Buying A Guitar Without Playing It

Up to present I have always played my guitars first, that I have bought from the local guitar shops, unfortunately there's only one small guitar shop left locally, with very limited stock.
Lucky at present I am quite happy with the guitars that I have.
If and when I decide to have another guitar, not to sure what I will do, as I always do a trade in, so would have to travel to one of the large cities, not something I would look forward to.
Now there is one advantage in buying off the internet, that is when the guitar gets delivered, you have no other guitar to compare it with, so you either like it or you don't.
I have been to guitar shops with over 200 guitars to choose from, with the intention of buying one, but it can take a few weeks, worth of visits, for me to actually make my mind up, then I have second thoughts, and have been known to go back the next day and change the guitar for another one.

I've bought a guitar in an actual store ONCE and even though I though it was the one, after a few days I realized I must have been possessed by some kind of voodoo that tricked me into thinking it was the one. Many of the used ones from CraigsList aren't always what they seem if you are auditioning it outside or in an unfamiliar acoustical environment.

I'm sure we've all had it happen. I think the only way to find "The One" is to bring your current favorite, with an idea of what you'd like to hear that's better than it, and do a direct comparison. Then you may realize, like I do with my vintage Yamaha's, that either there's nothing in the store that sounds better, or the price is 10X what what your current favorite guitar cost. And you (hopefully) walk out satisfied that you didn't make an unnecessary guitar purchase.

When I bought my Eastman mandolin, I did take my oval holed Washburn to the store to comparison play it. I played the same thing on all of the mandolins I tried and decided on the one I bought.

Here are my old Washburn 2 point that I bought after Don Skuce of Ed's Music Workshop told me to take it down by the Otonabee River and try it out for a few hours, the octave mando that my wife bought on line from Mandolin Brothers and the Eastman that I bought at The Twelfth Fret.  I love 'em all, but don't believe I need any more mandolins.

The other variable are the woods the guitar is made from.  A variation in density or grain tightness has to have some effect on the final sound.  

And another is your ears!!  I know I have days where my guitars just don't sound right to me.  If I pick one up and it sounds off I'll just put it down.

I have yet to ever play two guitars that sounded the same, even the exact same model.

There will always be a "Better" one. I want to be able to pick the one I think is better.

Maybe I have said it before, but my rule:

Never mail order boots, guitars or a wife...

I have done it a few times. The first time was when I bought my Gibson Howard Roberts Fusion off of Ebay back in 2003 - Great transaction. Second guitar was a Gibson Les Paul Tribute that I bought from GC on the East Coast. Also a great transaction. I have bought a few other instruments such as my Electric Mandolin and my Kauer Titan. On my Kauer Titan, I know the owner and I have played other guitars that had manufactured. Just Quality Instruments!!!

I've had mixed experiences.

The Artist Mosaic I bought unseen turned out to be a factory second model, but it was sold to me as a "brand new guitar from the factory". I paid a very reasonable price and had I seen that guitar in a store at that price, and had known it was a factory second, I would still have bought it. It was a great guitar. However, I was so duped in the transaction that it made me very weary of doing the unseen/unplayed thing. I was pretty upset about being misled in this sin of ommision.

But I took another chance, and bought a Fret King Elise GG electric guitar without playing it. When I got it there was a buzz on the low E, which the seller was apparently not aware of. It took some investment to get that guitar right, including putting a shim in the nut. But the luthier was top notch and he got that guitar playing like butter. It had a really great sound, but the pickup configuration was just too complicated for me. In the end I got my money back including what I spent on the setup. I was lucky as I sold it to a friend, and he still loves it to this day. Again, no major harm done, but enough to make me weary.

My wife bought me a cheap Cort strat from a pawn shop as a surprise birthday present. I had seen it in the window but didnt play it. Buzz on low E. We were both bummed but returned to shop, and got money back. Then went out and spent 10 times what that instrument cost on a great Tele, and have never looked back. My Tele is my favorite guitar.



My current guitars I have all played before I bought. But with all of them, I did not test them to death or over think them when playing. I do a lot of research first into what I think I need or what I want. But in the moment of purchase, I just want to make sure the thing plays well, feels good and doesnt sound like tin. So far it's worked for me. I am enjoying the 2 acoustics, 1 electric and 1 bass I currently have.