop family owned shops that I remember when I was a kid in the 70's. And your point about researching a specific guitar before you get to the store is golden. Fantastic video with solid advice!
Dead right about building a relationship with the people at the local guitar store. Many of us had great relationships with them that extended from looking, learning, buying, playing, performing, repairing & upgrading. We also received good advice & on-going support about a whole range of issues. I'm lucky because I still have one close to home & I hope they survive all the COVID lockdowns here in Australia :).
Hi James, thanks for the wise tips on guitar buying. I really appreciate your site! Not only do you share your vast guitar playing knowledge with us, but you also take the time to educate your viewers on the “dos and don’ts” of guitar buying from your lifelong experience of buying and trading guitars. You have a profound love of music and guitar playing, which is obvious to all, and the fact that you share your gift with us definitely makes our world a better place to be. I know that I have learned so much from your videos. Thank you, as an expression, seems totally inadequate to the gratitude that I feel, nevertheless, I want to say thank you to you for enriching my life with all things “music”. I have a lot of respect for you, for your teaching, and for sharing your gift with us! Thank you Ted
It's been awhile since I have visited your channel. I am grateful for your willingness to share, assist and guide the guitar community. Has it been 2 years since you offered a video? Peace. Jeff
Great advice JJ. I live near Philly and we are still fortunate to have a few small music shops still kicking. My local shop is owned by a local musician, cool dude no BS. It has always been my dream to own a Martin and he let me “test drive” a used D-18 over a weekend. I opted not to purchase the guitar - not because I did not love it but I decided I would rather save up some money and buy a new Martin. I happily ordered the new guitar from him.🙂
James next time please take us on a road trip and explain all of this while you demonstrate all the wonderful Guitars 🎸. Thanks you sir. When you start to feel better.I will keep you in our families prayers.
I was only a a few seconds into this when 'know what you're looking for' came into my mind, and unsurprisingly, it was your number one. My thinking is know what kind of sound you desire. When I was looking for a first electric several decades ago, I wanted something that could emulate the sounds that I liked, which were largely popular Africans music, and a lot of varieties of Cuban/ Caribbean music. So it was an easy choice, really -- a strat or tele with maple fretboard. I ended up getting a Japanese Tele (not a Squire), which I still have. If you love Page's sound in Led Zeppelin, you probably want a Les Paul, etc. Definitely know what you want to play, and what you want the guitar to sound like. Everything else is negotiable. Hope you are healing quickly.
Hi, James. I saw your video on the Schecter PT model recently and I found one that I liked so I bought it. It is the Korean made model but I don't care. Most of the models like that one with all the standard features come up black with a maple fretboard and a push pull switch are coming in between five and eight hundred dollars depending but I got this one for 381 with tax. Thank you again!!!!!
Bought my 1979 Guild F242XL NT in a pawn shop. Tried it first. New it was THE 12 for me in 5 minutes. Fill a room chime. Best played arpeggio style. Total cannon. Bought my 1996 Guild JF-55 (rare 1 3/4" nut width) over the phone. Likely would not have bought it if I played it first. I had work done on the string spacing. Love it now. Great action. Bought my 2008 Martin D-28 Marquis (Adi/IRW) on line through Reverb. Stunning tone and the neck is perfect for me. I'll never sell it. Way beyond expectations. Just wow.
He is absolutely correct- here in Denver, there was a GREAT local shop called Bobby’s Music- I still have a Tele with their decal on the back of the headstock- they had great luthiers, went through each guitar and did any necessary work, and placed their decal on them. Kept everything tuned up and ready to play-
I Like that your Channel is Going the (Direction/idea) you actually wanted it to from the Beginning...I steal your riffs Lol continuously, and respect your knowledge of the art...Thx & and Fortune be with you ! ,ScottyG
It takes weeks of painful stretching to get past the shoulder issue. Surgery is a quick fix, one I avoided. It stinks, but you can recover. You can even recover without the therapy, but it will take too long. And periodic regular stretching after you recover is a good preventative measure.
I hope you have a speedy recovery my friend.. when I had my carpel tunnel surgery that was my biggest goal to get back on the guitar as soon as possible
Hoping you are getting better, and thank you for nailing down into my situation now! What to get under my budget and expectations! Just go in a GC and sign my life away on G Hummingbird or else? I'm convinced now that I'm not alone out there so now after watching your life lesson video, definitely help me narrow down my buying realities! 👊🙏
Still one in my area here in the northeast of PA..Jack’s Northeast Music..PRS, Martin, Ibanez, Taylor, Mesa Boogie dealer..does all types of repairs too..
I am just kind of catching up on some of your older vids, James. I am probably within a few miles of you. I have bought several guitars from Craig's List. Once I learned how to do minor fixes, and even some major ones, the selection grew, and the prices dropped. I lurk, and I watch for guitars that have been for sale for a long time. I bring a tuner to chack intonation. (my old ears have never had good pitch detectors) There are still some excellent mom and pop shops around. Stutzman's Guitar Center ( not affiliated with the big box guitar centers; had the name long before GC came to be!) in the local area is one I have used myself, and recommended to others for years. Always treats customers fairly and sells only quality. Your five tips are all important steps to get the best value and equipment!
Double bound fiesta red tele. Cream binding, rosewood fb ...- make your own. You'll get what you want & if you're patient you'll get what you want if know what you're looking for.
This doesn't apply to "investment" guitars (good luck with that). If you are looking for a player guitar there are some really nice guitars coming out of Korea right now, many that you may even think are 100% American (made in KO, assembled in U.S.). Don't narrow your thinking trying to guess if it will be a "classic" you can resell for big $$ someday. Get the one you will play!
Please share the exact details of the guitar you are playing in the lesson “Turd on the Run”. Almost made me cry! Perfect neck for my tiny hands… years of struggling, and a parent who forced 12 string on tiny hands. Almost funny! Please share details. Patient and will wait for exact same one, F the price! The shear joy…. And my hands and fingers will finally glide and fly and I will grin ear to ear. 🤣
Guitar center is the Walmart of guitar stores yuk! I would never buy a guitar without playing it first, big reason neck profile, I play acoustic only though.
James theres a 1960’s video of the Spencer Davis Group playing a song called My Babe. Steve Winwood playing a Harmony Rocket lll lt sounds pretty good.
Hey ..thanks for the great advice.. finally build up the courage and bough a Gibson LP 2004 standard on reverb.. I’ve had it check , serviced and set up by the local guitar tech boffin and now it plays as it should.. now I need a lesson in how to work the tuners , volumes and pick up selector it’s a tricky job I suppose it’s just a question on trying different combinations .. thanks again.
Mom and Pop, so many memories. One guy actually let me borrow a SUNN amp rig and a new GIBSON Grabber bass for an out of town weekend gig.. free of charge!! Just because I sent him 2 buyers
Lucky to have 3 Mom and Pop guitar/instrument stores around Syracuse still. Gorman Bros., Ish Guitars, and the Music Center. If you get this way. I spent many hours wandering around the HOG. Both the instrument and LP sections. Spent much more in the LP section. Armand Schaubroeck the owner was an interesting guy, and put out a couple of fine records.
The upside of your shoulder issues: we get more talking videos. They’re always good. Not guitar-related, but just out of curiosity, is that the same sling on your right arm that you used on your left arm a few months ago? :) We need these details. We still await a Whitesnake video . . .
Went to buy a les paul downtown Boston....at E U Wurlitzers on...Newbury? had about 2 large cash in my pocket...Went home with a Jem and a Frank Gambale Saber....Ibanez of course....go figure
Watched this video and went up to Big Box guitar store to get a Gibson Generation G45. Got 10% off the top just for asking. Great video, thanks, I was one of those requesting it. They had a really nice Martin D16 for $1,000 that I almost got, but pulled the trigger on the Gibson
I liked to try the local guitar centers used guitars. Like some they didn’t actually sale. So anyway there was this used acoustic called a Tacoma with a hole in the upper left corner. Well l do believe that was probably the best feeling accoustic l ever played. The neck was just wonderful. Didn’t have the money to buy it though.
Once in a while you get lucky with people selling used guitars online. I found a 2019 mint condition USA Fender Performers Strat HSS that a girl had listed on Facebook marketplace for $600.
My first guitar was a 1971 Ventura Les Paul made in Japan. Let me tell you, it feels and play like a real Gibson. I have changed out the pickups but for what i here, back then they copied every from Gibson. I still own it and love it.
Street price here in Toronto is as much as say L&M or Steve’s . Kijiji. Everyone thinks there used strat is worth more than new . I still like playing everything in the store before I buy 🎸
That does suck. I live in Canada and the last time I visited my parents in Buffalo I could cross the border w/ my Health Card (looong time). I found a Guitar store where a guy carried Roger Mayer. I tried out the Vision Octavia (which just came out), and what really sold me was when he offered to sell me his original for $50 Octavia. He closed the store and left me there alone for at least 15 minutes while he ran home to grab it. In the end I actually took the Vision. I don't remember the name of the store, but he refused to carry Fulltone (b/c Mark Fuller). Such a cool guy and store. I hate the internet.
One drawback to online shopping is related to the Wednesday Guitar parable. On Mondays, the shop workers who build the guitars are tired from the weekend. By Wednesday they've recuperated and have hit their stride in building their guitars. On Friday, they have to work faster to meet their quotas. I'd posit that there are some $2000 Monday guitars that aren't any better than some $700 Wednesday guitars. When you hold it in your hands, you just know.
My one tip would be to make sure they have plenty of photographs which shows that they are not hiding anything. I also look to see how well they look after their house. I bought a guitar a few years back and the photographs showed a lot of the guys house in the background which looked very well presented and well looked after.home I suppose what I'm saying is that it is a good sign when you can see that people take care of their stuff. That's not to say that the guitar in the dirty bedsit is not a guys pride and joy. But as a rule of thumb I would say that tidy well presented rooms in the background = well looked after guitar.
Small shops are still around. They just can’t put Gibson or Martin guitars in their store or in our hands to try out. I really want one but I’m not sure which way to go and I’ll be darned if I’m going to shell out 2 or 3 or 4 grand without taking a test drive.
first off, huge fan of your vids! secondly, get well soon! thirdly, I appreciate the advice but I'm a lefty, the selection is cut down to maybe 1/4 at best and prices are usually higher. I currently own a early 2000s lefty Mexican Tele and a 2014 lefty SG with minis. Love 'em both. Surprisingly, the SG stays in tune pretty good and sounds killer. But man, my Tele is absolutely sweet and can't be more satisfied!
Forgot to say, playing a guitar before buying is almost non-existent for leftys, unless it is a strat, tele, or epiphone Les Paul. There is a store called Southpaw guitar here in town (houston) that I go to to play, but for leftys that don't live in a major metro area, it's strictly online only.
so true buy it to see if you like it ! the pandemic caused people to buy new guitars and now they are selling them realizing they do not want to play some good deals out there.
Just cruised through your catalog of videos looking for discussions on vintage Gibson versus new Gibson but didn’t see anything. Any thoughts? For the last 15 years I have been trying to find a great vintage hummingbird, and every time I find one it sounds like mud and generally plays horribly. (Often times Willie’s Guitars in St. Paul) Have you had any experience with vintage Gibsons?
Dear J.J. / pt, thanks for sharing! A very informative video. You inspired me to look up an old acquaintance, "Silver Strings Vintage Guitars" in St. Louis, MO. He does business now online only. How's "House of Guitars" holding up? Hope you heal quickly!!! Kind regards to you & yours! 👍, 😏 , 🎸 , ✌.
Stl Louis has always had great guitar stores. I got my first electric from Dales Guitars in STL, a Fender Elite Tele in 1983. Eddies Guitar is also great. By appointment, with amazing inventory, I was looking for an R9 custom shop Gibson and tied out 5 models and ended up buying an R8!:) Can’t do that at Sweetwater….
@@jamesjames9275 I just live 25 minutes from there. I feel a little out of place when I walk in there. I can’t play a guitar but I make noise and mute strings. It is by the hardest thing I have every tried to do in my life. But most of all I would like to thank you for all the time you spend on making your videos. I sure do enjoy watching them. Have a nice day
Life is way too short to go through it playing poor quality guitars. If you are even halfway serious, go for the better quality. I agree, always keep an open eye and be patient. There is a lot of emotions when buying a guitar, so try to set aside some of these emotions. Patience will pay off handsomely.
