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BBZ Guitars guide for first-time guitar buyers

Posted on Tuesday, October 28, 2008 by Steve Busby.

Whether it’s for Christmas, birthdays or any other special occasion, if you’re buying a guitar, or a guitar package, as a gift for someone else (or even for you) but you don’t play the guitar yourself, here are some tips from BBZGuitars of High Wycombe that will help you make a good purchase.

• Don’t buy a guitar without hearing it first. If you can’t play the guitar yourself, either take someone along with you who can or ask your guitar dealer to play the instrument for you; you don’t have to be a guitar tech to know whether an instrument sounds good or not.
• Avoid choosing a guitar based on looks alone. Different guitars produce different sounds so, no matter how cool, funky, whatever, a guitar looks, if you like a particular genre of music, ask your dealer to show you the guitars that are best suited to the sound you want to achieve – even if you’re not there yet, it’ll save you money on an upgrade when you are.
• Don’t dismiss a guitar just because it doesn’t carry a super logo. Gone are the days when the only good guitars were Gibson’s and Fender’s. In fact today, some of the best value guitars are designed by British companies, like Vintage, Tanglewood, Italia, Gordon Smith and Indie. Brands like these offer a great range of instruments; they’re suitable for all levels of play and include both original and ‘inspired-by’ designs at really affordable prices.
• Don’t assume you’ve bought a future heirloom just because it’s a well-known brand. Some of the most famous guitar manufacturers are now producing low-priced starter packages but be warned, in our experience these are not great quality guitars and even the most competent guitarists would struggle to get a good sound out of these instruments.
• Make sure your dealer sets-up your guitar for you. As a general rule, when you buy online, it’s extremely unlikely that your guitar will be set-up for play; most Internet guitar dealers simply pass on the product straight from the manufacturer, without even taking it out of the box. In fact 80% of the guitars we get into our showroom are the same; the difference is that we spend the time setting them up before they go on-sale. But if you do intend to buy online, and you don’t have the skills to set-up the guitar yourself, make sure you ask your dealer to do it for you. If you don’t, it’s likely to cost you at least £40 to get your guitar into a playable condition.
• Don’t rule out second-hand guitars. This is especially relevant when you’re buying for a teenager or young child because, in reality, learning the guitar is not as easy as playing Guitar Hero so their interest may wane. But as long as you go to a reputable supplier and, again, have them play the guitar for you if you can’t play yourself, you could bag yourself a really great deal; in fact you’ll probably end up with a better guitar than you budgeted for new, plus you’ll have something with a resale value, just in case things don’t work out.
• Factor in the cost of returns on Internet purchases and remember to hang on to your packaging. This is only relevant if you are buying from the Internet but since around 20% of you will, it’s important to remember that if you do have any problems with your guitar, even if it’s covered by warranty, you’ll still need to pay for its return to the dealer; it’s also wise to insure the carriage because guitars are quite susceptible to damage in-transit, and don’t forget to hang on to your packaging because it’s not going to fit into any old box.
• Finally, make sure you get a warranty with your guitar. It may seem obvious but it’s easy not to think about things going wrong with your guitar when you’re buying it. However, if anything does go wrong and you’ve bought from someone who is not a main dealer, any warranty you might have is invalid so you’ll have to foot the bill for any repairs.

For more information on buying guitars, drop into the BBZGuitars showroom in High Wycombe, or call us on 01494 533554.