Vintage Guitar Buying Guide

This is a short guide for those that are on the hunt for another vintage guitar online.

I am buying a lot of vintage guitars online myself and then restore them. So I know what to look out for.

It is easy to buy something pretty that will turn out to be in need for some several hunderd € or $ reapairs.

This is for people who dont know too much about guitars, but have some experience.

I will try to keep it short!

For those too lazy too read here is the essense of the following:

1. check the condition of the frets

2. check the action at 12th fret (see chart below)

3. check the bridge height

I will focus mainly on old,

a) Archtops

b) Solidbodies

c) Steelstrings/flattops.

They share some problem zones and have some individual ones. So I will adress them one by one.

There is 100 things to mention, but most issues arent that costly to repair/change.

In my experience there are Three possiby costly issues that you want to avoid whatever kind of guitar you buy:

1. worn out frets

- Check the fret height and shape -

Low flat frets - it´s not the end of the world and doesent say anything about the quality of the instrument. At least it was played, thats a good thing. But they just dont play well and it will be a costly job, if it has to be done.

For most people low frets play play a lot harder, because the fingerstips are constantly toughing the fretboard. For rythm guitar/chords that can be fine, but for solo and especialy bendings that is not what most people like.

Also low frets ususally feel a bit like you have higher action that it actually is.

Refretting is roughly a 200€ job.

2. Twisted/bowed neck - trussrod

- Checkfor the string height at 12th fret and for instruments with a trussrod, if that thing actually is working -

---see chart here for good string heigths---

This is probably the most difficult terrain. No wooden neck is ever 100% straight. Just how much is too much?

After decades of string tension almoast all necks will have some issues to be taken care of. There is different options to do that. ---> more infomation here <---

For a good playable action, the neck has to be at least more or less straight. Since the strings pull on the neck with a pretty strong force constantly the wood will bend to a small degree. ( actually not only the neck but the whole guitar, like a bow)

A working trussrod is, of curse, a very good thing to have. It will pull back the neck in the area roughly around the 4th fret. Thats the area where the most common bow from string tension will occur.

How ever if the neck starts bowing around the end of the neck at the neck body junction( another common problem area), the trussrod doesnt help with that. If the neck bows sideways neither (rather rare).

So a working trussrod is no guarantee for a straight neck. The only guarantee for a straight neck is a low string action without buzz or dead spots anywhere.

But even if the neck is dead straight, the action can be very high and unenjoyable.

--->

3. Neck angle

--- check the height of the bridge / on flattops the height of the bridge saddle---

This is mostly relevant on set neck instruments with the neck glued in. If the neck is screwed on, the neck angle can be adjusted rahter easily with shims.

The tension of the strings will/can do two things regarding the neck angle.

1. it will change tha position of the neck in the neck pocket. The neck often start to get loose after a few decades. Most glues used for glueing in necks will eventually give up.

2. the whole guitar, especially neck area around the neck body joint will warp a bit. So even if the neck still sits perfectly in the pocket, the neck angle can be off.

Usually, when a guitar needs a neck reset, you have a combination of both.

A neck reset is a very costly issue you want to avoid and usually costs something between 250€ to 600€ depending on the case.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So here is a short conclusion:

If the action is low and the bridge still rather high that means several things:

1. the neck is straight

2. the neck angle is good

3. frets are leveled

If only one of those points above is not true, a good action is actually not possible.

Now comes a last question. What is a good action?

That depends on the kind of instrument and strings you look at. Also people have very different tastes. So like it a bit higher without any buzz, some dont mind a little buzz and want it low.

Also good to know: cheap strings often cause buzzz. But that is another chapter...

Here is a rather short/simple overview of what I consider a good action on a vintage instrument. I am sure there is a lot more in depth material in the web.

Measured on the deep E at 12th fret. Fret end to string.

Steelstring guitar (Archtop, Dreadnought, Parlor ect..):

lower that 2mm - very good

2mm to 2,5mm - good

2,5mm to 3mm - decent

3mm to 3,5mm - still playable, but no great

higher that 3,5 mm - unenjoyable

Electric guitar:

1,5mm to 1,8mm - very good

1,8mm to 2,3mm - good

2,4mm to 2,7mm - decent

2,8mm to 3,3mm - not great

higher than 3,3 - dont wanna play

Nylon guitar (conert):

3mm to4 mm - very good

4mm to 4,5mm - good

4,5mm to 5mm - ok

higher than 5,5mm - unenjoyable

Bass guitar:

2,5mm to 3mm very good

3mm to 3,5mm - good

3-5mm to 4mm - decent

higher than 4,5mm not great

This is as I said a rough take. If you only play within the first few frets anyway, high action at the 12th fret probably wont bother you. If the nut is too high and the action still good ath 12th fret, the instrument will still play badly... But this will be rather easy/cheap to take care of.