Some tips needed to buy a guitar

[Mariler]

I am replacing my old guitar and I’m going to get a new one this weekend. The local stores where I live don’t have what I want and I’ll be visiting some stores in Madrid on saturday. I don’t know any experimented player who can come with me and help me. That is why I would appreciate some tips.
What should I keep in mind when I am testing guitars?
My budget is high, it is a special present from my husband, and I want to buy the best guitar I can afford, so I don’t want to make a wrong choice. I am afraid that testing a guitar only for a short time in the store I won’t see the down sides.
If it was in my local stores I would visit them a million times before making my decission, but I can’t go back and foth to Madrid to test guitars and my time is limited. I’d appreciate so much some help.

 

[Filip Tomiša]

Some things you should consider before buying is what kind of pickups your want, active or passive, how many frets you want 22 or 24, what shape of neck you want, thin or thick, do you want a bolt on guitar or a neck through, do you want a guitar with floyd rose or without, do you want a guitar with locking tuners or with regular and also what type of music will you be playing with your guitar. These are just some of the things you should look into before buying

 

[Botond Papp]

It’s not a hard choice if you have enough money. Just make a list of what matters to you most. This is how I’d choose:
Acoustic or electric?
If electric:
1) Look for the shape you like most.
2) The shape of the neck. Do you like flat necks (Jacksons) or fuller ones like Gibson.
3) 25.5 or 24.75 inch scale? (PRS have 25inch i think) try out one of both in your local store. Not hard to decide which you like most.
4) number of frets. (21 22 24 27?)
5) I guess color matters too.
6) ‘(double locking) floating’ or ‘fixed’ bridge. With floyd rose you can have a lot of fun, but be aware of double stop bends going out of tune. (And it takes some time to learn to change strings fast.)
7) brand. Songs and artists you like, what do they use.
8) pickups. They can be changed anytime that’s why I said them as the last. They are a huge influence on the tone.
Singlecoil – Pink Floyd
(Passive) Hambucker – Ax7, ACDC, GNR. Different pickup different tone.
Active – Metallica (they can be very clean, emg60 – metallica one).
I have to mention, IMO a good amp is a lot more important than a good guitar (as long as it doesn’t lack playability.)

 

[idssdi]

It really depends on what you want to do with it. If you want to play metal most of the times humbuckers are probably your best bet. If you want to do a whole range of music(blues, rock, metal etc.) And strat with hotrails/humbucker in the bridge or a guitar with the coilsplitoption is probably a good idea. Usually what I’m looking for in a guitar is the feel first(if the feel is shit I won’t play it), when the feel is good I start to listen to the sound and last but not least tuning stability. Also aesthetics are very important. If you have a guitar that you findo ugly you would not want to stand on stage with it.
Hope this helps!

 

[Calvin Phillips]

the people there can answer any question you have. I always ask them straight up if there is a similar guitar or amp that matches the sound and they usually have an answer for me. If you tell them what you are looking for they can definitely help you out. Especially if you can afford something with a rose, because those add to the price a little, as do certain pick ups.. etc. But yeah. usually you end up walking in and just seeing the guitar you want. All my buys are spontaneous, like the new acoustic I got about 2 months ago.

 

[Mariler]

Thank you guys! I appreciate your help so much. Now it seems I have to do my homework and try to figure out what I’m really looking for, before I walk in the guitar store. I’ll keep in mind everything you mentioned.
Ids, I agree that the feel is something to consider. Feeling comfortable, relaxed and being able to play fluidly is essential.
And I’ll try to stay away of black guitars (I’ve already got 2 )

 

[Calvin Phillips]

personally every guitar I buy needs a whammy of some way. The stores around me actually are against the floyd rose. lol They chirp me a lot whenever I talk about my guitar lol. But yeah, definitely I need a whammy, and 24 frets. I honestly dont think it’ll take you too long to make your decision. Eventually you’ll just see the one you want, and you’ll just know it.

 

[Mariler]

Definitely that guitar is there waiting for me whatever it is.
My old guitar is a jackson with floyd rose (I never learned to change the strings properly), cool for metal. I love it but I hear crunches all the time while I play. Tried to have it fixed but they coldn’t 100%. I was pretty old after 10 years not being played.
Now I think I probably look for a thicker sound. I must be aging and my ear wants something different .

 

[Calvin Phillips]

thats why people hate them.. they are a pain to restring or retune lol