What flaws to look for when buying guitars and amps?

[GuitarWolf]

Ok, ive juiced up my funds and im seriously thinking of getting a guitar and an amp sometime in the next 2 weeks, but what flaws should i look for in the guitars and amps im trying out? (errors in the finish of the guitar, cracked/ broken parts)im most likely gonna buy used equipment so being able to tell a Gem from Crap would really help

[Christopher]

Shoddy fretwork, ie. file marks, unfilled kerfs, sharp or unfiled ends, flat crowns, lifting frets.

 

Neck relief.

 

Crackling pots, switches, pickup selector, output jack.

 

Finish blems. Orange peeling, ie. finish settling into the grain of the body wood.

 

Neck-body joint. Check for gaps or shifting.

 

Nut setup. Are the strings too deep in the slots? Is the spacing between the strings even?

 

Pickguard/control cavity cover evenness. Any bubbling? Any edges that aren't flush with the body?

 

Tremelo/tuning stability. Does playing hard drive the guitar out of tune?

 

Excessive pickup noise. Unavoidable for single coils, but the humbuckers shouldn't be producing any noise.

 

Binding blems/unevenness.

 

Last but not least, tone. Does it sound good to you?

[SEHpicker]

Howdy D-Prime, There are definatly alot of specific things to consider when buying a new guitar and I'm sure the very knowledgable

"regulars" around here will have some good advice for you.

 

My .02 cents is this: get the best/most knowledgable guitarist you know to go with you to look at and play as many guitars as you can. Even try guitars you know you can't afford so you'll know what to compare cheaper ones against.

It's kinda like buying a horse or a used car...if you're not sure what your doing bring along someone who is. Anyway, that concept has always served me well. The amp is a matter of tone taste and budget.IMO Good Luck! SEHpicker

[Skip_dup1]

guitar necks that fall off, or amps that electrocute store personnel.

[Gabriel E.]

How does the guitar sound when NOT PLUGGED IN? It should resonate well and be fairly "zingy". A guitar that doesn't sound good unplugged can never be made to sound good. Ever.

 

Unless the guitar is expensive, look at getting one with a transparent finish. Manufacturers use the better pieces of wood on these guitars since the finish can't hide flaws as well.

 

The hardware should be nice and solid. Avoid any guitar that has sharp or rough edges on the bridge/tuners.

 

Look at the neck and fretwork. If the neck is warped, humped, or crooked the guitar is shite and will never play well. Frets should be even and well polished. The strings shouldn't buzz.

 

Play the guitar for a while and bend the strings a lot. Does the guitar go out of tune? It shouldn't.

 

If everything above checks out but the axe doesn't sound fantastic plugged in, you can always change out the pickups.

 

As for the amp, look at something rated at 50 watts or less. Avoid anything with lots of knobs and switches. More channels/effects/options means more things to break or suck tone and are only worthwhile on expensive amps. The amp should have tubes in both the preamp (small tubes) and power amp (big tubes). Avoid like the plague anything with built-in digital effects or a digital modeling amp (especially if this is your first amp). You should like the sound.