New or Used

[Dugger]

Call me anal, but new is the ONLY way to go. In fact, I won't even buy a 'new' guitar hanging up on the wall in my local music store. I've watched too many people bang them on amps, and generally mistreat them. Most times guys pull an axe off the wall just to test an amp, and don't really care how they treat the guitar they're using.

I always have my dealer order my guitars, and he always keeps the factory box sealed, so my little tiny digits are the first to touch the guitar out of the factory. I know my dealer hates me, because sometimes they already have what I'm looking for on the floor, but I'll ask them to order me a new one anyway.

Who wants to play something with someone else's sweat and funk all over it? You might as well go up and lick another guy's armpit while your at it.

My buddy and I have polar views on the whole new vs. "gently pre-owned" debate. He'll buy his clothes at thrift shops, and will only buy used guitars and amps, because they have 'character'. He had his acoustic stolen a while ago, but he recently got it back. If it were me, I'd rather it stay lost.

Buying a used guitar is like marrying the only girl in town. You know she's got a lot of history, and you don't ever want to know about it.

 

[mcclassic]

I buy both, mainly used, reason is price on those but I will buy new if it got the tone and also the looks and of course a good price I can't refuse...

 

[SteveB]

I've only purchased new guitars, but I'm not opposed to buying one used, especially if I know its history.

 

[Adwex]

I've only bought used guitars. So far it was the only way to get the right guitar at the right price. The last, and most expensive one, I got on ebay. I got a good deal on a great guitar. The one before that, I got from a co-worker. The one before that I got from a newspaper classified ad. I've been lucky to get good deals on all of them. I don't care if someone else played it already.

Adam

 

[hbucker]

I have no problem with either. I've bought new and used. My general philosophy however is: "If it's worth owning, it's worth buying used".

Of course it has to be in acceptable condition. That being said, I've saved lots and lots of $$$ through the years by buying decent used stuff. If you know what you're looking at you can tell the difference between use and abuse.

Buying used can be tricky since what you want isn't always available. I think buying new many times is paying extra for the convenience. Having several of one product to sort through and evaluate. Of course there is the clean factor. New stuff looks and smells nice. But really, if my EBMM guitar is somehow not worthy of my use because it's got a couple of years under it's belt with a different owner, how rugged could that guitar be in the first place? I'd like to think my gear will be alive and kicking 50 years from now. How is that possible if it's devalued simply because some other player has used it before me?

If it hasn't been abused, it's still a good piece of gear.

 

[phatduckk]

im a new gear guy ... i do own 1 used guitar but i got it from a good friend who i know for sure took care of the axe as well, probably better, than i would

 

[Tim O'Sullivan]

New and used. Depends on the deal!

 

[PugNinjas]

There's something about purchasing a new guitar, especially when you have extensively tried out the models you want but need that new one right out of the box. Plus it's nice when your new 'baby' is not tainted with a pimply faced teens version of Smoke on the Water

 

[Jimi D]

Where's the "either/both" button? I'm not voting, 'cause half my Axes were bought new and the others were picked up used, and I love them all...

 

[GWDavis28]

I'm with Jimi here on this one. I'd buy either way, as Tim said "It depends on the deal".

Glenn |B)

 

[Jonny Dubai]

Amp wise I dont mind used cause u cant realy "play it in". Guitar wise, more of a new man. I like to be the one who gives my guitar a "played in" feel.

Although


Mint would do...


Jonny

 

[Funky Chicken]

I'm pretty open minded about new vs. used gear. It usually comes down to what's available when I'm in the market.
The 2 guitars I bought this year would have been difficult if not impossible to find used. I could have held out until someone decided to sell their Rosewood Super Sport (and it looks like a fair number of people who bought 'em new are doing so), but I stumbled onto mine by accident and bought it on the spot, not knowing how many there would or wouldn't be. The other guitar was a Steve Morse in Buttercream-as far as I can tell, the dealer I bought it from ordered the ONLY 2 Morses that were made in that color, so picking up a used one was never going to be an option. I had wanted a Morse for a LOOOONNNNGGG time, but I wasn't ever going to buy a blueburst and the other finishes I could have ordered never excited me enough to pull the trigger.
I also bought a new amp this year. It's a Bogner Shiva combo, an amp that is a bit hard to find and (for me at least) a very big investment. I found a used one at a dealer who had sold it new, and it didn't have a mark on it. I saved about 15% over a new one, and got it locally right away as opposed to having one shipped to me and risking the wrath of UPS.