How to Shop for an Electric Guitar

Video Transcript

"Hi, this is Tom. This is for Expertvillage.com shortcuts for playing the electric guitar. I want to talk quickly in the last couple of segments about how you go about shopping for an electric guitar. The neck--when you're looking at the neck, make sure that the strings are fairly close to the neck. When you're pressing down on the neck with your fingers, it shouldn't hurt. These strings should be fairly close. Make sure there's no buzzing. And it's not a bad idea, especially if you're looking at used guitars, just to check that there's no buzz, and that the string is nice and close to the fret board all the way up. That's a pretty good indication that the neck is in good shape. Another thing you can do is push your finger at the bottom--or close to the tuning pegs, and then push your finger on that lowest string up near the top, and then, somewhere in the middle you should barely be able to get a business card between the fret and the string. That's another good indication that the neck is in good shape. One other thing I'd say is make sure that the neck is solidly glued or bolted to the body. You shouldn't be able to see any gaps or cracks. And then finally plug it in. Listen to what it sounds like. If you like the sound, that's a good indication that you've got good electronics. Play with the volume controls, make sure there's no static and stuff like that. Those are all good guys to shop for a guitar."