i will never buy a guitar before I play it again!

[mika]

" i will never buy a guitar before I play it again!"

I did.  I bought my L09 off of Ebay from a former member of this forum.  It looked great in the pictures and I had played several Larrivees at the local guitar shop, so I knew I liked the Larrivee sound.  When I first played it it was disappointing - did not sustain, the bass was thumpy, little bit of fret buzz on the lower frets.  I played it for a couple of hours, really trying to like it...I finally contacted the previous owner, thinking maybe it hadn't been played much, so the sound board might be tight.  He told me he played it daily.  A day or so later it dawned on me that it may be dehydrated, it did ship from Colorado after all.  So after close inspection, with a straight edge, I notice the top was slightly sunken in, in front of the bridge.  So I left it out of the case for a couple of days.  The top levelled off, the buzz went away and the guitar started to ring.    Been very happy with it since.  The thing is, if I had played this guitar I probably wouldn't have bought it.

My S&P 12 string, on the other hand, I did play before buying.   Sweet deal for $175. Brand new condition, it still had the protective film on the pick guard and tuners.   Didn't notice until I changed strings that the bridge was lifting on the treble side.  So it sits in the corner not being played until I get it repaired.  So, when you go shopping, take someone with you that knows what to look for or you might end up with a lemon.  I'm not to disappointed, that guitar will have a happy ending someday.

[Tony Burns]

I'm not real crazy about stuff i cant play either - have had a couple of good experiences and one semi-bad - the good was a Classical Lucida concerto 777 - new with case -- one of the nicest classicals Ive ever played not less owned- but my biggest disappointment was buying a flat back mandolin off of Ebay - they lead me to believe it was rosewood and like new - when i got it i discovered it was Mahogany and it was so dried out the top was slightly distorted , like it was in someones attic .  I left it alone ( they wouldn't take it back - ) after about a month or two being left alone it hydrated itself and looks fine- with no structural issues - so that turned out OK - ( and it has a sweet sound ) guess sometimes you have to learn patience for things to work themselves out !

[wilblee]

I have bought good and bad guitars off the net, with the good ones way outweighing the bad ones.  So I'll definitely buy a guitar without playing it first, even though I prefer playing it first, BUT if I can't play it first, then I do insist on a pre-agreed return policy.  And I buy from reputable on-line houses or eBay'ers with an excellent feedback rating.  Since I've adopted that policy I have not been burned, or even lightly scorched.  Of my current 14, 7 were bought used off the net and 1 new off the net.  (each and every one a fabulous axe) The rest were bought new in a store.  Of the store bought ones only one was a pre-determined purchase, the rest were "discoveries" made when I was killing a lunch hour in a guitar store.

[strawintogold]

For what it's worth, i think a lot of it (if not all) has to do with communication. When I bought my OM3R sight unseen (and never played a Larriv) I did a lot of reseach and Jason at Notable Guitars (nayy) kept popping up on forums during searches. My guitar teacher had recommended the brand so I was lucky that someone who knew me well could refer me.

I called Jason and told him what my preferences were, that I preferred a 'sad' guitar to a 'cheerfull' one and so on and he managed to make sense out of some very convoluted lingo,lol. Plus he was incredinly knowledgeable about the companies practices, which is important to me. In short, he sent me exactly what I had envisioned and exceeded my expectations.  But if I had walked out of that conversation without feeling like he 'got' me, I wouldn't have ordered sight unseen.

I've bought some guitars of eBay but I ONLY do so if there is a return policy. The when I get it I race over to my local luthier and get his opinion. I've only returned one and that was a smooth transaction, a couple I ended up selling to the shop for cost which was a valuable experience because I learned a LOT about guitars for basically the cost of shipping.

Oh, the best one of eBay? The cleanest Harmony Rocket you've ever seen for a very fair price. I still get happy abou that.

holly

[Zohn]

 
The only surprise to me with this 00-09FM is it is prettier by far than the pics and has a depth and resonance I was not expecting. ie. Pleasant Surprise.
And would have but David (seller) assured me this would work better. This time I have to say it did.
                                                                   Happy Danny

Congrats Danny - I'm happy for you.  I bought both my Larris over the net, and I'm extremely happy. My situation is somewhat different than most other members' though...    BTW, why did you sell the LSV-11e?

[Danny]

Congrats Danny - I'm happy for you.  I bought both my Larris over the net, and I'm extremely happy. My situation is somewhat different than most other members' though...    BTW, why did you sell the LSV-11e?

ONLY because of shoulder trouble playing the larger size than my first one. We are trying to get a forum LS right now. I initially wanted a LSV-03 or up, made to the small body LS size. The 2008 LSV-11E that I sold had increased in size do to the "hand made" aspect of depth and was very close to a OM Larri size. Which I can't play for very long unfortunately.

[flatlander]

Danny, I'm not sure what your shoulder deal is, but did you ever try putting on a strap, even when your sitting.
Then sit on edge of chair where you can let guitar drop down some? I used to do that when I was playing
someone elses dread because of shoulder or upper arm, and do that now when I play 12 fret 000 to get it in good position. I just can't get completely comfortable withh 000 on left leg like it should be. Since I have dread now I've gotten used to it so it wasn't like an injury or anything.  Just a thought which you've probably already tried.

[Danny]

Danny, I'm not sure what your shoulder deal is, but did you ever try putting on a strap, even when your sitting.
Then sit on edge of chair where you can let guitar drop down some? I used to do that when I was playing
someone elses dread because of shoulder or upper arm, and do that now when I play 12 fret 000 to get it in good position. I just can't get completely comfortable withh 000 on left leg like it should be. Since I have dread now I've gotten used to it so it wasn't like an injury or anything.  Just a thought which you've probably already tried.

With me the depth is the biggest issue. I also have other problems that only allow me to sit comfortably in one or two ways while playing. So I have to test drive gits now above 4'' depth. btw I tried a 000-60 yesterday, very nice all the way around. But too deep for me.

[Ted @ LA Guitar Sales]

I can understand being a bit apprehensive about buying a guitar, especially and expensive guitar, without playing it first, but buying online or through the mail is unavoidable if you're looking for a hard to find, discontinued or limited production model. Folks who have never bought a guitar online will do so sooner or later, trust me. It would be nice if we could just go down to the local guitar shop and be able to compare several similar guitars by different makers, or similar guitars featuring different tone woods, but that is just not available in any store I've been in. And I'm just a short drive from some of the best guitar shops in the country.

In my experience it can take many hours, even days to get to know a guitar, and more and more shops are starting to limit the amount of time they'll give you with their merchandise. That combined with the stores poor selection drove me to buying most my guitars online. Sure, you may get a guitar that may not grow on you, but how many here can say that they've bonded with every guitar they hand picked in a guitar shop.

Happy new year everyone!

Ted

[RoundLakeDT]

...how many here can say that they've bonded with every guitar they hand picked in a guitar shop.
Ted

Hear hear... unfortunately have to agree that it does take a while to figure out how you sit with a particular guitar, whether you think you have 'love at first blush' in the store or good looking pictures of a guitar you bought over the web.  I've had good & not-so-pleased both ways.

Dave