[fretboard]

Been used lately - couple PRS and a Matchless amp were the last few "used" items, although the amp and one of the PRS were spotless and basically in unused condition.

I'm lucky in that I'm past the point of "needing" this or that to get my sound or the look I'm after or whatever - spent over a year casually looking for my first PRS and wound up buying a '94 CE 24 (with birds) with some honest wear but nothing close to damage for a great price - certainly less than half of a new CE24 without the birds.

Effects and recording gear I'll get new, and I've had some great luck with a couple new Godin's I bought at a place that had just opened and seemed to be giving the stuff away...

Gotta agree that patience is the key buying used - keep the impulse buys to new, with receipts and return policies...

 

[Robboman]

Looks like EVERYONE here prefers used (me too). So, who's buying the new stuff? Without which we wouldn't have a used market? With guitar gear it's about getting the best, not the latest. The latest is often NOT the best. Maybe MORE often.

The internet has changed everything though. In the past if you wanted something rare and esoteric, you had almost no chance of finding a used one. Occasionally you'd find one in your local market and had good odds you could buy it CHEAP, either because the seller doesn't know it's value or because there's not many local buyers for something so rare and esoteric.

Today you can find anything used on Ebay, if not the forums. The selection is great, but it's getting harder all the time to find really good deals on used stuff. Anyone who can click a mouse knows exactly what everything is 'worth' in realtime, and the market is worldwide.

 

[Robert1950]

Of the used items I have, I bought one at store, four off eBay, two from this forum and two from Craigslist. That means eight from the internet and one the old frashion way.

 

[Strat-O-Mechanical]

I seem to be the contradictory person here. I have two vintage fender amps that I obviously bought used. Beyond that, everything I own was purchased new. I think this is due to the lack of a second hand market in my direct area. I tend to travel to various guitar stores and try everything on the wall just for fun. If something catches my attention, it usually comes home with me. If there were a more convenient place for me to sit down and try used guitars, I might buy more. I don't like the idea of buying a guitar without first playing it.

Now that I've started perusing internet forums, my gear purchasing habits may end up revolutionized.

 

[david henman]

...see below

 

[david henman]

Looks like EVERYONE here prefers used (me too). So, who's buying the new stuff?

...me.

whenever possible, i will ALWAYS buy used.

however, the advantage of buying new can be summed up in one word: financing.

for those of us unable to come up with large cash outlays, that word is magical.

-dh

 

[torndownunit]

...me.

whenever possible, i will ALWAYS buy used.

however, the advantage of buying new can be summed up in one word: financing.

for those of us unable to come up with large cash outlays, that word is magical.

-dh

Exactly. Back when I was gigging more, financing and warranties were a little more important. Mainly with amps in my case.

Over the years I managed to collect a lot of gear though. A lot of it through garage saling. Some of it is 'keeper' stuff and some of it is stuff that I know I could likely trade/sell down the road. That's what happens when you buy the right stuff in the first place. I rarely ever have to drop a large some of cash on gear because I just do trades or sell some of the gear that I have decided I don't want. Basically gear is a hobby for me as well.

With some careful used buying, you can always come out on top. The investments are worth it. Back in highschool (early 90's for me) I spent $500, which was a HUGE sum of money for me, on a 1981 Dean E'Lite Deluxe. It turned out to be a rare model and it's now worth close to $2000 USD.

 

[jimmy peters]

buying used

one thing , i think a lot of you guys are forgetting about, is on a used guitar the wood has had more of a chance to dry out, averting a lot of problems, esspecialy necks warping.
also if they have been played , they will sound better.
GIVE ME USED EVERY TIME.

 

[sesroh]

the thing with me is I'm kind of picky when it comes to used stuff unless it's quite old. I hate to see gear that's only a year old that hasnt been taken good care of. here's my gear story so far;

First used gear I bought was a Fender Performer 1000 combo from L&M and after the first day it started acting up and I had to take it back to have repaired. that was fun! it worked fine after. I traded that for a Marshall AVT50H. That head murdered the performer 1000 in sound quality.

I had a behringer 4X12 that i bought used which was rubbish and sold it about 4 months later.

I had a used marshall 1965A cabinet that I had with the behringer. I then sold that because it was dented and the grill had a hole in it. so in other words, i didnt really have any respect for it when i sold it even though it sounded amazing just because it was a bit ugly.

Then I bought a mint condition Orange 2X12 cabinet used which is a total keeper and couldn't be happier with it.

I bought my 54 strat used and love it.

I traded my used AVT50H in for store credit and bought an Orange Tiny Terror new.


I'd say most of the stuff I've bought used I havn't been completely happy with. but some of the things are gems.