1. Don't be fooled by the Guitar's origin (as promoted my the store staff the make a better sale price, hence better comission). If it's made in China, it does not necessarily mean it is worse than those made in Korea or Japan. Inspect the finish/craft quality!
2. Try sounding the string in every fret to locate fret buzz. Some fret buzzing cannot be corrected and requires complete re-fretting. Cheap guitars made in China are well known for their weak neck/fretting. It does get better nowadays!
3. Inspect the shape of the neck by looking at the guitar flat from the bridge position. Curving necks are sometimes due to improper processing on the material (e.g., drying the wood) and incorrectible.
4. Try tuning the string couple of times after playing the guitar (ignore the impatient face of the store staff, it will be your guitar anyway!). Some cheap tuner can drag the string out-of-tune very quickly.
5. Be suspicious if the store gives "abnormally" discounted price. Something might have happened to the guitar. Ask why! Some honest staff will tell you the truth. It happened to me when I found an Epiphone Guitar discounted crazily in MG Music Store, Plaza Senayan, tought it was a treasure, but only to find that there's a serious damage in the neck.
6. Be focused on the guitar sound instead of showing off your latest licks to impress the other buyers. Try the guitar with different amps to really get to know how it sounds
7. Try the natural harmonic sound of the guitar above the 12th fret. Imperfect intonation can be corrected by experienced Music Store's staff. Be sure you only go to the store with some experienced stuff who actually KNOW guitar. Some decent shops that I know in Jakarta are: Serenata, Simphony, Auvi Musik, andTiga Negeri. Don't go to MG, it's full of inexperienced sales staff who don't know anything about music.
Some semi-professional and affordable guitar that I have known (worth to be bought) so far are:
1. Squire Standard Stratocaster - not the afinity or california series (China): decent made, good tone (close to Fender) even though using stock pickups
2. Epiphone Les Paul Classic (China or Korea): for some reason sound better that the Les Paul Standard. Watch out for the fretting some are not done properly
3. Ibanez GIO series (China): Amazingly provide the best value for the price. Good finish and decent pickup. Some offer the combination of single coil and humbucker which suit multiple playing styles
Try to avoid the following guitars!!!:
1. Aria (Stratocaster Model): ridiculously hard to play even tough I try very hard! The sound is not so good either.
2. Some Gillmoore Guitar and some other new brands(China): Although they are quite attractive because of their low price and their looks, most of the guitar I have tried have some problem (fret buzzing, intonation), and do not sound very good
3. Be careful not to buy some guitar offerred as Fender on the internet with low prices! They are not the original, made by local (Indonesian) Luthier. I was cheated once, the guitar finish sucked and some parts broke quickly, even though I have to admit, its sound was not bad!
That's all I can share so far on what I know about choosing your guitar. Next time I'll talk more on Guitar Effect!
Copyright (c) 2005 - Ramadhany Herlambang
