Anyone bought Sweetwater ex-demo guitars?

[Mistercharlie]

I'm thinking about buying a guitar from Sweetwater and getting it shipped to Europe. The guitar I want is also available as an ex-demo version, and the saving would go a long way to offsetting my import tax.

My question is, how are Sweetwater demos in your experience? Are they beaten up? Or are they usually barely different from the backroom stock? I imaging that in reality it varies, but any guidance would be welcome.

 

[jannodude]

I'm thinking about buying a guitar from Sweetwater and getting it shipped to Europe. The guitar I want is also available as an ex-demo version, and the saving would go a long way to offsetting my import tax.

My question is, how are Sweetwater demos in your experience? Are they beaten up? Or are they usually barely different from the backroom stock? I imaging that in reality it varies, but any guidance would be welcome.

I’ve always read folks who purchased demos from Sweetwater very happy. Some even reported them having no visible scratches or signs of use. Correct me if I’m wrong, demos are basically new. They were taken out of the box to be displayed and maybe played a few times by someone interested. Can’t “legally” sell it as “new” so it is considered a demo.

Good luck, and greetings! I have a cousin who lives in Hamburg.

 

[Mistercharlie]

That's the kind of answer I like.

 

[jannodude]

That's the kind of answer I like.

If you want, I can call for you and ask them myself for the condition of the guitar. I have a Sweetwater agent that I contact time to time when I order something from them.

 

[drmmrr55]

I got a D'Angelico EXL-1 through them once as a demo, $200.00 off from new, and the guitar itself looked absolutely perfect, it was gorgeous! The hard case that came with it, the tolex had bubbled slightly on the arched lid, but otherwise was an excellent case. I was going to try and glue the tolex down, by injecting super glue with a fine needle, but I thought it was good enough the way it was. Long story short, I was VERY pleased with my purchase. Sweetwater is a good company to do business with in my estimation! Plus, I think a demo is a great way to go, because a new guitar loses value the minute you buy it, so why pay extra?

 

[Mistercharlie]

If you want, I can call for you and ask them myself for the condition of the guitar. I have a Sweetwater agent that I contact time to time when I order something from them.

If you want, I can call for you and ask them myself for the condition of the guitar. I have a Sweetwater agent that I contact time to time when I order something from them.

That would be amazing. PM'ed!

 

[Mad Kiwi]

Not sure if this applicabe but I pretty much only buy used / blemished or otherwise not new guitars when I buy from Musicians Friend.

Same deal for me, exchange rate, tax etc makes the saving worthwhile.

Of the 5 or 6 so far I think I found the blem on one. Which was a slight dent in the humbucker, wasn't a problem.

 

[-Hawk-]

The demo version’s page should have detailed pics. They usually put little stickers on the guitar to show any defects.

 

[Mistercharlie]

The demo version’s page should have detailed pics. They usually put little stickers on the guitar to show any defects.

Nice. It definitely looks like new.

 

[dustoff]

I've bought 2 demos from Sweetwater and both are exellent. If not told, you would be hard pressed to find any problems.

 

[tfarny]

Doesn't the description of a "demo" also describe any guitar you buy from a regular store? It's been on the wall, people have played it, it may have a few pick scratches or whatever.

 

[CK Dexter Haven]

BITD there was large independent store in the area who bought a lot of "show stock" from NAMM, mostly it sat or hung in a booth, rarely were there any noticeable flaws, I imagine this is the same.

I was looking at some of my "clearance, S&D, open box" purchases the other day and still don't notice much difference between them and the one new "sealed box" item I own. Usually if something is noticeably amiss, the dealer (not limited to SW) mentions it in the listing.

 

[FendrGuitPlayr]

A friend bought a demo Telecaster from them and it had minor marks on the pickguard but played and sounded great.

 

[archetype]

I got a demo Baja 50s Telecaster from Sweetwater and was 100% happy with it. I think it had a pinhead-sized ding in the finish. I don't remember, which is a good indication of how minor the damage was. As @-Hawk- mentioned, Sweetwater typically shows detailed pictures of the damage and marks flaws with various stickers.

My blonde Super Champ X2 was a demo from Sweetwater. It had excess glue on the outside of the Tolex, so I speculate that they were going to ship it to someone, but "demo'd" it when they opened the box to inspect.

 

[The Birdman]

I've been to Sweetwater. They don't get that much floor traffic, certainly not any more than an average Guitar Center. I wouldn't be concerned about buying a demo.

 

[TeleBrew]

I bought a demo Gibson Les Paul in pelham blue not long ago and it was in excellent shape. As mentioned previously, they post detailed pics of all instruments, including demos, and the tiny blem they pointed out in one of the pics was barely visible when the guitar arrived. I really had to look hard to see it.

 

[gkterry]

Used & demos are all that GC sells!

 

[dan1952]

Selling merchandise as "demo" or "display" solves two problems for the dealer: 1.) It prevents, for the most part, complaints from the buyer that the item has a speck of fly s**t on the bottom edge where it can't be seen without a magnifying glass, and 2.), and more importantly, it allows the dealer to bypass MAP pricing and advertise an item below the price the manufacturer requires the dealer to adhere to. "Oh, but Mr. 1952, that would never happen!"
Okay...

 

[FlyFast]

I bought one of the new Player Series Teles that was a demo from Sweetwater. The pictures of the blemishes they displayed showed the defects much more clearly than I could see them in person. If I had bought it as a non-demo, I probably wouldn't have even noticed them. The only thing about it that made it obvious that it had been played where the strings, they were old and needed changing. I would buy another demo guitar from them without hesitation.

 

[BorderRadio]

Bought two this way, the first had one tiny, head-of-a-pin chip that wasn’t disclosed, but everything else was accurate. The other was immaculate, with only a minor scratch on the headstock as noted. I wouldn’t hesitate to buy a demo from SW again, assuming I was cool with damage noted in photos. Don’t forget to haggle for a deep, deep discount.