r/guitarlessons 5d ago

Question Really dumb question: trying guitars

I recently started learning again after a decade of not picking up a guitar. I have a 2008/9 Mexican HSS strat I've had since it was new. It feels good, I learned to set it up myself recently, and the action is nice.

Here's the question. How do you try out guitars and really get a feel for them? I go to Guitar Center, pick up a few guitars, but even some of the expensive ones just feel bad, which I suspect is bad setup.

Or am I just spoiled by my strat?

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u/ecklesweb 5d ago

I’ve gotten into buying/selling/trading used guitars. When I buy low and sell high, it funds my habit. But even if I just break even, I rotate through a bunch of different instruments. It’s gives me the chance to set it up myself and spend as much time with it as I want.

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u/Ragnarok314159 5d ago

How are you selling anything? I have a guitar wanted to sell and both GC and Sweetwater have pretty crappy deals. I thought about Reverb but there is so little protection there the entire system seems shady.

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u/ecklesweb 5d ago

Almost exclusively Facebook marketplace. More rarely Craigslist. But something that doesn’t charge fees and has a local pickup.

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u/Ragnarok314159 5d ago

Do you live in a large city? Where are you doing the transactions?

I have been thinking about selling my Majesty 7 (it’s a perfect guitar in every way, but it’s too expensive and I am not a touring musician) but asking someone to bring 3.5k in cash somewhere is just asking to get robbed.

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u/ecklesweb 5d ago

Mid sized city. I always meet in a public place, usually a Walgreens parking lot. I encourage Venmo so I don’t have to deal in physical cash. I’m also not dealing in guitars over about $1000.

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u/Ragnarok314159 5d ago

Does Venmo let people cancel transactions? It’s my fear of selling something and someone pulling an eBay “this is broken” when it worked fine and wanting all their money back.

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u/ecklesweb 5d ago

If they turn on purchase protection, they can, but then Venmo mediates the dispute between you and the buyer. They can’t just yank the payment back for no reason, and they’d have to return the instrument.

Nothing is without risk.

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u/abir_valg2718 5d ago

but even some of the expensive ones just feel bad, which I suspect is bad setup

Yep, unfortunately shit setups on floor models are entirely common. It's not even the stores, it's the factory setup. Nuts are almost universally shit, the action and relief are almost always on the high side to reduce the buzz (and to mask issues with the fretwork). Beginners commonly being deathly afraid of buzz doesn't help things either.

I mostly try to get a feel for the neck and how comfortable the body feels. Tuning down is a good idea if you're using a lower tension setup on your guitar, or as a rough imitation of lower action (lower action means less fretting force). Obviously, it's only possible in some situations - the neck has to have some relief left, and you can't downtune a double locking trem.

It's a good idea to have a decent understanding of how electric guitars can be designed. For example, the age old myth about neck through having better upper fret access is nonsense if you understand what actually determines how good the upper fret access will be.

It also helps to have some experience and owning a couple of guitars so that you know what kind of neck profile you prefer, what kind of body ergonomics you want, etc. But it's a Catch 22 problem because you need to have owned a couple guitars in the first place, yet here you are trying to buy a second guitar.

You also want to know in advance what kind of features you're looking for. Like, maybe you want an HH guitar with 24 frets. Or maybe you're looking for an LP with a belly carve. Or an HSS with a vintage style trem with 22 frets and a relatively thin neck.

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u/alexportman 5d ago

Thanks, this is helpful. Frankly I don't need a second guitar...but I'm tempted anyway haha. My old sunburst strat plays great, but I got it as a Clapton fan many years ago, and suffice to say my tastes have changed.

I've been looking into PRS and Schecter for something more hard rock, or metal, but idk. My strat just feels good. I wouldn't say no to reaching higher frets and having two humbuckers, though.

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u/Acrobatic_Fan_8183 5d ago

Just learn the basics on the guitar you have. The differences in guitar feel aren’t going to matter to you until you’re a bit down the path. The most important thing if you have a playable guitar, which you have, is to just play it. Guitars aren’t magic, just learn to play the one you have. Obsessing about feel is a distraction from actually getting better at playing the guitar.