Local Music Gear Feature Story
Written By: Jac Harrison
Written By: Jac Harrison
So
you’re all set and ready to buy that new guitar: it’s a great feeling
knowing that you have the cash in your pocket and an idea of what you
want as you head out to your local music store. For most of us going to
the music store it is an awesome adventure--like going to a bar that
lets you sample every beer for free. One of the aspects of a
guitar-buying trip that we as musicians always forget is that the person
selling you the guitar is exactly that--a sales person. A very cool
salesperson, but one who is still looking to profit from your visit.
Normally the average person will do some research on an item before we
buy, but not so much when looking for that new axe. I know for me, going
to a music store is like being an innocent kid at the bunny ranch; I
want to play with them all and I could care less about their
imperfections. Let’s just say it’s any eye-popping, heart-racing
experience that I have sometimes regretted the next day.
When
buying a guitar we should always have an idea of what we want, for
example acoustic vs electric, humbucker vs single coil, Floyd Rose vs
standard tremolo,etc. Much like shopping for a car, you need to know
what to ask for when you get to the dealer. If you are unsure of the
components you need to get your new sound, pick an artist that has the
sound you are looking to capture and get their gear list from their
website.
After
determining what your needs are, go online and look at guitars that
have these components. So if you wanted a setup like Slash, you would
want to look at an LP style guitar with 2 humbuckers and a Floyd Rose
bridge; if you want a sound like Stevie Ray Vaughn's you would want a
Strat style guitar with three singlecoils and a standard tremolo. The
last thing you want to do is walk into a store and not know how to tell
your sales person what you want. You will more than likely leave with
what the salesperson recommended and that’s not always the best option
for you. If you shop at those big box super stores, you may end up
leaving with an item that your sales person gets a higher rate of
commission on as opposed to what you were really looking for.
Finally,
you have located the guitar you wanted. You picked it up and played it
and without warning, “kazam!” it came to you. You have located the
guitar that is going to bring you to superstardom rockstarness.
Just
like kicking the tires and checking the trunk for bodies when looking
at a car, there is a check list you need to do when looking at a guitar,
new or used, before making an offer. The very first thing you want to
do is check the intonation; this will let you know if the guitar needs a
setup. I do this by using a headstock clip on tuner. You start on the
low E string, pluck it open and let it ring out for 5 seconds. You then
press down on the 12th fret and make sure that the note is still an E on
the tuner and then again at the 24th if the guitar has 24 frets. If the
intonation is correct do the same for the rest of the strings. If the
intonation is off by more than a ½ step put the guitar down and look at
another, if it is off slightly you can negotiate a free set up with
purchase -- a setup should correct a minor intonation problem.
The
next step is looking down the neck to make sure that it is not warped
and that the truss rod is not over- or under-tightened. You do this by
standing up and holding the guitar’s body toward your face and pointing
the neck toward the ground while looking straight down the neck from
bottom to top. You are looking to see if the neck is wavy or out of
line. If it is put it down and look at another guitar. The neck should
have a slight bow to it; this is adjusted by turning the truss rod.
Never, ever adjust the truss rod unless you know what you are doing
since it could damage your guitar if you under or over tighten it.
Next,
check out the hardware and electronics. Pick the guitar up and give her
little shake. If you hear something rattling around and you cannot
locate the source of it, put the guitar down and look at another one. If
she has no loose parts plug her into an amp and slowly turn each knob
without playing--listen for crackling and hum--then strum a chord and do
the same to make sure the knobs are functioning. The volume knob should
reduce the signal/volume to the amp without changing the signal/tone,
and the tone knob should change the signal/tone without changing the
signal/volume. Next make sure the pickup selector switch is working
without crackling or loss of volume between pickups. If there are any
electrical problems with the guitar you can negotiate it to be fixed
with purchase, just keep the original parts. By keeping the parts not
only do you know that the work was done, but if you ever resell the
guitar the next buyer may want them.
So
let’s say everything with your dream guitar checks out and you are
ready to buy. I always do a side by side to make sure this is what I
want. Ask your salesperson what the next step up would be; for example,
if you are looking at a Mexican Fender Strat, ask to play the American
built version as well. This does a few things. It lets you play the
guitar your dream axe was meant to sound like and puts pressure on your
sales person. Buy asking to play the one step higher model will make
your sales person think that you’re not all that happy with the guitar
you are looking at and will help when negotiating price.
Now
you have checked out this guitar from headstock to saddle and you have
become one with it. It makes you warm and fuzzy, almost giddy, but in a
rock star kind of way. Before you make an offer, take out your phone and
go to eBay and see what that guitar is selling for. If the price is
right, I would offer the sales person 65% of what they were asking and
take the cash out of my pocket, count it and hand it to my sales person.
I would not expect them to sell it to me for that price, but you never
know--it has happened before. My thought process is that I want a case
and strings for free with my purchase and I’m showing my sales person
that I am a buyer with cash in hand right now. After going back and
forth a few times and negotiating price with freebies -- buy that axe,
take her home and clean her up.
The
first thing I always do is put a new set of strings on her and go
through her with a fine toothed comb to make sure the guitar is in full
working order. Now that she is all yours and the sweat from the last guy
has been cleaned off her, you are ready to name her, diddle her strings till
the wee hours, and pave your path to awesomeness.
Posted 07/2012
Read Part three of this four part editorial series
Paving The Way To Your Dream of Becoming A Rock Star, Step Two - Upgrading Your Guitar ...
Read Part two of this four part editorial series
"Paving The Way To Your Dream of Becoming A Rock Star", Step Two - Learn How To Play Guitar ...Read Part three of this four part editorial series
Paving The Way To Your Dream of Becoming A Rock Star, Step Two - Upgrading Your Guitar ...
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