Buying a guitar you've never played?

[zontar]

I've never bought a guitar without playing it, with one sort of exception.
Although I have bought a couple without playing them plugged in (Electrics)

My first guitar my parents bought and it was a Christmas present. So I never got to try it first.

My LP I bought without plugging it in, but it was used and the previous owner had put in different pickups, and I was going to be changing them anyways, so I didn't need to plug it in. If something else needed fixing wire-wise, it didn't matter either, as it could easily be fixed when the new pickups went in.

[blueman335]

...and the people filling your order won't know any more about them than they know about rice cookers or wet/dry shavers.

Which means they'll know about as much about guitars as the average Guitar Center salesperson.

[fusion101]

My two main players are guitars that I bought online that I couldn't test in a shop, and I love them both.
I've got a custom carvin ct6, and an agile LP(that had a few issues with the original order). I like them both more than damn near any other guitars I've played - though, that's probably because they've got duncans in them.

[~Vintage~]

I buy sight unseen all the time. I say do it! Guitars are like women, they are all good!!

[iismet]

once on a vintage - lots of study - small return window - scared the crap out of me - got away with it.

[sosomething]

I've done it dozens of times. Literally dozens. I can count the number of actual BAD experiences from doing this on one hand. And even then, it was just that a particular guitar didn't vibe with me like I thought it would.

The key, if you're doing this, is to buy used. That way you can sell it after any amount of time and come out financially even (though richer from the experience).

Some people are cagey about buying a used guitar.

But

That is stupid.

Don't be stupid. Buy used.

[blueman335]

I've done it dozens of times. Literally dozens. I can count the number of actual BAD experiences from doing this on one hand. And even then, it was just that a particular guitar didn't vibe with me like I thought it would.

The key, if you're doing this, is to buy used. That way you can sell it after any amount of time and come out financially even (though richer from the experience).

+1. Done it dozens of times too. And if you buy used, you should be able to get back what you paid for it. Not much risk.

[AudioWonderland]

what do you all think of buying a guitar that you've never played, say for example you play a guitar at a local guitar store but can buy the exact model cheaper online.

i know people who have done this but i always thought each guitar even ones of the same model could play and sound differently because of differences in the wood.

thoughts?

3 of my 4 PRS were ordered from the factory. All were killer. I have built a number of guitars from Warmoth parts. 7/8 were great. The one that was not was an experiment and I knew going in it could flop.

When you get into the lower end guitars there is a much wider margin for error. When I buy those I expect to do a fair amount of work to get them where I want them.

[uOpt]

The problem with traditionally shaped PRSes (not single-cuts) is that many of them have dead notes somewhere along the fretboard.

Doesn't make it more likely to get a bad PRS sight unseen than any other brand, but it shows that even with the more consistently manufacturing companies you can run into very specific problems.

Oh and too floppy necks (detunes too much if you turn it face down) is also common, and like with the dead notes it's their "too deep" (Moria TM) neck joint responsible.

[JeffB]

Ive bought a bunch sight unseen. Dozens as well. Ive run the gamut from trash to treasure in all price ranges. I much prefer to try before i buy, but usually my tastes and needs as far as neck and fret size dont allow me to do so. Vast majority of the stuff at the local MnP or guitar mart I have zero interest in.

My salesguy @ sweetwater has been able to grab a handful of whatever im interested in, and has had their tech play and go over them for me and pick the best of the lot. Has worked out beautifully, and thats how I got Capt. Crunch. My current strat is a sight unseen purchase as well because they are non existant locally. Very pleased with it, the only MIM strat I have ever played that I feel is on par with the MIA standards, specials, etc.( likely because all the parts are MIA spec barring the tuners).

[aleclee]

The problem with traditionally shaped PRSes (not single-cuts) is that many of them have dead notes somewhere along the fretboard.

IME, that's been a non-issue on the 22 fret models. On the 24 fret models, the issue is generally at the 12th or 13th fret on the G string. The severity ranges from a significant loss of sustain to no dead spots. In general, it seems to be a bigger issue on older models. Over the years, they've tweaked a few things that have probably helped the issue.

[blueman335]

i always thought each guitar even ones of the same model could play and sound differently because of differences in the wood.

Exactly. What you pick tonewise is the wood that goes together best with whatever PU is spec'd for that model of guitar. But a different PU may sound better than any of the stock PU's, so you have to be careful not to get hung up on that.

Apart from cosmetic preferences, the guitar that gets 'chosen' is the one whose set up, PU's, and mags happen to be closest to what you like, but those are all variables that can be changed in minutes.

[ImmortalSix]

USA Strat: Unseen, good
Homebuilt Tele: Kind of unseen, the best
SX Tele: Unseen: good
PRS SE: Unseen, great
Epiphone LPC: Handpicked, good
Epiphone 335: Handpicked, eh
Guild acoustic: Unseen, great
Squier '51: Unseen, good

So, as you see, I have had a pretty equal experience between handpicked and unseen.

[Rand-O-Monium]

Done it.

Batting .800+(whew)

Been lucky,no total "dogs"...

[uOpt]

IME, that's been a non-issue on the 22 fret models. On the 24 fret models, the issue is generally at the 12th or 13th fret on the G string. The severity ranges from a significant loss of sustain to no dead spots. In general, it seems to be a bigger issue on older models. Over the years, they've tweaked a few things that have probably helped the issue.

Fair enough. PRS is certainly a company that has better consistency and does engineering to fix things that aren't good.