Used guitar expectations?

[joman50]

With any used guitar, you expect to pay for a set up. It looks
you'll have a player once that's done.

[trailmixer]

Thanks to everyone for their feedback. The seller was courteous and offered a nominal refund which I accepted. I dropped the guitar off with a luthier and hopefully will have a happy ending to this story.

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

Thanks to everyone for their feedback. The seller was courteous and offered a nominal refund which I accepted. I dropped the guitar off with a luthier and hopefully will have a happy ending to this story.

It’s a very good and very pretty guitar, for sure. I’ve been a Ibanez player for decades. They’re fine guitars and great value at every price level. Fortunately, there’s very little that a skilled luthier can’t make right. But neglect has a cost, and this instrument has apparently not been maintained well. The issue is simply who bears the cost of care and when -



It’s a very common disconnect between your stated goal (“I just wanted a cheap 'back-up' hollow-body”) and your actual goal to buy a guitar that was ready to play out of the box at a low price. Even with the likely cost of making it right for you, you got more than just a cheap back-up at what has to be considered a reasonable cost today.

I know you didn’t plan on or want to have to do anything to it when you bought it. But your experience is common - buyers hope and sellers hype (and are often clueless). A beautiful archtop that plays well and makes you happy for under $1k is a deal these days. Enjoy it!

[skiboyny]

I'd dare say that most guitars need fret level to play their best. I always plan on doing that to any used guitar I buy and more often than not I do. The neck joining to the body is always a place that settling of the wood and playing end up somewhat humped. I would take it to a tech and see what he has to say. The condition from the images look great. All guitars need "personal work"
Best of luck to you

[Sleeko]

I developed a noisy/ staticky output jack a few years ago and someone suggested a little white vinegar on a Q-tip to clean off grime and what not. It worked like a charm and actuall gave a much better grip to the plug which let go easily beforehand. No problems since.

[mvp019aa]

Learning how to do setup basics is definitely doable, and a real money saver and adds to the fun of the guitar hobby. But as someone said above, a Reverb-rated guitar at "Excellent" should not need any significant fret leveling. But truss rod, new strings, bridge height (when adjustable), nut slots (unless egregiously bad) are generally within the purview of the buyer to address after the sale.

If you look on YT, there are many excellent videos on basic setup of a guitar. Interestingly, one is done by Joe Walsh showing how he runs through an electric guitar basic setup on a white Les Paul - it's quite well done. Another solid resource in the company Music Nomad, which sells many of the tools needed, but also has numerous videos on various setup skills/practices...both for electric and acoustic, for which there are significant differences in setup. Stewart MacDonald (StewMac) also has a YT channel.

The last 2 guitars that I bought on Reverb that didn't meet the criteria for how they were rated involved me first messaging the seller with specific concerns, and then we worked out a partial refund - sellers are pretty willing to do this because they don't want crap from Reverb.

If you know any good guitarists in your area, they should be able to point you to a competent luthier/tech/repair guy. Stay away form Guitar Center at all costs - you might get someone who knows something, or not.