søndag 19. april 2009

Buying Fender Acoustic Guitars Online

This article summarizes how and where to look for Fender acoustic guitars.

When you're seeking Fender acoustic guitars to buy online, it's important that you don't get ripped off. What this means for you is, on the one hand you do want to find the best deal and the Internet is a great way of doing that; but on the other hand, you might end up buying a Fender acoustic that you never tried out, plus you need to remember that when it comes to musical instruments you get what you pay for. You may get a lot more than you pay for if you shop at an online auction site such as eBay, and there are ways of ensuring that you do not get ripped off, such as checking the seller rating. A seller with a good rating is just like buying from a store with a good reputation.

Needless to say, one pretty safe way of shopping online for Fender acoustic guitars is to go to the Fender website. If you do this, you can search for Fender-approved dealers in your local area that you can visit either online or in person. You really don't have to worry much about getting ripped off by these guys. However, keep in mind the rule of thumb that under normal circumstances you don't want to buy an acoustic guitar for less than $400. You can find plenty of them that are less than that, but they are not of high quality construction or design--not even if they do say "Fender". You will be compromising sound and physical playing quality by going cheap. However, there are ways of going cheap on price without going cheap on quality.

Now, you can find good Fender acoustic guitars online for under $400, but you have to take some special steps. One of these would be to shop at eBay or another online auction house. Allthough you do have to act with caution when shopping online, eBay remains one of the safest online auction market places on the internet. Use common sense, and you won't have too much to worry about. Another method is to do an Internet lookup for individuals selling a Fender acoustic guitar. You can check online classified ads, Craig's List, and so forth. But once again, you run the risk of paying more for something than you should while trying to save money--and that means you would probably end up getting ripped off, either by accident by some ignorant person or on purpose by some low-life person. So eBay is probably a better idea, as eBay has a seller rating system so you can know that you are shopping from a seller with a high approval rating.

If you are looking for an unused guitar, you may want to check out some other places as well; if nothing else just to compare prices. Musician's Friend is a good site for this. They are like a huge musical instrument and equipment warehouse, and because they have so much volume they can sell most of their merchandise for less than the manufacturer's suggested retail price. There are also plenty of hands-on reviews of instruments and equipment at their website. They will ship what you buy right to your door. And sometimes, they give you free shipping. Check it out as they are known for low prices on new guitars. If you find a cheaper one of a similar model on eBay, you know that you are getting a good price. Give it some time, and check eBay again. You may find a better price in a week or a month. Otherwise, you can be confident that you are getting a good price on Musician's Friend.

Take your time, compare prices. It is the only way you can know that you got a good price on your Fender Acoustic Guitar.

Buying Gibson Acoustic Guitars Safely Online

If you're looking for Gibson acoustic guitars online, you want to walk a fine line. On the one hand you want to get the best guitar at the best price to suit your needs and tastes. On the other hand, you sure don't want to get ripped off.

Generally speaking, you want to follow the rule that you don't pay less than $400 for Gibson acoustic guitars if you buy from the usual retail dealer. "Beginner" and "student" guitars are made by Gibson to satisfy market demand, but you need to be a more intelligent guitar buyer and never pay for such junk. You get what you pay for, and those and other cheap guitar models cost only a couple hundred dollars or so because you are not getting a great-sounding instrument that has been built to last. Gibson acoustic guitars can, needless to say, be very high quality, but in order to get that quality you have to be willing to pay the price. Having said that, if you are uncertain as to whether you will continue playing, you could of course start out with a cheap student guitar and upgrade as you see the need.

But, what if you just don't have the budget? Yes, there are ways of getting quality Gibsons for less money--such as going to online auctions. But, here is where you must be very careful not to get ripped off. Rules of thumb for the online auctions such as eBay:

*If you see any Gibsons that you think look really good, research them before you place a bid. You can contact Gibson's customer service and you can research online as well.

*If it says vintage, you should check if it was a good model. A vintage poor model is no better than any other. You see, all guitars are by definition vintage of the year they were made.

*If it says it wasn't played much, try to find out why not--and, what was it used for then? Also, check the seller's rating. Don't buy from a seller with a consistently low rating. However, if the seller has a high overall rating, you are highly unlikely to get ripped off.

*If it says "antique", so what? Is it antique quality or antique garbage? Again, do your research, and you will find whether it is a good model. It may be as simple as typing the model name in your favorite search engine and read the first few hits on it.

Now, as I've mentioned, Gibson acoustic guitars tend to be very high quality--and what this means for you is, if you insist upon getting a Gibson, you should be ready to lay out some good money for one. The majority of Gibson acoustics are "high end" and will cost far in excess of the $400 minimum rule that you should abide by. You have to be pretty serious about your playing if you want one of these.

There are sites that will give you information and good deals on new Gibson acoustic guitars. Musician's Friend is one such site. If you are looking to buy used or cheap, eBay is still going to get you a better deal, but Musician's Friend is worth a try just for doing your research. Also, you may find eBay affiliated auction sites such as http://gibsonacousticguitars.usacousticguitarstore.om, which trade only in Gibson Acoustic Guitars. US Acoustic Guitar Store also has at least one article useful to you if you are researching Gibson Acoustic Guitars.

Safely Buying Yamaha Acoustic Guitars Online

This article gives you a few hints as to how to find a good price on a Yamaha Acoustic Guitar online



If you go shopping for Yamaha acoustic guitars online, you need to be cautious. Things aren't always what they seem online when it comes to certain things--like buying guitars.

Of course, you could always stay on the safe side and only shop for Yamaha acoustic guitars online at the Yamaha website. If not them, you could shop for the guitar you want online at the sites of known and respected musical instrument retailers. But, if you do this, keep in mind the rule that you don't want to spend less than $400 on your guitar.

The thing is, many of you are looking for a guitar that costs less than $400. You may be beginners, or you may have children who are just getting into the guitar. You feel that it's not justified to spend too much money on this Yamaha acoustic guitar that you're looking to get. With that in mind, how can you locate the instrument you want within the price range you want while looking online for it? For many people, the answer becomes: "eBay".

It's true that eBay is a great option for anyone who wants to find cheap acoustic guitars for sale at a lower than usual price. But this is where the note of caution comes in. You see, Yamaha has produced nearly 800 different models of acoustic guitar. Some are higher end, some are lower end. Some are steel-strung, others are nylon-strung "classical" instruments. Still others are electro-acoustic guitars. Therefore, before you shop online at eBay for the guitar, you first need to do some background research and know the guitar that you're looking for.

You can contact Yamaha's customer service department for help in this area. You can also contact them to help you if you see what looks like a promising Yamaha guitar online at eBay but aren't sure if seeing can be believing. The people at Yamaha customer service should have all this information available. Sometimes, if you are looking at a guitar line that has been discontinued, you may need to let them know that so they will know where to search for it. The information should be available to them in any case, and in turn available to you. Wikipedia will also provide some details on the most famous product lines. But rely on Wikipedia as just one reference as anyone can post items there.. Check out online guitar magazines and ask local retailers if they know anything about a prospective Yamaha guitar that you might see listed. You may also find useful articles on eBay affiliated online auction houses, as they often specialize on a single product. One example of such a site is http://yamahaacousticguitars.usacousticguitarstore.com.

Secondly, when comparing and considering prices of the Yamaha acoustic guitar, and when looking at others' bids, remember that the following factors are what drive the price:


*The guitar's age
*The guitar's quality of construction
*The guitar's condition
*Yamaha's suggested retail price when it was new
*The rarity of the particular model
*Personal taste



And finally, keep a sharp lookout for certain auctions and amateur salesman's buzzwords that should send up warning signs for you--to either not bid too high, or to not buy at all:

*"Vintage": Sounds impressive, but it may be meaningless. Every instrument is "vintage" of the year it was made. So if you go for a vintage guitar, make sure it is vintage of a year that is known for a good model.

*"Antique": Only a quality guitar ages and gets better like a fine wine. An originally cheap guitar just ages into vinegar. So just like the vintage buzzword, you need to check out if the model is a good one.

*"Rare": Yamaha hand-crafted guitars might be rare. Never-exported and pre-exported models are rare. But most Yamaha acoustic guitars were made for mass production, and they are definitely not rare. You can easily find out whether a guitar is rare by typing the model name into your favorite search engine and read up on the first few results. Again, it comes back to research.

*"Made by Nippon Gakki": No, this is not some secluded Japanese master luthier. It's merely a manufacturing facility for mass produced Yamaha guitars. It may to some be a mark of quality, but this one should not be emphasized too much.

*"Only played once": The implication is, it's in mint condition. But the real question is: if it only got played once, what's wrong with it? Ask the seller why they got rid of it. You may find a good deal here as people may get guitars as gifts and never use them or even decide to buy one and then come to realize that they don't want to spend the time learning. However, if they don't have a good reason for getting rid of it, be careful, as the guitar may be damaged or simply no good. If you use Amazon, eBay or an eBay affiliate, you can check the seller's rating. A high seller's rating will tell you that you can trust the seller.

So, there you have the lowdown on getting the best pricing while shopping for Yamaha acoustic guitars online. Stay alert and you'll get a great deal.

fredag 8. august 2008

Cheap Acoustic Guitars Review

Cheap Acoustic Guitars

The guitar is possibly the world’s most popular instrument in rock, pop or light western music today. The guitar’s fame is largely owed to Elvis Presley, whose iconic images almost always show him singing with a guitar in his hands. So never mind if your voice doesn’t match Elvis – don’t sing, strum a guitar and make good music!

Acquiring and wrapping your fingers around your own, personal guitar to get its ‘feel’ is always a good idea. We recommend you to go in for a used acoustic guitar. Here’s what, why and how…

Unlike, say, an electric guitar, an acoustic guitar neither needs nor uses any external devices to enhance its sound volume and quality. Remember, guitars are seldom played solo. They’re played along with other, often noisy, instruments. Naturally, if you’re the guitarist you want to be distinctly heard by and be properly audible to the audience. You might not be blasting away like the trumpeter but, nevertheless, you want the melody of the music you’re making to be picked up straight away.

It is to help you fulfill this perfectly legitimate aspiration that we suggest you begin your music-making with not just an acoustic guitar but specifically a used acoustic guitar. Why? Because thanks to its earlier use by another guitarist, whether professional or amateur, the used acoustic guitar is more likely than not to have already ‘found’ its fully formed voice. With the passage of time a wood-based musical instrument like a guitar (or violin, for that matter) sheds the brittleness of its timber and becomes soft and mellowed with the cleaning up and rubbing with oil that comes with its proper maintenance. In a used acoustic guitar somebody else has already done the rubbing up for you! Besides, you’re likely to spend only half the cost of a brand new instrument – so it’s a bargain all the way!

Fine, so where can you find used acoustic guitars for sale? To start with, you’ll have to be certain that the acoustic guitar for sale won’t land you conned into buying an instrument you wouldn’t want. Generally, the used guitar could be one of four kinds: old used, new used, refurbished and needs work.

Your best choice would be in finding an old used acoustic guitar for sale that’s ten years old or even older. A new used one would be fewer than five years old. If you’re lucky, you’ll find factory seconds or refurbished guitars on recent models. You must know what you’re buying: Is the neck twisted or bent? Is the neck joint flush to the body of the guitar? (It ought to be so.) Is it plastic or wood? (Wood is definitely better.) Do you have to change the strings? (If so, you can’t test the sound.)

Online, you’ll find cheap acoustic guitars of all categories. Look for sellers who have sold acoustic guitars before and have positive feedbacks. So now you know your what, why and how. Happy strumming!