I have an idea for a video I think many would find interesting but I am not sure how to contact you about without just saying on youtube and giving the idea to whoever. let me know if your interested at all. Watch all your videos, great stuff as usual!
Absolutely. A refret job could cost anywhere from $200-$500. That’s a significant amount for a used guitar, unless you’re buying something vintage that costs as much as a new car. Obviously used guitars will most likely have been played a lot, and there is a very good chance the frets will be worn down if they’re not stainless steel.
I will add for the jack tightening at 8:00 make sure to hold the jack and the nut. If you just tighten the nut you'll spin the jack and doing that enough times will cause the jack wire to snap off. (It happened to me) So hold the jack in place with one hand and twist the nut with the other :)
Just an addendum regarding the output jack: when tightening it, hold the soldered parts inside in place, or they can end up twisting and snapping some (or all of the) wire connections. Which will result in no sound coming out of your instrument.
Check for fret wear. You don't want something that's going to need to be refretted soon. Check the tuners for binding/skipping. Cheap and easy fix, that may get you a better price, if they're not functioning properly. If you're looking at something with a Floyd Rose, check for wear on the base plate knife edges, and posts. Very frustrating to have a guitar that won't stay in tune.
@@oeald886 depends on how often you play. The most used guitar of mine is 6 yo, frets are still fine, so that's mostly about old instruments (or you must be some addict playing 40 hours per day)
I Bought a used squier affinity for less than 100 usd. In my country Colombia thats really cheap. it was super dirty and needed some love. I learned to deep clean a guitar, to set a bridge and polish the frets and even round the edges. something I'd never do on a new guitar. I think a used cheap guitar is a really nice way to join this world
A good tip from Phillip McKnight is to avoid listings with blurry photos or sellers that are "selling for a friend". Blurry photos can hide defects, and the seller saying they're "selling for a friend" gives them an excuse in case the guitar is found to be fake or even stolen
If you're buying a Gibson pull the truss rod cover and see how many threads are sticking past the brass. lot of Gibson's out there that the truss rod has met their Max that neck is no longer adjustable
Great point Mike, obviously there are more than 5 deal breaking ideas, this is most certainly one. I considered buying an Aria Pro 2 semi hollow electric recently. The Japanese shop advised me about a complete lack of truss rod adjustment, and away I ran.
Talking about deal breakers and 2nd hand guitars, it is possible to straighten some warped necks, but it can take 6-8 months, and, of course, if it's a bolt-on, replacement is a feesible option. Emphasis on fee 😁
Always, ALWAYS check the truss rod. A seized rod with either lead to a new truss rod replacement + installation ($$$) or a new neck altogether. Most imports use standard metric Allen wrenches (I recommend buying an inexpensive full set at Walmart or something) but companies like Gibson and PRS have a specific rod nut which usually requires a special tool. Be safe, good luck!!
Dead pickup is the least of my worries: Just pop in a working one. I can repair most electronics. Repairing wood problems is a whole different story. Run like mad from those. That includes guitars with high action that, when lowered to a decent height, start buzzing. That means fret work that takes a lot to learn or pay a pro to do. Then, like Darrell said, you start losing savings you got buying used: not just the money cost but driving cost, fuel cost, time cost.
Thanks for this video, Darrel. I recently bought my 1st electric, an Ibanez RG170R. Armed by viewing many of your videos, I was comfortable doing so. Background research is so valuable. Several guitar handbook pubs were great too,: Denyer (rev.ed.2014) and Cutchin et al (2008).
Good advice for the newbies, Darrell. And maybe a few not-so-newbies, too. I'd agree with all of your walk-away suggestions except for a dead pickup since I'm almost certainly going to replace them anyway. Other things to watch for are divots in the frets or substantial fret wear... Yes, a guitar can have a serious fret dressing done or even partial or complete fret replacement but this can be expensive and if the guitar you're considering is entry level it probably won't be worth the expense. Also, check to see the tremolo arm or socket isn't stripped, if you care about that feature. A lot of entry level guitars use the crappiest metal for the bridges and arms and that metal is easily damaged.
Can you talk about guitar maintenance? especially humidity (to much/less humidity)? Love your videos. You really helped me choose between an acoustic / classical guitar.
Dang, all these years and I never knew about the neck twist thing. Thanks. At the end of the day, buying a used guitar for the purpose of actually playing (as opposed to displaying for prestige) is all about the neck and fret wires. Pickups, tuners and everything else can be replaced. Still to this day I can’t get over how profound it was trying different pickups in my guitars, the difference between each was astounding. I highly recommend giving different pickups a chance. Experiment with different pickups, even if you have to tape them down temporarily to try em out. You may discover something great!
It’s just like cars, always go used. I recommend every player primarily buying used gear after a certain point. Guitars for better or worse are like toys to many-I’m tempted to say most-players. A lot of players will buy an instrument, play it a few times, then move it on for the next thing. If you’re patient you can snag pretty much anything you need in the gear space used and in great condition. And unless you want something stupid rare like a synthaxe or something, your money goes far, FAR Further.
Thanks for the video! Great advice overall; I would also check for excessive fret wear on a used guitar, since a re-fret can run a few hundred dollars.
One thing I was waiting to hear on this video was checking to ensure the truss rod works as designed. I bought a used guitar where the truss rod just spins or stops. I didn't know that when I bought it. Check the truss rod operation !
Hey Darrell. Great video. As always! But this one was especially informative, even for an old pro, lifelong full-time musician like myself. For these many years doing this, I have always advised to playtest an instrument before purchasing it. Always! But just in the last few years, that notion has gone by the wayside. Many to most instruments, including my very own, are now bought online. I have a brand new method of advising on the purchase of an instrument now. I wonder: could you prepare a video on the manner in which to search for and purchase a new, or especially a used, instrument sight unseen, or remotely? What are your methods? What do you look for? What are your "red alert" issues? Etc. It's a new era within a global economy and consumerism. How do you go about making wise, smart, educated, informed and smart purchases without good, old-fashioned hands on?
I have never bought used. Just buy new and upkeep. It's a trip to have guitars age with you, especially if you can take care of them. My 2007 SG is starting to develop the pink binding and finish checking. Nothing beats genuine aging.
Buy both the guitar AND the seller! The same make/model/condition of used guitar generally sells for a bit less from a private seller, and can be a great way to save some of your hard-earned money if you've done your homework regarding that make and model, can inspect the instrument in person before buying, and if you are confident in knowing which questions to ask and what to check (thanks Darrell for the very informative video). If you have less experience and/or would rather have the added peace of mind, then buying preowned through a reputable guitar dealer, luthier, or similar business may be your best bet. Chances are their offerings may be a bit more costly than that same used guitar would be from a private seller, however the upside is after-sales support, greater assurance of authenticity, and in a worst case scenario, more options regarding exchange repair, or return. I've bought guitars both ways in the past: from private sellers after doing my homework and asking the right questions, and from businesses that sell guitars. Last but not least: when buying a pricey guitar from a private seller, one option is to meet at a luthier or guitar dealer, and get an estimate on giving that guitar a full setup. If the answer is it doesn't need anything beyond a setup, pay the seller, get your newly acquired guitar dialed in right, support your local guitar tech or luthier, and *everybody* goes home happy!
Tbh Darrell, I watch multiple RU-vid guitarists and whenever I’m watching your videos my wife always comments on how soothing your voice is 😂😂 I love your content. Keep doing what you’re doing 👍🏻
Contact cleaner will clean a pot but it is made for contact points not the wiper or the resister filament of a pot. Fader cleaner is made for this purpose as it cleans and lubricants the moving parts of the pot to prevent premature wear that contact cleaner causes when the pots lubricant is cleaned out by the contact cleaner. This is a common mistake made by lots of people.
As someone who has repaired thousands of guitars, always make sure the truss rod works. I have seen so many unrepairable guitars which had 1) broken truss rod 2) stripped truss rod nut and 3) a truss rod that had no adjustment left (was tightened or loosened all the way). The stripped nut is repairable, but is a very expensive repair. When I buy used guitars I always bring some tools to check out the things that are not readily visible when the guitar is assembled. It is also a good way to avoid being sold a counterfeit guitar or partscaster.
I am really getting a lot out of your videos! Just started playing again a couple of years ago and I don’t know a lot about different guitars and the condition, etc so your videos really teach me a lot!! Keep up the good work!
Great advice. My only comment on neck related “deal breakers,” is if the guitar or bass is a Fender or “fender clone,” replacement necks can be purchased for a wide variety of prices, and they are really easy to install. My preference for necks is any Fender licensed necks from WDMusic.
Man Darrell is the best. Now, he's teaching us the ups and downs of buying used instruments. I really have only taken two chances on ebay and it worked out fine. But, that's it, not buying another one that way.
One thing you touched on BUT should always be checked is the truss rod. Check if the truss rod can be adjusted, if not walk away. I will never buy a used guitar without checking if truss rod is working properly.
Great video, mate. This is great advice for those who are new to buying used guitars. As someone who has bought many used guitars over the years, this is the kinds of advice I would have loved 15 years ago rather than learning the hard way! 🤘🎶
I recently picked up a 2003 PRS CE 22 really cheap because the seller had bought the McCarty 3-way harness to replace the rotary setup and whoever installed it really botched it. The volume knob didn’t work and the pickups sounded really thin and quiet. Once I got it home, it took a couple hours to figure out how to fix it and get it soldered up. It came roaring back to life. I could easily double my money.
I bought a "fixer upper" guitar earlier this year and one MAJOR issue I never ran into is...basically the nut is in the wrong place. Right now it's still at the shop, I learned more advanced luthier skills by working on a $35 Strat copy and putting a new bridge on (fill and redrill for the screws and Dremeling the crap out of the tremelo cavity) as well as pretty much everything else. What is stock is the body, the neck and the output jack cup. I bought a drop in nut blank for an import guitar and I started to file a wider slot. Well once I got to about a credit card's width I decided to have a professional do it. Now after a few weeks at the shop, last week I got a call saying it was off so bad that it would never play in tune. Ok, I did not mess up THAT bad. Well, as a first for me I bought a guitar where the nut was in the wrong place. The shop said it was an eight of an inch too close to the body. My response was to say shim that wood and put the nut where IT SHOULD BE. This is a single pickup (GFS Surf 90) single knob (CTS volume) strat with basically GFS parts and I did as much as I could as a learning project. The guitar was not playable as I got it as half the nut was messing on the G, B, and E strings. The finish was cool, the neck is odd but there is so nice figuring on the maple, the fretboard is Rosewood. The whole thing came together with a fair degree of effort but that was the idea until I hit that issue. So still waiting on the outcome and I suspect this repair will double the cost of the guitar. That said it still should be a pretty cool rocker once it is done. UPDATE: Just got the guitar back. So the repairs on the nut (shimmed and relocated towards the headstock) were successful. As I thought the cheapo guitar had the nut slightly too close to the body to play in tune. Since this is the first time since buying it that it has played is sounds really good. A few other issues crept up. The big one is that the truss rod does not work. The edge of the bridge closest to the jack is riding slightly on the pickguard so I need to Dremel that when I replace the strings. There are a few places on the neck where the frets are off. These would be an issue to a lead player but since I am mainly a rhythm cat, not a major deal breaker. So all in all it was money worth spending. I upped my repair game on this guitar. I learned EXACTLY where my novice skills stop. I have a cool looking, cool sounding, and fun playing guitar. While my financial goal was to come out of this between $200-250 was blown past, honestly I can call it a success. There are still a few things to do to get it where I really want it. Also there are a few bigger issues that once I am ready I can tackle them (new truss rod, refret with jumbo stainless steel frets) so it is a purchase and a project where I can continue to challenge myself down the road. It's 90% done. If it was my only guitar I might no be so rosey but it plays, it works, and its cool.😎👍✨
1) I'd look for fret wear and uneven frets. 2) Damaged or broken tuners. 3) Nut wear or damage. 4) worn or broken bridge parts. 4) truss rod overtightened or snapped. 5) Removed seriel numbers (possibly stolen). 6) pickup adjustment.... i could go on!
The neck repair on a Gibson isn't the end of the world if the price is right and it was done by a pro. If it looks like a "wood glue and clamp" hack job then definitely run. The fret wear is also super important as a refret is 200-300 bucks.
I’ve bought everything online my whole rig, if you use guitar center used market you know that they had to verify that it was worth buying in the first place
1301! That it's!😉😘 You're great ! My best guitar, a Strat style in classic metallic blue HSH, had cost about 60 dollar, it's amazing, even in sound! No Gibson, PRS, Fender will do this!
A cheap guitar doesn’t necessarily mean a bad or low quality instrument. Don’t simply walk away just because the headstock doesn’t say Fender of Gibson or another well I known brand. There are lots of guitars from lesser known manufacturers that are still pretty good. Don’t turn down a deal only because it’s a Cort, Reno, Ltd, Stagg, Harley Benton, Michael Kelly or whatever.
Head stock breaks and humps on vintages as long as they’re repairable are fine. The price of buying one of those and then getting it repaired is often less then buying one without the issue in the first place. Living room gear demos has a video on refretting from a while ago with a luthier named lars dalin thats pretty great and informative.
Owned 4 Gibsons over the last 30 years (LP standard, L6s, 135 and a used J45). Lot's of people love them and should be happy having and playing a great guitar. I'm not one of those people. But I'm still hoping.
My non-player Dearheart Wife had bought for me online from overseas a completely no-name S-type I dubbed my Faux Knock Off of a Genuine Generic Strat that the previous owner sold that still had his personal rewiring scheme where the middle pickup worked in 2 and 4, but 3 was a total killswitch. Irritating as hell at first, but made me eventually think of how I'd want to remod to how I'd want the electronics wired: Bridge, Bridge + Middle, Bridge + Neck, Middle + Neck, Neck; no tone controls for Bridge or Neck, and an active tone control on the Middle -- BUT! I like dark, jazzy tones, so what I thought I'd do is dial the Middle tone fully dark, take the knob off the pot, and stuff that tone pot into the cavity where it's out of my way, and I'll never miss it. The only controls on the face remaining would be the volume and the pickup selector, and change the selector to a rotary knob.
I also check if the frets are worn out. Replacing the frets can be expensive and you also need to know that the fret replacement would be successful. I also do some stalking on the previous owner to get an idea on what the guitar might have experienced before I buy it. And I always ask "why do you want to sell it?" and "are you the first owner of this guitar?". If the guitar has passed over several owners, there's probably something wrong with it. Thanks for the video, I would love a part-two
@@WW-1995 yes it's a real thing the smoke slowly starts to coat the finish and it causes discoloring over time, I once picked up a nice 80s lp custom the lacquer was completely yellowed and it reeked of smoke
Spot on. Comfort and feel are the top priority with electric guitars and sound is secondary because the parts that make the sounds can be changed. Shape,profile and guitar comfort are often not changeable.
Can we agree? The twisted neck I totally understand but the hump if the guitar is a classic and an unbelievable deal that can be fixed these can be found on Martin guitars from the 30s and 40s so all I’m saying is of course a recent guitar if you see it but an old classic guitars and if the deal is amazing it can be repaired it will take a complete refresh it will take Many things so there are just other things to think about here but your videos as always are awesome keep up the great work Daryl
Another way guitars are commonly dropped is onto their tuners. Check if they all turn evenly. If they're bent/warped and you're not one to replace them (which may require drilling if they're not identical), walk away. Fine tuners on a floating trem should also be tight and not warble sideways, and if you don't want to buy step-up sized replacements and re-tap the holes (or get a whole new trem system), walk away.
Lot of people probably think they will be a rock star and buy like a $700 one and then played it realised they weren't ready for the effort and left it to age i have seen some wonderful guitars in pawn shops and online second hand.
Everything you mentioned was excellent advice. The problem for a lot of people now is that there’s a good chance they will be buying a used guitar online. That makes it impossible to check several things. I bought a used guitar because the particular one I wanted had been discontinued, and it was impossible to buy one new. The condition listed for the guitar was mint. There were a lot of clear pictures of the guitar in the listing, and it looked flawless. When I got the guitar and started to play it I quickly realized that the pickup selector knob (yes, knob, one that looks just like the volume and tone knobs) was bad. Something that was not visible in the pictures, but that could clearly be seen while actually holding the guitar was that the previous owner had placed a washer under the pickup knob to try to get it to work. Despite the washer the knob slipped quite a lot, making changing pickup positions difficult and unreliable. Obviously not mint condition. It cost $100 to get it all sorted out. It wasn’t a catastrophic problem, but it’s a good example of the kind of hidden problem you can encounter when buying a used guitar online. If it were a budget guitar then $100 could be a good percentage of the total price.
I am not exactly sure what pickup knob u talking about but i make a guess, for les paul type of guitar? And i don't want to assume exactly what is the problem you facing but $100? I think u can buy a new switch for less than $40? Or just change a washer for less than $3?
@@soulscollector81 The guitar is the Charvel Justin Aufdemkampe signature model. The washer was not supposed to be there in the first place. It was between the body of the guitar and the base of the knob, which made the pickup selector knob higher than the other two knobs. It also didn’t fix the problem, so putting another washer in the same place wouldn’t help.
I check the intonation and make sure that if it is off, there is room on the bridge to fix it. If a string is flat at 12 and the saddle is all the way forward (toward the pickups), you're not going to be able to fix that. Same if the string is sharp and the saddle is already all the way back toward the bridge.
I would suggest if buying a strat style guitar check the nut for hair line cracks. Not the end of the world but, the plastic type nuts can crack, especially the thin ones. Good tips though, especially cleaning the pots.
I didn't know about the hump on the neck by the body, good to now. I also check every neck thru or Gibson type guitars for repairs with a little blacklight, to look for hair line cracks behind the head stock or neck, you will see the white glue with a blacklight in a dark room.
I found a nice Epiphone Les Paul at a guitar swap meet for $225. It was filthy, but nothing that i couldn't deal with. But it had really loud buzz when plugged in that went away when i touched the bridge. I figured it was simply a bad ground wire so i bought it. Sure enough, broken ground wire. Took 5 minutes to fix it. Great guitar after a minor repair and a lot of cleaning!
Buying a used Electric guitar many times has one major fault.Many times;if meeting someone, one CAN'T check out the electronics in them.Pick-ups not working,severe humming,buzzing,etc... are some problems that you should be aware of BEFORE ya walk away w/out playing it thru an amp of some sort!!!! It happens more often than ya think.I personally would NEVER buy an electric w/o playing it thru an amp 1st!!!! Make sure all is on the up and up!!!!! Stay safe and...PEACE!!! be aware of FAKES as well!!!!!
You should always check if the truss rod works.. If it doesn't - walk away, the neck is no longer adjustable. You will have to change the neck, and is not so cheap.
Two things I know to look for from personal experience: 1. Test out that floating tremolo!! I bought a used Ibanez RG a couple years ago and the guy would not let me try it. He said it was "so people would not go crazy and break strings." I bought it anyway and later discovered that the knife edges were worn dull :'( 2. Do check for fret wear. Whoever had that Ibanez played the crap out of it and the frets no longer have that nice crown. Bending and vibrato and just overall playability isn't quite as good. In my case, it wasn't so bad, but if you don't look you may end up with much worse frets.
Incredible video. I know this seems dumb, but it happened to me. If it is a guitar which uses a trem bar or bigsby, make sure the trem bar is included or bring your own. Test that bigsby to make sure it works. Out of tune is okay, broken is a big expenditure.
Hey everybody, hey Darrell. I would also suggest doing some basic research on the value of parts. Sometimes the combined value of the parts will be more than the the asking price. For me thats always a no brainer! Thanks Darrell, love the channel.
For me other than the major structural/ playability issues such as the twisted neck I would just use the small flaws like faulty wiring and finish cracks as negotiation points to get a lower price. But all of these are great points especially for a first time buyer who maybe isn’t familiar with the many problems that guitars can develop over the years
Darrell, you forgot to mention playability : if the guitar has 'dead spots', where the fretted note is dead,doesn't play in tune,or just 'chokes out', and the note doesn't ring out, or if the neck needs leveled or crowned, these are also deal breakers.
I recently bought me a used b.c. rich and when I saw it online, I honestly just wanted a body and a neck so I could build it up. But when it got here, it was definitely dirty and crusty, but after a good clean, it was really nice. For less that $200 I got an amazing guitar. Out of all my guitars, that one is the best "out of the box" guitars. I haven't modded anything (yet). One of my best guitars
I would just add that you should do this with new guitars as well. Here in Canada I've bought ~15 guitars from Long&McQuaid over the years, and 3 have been returned for issues like these (including one that was still sealed in the box when I got it home), and there have been another 5 or so that I've walked away from because of cracks at the heel or something of that nature. Just because something is brand new and the company is big (or in this case the actual Gibson/Epiphone wholesaler for the entire country) doesn't mean they're actually checking the instruments before they sell them, or that they even care that there is a defective $3000 guitar on the wall for 4 years.
I think Darrell may know about Long & McQuade Music store as I'm pretty sure he mentions that he's a Canadian in other videos on his channel. I've never bought any new guitars from them, but I did snag a great deal on a 5 string Ibanez Roadstar bass with a hard shell case for only $145. I took it into Steve's to have it restrung and set up properly for another $95, so it was a great deal for a great playing 5 string bass for under $250 - bonus active pickups for a great variety of tones. It was at their annual attic sale in the fall, where you can buy used instruments from their rental department on sale at a great price. I think your point about buying new guitars and checking them out for flaws is very smart and worth mentioning. Peace to my Canadian guitar loving brother!
@@Mindermaniac I figured he probably would, but wasn't sure how many other subscribers/viewers were also Canadian so it was mostly for their benefit. Last time L&M did their big clearance sale I bought 5 mics, a full set of cymbals for my drums, and a Gretsch... so I'm dangerously familiar with that sale. It's too bad their national policy of medical discrimination will keep me from ever buying anything else there though!
@@BruceDoesStuff Not familiar with their medical discrimination policy, that sounds strange to me. My last attic sale was 18 years ago and along with the bass, I got a P-95 88 key Yamaha digital electric piano and a set of Samson PRO2000 Headphones, which I used for recording for almost 15 years before they gave out. My local store is Steve's for new gear & Paul's Boutique in Kensington Market for vintage gear, which I am usually on the look out for when I am out looking for instruments.
I love the 80's era Ibanez Roadstar guitars and especially the basses.. incredible instruments that's what I shop used and have some great basses from that era at great prices...your #1 is amazing...race car is apt for that beauty
Darrell this is a great video. Maybe you can get different examples of those wrong things in used guitars: photos or something like that to compare and know better. Saludos!
I ordered an Artist grungemaster today for the princely sum of $260 Australian Dollars, I have bought from them before and recieved a great guitar, this is the first guitar I have owned with P90 pups and my first ofset style guitar so I am excited and am looking forward to the tones I should be able to get with it.
The only guitar that I have is an old Faim guitar , I have to fix it. Change the pickups and frets. But used guitars is a good option for people who can't buy a new.
