Dog?

[tiboy]

When you see a guitar for sale that is in excellent/near mint condition but has had multiple owners do you assume it’s a dog?

 

[Alnus Rubra]

Is it bad of me that I read the title and was hoping you were getting a dog?

Just might not have been owned by a player.

There’s a lot of collectors out there.

 

[Moondog Wily]

When you see a guitar for sale that is in excellent/near mint condition but has had multiple owners do you assume it’s a dog?

I would certainly be asking for very detailed, well lit pix from all angles, etc. As Alnus said though, plenty of case queens out there for a variety of reasons!

 

[Prs Mods too]

When you see a guitar for sale that is in excellent/near mint condition but has had multiple owners do you assume it’s a dog?

Yes.

Also when I see something for sale that was produced within the last few years.

 

[dmatthews]

I would assume the absolute best if it was a 594 SC Soapbar,

 

[László]

One person's dog is another person's dream guitar.

People sell guitars for all kinds of reasons, not the least of which is "Hey, I overspent and need the dough, like, right now!!"

I haven't bought a used guitar in a long time...20 years at least. That's not because I think sellers are pushing dogs. It's that I don't trust people to take proper care of the guitar by keeping it cased, properly humidified, not screwed-around-with, etc., and I like having a warranty. I won't even buy a one-owner guitar because it'd violate my commitment to being completely OCD.

I don't want someone else's screw-up. If they hung it on a wall, mistreated the thing, or never washed their hands after pooping, they're gonna say that in a listing? I'll pass, thanks. Not taking any chances.

I like being OCD.

 

[jxe]

One person's dog is another person's dream guitar.

People sell guitars for all kinds of reasons, not the least of which is "Hey, I overspent and need the dough, like, right now!!"

I haven't bought a used guitar in a long time...20 years at least. That's not because I think sellers are pushing dogs. It's that I don't trust people to take proper care of the guitar by keeping it cased, properly humidified, not screwed-around-with, etc., and I like having a warranty. I won't even buy a one-owner guitar because it'd violate my commitment to being completely OCD.

I don't want someone else's screw-up. If they hung it on a wall, mistreated the thing, or never washed their hands after pooping, they're gonna say that in a listing? I'll pass, thanks. Not taking any chances.

I like being OCD.

my grandfather was the same about used cars.

 

[Prs Mods too]

One person's dog is another person's dream guitar.

People sell guitars for all kinds of reasons, not the least of which is "Hey, I overspent and need the dough, like, right now!!"

I haven't bought a used guitar in a long time...20 years at least. That's not because I think sellers are pushing dogs. It's that I don't trust people to take proper care of the guitar by keeping it cased, properly humidified, not screwed-around-with, etc., and I like having a warranty. I won't even buy a one-owner guitar because it'd violate my commitment to being completely OCD.

I don't want someone else's screw-up. If they hung it on a wall, mistreated the thing, or never washed their hands after pooping, they're gonna say that in a listing? I'll pass, thanks. Not taking any chances.

I like being OCD.

I'm pretty much the same though I do make exceptions for used mattresses and undies.

 

[tiboy]

One person's dog is another person's dream guitar.

People sell guitars for all kinds of reasons, not the least of which is "Hey, I overspent and need the dough, like, right now!!"

I haven't bought a used guitar in a long time...20 years at least. That's not because I think sellers are pushing dogs. It's that I don't trust people to take proper care of the guitar by keeping it cased, properly humidified, not screwed-around-with, etc., and I like having a warranty. I won't even buy a one-owner guitar because it'd violate my commitment to being completely OCD.

I don't want someone else's screw-up. If they hung it on a wall, mistreated the thing, or never washed their hands after pooping, they're gonna say that in a listing? I'll pass, thanks. Not taking any chances.

I like being OCD.

I’ve had great good fortune with buying a couple of used amps. But I’ve never bought a used guitar. My general motto is “It must be returnable or exchangeable.” Consequently I have only purchased guitars from known reputable dealers that have a return window. Twice I bought guitars that were perfect on paper, but not for my reality. So back they went. More importantly I am in a GAS remission phase of life.

 

[László]

I'm pretty much the same though I do make exceptions for used mattresses and undies.

A person after my own heart. I'm far fussier about my guitars than my underwear.

 

[László]

my grandfather was the same about used cars.

So was mine.

"I'm not buying someone else's problem."

 

[SinSir]

One person's dog is another person's dream guitar.

I couldn't agree with this more.. There's been several guitars I've brought home that I thought "How could ANYONE sell this?"

Answer is there are all sorts of reasons. Just are.

 

[vchizzle]

Nah. There are some great used guitars out there. People’s tastes change, not a good fit, etc. About half of mine were used and in some ways, there’s things about them that I like as much or better than new guitars I’ve bought. There are still models not produced anymore that I’d like to own(here’s looking at you DC22).

My SC artist package had the original owner, ended up at Brian’s guitars and into another forum member’s hands. I begged him to sell it to me on looks alone and it is fantastic. Which reminds me, it needs a restring and probably a setup.

I’ve also regrettably sold some great guitars. You never really know the why’s.

 

[trisd]

I have had mixed experiences with new and second hand guitars. I recently had a terrible experience with a 1988 Cu24 I bought from an eBay vender with excellent feedback. (I have posted about it perviously but in a nutshell the neck had been broken at the nut and the reck re-glued into the body.) It took eBay intervention to get him to accept the return, again to get him to cover shipping. I was only refunded 1/2 what i paid and although I was fully refunded after a 5 min telephone conversation / appeal. I do not know what the vendor claimed as it is confidential but he is now being investigated by the Ebay Seller Risk team. The High Value claims team and myself both took the view he had committed fraud.

It has since been replaced with a near mint 2nd hand 2017 Cu24 which i bought from a dealer and I travelled to try before buying. It needs a very very light fret skim but in other respects is the guitar that I needed.

I can also say the same of new guitars. I have had two band new EBMM BFR Majesty. The Cinnabar red was traded for my Cu24 but it had QC issues, the top coat was applied too thickly and there was a touch of onion peeling. The Koa burst I still have but the fret work was awful, they had been leveled but not crowned properly.

You just have got to get to see the instrument yourself and only buy online if you have a rock solid returns policy.

I tend to believe that my heart wants what my heart wants, new or used.

 

[aphantomvaper]

Sorry I couldn't help myself. In sentiment of a bad guitar arriving...

 

[RickP]

If by dog you mean a guitar that is a poor player, then no, I wouldn’t say so. Some of my favorite guitars had more than one owner, and some I own from new are just ”ok.” If you mean damaged or defective, then yeah, a guitar being sold by a person you don’t know, with no warranty, that’s been through multiple owners is more likely to have issues than a new guitar with buyer protections.

Playability and tone are subjective. I’d have thought SRV’s guitars played like crap. High action, crazy big strings, wrong parts. But they were sure right for him, and his main one looked decidedly used.

 

[jak3af3r]

I think sometimes a distinction between problematic and out-of-fashion needs to be made for a better analysis of the item in question.

My dad is absolutely obsessed with Buicks. So I found him a LeSabre that was CHEAP. I don't know how many owners it had but there was nothing wrong with it and it had 30,000 miles. It was cheap because it was, at the time he bought it, 17 years old and not in line with the current tech trend.

I bought a twin reverb back in 2017 that was incredibly cheap and had several price reductions in a reputable vintage guitar store in Nashville. There's nothing wrong with it apart from the current trend is to gig with something 22w and under or digital.

I got a single cut hollowbody I piezo with a 10 top really cheap too because it had been played a lot. Some guy really wanted it so I made him get me a McCarty that was a special order and promise if he ever sold that hollowbody I'd have first dibs. He got the itch for a silver sky when they came out so I bought back the hollowbody for cheap again and he got the SS.

 

[Alnus Rubra]

current trend is to gig with something 22w and under or digital.

You mean I’m on trend. Not bad for the first time in 50+ years.