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I recently bought an 8 year old guitar. They had some photos and said it looked great, which is what I would expect someone to say. Boy, was I surprised, sounds great looks brand new.

Glad you got a great deal. It's fun when that happens. Three of my guitars were used. Two came virtually unused. The acoustic's wood came aged and opened up! A third guitar--a dream guitar for me--came with wear on the case, no signs of use other than a dull area on the Bigsby and a tip that falls off the selector switch. After playing it I saw how the Bigsby sits directly beneath one's sometimes sweaty arm. Just part of the experience I suppose. The guitar was around eight years old and I knew about the condition. I had played awhile hour-wise and realized that my usual habit of being a tool user rather than collector applied to guitars as well. I take care of them, but I play them a lot. (The only reasonable solution is more guitars.) All three guitars came from reverb. One guitar was new on closeout sale at Sweetwater at a price still lower than the used market! My tube amp was on closeout as well. I pay attention to the Sweetwater emails!

Got another step done today. Use Wood Grain Filler to make sure the final oiling step doesn't saturate the wood. Check it out!

I definitely second this! Even though I've been playing for 30 years and have had every guitar under the sun at a certain point, none of my current guitars cost me over $800. For me, they play as good or better than guitars I've had and played that were 3 times that price. It's truly a great time to be a guitar player!

I'll admit to having more than one guitar I bought with the full intent of hanging on the wall because I liked they way they looked. I too have as many used guitars as new ones and none of the new ones that weren't on sale. Some turned out to be guitars I really enjoy playing, and some I thought I'd play are wall hangars. I'm one of those that takes a while to decide if I really like a guitar but if you like the way they look, they can be art in their own right IMHO.

Even though I'm not looking to add a new guitar I've made a point of checking out some of the "pointy" guitars like Schecter, Jackson and Ibanez over the past year. (Work travel had me hanging out in Guitar Center to get some play time in) I've mainly looked at entry level to mid level products from these companies and have to say they put out some products with quality equal to a Mexican Fender or similar. Maybe not quite the quality of a PRS SE, but also not quite as expensive either. Long story short, there are way too many good guitars and way too little time and the common web recommendations are really just reflections of what a lot of people do and there may well be a better choice for the same money for some players. I know its harder and take longer to find your axe but the old, "go play a lot of them" advice is still the best, but I'd add that it may pay to have an open mind and look beyond the popular recommendations online while you are doing it and look beyond Fender, Epi, and PRS for that first guitar

and don't forget deals and b stock . basically just some wear from being on the floor at Sweetwater. I have picked up some great buys very cheap and could not see the blemish if at all. Saved 100's .

Surely its the condition that counts most, not the age per se. 3 of my guitars where bought "pre-owned" all in excellent virtually unplayed condition (1 was still in the box with a price tag on it) So dont overlook this option when looking for "new" gear...you can save a lot $$$.

@Old GuyId have to agree... As long as you stick to a relatively well know brand there isnt a lot of really "bad " gear out there today. You can, as you say, get some pretty decent guitars for not a lot of money vs. when I was a kid, the choice was excellent and expensive or cheap and garbage.

Overview!

A thumbs up for you, @Old Guy! Wim.

Sorry, made a mistake. The correct name of the wood filler is Aqua Coat. Henk

Great video Old Guy. I spend much of my time woodworking and also have a need to fill wood grain. The product that I use is named Aqua Fill which has served me well. It requires multiple coats between sandings in order to achieve that final super smooth finish, especially for kitchen cabinets. The Aqua Fill is clear so any staining must be done prior to filling. I noticed that the ColourTone filler you used is tinted. Will this match your final stain colour or rather will the filler highlight the grain under the final finish? I agree with you that projects like this are a labour of love but also a severe test of your patience. Looks like you have both. Henk

Guitar-wise, everything I currently own I bought used. There's a little bit of risk involved and not everything has worked out, but I like the idea of reclaiming something that someone else didn't want or need and making it my own.

That is looking great!!! Thanks for sharing your progress!! Can't wait to see how it turns out!

I had about an hour to kill waiting to pick up my daughter so I hit the local Guitar Center to noodle around. My goal was to see how I could fair with low cost gear. For real. I rarely have time to do this, so I went for it. I picked up an Ibanez G10, tuned it up and found a used Line 6 Spider Mark IV 75 W amp to plug into and played for about an hour. I was thoroughly impressed. That Ibanez felt great, had a real variety of sounds at the different pick up positions and felt a lot more expensive in my hands than the $200 sticker price. The tone was good, the electronics were solid with no scratchy pots or crackling with pick up changes. The amp was decent sounding and went from sparkling clean to "insane" and the tones were usable. The on board effects sounded okay, and did in fact complement the settings for the amps. I was impressed. Basically, for less than $400, including tax, you can get a really killer beginner/intermediate rig that can actually grow on you. Wish that was the case 30 years ago when I first started, LOL.

Great points, guys. My first "good" guitar was my Gibson LP. I went shopping after I had been learning for a while. I was in the store and had tried a few when the salesman said that they had a used LP/Fender Blues, Jr. 3 combo package. They were like new. I said to him that I really wasn't interested in used. My wife was the one that forced the issue and said, "At least look at it." The salesman brought the guitar and it was immaculate. It looked like they had just unboxed it. I came to find out it was that very common story. The salesman relayed that whoever had bought it was going to learn guitar. He took it home and put it under his bed in its case. It remained there for a couple years until he just recently brought it back to the store and sold it back. I've had great success buying used and every guitar in my sig, except the Epiphone Casino and Strat, were purchased used.

I have to agree with everyone that the entry level gear today has improved. There are also many used and demo pieces of gear which still perform as new for a great reduction in price. I have a PRS SE Santana and often think that with a better guitar my playing could improve along with a different sound. Upon reflection, I think, with a multi effects pedal I can make my guitar sound like any guitar sold. The most important issue with a guitar should be how it feels when you play it. Is it comfortable, is it too heavy, is the neck too thin, does it look good. In the end I suppose the need for a new guitar is only to serve a hidden want to own something nicer. I'm happy with my setup knowing that I have never paid full price for any of it. Henk