AN ELECTRIC GUITAR & AMP BUYING GUIDE - I've been playing acoustic guitar for over 30 years (yeah, I'm an Old Guy :) and recently got into ELECTRIC GUITARS. So like all of you, I turn to eBay to look for a deal and quickly found out there were litterally THOUSANDS of electric guitars for sale at any given moment on eBay. What to buy? How to choose? 1- Get your mind set AWAY from the name brands. Ask any strugling professional musician - you don't need a name brand to get a really good guitar. For what a new China/Korea made "Epiphone Les Paul" costs, you could get a really nice used Made In Japan UNIVOX or IBANEZ Les Paul. Not only will it out perform the "Epi" in every way (sound & quality) BUT will also increase in value over time. ALSO, for some reason - although FENDER GUITARS are excellent, they do not hold the value as well as other name brands like GIBSON or PRS and I have seen MADE IN USA Fender Strats sell on eBay in the $550.00 range. This is an EXCELLENT VALUE, and worth the time guitar hunting for. Other Fender's to look for is Made in Japan, or Crafted in Japan Fenders. These are also very high quality collectables that I've seen sell in the $400.00 - $450.00 range. ABOUT GIBSON & PRS. Unfortunately a "whiff" of anything associated GIBSON & PRS is going to be pricey - even on eBay. If you buy it right you can almost guarantee an increase in value immediately. I recently purchased a Gibson LP Studio -Guitar Of the Week, and the entire run of each model was limited to 400 guitars.It took me two (2) solid weeks of guitar hunting everyday, but I found one at the right time and at the right price and I could now sell it for THREE HUNDRED FIFTY DOLLARS ($350.00) MORE than I paid for it... and I've only had it 6 weeks. Other GREAT deals I found within the last 6 months were a Crafted In Japan FENDER AERODYNE (strat model) with hard shell case for UNDER THREE HUNDRED DOLLARS, and I recently bought a BROWNSVILLE LP set neck with upgraded pick-ups with gig bag for $149.00. The sustain on this thing is unreal, and sound can only be described as a rich creamy, Blues sound similar to the THREE THOUSAND DOLLAR Gibson BB KING model. The former owner did an excellent upgrade job on my Brownsville. BUT KNOW what you're buying. Most Brownsville LP copies are made in China with bolt-on necks.My Brownsville is a Special Edition model that represents their (failed) attempt to enter the higher end market with Tiger maple top, mahaogony body, and pearl inlaid set-neck.  Very Nice!!

2- You need to know what style of electric guitar you want to play and know there are basically two (2) genre's. Humbucker pick-up for that meaty crunch rock sound, and the single coil pick-up for the lighter, more acoustic guitar-like country sound.

3- Know what feels comfortable playing. Don't just buy for looks. There are deep necks and shallow necks, there are wide necks and narrow necks. WHAT ABOUT FRETS?? Frets are the thin metal partitions on the guitar's fingerboards. The size range goes from JUMBO to MEDIUM and everything inbetween. The basic and VERY SIMPLIFIED rule of thumb is that Jumbo frets are good for rythem. The chords, especially bar chords are easier to hold down and sound decent. And the Medium is good for lead guitar. Much smoother and faster transitions up & down the fingerboard. My personal opinion is the JUMBO frets should be reserved for the more experienced players, Not a beginner.

4- Compare new prices of the used model you are interested in buying and make sure you feel its a good value. Remember to include the TOTAL PRICE incl. shipping costs. I recently thought I got a great bargain on a Behringer Blues Overdrive Pedal and I FAILED to follw my own advice. I could have bought one brand new with warranty for only a few dollars more than what I paid.... Oh Well. Sometimes you're the windsheild, and sometimes you're the BUG :)

5- ANOTHER TIP and equally important is to REASEARCH & READ USER REVIEWS like Harmony Central. these reviews give you the REAL DEAL & LOW DOWN on the particular guitar your thinking of buying. Use GOOGLE.COM to find all the review internet sites. Besides HarmonyCentral.com there must be a half dozen really good ones, and what I like about Musicians Friend and Sam Ash is they allow truly honest reviews even if they aren't positive - at least their honest...

6- FINALLY - Know who you're buying from. Make sure they have some history to go by and READ THEIR FEEDBACK remarks. I once bought a hands-free ear piece for my cell phone. The eBay SELLER listed it as NEW. He had Zero Feedback and I said to myself - give the guy a break - we all need to start somewhere and the ear peice was only Ten Dollars, so I bought it. It arrived with several pieces missing, the packaging was open, and there was his EAR WAX on the ear piece - GROSS, I threw it out. When I complained to this JERK, he said he just tried it on... and this is NEW?? So when in doubt - ASK QUESTIONS no matter how dumb the question may be - it will save you tons of hassles later. Like ANY buying (& selling) venue, there are jerks & scammers. As I said KNOW what you're buying, and KNOW who you're buying it from.

SUGGESTIONS: For a beginner, I would say NEVER BUY NEW, just for the fact you're on EBAY shows you're on the right track. Again for any beginner, a wide neck FENDER style guitar is the way to go. As a matter of fact my sister bought her teenage son a Fender SQUIRE without consulting me first. He outgrew that and now can't give that guitar away. A used Squire has almost no value (Squire is Fenders Low-end line - like Epiphone is Gibson't low end line). A much better choice is an Ibanez or Peavey STRAT COPY. To be honest, the resale on the low end Peavey & Ibanez are not good but the quality and sound is considerably better.

By now you're probably saying (I hope) "Thanks for all the great information"...  but know that these great deals and experience didn't come easy. It took a couple hours everyday of guitar hunting, and browsing through all the garbage. Furtunately I find ebay browsing very relaxing and enjoyable - My wife would differ!! ARE YOU ON EBAY AGAIN???!!! YES, I'm on eBay again and I'm HOOKED!!  Its a GREAT forum for buying & selling. THANK YOU EBAY FOR EXISTING.  So boys & girls - I hope you benefit from my advice and experiences on eBay...  PLEASE POST A REVIEW. Would love to hear from you! Thanks for reading my review...