mikey_dup1 Posted July 2, 2002 Share Posted July 2, 2002 I am considering buying a strat online (new). Would I be taking a big chance with it or is quality control so good at Fender that they are all pretty good? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tedly Nightshade Posted July 2, 2002 Share Posted July 2, 2002 I would very strongly suggest that you buy where you can play the instrument. Some are players, some look nice on a stand, no way to know if it's a player 'til you got it. In my experience Strats of any vintage since the '60's at least, and the newer ones, are one of the very most hit and miss of guitars. A WOP BOP A LU BOP, A LOP BAM BOOM! "There is nothing I regret so much as my good behavior. What demon possessed me that I behaved so well?" -Henry David Thoreau Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skip_dup1 Posted July 3, 2002 Share Posted July 3, 2002 Totally agree. Especially Strats. Sending anything big back to a company after you discover it`s not what you thought, is not worth the hassle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisbsmusic1 Posted July 3, 2002 Share Posted July 3, 2002 also agree. Since most guitars need some tweaking out of the box, you may want to stay local for the ease of making changes if need be http://www.guitarsearcher.com http://www.fretland.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Posted July 3, 2002 Share Posted July 3, 2002 mikey, I'd say your best bet would be to take a day trip to a huge music store that has bunches of the model you want. Play through the ones in your price change and chances are you'll find a winner. -David http://www.garageband.com/artist/MichaelangelosMuse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sylver Posted July 3, 2002 Share Posted July 3, 2002 Yep. though the American Fenders are more consistant than the Mexi's, you're still taking a chance. I took a chance with a used Tele on ebay and it was a gem, so you never know. I really don't know what to put here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Posted July 3, 2002 Share Posted July 3, 2002 I recently took a risk of buying a Reverend guitar on e-Bay. I had played a few Rev's before, but I was still nervous that it wouldn't play right. Luckily, the guitar is a total gem and I'm loving it, but I don't think I'd take the same chance on a Fender. In my experience each Fender plays and sounds just a little bit different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurboDog Posted July 3, 2002 Share Posted July 3, 2002 I agree with everyone else. I would buy a high end guitar online, such as a Fender Custom Shop, or nice Tom Anderson or a top end PRS. These guitars you know will be great guitars. I would NEVER buy an acoustic online. But, if you're geting that Strat dirt cheap, you could buy it and turn around and have a local guitar tech set it up profesionally for less than you may be able to get one locally. My suggestion...find a nice Strat locally, and show them the prices in Musicians Friend or similar magazine and see how close they can get to it. They probably can't match online prices, but make them come as close as they can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gato Posted July 3, 2002 Share Posted July 3, 2002 Buy what you play, if you like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phaeton Posted July 3, 2002 Share Posted July 3, 2002 Just one thing i've seen a few ppl hint at that i'd like to bring up... When you go to a store and look at thier shiny guitars an the wall, all the shipping has been done already. WYSIWYG. Even if you get a guarantee from someplace online that the guitar plays and sounds like a dream, the process of trucking it across the continent might change that. Or it might dissapear in the process. Yes, this is what insurance is for, but in any case you're still talking about time and money on your part to either make it right or let someone else make it right. There's really no real reason to buy something before you can touch it first. If it is ridiculously low prices you're looking for, i've seen some blowout sales at local guitar centres and sam ash stores that could rival online prices. Scratch n blem items are fine, usually, but what someone's idea of `minor blem' is might be different than yours. I'd be more apt to buy something like that where i can actually look it over myself. Hopefully musical instrument retailers are different online than computer parts retailers, but this is basic for *any* online purchase: * What you order and what you've been told you paid for might turn out to be different things than what you actually get. * Even if someone guarantees satisfaction, or a return policy, they can *still* make it almost impossible to return an item. Plus, in order to get a refund on anything, you have to (pay to) ship the item back to them. For a bit of time, they're holding thier product and your money, and they're too far away for you to show up at thier door and beat them on the head with a stick if they misbehave. Most places will want to authorise any return with an RMA number or such. They won't take it back without an RMA number, and if you just up and ship it to them without one, two things might happen. They could kindly ship it back to you. Or they can stick it back into thier inventory and route all your emails/phone calls/threatening snail mail to /dev/null. * This is why you purchase with a credit card. If need be, your bank or financial institution can start the forced chargeback process. Any time you send cash, check, money order etc, you're SOL lest you want to go to court- an expensive hassle in itself. * ==VERY IMPORTANT== Anything you buy online, print out a HARD COPY of anything related to the sale, the image of the item, the return policy, the shipping/tax policies, even the contact information. I hope this never happens to anyone, but it occurs to me that at any time a webpage can be `altered' by the seller after a sale to say or not say what they want, if they're of a dishonest nature. Without a hard copy, it's your word against thiers. --- just some tips. damn grammatical/spelling errors... ==== #include Dr. Seuss: The Original White Rapper . WWND? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael saulnier Posted July 4, 2002 Share Posted July 4, 2002 mikey, What strat are you looking to buy? I've got two that I am forced to part with... One is a '96 Lone Star strat... with a few modifications... I replaced the Texas Specials, (still got 'em around somewhere if you wanted them), with two Fender noiseless - hot... and replaced the nut with an LSR nut... sorta making a backup for my Fender Deluxe Fat Strat... It's Olympic white with maple neck. Plays and sounds great. American made... I'd probably part with it for $550 plus shipping and insurance... small Fender H/S case included. The other is a Jimmy Vaughm signature, 2001, practically new... easily could be put on the wall at your local store and no one would say it was "used". It's stock, nice, (I picked it out of 4 they had in stock). It's also white with a maple neck, and I would part with it for about $300 plus shipping and insurance... again, small Fender H/S case. Anyway, if you're interested in either or both of them, e-mail me and I can send some digital pictures. guitplayer I'm still "guitplayer"! Check out my music if you like... http://www.michaelsaulnier.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chip McDonald Posted July 4, 2002 Share Posted July 4, 2002 Originally posted by mikey: I is quality control so good at Fender that they are all pretty good?Ha haha ha ha ha ! Man... I think right now, Fender ... No, I'll be silent. Make sure you don't like what G&L and Music Man has to offer first. Also, with mailorder... make sure you trust where it's coming from, I've seen a lot of guitars with problems from MF. As a lark, check out distance of the strings at the neck joint, from the edge of the neck on the low E string side compared to the high E on some different American Series... Also, note the quality of the wood on the necks versus some of the Corona made guitars, and also note the fret work on the Korean models... compared the $$$$ American series. Also, check the paint out closely. I've seen some pretty "interesting" things.... Guitar Lessons in Augusta Georgia: www.chipmcdonald.com Eccentric blog: https://chipmcdonaldblog.blogspot.com/ / "big ass windbag" - Bruce Swedien Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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