The biggest advantage to buying a used acoustic guitar is the reduced price. Used acoustic guitars, like used cars, depreciate as soon as they leave the showroom. But unlike automobiles, they may actually improve with the aging process because the tonal qualities of the wood often improve with age and lead to a more mature and fuller sound. Additionally, a used acoustic guitar will most likely be properly setup and adjusted by the original owner.

Additionally, don't shy away from used acoustic guitars with cosmetic defects if you are on a tight budget. A blemished guitar with some scuff marks, slight wear areas and scratches will have no effect on the sound or playability of the guitar and will often result in a very substantial discount over a like new acoustic guitar.

The first thing that you will need to do before you go buy a used acoustic guitar is to narrow down the field. Determine whether you will need an acoustic electric guitar with an electronics package. This option will increase the price and is normally more applicable to an experienced guitarist that plays before an audience in a room that requires amplification. If you are a beginner and just learning to play the guitar you will not need this. More importantly, select a body style that you are comfortable holding and playing. The popular body sizes are the Dreadnought and Jumbo styles and the different manufacturers have varying naming conventions. Many of these are also available in cutaway models.

Then, choose a brand or two and a couple of models from each based on your budget. Limit yourself to no more than a couple of choices so that you are not overwhelmed and research the retail selling prices of these when new to form your basis. Now when you finally get to the point of shopping for used acoustic guitars, the best deals will be readily apparent.

The following is an overview to consider when looking at a used acoustic guitar:

Consider the body for its' overall look and defects. Initially you need make certain that there are no apparent issues with the acoustic guitar. As discussed above, a well-used guitar with cosmetic defects is completely different from a guitar with structural problems.

Question the seller about the length of time that they have had ownership of the guitar and try to ascertain its' date of manufacture. Determine whether there are any problems that are not readily apparent from a visual or online inspection. In other words, try to obtain a full disclosure of the guitar. A reputable seller will have no problems with these questions and will answer them honestly.

If at all possible, play the guitar and strike a few chords to make sure that the fretboard is true and there is no buzzing. A fretboard with wear marks is usually not a problem but if the frets themselves are overly worn out a fret dressing or fret replacement may be required. This is not a major problem and a luthier will be able to make these repairs, but factor it into the price of the used acoustic guitar.

Purchasing a guitar can be a large investment and a daunting task, particularly if you are a beginner guitarist. So take your time and look around before buying your guitar. A terrific way to do that is to look locally in music stores and internet-based sites like eBay. And of course, if you know an experienced guitarist or have a music teacher that is available, take them with you and get their feedback.

A used acoustic guitar offers several adavantages over a new guitar and shopping for used acoustic guitars is extremely easy today from the comfort of your home via the interent. Web sites like eBay, craigslist.org and the web pages of traditional music shops make it easy to find bargains and compare the pricing and availablity of these musical instruments.

Overview

Acoustic guitars are wonderful instruments that have played a very significant part in the music revolution and quality used acoustic guitars are available to get you there on a budget. Acoustic guitars are very capable for playing all types of music from classical to hard rock and are a great option when a clean and pure sound is desired. Acoustic and acoustic electric guitars are made by a number of manufacturers including Taylor, Martin, Gibson, Fender, Alvarez, Yamaha, Epiphone, Ovation and Seagull. The sound of an acoustic guitar is universally appropriate to almost all music genres.

Types

Acoustic guitars come in a variety of sizes and shapes. Acoustic guitars come in 3 distinct body styles: classic, dreadnought and jumbo. They are also available in travel size guitars and reduced sized versions, normally called three quarter acoustic guitars.

Acoustic guitars can either have steel or nylon strings. Classical and folk guitars use nylon strings.

Acoustic guitars have a hollow body and large resonating chamber and may or may not have electric pickups. Acoustic guitars that are equipped with an electronics package are known as acoustic electric guitars. In acoustic electric guitars, the pickups can be mounted either under the bridge, in the body via a microphone, or both. The combination of the bridge mounted pickups and the microphone in the body provide the best overall amplified sound and are found in the better guitars. Acoustic electric guitars are mainly built for playing larger venues where the  sound needs to fill the room. Pickups and microphones can be added later to a regular acoustic guitar to amplify it through a sound system.

Construction

The top is known as the soundboard and can be made of either laminated plies or solid hardwood. Laminated tops resist temperature variations and humidity changes better while solid wood tops give you better tone, resonance and projection. Higher quality guitars have tops made from solid wood and spruce and cedar are most commonly used. Lower quality acoustic guitars are typically made from laminated wood, and slightly better guitars are constructed of a combination of laminated wood and solid wood.

Acoustic guitars generally use one type of wood for the soundboard and another type of wood for the back and sides. Maple and mahogany are often used for the back and sides. Maple, ebony and some exotic woods are often times used for the fretboard.

Acoustic guitars require a little bit more maintenance than electric guitars due to the nature of their construction. Due to the open pores of the wood, too much or too little humidity can cause severe problems to the guitar's body. However, an inexpensive guitar humidifier that is placed in the guitar case will eliminate potential problems. Guitar shops and guitarists with a large collection will even have their own humidity controlled rooms.

Used Acoustic Guitars

Many beginners that are on a budget are tempted to buy a cheap and low quality acoustic guitar that is new, but would probably be better served by shopping for used acoustic guitars instead. By spending a little more on a quality used acoustic guitar, the materials of construction and the build quality will be far superior. This will lead to both a better sounding and easier playing guitar.

Used acoustic guitars can be discovered in lots of places and finding one that suits your wishes can be as straightforward as a search on the internet.  Purchasing a used acoustic guitar versus a new acoustic guitar could be a good way to get a quality musical instrument without breaking the bank.

If you want to buy used guitars you may even end up getting one of the classic models. But a truly classic guitar can come at a high price since they are valued by vintage guitar collectors with big wallets.

There are usually a lot of used beginner acoustic guitars for sale because some people give up on the guitar while others decide to upgrade their guitar. It's possible to buy high quality used acoustic guitars ranging from several hundreds to several thousands of dollars. New guitarists should budget $500 or more and select a quality used acoustic guitar that meets their needs and preferences.

Vintage guitars can be an investment that will only increase in value if you target and build your carefully. This reasoning parallels collectors in more well know areas such as coin collecting and stamp collecting. However, you may wonder whether a guitar can really be a good investment and increase in value. After all,  most guitars seem the same to the uninformed guitar afficiondo. However, the well chosen guitar could be worth a lot of money to a collector. For instance, guitars that have been owned by popular guitarists or which are rare, collectible or unusual in their own right, can fetch very high prices in the collectible market. If you've done your research and priced the used electric or used acoustic guitar properly, you most always will realize a solid return due to its value appreciating.

Vintage guitar collections have consistently out-performed the stock market. This has proven to be an excellent strategy for several reasons: they are a real or tangible product, unlike the piece of paper that is a stock or bond; they can be fun to collect and a hobby that is enjoyed by a small by growing number of collectors; and they serve as attractive display pieces. For the most part, collectible vintage guitars don't lose value over time and in fact, gain value as they age providing that their condition is maintained and they possess collectible qualities to begin with. This generally means that they were superior guitars at the time of their production.

The superior action and tone of a real vintage guitar will most definitely be recognized by a knowledgeable player. This is truly the case with one of the most popular vintage guitar sought by collectors; the Gibson Les Paul. Gibson invented the modern electric guitar and  the Les Paul was one of the best electric guitars available in the sixties. While the Les Paul is still being produced today, they don't have the same quality of the original models that are made from mahogany, oak and other fine woods. You can also find original models made with mother of pearl and gold inlays.

Fender is also another popular brand being sought by guitar collectors. The Fender Telecaster, Stratocaster, and Mustang are all great models that remain in demand. The most collectible and valuable of these models were made in the fifities and sixties. Fender guitars made after that time are often less valuable. Make sure that you research the guitar's value before you buy to make a decision that will perform as an investment.

Martin Guitars is the most noted acoustic guitar brand as far as vintage guitars go. Some of these original issue acoustic guitars are among the finest ever made due to their superior craftsmanship. Martin was an innovator and introduced the use of the X-bracing system in acoustic guitars. That added greatly to their durability and means that Martin Guitars have lasted for a longer period of time than the competition. Some original Martin guitars are almost a hundred years old now. Collectible Martin Guitars are sought by collectors through the sixties vintage. Guild guitars are great vintage instruments, but that are not as valuable on the whole as Martin acoustics because they are not as well known. However, older Guild acoustic guitars that are rare have and will continue to appreciate the same as the Martin guitar line.

So the next time you walk into a music store, a pawn shop, flea market or yard sale and see some used electric and used acoustic guitars, take a closer look. You may have stumbled across a piece of guitar history that will increase in value.

I'm pretty new to acoustic guitar and I'm looking for a capo for some songs that I want to try playing. I've never had one and don't know much about them. Are there different types of capos? Can you recommend any for me? As I said, this is for a used acoustic guitar that I recently bought off of eBay and I won't use it with an electric guitar (if that makes a difference). Tags: Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar Capo, Acoustic Guitar, guitar capos
]]> http://www.usedacousticguitars.net/acoustic-guitar-capos/feed 3 http://www.usedacousticguitars.net/whats-a-good-buy-in-taylor-guitars http://www.usedacousticguitars.net/whats-a-good-buy-in-taylor-guitars#comments Thu, 14 May 2009 19:00:42 +0000 admin http://usedacousticguitars.net/?p=360 GuitarManny asked:

I'm looking to buy a Taylor Acoustic Guitar and I've seen quite a lot of them. Some of them seem reasonably priced but some of the fancy ones can easily cost several thousand dollard. I'm not necessarily looking for the cheapest Taylor guitar, but I'd like to buy one that is considered a value. What would you recommend? Should I buy a used acoustic guitar by Taylor instead of a new one? Tags: Used Acoustic Guitar, Taylor Guitars, Taylor Guitar
]]> http://www.usedacousticguitars.net/whats-a-good-buy-in-taylor-guitars/feed 1 http://www.usedacousticguitars.net/taylor-114-acoustic-guitar http://www.usedacousticguitars.net/taylor-114-acoustic-guitar#comments Fri, 08 May 2009 04:51:45 +0000 admin http://usedacousticguitars.net/?p=359 Otter asked:

I just bought a Taylor 114 Acoustic Guitar for eight hundred dollars. Is this a good acoustic guitar? Did I pay a fair price for it?

I have a used acoustic guitar made by Stagg that I'd like to sell and since I'd like to upgrade and get a better acoustic guitar. How much do you think that I could get for it? Tags: Stagg Acoustic Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Used Acoustic Guitar
]]> http://www.usedacousticguitars.net/how-much-is-a-used-stagg-acoustic-guitar-worth/feed 2 http://www.usedacousticguitars.net/how-much-is-a-used-acoustic-guitar http://www.usedacousticguitars.net/how-much-is-a-used-acoustic-guitar#comments Mon, 20 Apr 2009 15:54:22 +0000 admin http://usedacousticguitars.net/?p=288 Lorenzo asked:

I'm going to learn to play guitar and I need to buy one. I read that an acoustic guitar is better than an electric guitar to learn with. How much is a used acoustic guitar? Tags: Play Guitar, acoustic guitars, Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Used Acoustic Guitar
]]> http://www.usedacousticguitars.net/how-much-is-a-used-acoustic-guitar/feed 4 http://www.usedacousticguitars.net/what-is-the-best-guitar-humidifier http://www.usedacousticguitars.net/what-is-the-best-guitar-humidifier#comments Fri, 17 Apr 2009 15:11:24 +0000 admin http://usedacousticguitars.net/?p=273 Chazzer asked:

I'd really like to protect the used acoustic guitar that I just got on eBay, a Taylor 814ce. I've read some of the Taylor tech notes and they say that I must keep the humidity at a certain level and to use a guitar humidifier. What is the best humidifier to get? Tags: taylor 814ce, Acoustic Guitar, Guitar Humidifier
]]> http://www.usedacousticguitars.net/what-is-the-best-guitar-humidifier/feed 1 http://www.usedacousticguitars.net/should-i-get-a-guitar-humidifier http://www.usedacousticguitars.net/should-i-get-a-guitar-humidifier#comments Sat, 11 Apr 2009 17:05:05 +0000 admin http://usedacousticguitars.net/?p=271 GarlickToast asked:

I just bought a bought a Taylor 814ce used acoustic guitar. Since this cost me $2,000 I thought that I'd take some precautions with it. Is it worth getting a humidifier?