New Guitar Expectations...

[Shimmer]

My brother bought a new guitar recently - it was store new but had been in stock for 3 years or so.
It was fairly dusty etc - but that was easy dealt with. It was given a little bit of an adjustment in store before he took it home, but there is a bit of fret buzz etc and therefore the need for a setup. (Which he doesn't want to attempt himself so will pay to get done).

Just wondering what people consider standard when buying a new guitar.
Do you expect a clean-up/new strings etc? Set-up?
Does price factor into it?

[Molly]

My brother bought a new guitar recently - it was store new but had been in stock for 3 years or so.
It was fairly dusty etc - but that was easy dealt with. It was given a little bit of an adjustment in store before he took it home, but there is a bit of fret buzz etc and therefore the need for a setup. (Which he doesn't want to attempt himself so will pay to get done).

Just wondering what people consider standard when buying a new guitar.
Do you expect a clean-up/new strings etc? Set-up?
Does price factor into it?

Take it back to the store. I'm sure they'll happily tweak it. Guitars move all the time for various reasons. Nothing to worry about.

[jeremyb]

I think setup is a personal kind of thing, so I always expect a trip to a tech, if I was spending large I'd expect the shop would be covering that at the very least.

[robthemac]

My brother bought a new guitar recently - it was store new but had been in stock for 3 years or so.
It was fairly dusty etc - but that was easy dealt with. It was given a little bit of an adjustment in store before he took it home, but there is a bit of fret buzz etc and therefore the need for a setup. (Which he doesn't want to attempt himself so will pay to get done).

Just wondering what people consider standard when buying a new guitar.
Do you expect a clean-up/new strings etc? Set-up?
Does price factor into it?

I would have very low expectations of set-up straight from the store, but I'd agree price factors in to it.

Sub $1000, I don't think I'd expect brand new strings. I would certainly expect strings that were in playable condition though, not three years old!

Above that, I'd expect a guitar that is set up reasonably well, although not perfectly. Set-ups are a matter of personal preference, and I think it's reasonable for a store to do them quickly and to err on the side of low action (to make the guitar feel playable in the hands of the customer).

Really high-end guitars ($3000 plus) I used to do a set-up to the customer's preference including new strings, if the customer wanted. This was especially the case with unusual preferences (e.g. 13-56 round-wounds in standard tuning on a Les Paul for one guy!) Alternatively, I'd offer for them the chance to take it home for a week and bring it back for a set-up after they'd played it and the guitar had settled in.

[Terexgeek]

If it had sat for 3 years and was discounted off at a cheap price my expectations would be very low in terms of strings, set-up and general cleaning.

If it was still at the original RRP and nothing "extra" was in the deal to sweeten it; I would expect a good cleaning, the strings of my choice set-up on the instrument and lot's of obsequious "Oooh sir"s from the store staff.

To be honest I prefer to fuss with my guitars, so I would only be interested in a super sharp price and the store leaving it alone.

[sizzlingbadger]

I usually ask for a new set of strings to be thrown in for free and then clean/setup myself.

[rickenbackerkid]

any 'new' instrument, even old stock I'd expect to have a reasonable set of strings and a reasonable setup, aka, sold in playable condition.

high end or expensive instrument I'd really expect the store to supply new, high quality strings and a setup to your preference.

used guitars I would expect you do have to do setup and strings yourself.

[werdna]

Sub-$1,000, maybe new strings.

Over $1,000: they should throw in a nice fish dinner and a hand shandy.

[HackSaw]

I kind of think at the low end of the price range is where the store should be making a point of, “here, let me look that over and make sure it plays well”. Especially if it’s clearly someone buying their first guitar.

It’s service that brings back repeat customers. We all know the products can be sourced from anywhere these days.

[Bg]

I think every new guitar should come with a set of strings without exception. I've attempted to play cheese graters in the rockshop once or twice - they were happy to change them when it looked like I was keen.

[handsoffmatt]

any 'new' instrument, even old stock I'd expect to have a reasonable set of strings and a reasonable setup, aka, sold in playable condition.

high end or expensive instrument I'd really expect the store to supply new, high quality strings and a setup to your preference.

I agree with the above, with a slight caveat (from my years in the industry).

The caveat is that it is close to impossible to expect every instrument to have fresh strings and a great setup when you pull it off the wall to try out. Wood constantly moves and a guitar that was setup 6 weeks ago may well have moved to a less than optimal setup in that time. Good staff will keep an eye on the stock as much as they can, but it's almost impossible to keep a regular handle on 200+ guitars in a store whilst going about the rest of your job.

So...the caveat is that if an instrument comes of the wall with grubby strings/poor setup etc, you should give the store courtesy enough to tell them about it and request they do a quick setup for you. Any good store should happily oblige.

[Molly]

My main new guitar expectation is a returns policy to accommodate my buyer's remorse.

[Conway]

My main new guitar expectation is a returns policy to accommodate my buyer's remorse.

That's fine, but I have a 25% restocking fee.

[Molly]

My main new guitar expectation is a returns policy to accommodate my buyer's remorse.

That's fine, but I have a 25% restocking fee.

I wouldn't pay to see you in stockings but JB might.

[quyet]

If it's crossed different climates and sat around in this swamp I'd expect the neck to be out. Guitar shops seem to leave it alone unless it's boutique.