Guitar Shopping

[icantquityoubabe]

I would like to see what stores in various areas are charging. About 4 years ago a guy at a famous store here called the HOG (House of Guitars) said I could walk out the door with a brand new custom Gibson Les Paul for $1700. They were retailing around $3000 at the time I think. Im sure that it will be more now. The biggest competition they have is a store called Guitar Center. I believe they may be a chain. the onlyl way you are going to get even close to as good a deal there is to come right out and say "Ill go to the House and they will charge me X amount of dollars -will you match it?" I have gone there lately and found a nice Taylor acoustic/electric. used but mint. they wont budge-want over $1200. I can get it brand new at the "House" for $1300 and change. Would like to see what prices are around the us and England and Canada. Does anyone recommend buying on E-bay?? I am a little scared to buy an instrument without holding it first. And as you all know, you are going to usually get something out of state. If it looks like a steal, I would worry that there is something wrong. If anyone does not like that I made this thread, and I try to be carefull not to create unecessary ones, let me know and ask the mods to delete it. Just trying to get some ideas from other buyers, players, and collecters.

[JethroTull]

Yes, Guitar Center is a chain. I am on their email list and have been deluged with discount offers from them during and after the holidays. 20% off on anything in the store was the best discount they offered.

I sold a guitar on EBAY.

1. The buyer was VERY knowledgable about the guitar, an Ibanez Artist.

2. He lived about 10 miles from me and wanted to avoid potential damage during shipping. We met, he inspected, he bought. He was also employed in the music business and could fix whatever minor problems the guitar had.

Personally, I couldn't buy a guitar on EBAY. I need to play it first.

Taylor's are excellent acoustics, I played one a couple of months ago (at Guitar Center) and was impressed. They ARE expensive.

[icantquityoubabe]

Yes, Guitar Center is a chain. I am on their email list and have been deluged with discount offers from them during and after the holidays. 20% off on anything in the store was the best discount they offered.

I sold a guitar on EBAY.

1. The buyer was VERY knowledgable about the guitar, an Ibanez Artist.

2. He lived about 10 miles from me and wanted to avoid potential damage during shipping. We met, he inspected, he bought. He was also employed in the music business and could fix whatever minor problems the guitar had.

Personally, I couldn't buy a guitar on EBAY. I need to play it first.

Taylor's are excellent acoustics, I played one a couple of months ago (at Guitar Center) and was impressed. They ARE expensive.

Thanks for the input Jethro Tull. You are one of my favorite newcomers to this site. I think we will get along very well unlike me and some others. Would like to add you to my friends list in the future if ok with you? Thanks again for the feedback. Glad to know others are interested in playing and not just listening. Not that there is anything wrong with just listening. (have to make myself perfectly clear as the vultures are circling their prey-me!)

[PJD]

As an owner of several nice guitars and a player of many years I will offer a few of my opinions.

Avoid guitar center like the plague. My problem with them is that they employ un-knowledgeable sales people who will say anything to make a buck. Most of the gear their is entry level to mid level and everything there gets beaten on by kids who go there to hang out and jam after school. It's not right to charge new guitar money for a guitar that has had people sweating, drooling, pawing and manhandling it for several months. Every time I've gone there high-end shopping I was met with a poor attitude and the guitars I was interested in were not properly set up and damaged from in-store abuse. I'm a "sleeper", I go in to a store in a hoody sweatshirt and ripped jeans. I don't play a guitar unless I'm serious about it and I go as early in the day as possible when there aren't a million yahoo's around and most of the morons who work there are too hung over to try and lie to me about something I'm interested in (I once played a Les Paul that was wired backwards and upon notifying the salesman he told me it was custom).

That being said, sometimes they get something that might be worth owning and if the price is right why not? Well mostly because i would rather pay the same or a few bucks more and support a 'mom n pop' store. There is a fantastic one where I used to live that I bought many fine instruments and amplifiers from. The salespeople are very knowledgeable and will treat you like a human, not a walking wallet. I bought one guitar at GC, it's the Les Paul i showed a pic of in the other thread. It's a great player and sounds amazing. Unfortunately the finish work is atrocious. That's Gibsons fault. What I find is the indy shops get better Gibsons. Just my experience.

Remember, at any decent shop there is a different cash price. If you have cash, usually you can get the price down. Most instrument stores (GC included) are like used car dealerships. There is always room to haggle and money talks.

What is it you are looking for again? An Acoustic?

Any guy at GC who says he "can't budge" on the price on the tag is totally full of shit. Offer 80% of what is on the tag at that store. The plus side is those guys are desperate so they are willing to do more and the turnover is pretty high so if you really piss off one sales guy, another will replace him in 3 weeks.

[Swamp Dog]

Taylors have a great tone...

Shop around....if your hometown selection is high or limited...go to a nearby bigger city/town

[icantquityoubabe]

As an owner of several nice guitars and a player of many years I will offer a few of my opinions.

Avoid guitar center like the plague. My problem with them is that they employ un-knowledgeable sales people who will say anything to make a buck. Most of the gear their is entry level to mid level and everything there gets beaten on by kids who go there to hang out and jam after school. It's not right to charge new guitar money for a guitar that has had people sweating, drooling, pawing and manhandling it for several months. Every time I've gone there high-end shopping I was met with a poor attitude and the guitars I was interested in were not properly set up and damaged from in-store abuse. I'm a "sleeper", I go in to a store in a hoody sweatshirt and ripped jeans. I don't play a guitar unless I'm serious about it and I go as early in the day as possible when there aren't a million yahoo's around and most of the morons who work there are too hung over to try and lie to me about something I'm interested in (I once played a Les Paul that was wired backwards and upon notifying the salesman he told me it was custom).

That being said, sometimes they get something that might be worth owning and if the price is right why not? Well mostly because i would rather pay the same or a few bucks more and support a 'mom n pop' store. There is a fantastic one where I used to live that I bought many fine instruments and amplifiers from. The salespeople are very knowledgeable and will treat you like a human, not a walking wallet. I bought one guitar at GC, it's the Les Paul i showed a pic of in the other thread. It's a great player and sounds amazing. Unfortunately the finish work is atrocious. That's Gibsons fault. What I find is the indy shops get better Gibsons. Just my experience.

Remember, at any decent shop there is a different cash price. If you have cash, usually you can get the price down. Most instrument stores (GC included) are like used car dealerships. There is always room to haggle and money talks.

What is it you are looking for again? An Acoustic?

Any guy at GC who says he "can't budge" on the price on the tag is totally full of shit. Offer 80% of what is on the tag at that store. The plus side is those guys are desperate so they are willing to do more and the turnover is pretty high so if you really piss off one sales guy, another will replace him in 3 weeks.

Excellant, excellant post PJD. I agree with you totally. Guitar Center really burns my ass. Have never bought a guitar from them and doubt I ever will. They are like sharks the minute I walk in the door. And these punks that are half my age working there all act like they are fucking Page or Clapton and I can probably play circles around most of them. But they have the "power" so they think. The House of Guitars is really a great store-alot of big bands have stopped there over the years,. The only problem is, the owners are millionaires. If you catch them on a good day you may get a great deal. Just depends on which side of the bed they got up on that day and who you get to take care of you. I havent been there in a while but Im going to go soon. I have had it with GC. The Taylor (cant remember the model number) played so nice. I had an Ovation and liked this better. It is an acouostic/electric. It retails about $1500 new, could walk out of the House with a brand new one for probably $1300 and change. GC had a used-even though it was mint and I believe flawless. I did offer him 1150 but the pricks wouldnt take it. I am going to play hard ball with the House. Problem is there are so many stupid idiots out there that just throw the money away and it makes it tougher to get a good deal. I really want the Les Paul. But am debating thinking that at this stage of my life the Taylor may be a smarter choice. Can play it outdoors in the summer at parks and such. Dont have to worry about pissing off neighbors. My wife isnt keen on me forming a band. Though im not ruling it out. I can only afford one or the other. If I get the LP then I need a Marshall. What do you think a good acoustic amp choice would be?? I also entertained the idea of Martin or Ovation but think I like these Taylor's. Have never owned one. the one I looked at played like a dream. Action was fabulous evn in the higher frets. Thanks again for posting and your input.

[PJD]

Well if your wife doesn't want you to start a band than you have to!

Seriously though, I don't enjoy playing acoustic as much as I enjoy playing the electric.

That being said I just had a conversation with a buddy today about acoustic guitars. I love old Takamine's. They call 'em lawsuit guitars becuase Martin sued them over teh logo. They made them in the late 70's and if I had to buy an acoustic guitar tommorow that's what I would like. BUT it is important to notre that I am an opinioated, stuck in my ways grumpy crumudgeon. I like acoustic guitars to sound big, dark and warm. I don't really like Taylors, especially plugged in. BUT to be fair I hate every guitar plugged in. Piezo pickups sound like total ass to me. My feeling is if you are doing a lt of gigging, get an acoustic electric and make sure you have a great pre-amp in there. If you aren't gigging, screw the electronic aspect. Get a non electrified model. My experience has been that if you have two $1,500 acoustic guitars next to each other the one that doesn't have electronic stuff in it will be a better guitar. All piezo pickups are pretty much the same, it's the pre-amp that matters and for my tastes they all sound weird. I'd rather mic it.

If I had to run one through an amp? I'd get a Peavey Bass amp of some kind. 10's, 15's horns all work great with acoustic electrics. Those acoustic amps are a scam. A bass amp will sound jsut as good and can be used for bass if the need ever arises. Think about it, all the pre-amp functions of the amp are built into an acoustic-electric, all you really need is a power amp and a speaker cab. For me that's why bass amps are preferable. They have the headroom and frequency range many guitar amps don't have.

Also, as far as the electric issue goes, I have a Marshall. I love it. Unfortunately they haven't made a decent amp in years. The JCM800 re-issue is pretty good and the handwired stuff is fantastic but the regular production stuff tends to suffer from shoddy workmanship and the handwired stuff is 2nd-mortgage expensive. And it's way, way to loud for practical use. There are a million cheap, low wattage tube amps out there that sound fantastic.

Similar thing with Gibson. I know guys who buy $5,000 Les Paul's then take off all the hardware and electronics to replace it with better sounding or historically accurate equipment. The Marshall re-issues (with the exception of the Hand Wired) are re-issues of amps that never existed, rather they are combinations of circuits from the late 60's early 70's. Nothing wrong with that, just buyer beware.

[Swamp Dog]

At our GC (Baton Rouge,La. and just opened in the last couple of years)

They don't let the "kids" bang the guitars there...at least not the good ones...and they keep a discrete eye on them....and by them I mean the pricey models...I got the one in my avatar last Christmas (my present to myself )...I played several Les Pauls, all in the 1200.00-1500.00 range hoping to find a cherry sunburst that I liked the feel and tone of but "settled" for my "Faded" tobacco sunburst...but until the guy was sure I wasn't going to go "Pete Townsend" on one,he'd glance up from the counter or wander by....

Now maybe I got lucky and got the only two that worked there when I bought the guitar and a few weeks later a sweet sounding little Vox valvetronic 15 watt practice amp ,but all the people I've delt with there at GC so far seemed to know their way around the guitars and amps and accessories like stomp boxes and processors...

[PJD]

I almost forgot, here are some other guitars that are worth checking out that won't break the bank

http://www.artandlutherieguitars.com/introf.htm

http://www.seagullguitars.com/intro.htm

http://www.breedloveguitars.com/

[PJD]

At our GC (Baton Rouge,La. and just opened in the last couple of years)

They don't let the "kids" bang the guitars there...at least not the good ones...and they keep a discrete eye on them....and by them I mean the pricey models...I got the one in my avatar last Christmas (my present to myself )...I played several Les Pauls, all in the 1200.00-1500.00 range hoping to find a cherry sunburst that I liked the feel and tone of but "settled" for my "Faded" tobacco sunburst...but until the guy was sure I wasn't going to go "Pete Townsend" on one,he'd glance up from the counter or wander by....

Now maybe I got lucky and got the only two that worked there when I bought the guitar and a few weeks later a sweet sounding little Vox valvetronic 15 watt practice amp ,but all the people I've delt with there at GC so far seemed to know their way around the guitars and amps and accessories like stomp boxes and processors...

I believe you have one of the Guitar Center exclusive 60's faded top LP's, yes? Does it have that slim taper neck?

[Swamp Dog]

I believe you have one of the Guitar Center exclusive 60's faded top LP's, yes? Does it have that slim taper neck?

I believe you have one of the Guitar Center exclusive 60's faded top LP's, yes? Does it have that slim taper neck?

That's the one.... I played a HCSB 50's faded that day that I was soooooooooooo hoping I would like....

.....I didn't like the fat neck

....I think I played it four different times and the one I got three...before I decided I be happier in the long run with the tone and feel of the tobacco burst over mainly the look of the cherry burst....

[icantquityoubabe]

I believe you have one of the Guitar Center exclusive 60's faded top LP's, yes? Does it have that slim taper neck?

The one here in Rochester, NY lets the kids bang them and then they try and bang your wallet. I checked out your links. Are these guitars like Seagull actually the name of the companies making their own guitars? It looks like Id have to mail order. dont really want to do this as I once got a defective Gibson Studio from my ex wife-neck was pitched wrong at the factory. Thanks for the info. Ill see you on the board.

[PJD]

That's the one.... I played a HCSB 50's faded that day that I was soooooooooooo hoping I would like....

.....I didn't like the fat neck

....I think I played it four different times and the one I got three...before I decided I be happier in the long run with the tone and feel of the tobacco burst over mainly the look of the cherry burst....

At least you found your #1. FWIW I played over 35 Les Pauls in my quest before i found mine. I have since put a Seymour Duncan Antiquity in the Bridge and the neck pickup out of my 71 SG in the Neck. Love it! I really, really want a VOS 58. I love the thick neck! I'd settle for teh VOS goldtop

The one here in Rochester, NY lets the kids bang them and then they try and bang your wallet. I checked out your links. Are these guitars like Seagull actually the name of the companies making their own guitars? It looks like Id have to mail order. dont really want to do this as I once got a defective Gibson Studio from my ex wife-neck was pitched wrong at the factory. Thanks for the info. Ill see you on the board.

The Seagul brand is owned by Godin and both them and Art and Luthrie are made in Canada. Go Canadia!

[icantquityoubabe]

At least you found your #1. FWIW I played over 35 Les Pauls in my quest before i found mine. I have since put a Seymour Duncan Antiquity in the Bridge and the neck pickup out of my 71 SG in the Neck. Love it! I really, really want a VOS 58. I love the thick neck! I'd settle for teh VOS goldtop

The Seagul brand is owned by Godin and both them and Art and Luthrie are made in Canada. Go Canadia!

I am guessing Toronto or Montreal you are in? I have relatives in Canada. Havent seen them in yrs, 1000 Islands Region-Gananoque and Kingston. Ill check back in the morning. Talk to you later. Thanks

[spatdrastik]

I would like to see what stores in various areas are charging. About 4 years ago a guy at a famous store here called the HOG (House of Guitars) said I could walk out the door with a brand new custom Gibson Les Paul for $1700. They were retailing around $3000 at the time I think. Im sure that it will be more now. The biggest competition they have is a store called Guitar Center. I believe they may be a chain. the onlyl way you are going to get even close to as good a deal there is to come right out and say "Ill go to the House and they will charge me X amount of dollars -will you match it?" I have gone there lately and found a nice Taylor acoustic/electric. used but mint. they wont budge-want over $1200. I can get it brand new at the "House" for $1300 and change. Would like to see what prices are around the us and England and Canada. Does anyone recommend buying on E-bay?? I am a little scared to buy an instrument without holding it first. And as you all know, you are going to usually get something out of state. If it looks like a steal, I would worry that there is something wrong. If anyone does not like that I made this thread, and I try to be carefull not to create unecessary ones, let me know and ask the mods to delete it. Just trying to get some ideas from other buyers, players, and collecters.

my advice to you is don't buy either the taylor or the les paul...for that money you could get a nice acoustic, a strat or an epi or something to bang around, and a small amp...maybe even some stomp boxes(go to every pawnshop within 50 miles..you'll find all kinds of stuff)...Also NEVER,EVER pay retail at any music store, approach it like you would buy a car...if they won't deal walk

[icantquityoubabe]

I can't find a lot of variety where I live, or maybe I need to get out more. At least the shops have good service.

For a Gibson LP custom or a Fender Strat, you're looking at $5000. An epiphone is still about $900 and Gretschs are approx $2000-$4000. I'm particularly interested in the LP supreme but haven't been able to find one. The shops just seem to stock the basic guitars, can't be fussy about colours either. I'll be looking into ordering one I think.

That is way too much money. You could get a brand new Les Paul here for less than $3000. the only differance between the custom and the standard is gold plating rather than silver. About $100 more. I actually prefer the standard. Dont EVER pay those prices. My buddy got this Epiphone copy used with an amp for $150. No Epiphone is worth $900. If you are thinking of buying check with some of us here first before you make a mistake.

[Swamp Dog]

Take a look at these...Agile guitars at..

Rondo.com

They sell good quality copies at unbelievable prices,I got an Explorer copy for $200.00 that looks exactly like a Gibson (note:Gibson must have sued because the new ones aren't exact copies anymore)

and except for the electronics,which if your a newbe to playing you wouldn't notice.

[Swamp Dog]

that should be...

www.rondomusic.com

[Swamp Dog]

The $200.00 Agile...from Rondo

too bad I don't have any way of recording it so y'all could hear it.

[MOJO]

Jimmy Page Les Paul Custom

PRICES

[LidlessEye]

The guitar shop situation in the rural area I live in is pretty sad. We have a store in the nearby town called Music City: they used to have a great selection of name brands like Jackson, Ibanez, Fender, etc. but now it's just Washburns, Peaveys and no-namers. The amp selection is better. I'd like to be able to try out a guitar with a scalloped neck, but there's currently little chance of that.

And that's the best store within 100 miles.

[JethroTull]

Couple years ago in a music publication( I think Spin) I read an article about First Act. Some notable players were buying the guitars. I've seen the more basic models for sale at Costco and believe it or not Toys-R-Us. The web site also tells you the notables who have bought a particular guitar.

http://www.firstact.com/home.aspx

[James Patrick Page]

That is way too much money. You could get a brand new Les Paul here for less than $3000. the only differance between the custom and the standard is gold plating rather than silver. About $100 more. I actually prefer the standard. Dont EVER pay those prices. My buddy got this Epiphone copy used with an amp for $150. No Epiphone is worth $900. If you are thinking of buying check with some of us here first before you make a mistake.

Agreed, this is good advice.

I just priced LP Standards at $1400 - $1800.

I bought my Eric Johnson signature Strat for under $1500 new a couple of years ago. I got the best price I could get over the web, went down to the local GC and had them ship one in. I played it before I bought it.

I bought a korean hollow body Gretsch for $400 and I probably paid too much.

I've never owned an LP, if anyone has a line on what to look for in a used one, drop me a line.

[JethroTull]

Another email from Guitar Center....Les Paul Studio Electic for $1199.99. I need to unsubscribe, I'm not in the market for a new axe.

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Gibson-Les-Pau...c?source=4NL8B4

[Humbucker]

Has anyone ever bought a guitar off of Craigslist or E Bay?

It's been said here, before, and it's worth repeating. Never buy a guitar that you've not played. They are all different - even samples of the same model from the same production run. Find an instrument that suits you, which can only be done by playing what's available. If you must buy a guitar in a particular colour then be prepared for a wait. It took me 31 years to find a cherry red ES335 that was to my liking.

RB