Buying Guitars Mail-order or On-line, do ya?

What do you think of getting your axe shipped to you?

  • I never do it, never will

    Votes: 29 18.7%

  • I have done it once and will never do it again because ___________ (please explain)

    Votes: 14 9.0%

  • It's a great option and it worked well for me and I say, "do it."

    Votes: 88 56.8%

  • I want to but I'm not sure if it's a good idea

    Votes: 24 15.5%
  • Total voters
    155
I've done it both ways, in the process of building my "WMD (Weapons of Musical Destruction) arsenal." My Squier Bullet Special, Fender So-Cal Speed Shop Strat and Fender Standard Precision bass all came from Musician's Friend, while my Epiphone PR100 I bought from a long time IRC chat buddy from Pennsylvania.

With the Fender So-Cal Speed Shop Strat being the same basic configuration as the Squier Bullet Special (and the Fender Tom DeLonge Blink 182 Strat), I knew it'd be a better guitar than the Squier, and once I started jamming on it, I realized that the Squier can't even hold a candle to the Fender. That'll soon be fixed, as soon as I have the chance to get the Squier to the local shop to have the factory original humbucker replaced by a TV Jones PowerTron. When I bought the Squier from Musician's Friend, it wasn't like I didn't know what I was getting into. I'd tried one out at the (now defunct) Mars Planet through several combo amps, including a Fender Twin Reverb (and almost knocked myself out of my shoes and socks, with that one), and was truly amazed at the sounds coming from the amps.

Right now, I'm taking a bit of a break from my guitar collecting, but when I get back to it, I'm planning to order one of the ocean blue Ibanez Artcore AFS75s through the same shop I'm taking several of my guitars to, for upgrades/repairs. This is the same place where I've bought my Ibanez Artcore AG75TBS, and Ibanez JTK2 Jet King.

Pretty much, if I have a clue what the guitar's s'pposed to sound like, I'm not beyond ordering if from a source such as Musician's Friend. If I haven't yet picked around on a particular brand/model, I usually eventually wander to the nearest store that stocks 'em, and give it a test drive.

Matt
 
brad murray said:
My brother bought me a Guild on-line for graduation. When I finally recieved
the guitar I was impressed that the guitar was packed well however there
was a large crack at the base of the stock where it meets the base of the
body. So now I'm looking for ways to repair it without paying some guy in
a music store whose going to charge me more than what the guitars worth.
If any one has any advice please let meknow.
Click to expand...

send it back and get your money back?
 
at first, i thought that if i got a cheap guitar sent to me, it would be ok b/c it's cheap and if it wasn't so great in the long run, i didn't loose much.

But now I think that if you get a cheap guitar ordered and sent, then if there is any problem, it's not WORTH repairing or sending it back and forth.

So only get a better quality instrument sent to you because 1. the price of shipping back and forth if there is a problem is tiny compared to the price of the instrument and 2. the quality is going to be better, in theory, on a higher priced instrument, 3. with the better quality, there is less of a chance that you will have a problem instead of more of a chance with a lower, or very, or lowest price instrument. 4. with a higher quality to start with, you are in for fewer problems later on becuase of changes it might be going thru in terms of the environment it is in - heat, cold, humidity, etc, and the finish and the build. like if it is more solid and well-built, it might react less, might have 2 truss rods, like the Ric, might have laminated, thus stronger necks, might have a heavier finish and react less to humity, moisture, wear less from friction, or actually look better, possibly sound better too. However, 5 - and this one is interesting, i don't really see prices on-line being cheaper than in stores, like GC and MF always have the same prices. also, in the store, you might be able to use a coupon, or talk someone down, or find a perfectly set up instrument, OTOH you pay taxes vs. shipping, 6. the delay and shipping could really suck and be a really long time and you have to be there to take deivery.

so i just got a good deal at CG inthe store w/ a coupon on a quality bass, but i got the case delivered, it has a crushed corner, but i don't care, and it wasn't available in the store....so i have no conclusion, but i'm not interested in taking a chance anymore, i want it now!! ;)
 
My second on-line guitar buying experience went well also. Last December I hooked into the 1964 "USA" Epiphone Sheraton deal. A top of the line Epi ($3400.00 list) for $999.00 from MF. Arrived perfectly set up and tuned. Well, ok, one of the strings was down a half step.

Two outta two, so far.
 
I bought a Ibanez from American Musical Supply when I was 16 and it arrived in perfect shape and I didn't even buy a case.
I also recently bought a Line 6 Variax and it too showed up perfect(Minus a neck adjustment) and also I didn't buy a case.
I now own a Carvin AC-275 mail order.....

Most places have a return policy and insurance should anything happen.

But I would recommend not buying one in the dead of winter.
My cousin bought an acoustic from musicians friend last winter and it showed with the pickguard and bridge completely fallen off.

-Blaze
 
I have two guitars that I got by mail order recently - a Gibson Melody Maker dual-pickup (from Musician's Friend), and a Guitar Fetish Strat clone.

No issues with either one. No damage, both came in about 5 business days. The Melody Maker needed a little setup work, and the other may too, but very minor in either case.

Notice that these are both very cheap guitars, dollar-wise. I wanted to see how it went with mail-order guitars before getting into anything very valuable.

So far so good.
 
pikingrin said:
I will never buy one online or through a catalog, because if I can't feel it before I buy it, I can never be assured that it will feel right and/or sound right to me. Better safe than sorry...
Click to expand...
Somebody on this board kept mail-ordering a particular model and sending it back and re-ordering until he found "the one."

If the company with which you are dealing has a free return policy, then it's a no-risk proposition.
 
Until recently, all my guitars and basses were bought at garage sales or thrift stores, with the exception of a flamenco guitar I bought new in Spain in 1967. Most were under $5, and I fixed/spiffed them and sold them off. Several I've kept - a mint condition Gibson Marauder with original case for $100, and good condition Ibanez Rocket Roll in original (very fucked up) case for $60. I traded a Yamaha FG150 I'd bought for $40 for a Sears 10HP snowblower a few months ago - got to prepare for winter.

In the last 2 years I've bought 3 squareneck resonaters ($129 each), 3 dreadnaught style acoustics ($50 each), and a fretless bass ($129) online from Musicians Friend. There have been some delivery issues, but I'm completely satisified with the quality of the instruments (in the el cheapo range, but good sound, construction and playability at twice the price).

That said, if I were going to buy anything over the $200 - $300 range, I would definitely need to play before buying, or, at the least, be able to return it with 100% refund and free shipping.
 
Since my last reply, I've bought 2 from AMS, using their payment plan. First was my Gibson Les Paul Faded Double Cut, which when it arrived surprised me by having a bit more "oomph" out of the P90s than the ones I'd tried at GC. Next was an Epiphone EB3 SG Bass, and it arrived with a broken 3-way switch. I e-mailed AMS, who sent me a shipping label, so all I really had to do was drop it off at the nearest UPS pickup site. The replacement EB3 arrived in sound condition, and plays just like a long scale EB3 Bass should play.

I'd forgot to mention, in my last reply, that I also bought my Epiphone Les Paul Jr. 90 from Musician's Friend, and I bought that one completely on a whim - thought to myself "huh, that should sound interesting, with a single P90 instead of a single humbucker," like the Fender and Squier I've already mentioned. When that one arrived, I was blown away by the tones I got out of it. Both of my Les Pauls will eventually be modified with Bigsby B5 vibratos, roller bridges and locking tuners, with the Epiphone also going to get a Gibson P90 pickup.

Matt
 
all I have to say is....Dent and Scratch, and good savings. I've only bought three guitars on-line; an acoustic, Iby Jem and an American Pbass which came two days ago, the Jem and Pbass were both dns from AMS, couldn't find a thing in the Jem, but took me a week to set it up, no prob saved big...the Pbass had a mar behind headstock 1/4 inch long and didn't need anything cept new set strings, saved big time...I am a UPS junkie haha
 
I bought my bass online, but that's more because I'm not a great bassist and itwas cheap bass, I just needed something to lay down bass tracks, and itwould be a while before I could get to a shop due to work. It seemed easier to order it online and have it sent to work. If it was a guitar it would be a different matter. It ws an Ibanez too, and their QC is pretty good. In fact I got a call to say it was going to be a day later because of the QC checks they needed to do. So I wasn't worried about that.
 
I'd mail order a cheap looker for the stage but otherwise no not unless I'd tried one out first.
 
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i bought a strat off ebay and asked the guy point blank did the guitar have any flaws in the neck..He said no and that was a lie:mad:
 
I have bought several on line with success
I would suggest not to buy from Rondo because they sell junk IMO
guitar Fetish Xavier guitars are nice
i have bought from a couple of dealers on Ebay who had good axes
The Jay Turser hollow body bass I bought a couple of years back is still my go to bass and probably the least expensive instrument I own besides the Rogue LX400 Pro I bought from Musicians Friend.
 
Since 2004, loads of stuff - drums, cymbals, drum mic clips, electric and acoustic bass guitars, condenser mics, guitar & keyboard cases, guitar amp, recording software, laptop, MIDI keyboard, samples, multitrack........and no problems thus far.
 
I would do it only if the supplier had a money back return policy inside 45 days or whatever. I've done that with a classical guitar. The feel has to be right, otherwise I don't want to live with a guitar. There are certain builders that I might trust sight unseen. Then again, the good classical guitar builders couldn't care less if you return their guitar because they will have no problem selling it elsewhere and you were probably on a wait list to begin with.

As for electrics, I generally go to the store and only buy a guitar if I think it is a ringer. My American strat is a ringer IMO. Plays absolutely beautifully. Don't think I would order a Fender product sight unseen.
 
Make sure the shipper loosens the guitar strings. Make sure!!! Otherwise, when the UPS guy spikes the box end first, the whip tension/compression of the strings will snap the headstock clean off! (at least with Gibsons)

Also - get insurance, and try and make sure that you, the receiver, are a direct beneficiary - that is, able to make a claim directly. Otherwise, you'll be chasing the shipper (who didn't loosen the strings) to do it.

Pretty much plan to get it set up and basically overhauled, but again, that's true with most (but, OK, not all) guitars.

The two electric guitars I play the most came in the mail, btw. I also live very close to a very good luthier, and if I didn't, things might be different.
 
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