Buying A Guitar Without Playing It
Oct 31, 2018 14:38:51 GMT -5
Derick, Stud Muffin, and 1 more like this
Post by Deleted on Oct 31, 2018 14:38:51 GMT -5
This is where the consistency and reliability of guitars that are made by CNC machines (for the most part anyways, all acoustics have to be hand built to a point) that was spoken about in a different thread comes in as a big UP side.
You just cannot replicate the consistency of machining when doing things by hand. Too many variables to account for. You just cannot know to a certain degree what you're going to get.
I've only bought 2 guitars unseen and unplayed. One was a Seagull and the other was the last Alvarez I bought. Both were exactly what I expected and more due to having tried other models that were available to play.
Personally, I'm a play-before-I-buy kind of guy, but I make the exception if I can play a bunch of that brand's product, but maybe just not the exact model I want. As long as the brand has shown it has that consistency that I can trust, I'm ok with ordering sight unseen.
You still get the odd little surprise, but nothing radical. My cheap Alvarez all lam dread for instance, I just bought that as a practice guitar that I can kick around and not worry about. The longer I have it, the more I swear I have a decent Martin when not thinking about what it actually is. That was a very nice surprise as most Alvarezes I had tried, to me, were more Taylor like.
Of course the other side of the coin is there too. For some, not knowing what you're going to get is sometimes the most fun. So, different strokes for different folks.
Anyway, that is what I have gleaned from all that I have read. As with most any other product that has a wide price range, for some, these differences will be worth the extra money, and for others, it won't. For me, my Huss & Dalton was purchased on the overall feel of the guitar, which I had yet to find in any guitar. It was the instrument itself, rather than the maker or anything else, and I have not any regrets about getting it.
As for "tyr before you buy", that is always how I have done it. I can't say that I have necessarily had any better luck than anybody who buys sight unseen, since it took quite some time to really nail down and find what I wanted. Each guitar I have owned has helped further define what I really wanted, so that when I finally found it, I recognized it for what it was. I focus on how the guitar feels and plays, that it in no way inhibits my ability to get the music out, rather than price or looks or brand.
Tony