Used Acoustic Guitars

The following video talks a little bit about why used acoustic guitars can provide a real value to the savvy shopper. Although this video is a plug for the guy's site like many YouTube videos, he does present some points I have made several times and are here simply to reinforce those points.

The first is that a cheaply made acoustic guitar is just that; a cheap acoustic guitar. The reason that it is lowly priced is because it is mass produced from inferior wood and components. There's also a lot of variability in the same model of a cheap guitar because of the poor construction practices and inferior labor that produces these guitars.

The second, and more important, point is that an acoustic guitar devalues right after it is purchased. This is analagous to the purchase of a used car. A new car is worth thousand less as soon as it's driven off of the lot. A used acoustic guitar is worth less as soon as it's taken out of the store. But that is great for the informed shopper because he or she is able to get it at a lower price. The added advantage, as mentioned here, is that the guitar is broken in and is more playable than when it left the store.

The point that I'd like to make is that when you go shopping for used acoustic gutars your object should not be to find one that is dirt cheap because it is used but to find a guitar that provides value. In a high-end, quality guitar that will generally result in a savings of 20%-40% depending on a number of factors.