How NOT to buy an electric guitar

This article could have been named “How to buy an electric guitar” but it isn’t. It isn’t because I have no clue about which would be those great things to check when buying an electric guitar, because I consider that no matter what, the sound comes before anything. I just know that I tried to find out from the internet, I have tried to follow my heart and still I can not make up my mind. So I have named my article How NOT to buy an electric guitar! So:

For a long time, I am a big fan of Ibanez electric guitars. I just love Ibanez guitars, for me they are like the best thing a guitar player can have. Of course, if you love electric guitars, you have such a fetish too for some brand or an other

So, after fantasizing about Joe Satriani’s models and about Vai’s JEM 7V I lowered my expectations a bit and I kind of made up my mind about what guitar should I buy. I decided on Ibanez RGX350DX, white as milk and beautiful. It won in front of Ibanez S520EX which was my next choice. However, I could not just buy it without listening to it. Unfortunately, here in Romania, there are not too many places you can go to really test an electric guitar before buying and more than this, to test a particular model would be kind of a great chance.

Anyway, one day, while in Bucharest (capital of Romania, that is) I entered such a store because I never resist to not enter there as often as possible. So, among all those guitar shops and other musical gear, it was a promotional stand of Carvin electric guitars where the stand operator was trying to install the gear. I stopped for a few seconds to look around and he approached me asking me if I would like to try one. The look of the guitars presented there did not attract me at all, the shape seemed to me like not fitting my personality and style, plus that none of the electric guitars displayed there had a double locking tremolo, which from the start disqualified them. (Please, all those Fender and Gibson fans ouththere, don’t blame me yet, let me finish, please!! And by the way, I have observed that the guitar in this picture here has one, but those guitars had a single locking mechanism) So, I didn’t like the look and feel of Carvin’s guitars that much, I really wanted that Ibanez guitar. Then, what is the reason for which I stopped at Carvin’s stand? The make it yourself guitar kit was the reason, I was looking at that unpolished guitar body and at the neck and all the keys there…a great toy for an electric guitar lover!

So, the guy approached me asking me if I want to play one. At the beginning I didn’t, thinking “what’s the point”, but he insisted a bit so I gave it a try. He handed me one guitar made from those make it yourself kits, so a cheaper version. Without too much interest I started to play a few blues notes…and some kind of sunshine suddenly appeared, I was just astonished! The sound was great, pure and clear, with all those sparkling trebles that were so close to Fender’s sound, so I tried a few notes more. The guy said, ok, give me that guitar back and handed me an other one, this time was one that was more expensive and made right from the fabric, not from a make it yourself guitar kit. While playing it, I just felt I need to have one, it sounded pure, it sounded like the heart and soul of rhythm and blues…

The guy took this one back too and gave me an other one even more expensive, some kind of premium version and the sound was even better…

I left the stand with a hole in my heart since I realized I can not afford one, at least not the last 2 that I played on. I didn’t feel like I wanted to see the rest of the store anymore, but just because I was at the bottom of the stairs, I went up a bit.

And there it was, the Ibanez RG350DX, white as I knew it, beautiful and sharp. I asked it for a sound check, the guy installed it and I played on it a bit…I felt like I was disappointed by an old friend, the guitar sounded dull, with no personality, no spark, no nothing. The pickups were like old, cheap or just bad, I don’t know, I felt like it couldn’t give me nothing more than I already have at this moment.

I left there with kind of a hole in my soul. The electric guitar I wanted to buy didn’t prove to be such a great choice, which made me reconsider all those hours spent trying to make my mind on which guitar should I buy.

Now, what I didn’t tell you is the price, the difference between the guitars I have tested, which is indeed a factor to consider. Carvin guitars I have tested were like 4 times more expensive than the Ibanez guitar, which tells you something about the quality. The Ibanez guitar was made in Korea or Taiwan or in some other oriental country while the Carvin guitar was (as the guy said) made 100% on USA grounds.

The point of this article was the fact that there is no such a tutorial on how to buy an electric guitar. Probably there are many on the internet teaching you how to buy one by checking the neck, the frets, etc. This is not the main point. The main feature of an electric guitar, as well as of an acoustic one, is the sound. Test it to see if it sounds good. And never test it alone, check more electric guitars on the same session, to see the differences between them. It is like in love, when you will find it, you will know that the guitar is for you…That’s the only thing.
So, here the article on “how NOT to buy an electric guitar” ends, with the following note: this article has nothing to do with the quality of Ibanez electric guitars, even today I am still a big fan of Ibanez electric guitars, which I consider great, I just know that back then I didn’t test the right model, considering also the price range. So I go on looking for an other one, but also considering a Fender Stratocaster with double locking tremolo at that moment. Why, I will explain you at an other time. Until then, rock on!

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