Don't make foolish mistakes while shopping for your acoustic guitar. Follow the guidelines below, and you'll end up happy with your purchase.
1. Go through the stores and catalogs and narrow down the field of possibilities. My daughter bought a very good guitar -- sounded fabulous -- but she was just not happy with the look of the thing. So we took it back and threw ourselves on the mercy of the store owner. He allowed us to trade it in for the model that still sounded good (same maker), but looked "cool" in her point of view. Had we narrowed down her choices based on appearance to start with, I'd have saved two hours and five bucks of gas. Lesson learned.
2. Talk to someone who's owned the model you're interested in. If you know someone in person, go to them and have them play it for you, and talk with them about their experience. If you don't know any such person, then go to a competent review site or magazine, and see what lot's of users have to say about that particular guitar.
Now, a word of warning: you have to ask yourself, "Who is it that leaves reviews?" Well, there are only two classes of people. First is the person who has a real chip on their shoulder. They come in and flame the acoustic guitar victim for any number of reasons. Read these reviews, but if the issue was customer service, that actually doesn't reflect on the guitar at all; just don't buy from that vendor. The other type of reviewer is the rabid fan, and if they happen to just be thrilled to finally have an instrument so they can go on America's Got Talent, they'd write a raving review about a two-by-four with rubber bands attached. Take it all with a grain of salt.
3. If you can, "kick the tires." If you can hold, play, and get a feel for each acoustic guitar on your short list, then by all means do so. Each guitar has a slightly different character. This is mainly true between makes and models, but even in the same model there can be slight variations of tone. If you just don't have a music store in your area, or the ones you have are all junk mills, then don't be afraid to watch YouTube videos and eventually order from an online vendor. Again, good review sites can be a lot of help here because they will compiles videos, user reviews and photos into one place for you. Just be sure you get a site ranked in the top three or four pages of Google, and that you visit several, so that you get a more authoritative viewpoint.
In summary, wait to buy the right acoustic guitar, but use these three methods to avoid buyer remorse - Enjoy!
Arlen L. Card is a 25-year veteran music producer and instrument junkie. He's spent more money on instruments than feeding his kids. Get more insider information from his site, http://www.acousticguitarhub.com/
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