Why do you buy a guitar new (as opposed to used)?

[Sinner1980]

I've bought both new and used. In fact the only two guitars I own now are a new AV52 and a used AV64.

There's plenty of reasons to buy new actually:

• You can't find the guitar you want used in your environment(buy online without trying is a no-go for me)
• Some stores allow you to pick from their stock. I tested 5 AV52's and took my favorite home. Comparing guitars is great
• Some people don't buy used because they don't like used products. They want a shiny, new product straight from the factory and the experience of buying it in a shop
• If you don't know your stuff you can be easily mislead in the used market; Fender body with an aftermarket neck, no original pickups, Highway one instead of US standard(happened to me a long time ago, I didn't have a clue back then), and so on

Of course used guitars give you better value for money and can be a nice chance to meet cool people.

Each to his own, it all comes down to $$$

 

[blowtorch]

Each to his own, it all comes down to $$$

I think with some people it comes down to up-tightedness, and fear of contact with the elements/residue of their fellow man

 

[-Hawk-]

If it's not used locally I won't buy it. I've seen too many turds in the stores to feel comfortable buying used sight-unseen online. I own one brand new guitar and it was a matter of no local availability used and the price was only $100'ish dollars different.

 

[Kojoflo]

Every guitar I've ever bonded with I bought new. Though there were a couple that I didn't bond with also. Every used guitar I've bought I've struggled to bond with, and in most cases never did bond with. But for some reason I keep trying

 

[Mreman903]

image removed
,
I've wanted one of these since forever. I can't justify spending the $500 for it new with a case, but when this one came available @$120 as you see it here, well, of course I jumped on it. New doesn't necessarily mean better, but I'm certainly not gonna knock someone for buying new. I'm happy with slightly used, especially if it takes a good chunk of the edge off the price.

 

[ac15]

I really can't imagine any good reason.
I think there are already well over enough guitars in existence out there

This thread made me take a quick inventory, and I now realize that of the countless guitars I have owned, I think I only bought one new.

I prefer to buy used and I don't think there are any advantages to buying new.

 

[ricardo1912]

I have only ever bought three electric guitars new. One was a MP Tele that i soon sold; one was a Cab from Thomann when they were going for silly money; the last was my MIM Cab because I tried it in the shop out of curiosity, loved it and took that one home.
Used I try to find the nearly new guitars that haven't been played much. I've been lucky so far and among others have scored a Baja and a Lonestar Strat that could have passed for new.

 

[Toto'sDad]

Used guitars got cooties, and you know boogers smeared around on 'em and stuff like that. Unless of course you find it in a dumpster, then it's purified, okay to play right out of the bin.

 

[blowtorch]

Kinda figured you HOA guys would wanna buy new

 

[william tele]

Kinda figured you HOA guys would wanna buy new

That's a fact! I want my guitar to have greasy tone...not actual grease from the hair of some rockabilly, elvis band playing poser.

(Oh and if you're playing "In the Ghetto" in A the second chord would be Dflat minor...not E. )

 

[4 Cat Slim]

The last time I bought anything new was back in 1992 or so.
I saw an ad in a magazine for Epiphone's Joe Pass Emperor model.
I had the money, and I have always admired the musical ability of Mr. Pass
and I like Epiphones, so I bought one.
Still have it, and still appreciate what Joe Pass could do with a guitar.

 

[blowtorch]

(Oh and if you're playing "In the Ghetto" in A the second chord would be Dflat minor...not E. )

That song is not in A, if memory serves
(I could be wrong, I usually need a guitar in hand to determine these things)

 

[Toto'sDad]

Kinda figured you HOA guys would wanna buy new

You don't think I'd buy a guitar without first checking with my attorney to see that it conformed to HOA regs do you?

 

[Poppa54]

Instead of paying big bucks for a "relic" I find old abused teles and clean them up. Really there's not much that can't be repaired pretty easily on a tele.
If you're not into guitars that look like they have actually been played, new is a good option. Of course GC doesn't have any actually new ones because people like us go in and play them for hrs when we have free time lol.

 

[sbpark]

Depends on what I'm looking for. Is it a guitar that is tough to find used and doesn't pop up used often, or if it is available to see in person and play a used one, is the price difference somewhat negligible enough to warrant buying new because it comes with a warranty and with the 15% off coupons that regularly are available is it smarter to buy new? This usually is the rationale for "cheaper" guitars I've found. I've noticed that people tend do ask ridiculously high prices on Craigslist in my area for lower to mid-level guitars like Mexican made Fenders, imported Guilds, etc. These are great guitars but if someone is asking $100-$150 less than full retail, I'm going with new.

Tables are turned though for more expensive or "higher-end" guitars. I feel like this is really where you can come out ahead. Great example would be two of my acoustics. I basically got my 2011 Martin HD-28 for less than $900, and was mint when I traded for it last year. I bought a brand new 2013 SG at the beginning of 2014 when GC was blowing them out for under $900, then traded it a couple years later for the HD-28 because the guy with the HD-28 was jonesing for an SG and his wife said she'd leave him if he bought another guitar, but said he could trade one out for one in. Next is the SJ200. These go for around $4,000 new. Had been watching one for sale locally for over a month. The buyer would drop the price each week. I finally contacted him and made him an offer that he accepted, and this was a bit less than 50% off of the street price of an SJ200 Standard. The SJ200 is a 2008, but the guy basically bought the guitar, never set it up and never played it and there's not a mark on it. After a good set up and some new strings it's an amazing sounding guitar. No way I'd ever shell out for a brand new one. Just doesn't make sense. I'd say that the overwhelming majority of my guitars have been used purchases.

 

[sockgtr]

I prefer not to have someone else's mojo on my gear

Having said that, I have many, many used instruments, some really good ones. But it always takes a while before I feel a used instrument is truly mine, sometimes a couple of years. I've had some that never seem to actually belong to me. Those get sold back off.

Right now I'm kinda struggling with my 2 main Teles, a 98 Am Special and a 2009 Am Standard. The Standard is more broken in to me though I play it less. It's currently in the shop getting the front pickup route slightly altered to allow more types of humbuckers to be installed. The Special sounds better and plays great, but there's something about it that is not quite right...

 

[Freejack]

Just to note, the Telecaster MIM I have, I bought used back in the 90's from a B&M store. In my Avatar, the Artcore is used and again, bought at the local B&M and then sold to a friend when he needed an electric for the band he was in (he only had a bass at the time).

Carl

 

[Doghouse_Riley]

The plethora of stores offering 24-36 month, 0% interest loans on new gear makes buying new pretty attractive.

 

[william tele]

I would like to bring up the point that some of us are old and smell. I believe the term is "old man smell" or "old man stank". Don't you young guys want to get your own "baby fresh smell" slathered all over your guitar rather than have the "old man smell" permeating the atmosphere?

Another point. Some of us are so old that we were buying guitars BEFORE craigslist...GASP! Believe it or not, it was once just a matter of luck if you bumped into a great deal on a used guitar. There were no Mexican, Japanese, Chinese, Indonesian options to get a decent guitar at a bargain price. If you wanted a good guitar you went in and bought what was in the store...or, more likely, plopped down a few bucks and put it on "lay-a-way"...

 

[teletimetx]

I would like to bring up the point that some of us are old and smell. I believe the term is "old man smell" or "old man stank". Don't you young guys want to get your own "baby fresh smell" slathered all over your guitar rather than have the "old man smell" permeating the atmosphere?

Another point. Some of us are so old that we were buying guitars BEFORE craigslist...GASP! Believe it or not, it was once just a matter of luck if you bumped into a great deal on a used guitar. There were no Mexican, Japanese, Chinese, Indonesian options to get a decent guitar at a bargain price. If you wanted a good guitar you went in and bought what was in the store...or, more likely, plopped down a few bucks and put it on "lay-a-way"...

...this is perhaps why the sense of smell becomes less sensitive as we become vintage specimens...but I think I smell good, like fine bourbon and brandy, and no jokes about Brandy, or lay-away, for that matter, ok...

Back when we still fought off dinosaurs and such, there were two "music" stores in my small town with maybe 10 guitars to choose from or you could risk a trip to the big city and scout through some pawn shops, where you might either find a great discovery, or be preyed upon by the pawn shop guys, hoping for the small-town fools to part with hard-earned money. Or scout the classified ads...

There's risks either way. the amount of information available has certainly altered the landscape. I've had good and not-so-good experiences with new and used. Bad: fret sprout or undisclosed or hidden problems on new and used guitars, bought without the opportunity to do a hands on. I haven't done that for awhile, but it happens.

the guitar I'm really liking right now, playing it at a weekly gig, is a James Burton standard, MIM, texas specials for pups. it just hits all the good spots for me. Bought it sight unseen from a dead guy's brother off of Reverb, shipped from Maine to Texas. really good price, really good condition, all things considered - it was a 15-year old tele that had been sitting a case (Fender trombone case) for some time. Just needed some TLC. Replaced the rattle-hammer bridge with a Wilky 3-saddle. Only problems now occur due to operator error, not the guitar.

Do I mind having a dead-guy's mojo on my tele? Not really; didn't look like he left much of a trace. I think either a) he's dead dead dead, it don't mean squat to a tree and/or b) for those that subscribe to afterlife theories, that he'd be happy knowing that his good taste in guitars is being confirmed on a regular basis.

I must be some uncivilized barbarian.