How to Check a Guitar Before Buying: New and Used Guitar Checklist

What to bring

• A tuner (or a tuner app)
• A pick
• For electrics: a small amp or headphone amp and a cable (unless the seller provides one)
• A phone torch for looking inside acoustic guitars
• If possible, a friend who plays

1. General condition

• Look along the body for cracks, especially around the bridge, sound hole and the lower edges on acoustic guitars.
• Check that the bridge is not lifting: try to slide a piece of paper under the back edge of an acoustic bridge. If it goes in, walk away or negotiate a repair.
• Check the headstock joint and neck heel for cracks or glue lines — a repaired headstock break is a big deal.
• Dings and scratches on the finish are cosmetic; cracks are not.

2. The neck

1. Sight down the neck from the headstock like aiming a rifle. It should be straight or with a very slight forward bow — not twisted.
2. Press the 6th string at the 1st fret and at the last fret. Look at the gap at the 7th–8th fret: it should be tiny (about a business card's thickness).
3. Check the truss rod adjusts (if you are allowed to) — a seized truss rod is a serious problem.
4. On a used guitar, run your hand along the edges of the fretboard to feel for sharp fret ends (common with dry wood).

3. Frets and playability

• Play every fret on every string, slowly. Listen for buzzing or dead notes.
• Look for deep grooves worn into the frets under the first few strings — they may need a costly fret level or refret.
• Check the action: at the 12th fret, the gap between the top of the fret and the bottom of the low E string should be around 2–2.5 mm on an acoustic and 1.5–2 mm on an electric. Much higher means hard work for your fingers.
• On acoustics, if the action is high and the saddle is already very low, the neck may need a reset — expensive.

4. Tuning and intonation

1. Tune the guitar and play for a few minutes. Retune — does it drift quickly?
2. Play the 12th-fret harmonic, then the fretted note at the 12th fret. On the tuner, they should read the same (intonation).
3. Bend a few notes and check it comes back to pitch.
4. Turn each tuning peg: it should feel smooth, not loose or grinding.

5. Electronics (electric and electro-acoustic)

• Plug in and try every pickup position on the selector switch.
• Turn each volume and tone knob through the full range — crackling means dirty or worn pots (usually a cheap fix).
• Wiggle the cable in the output jack. Cutting out means a loose jack.
• Listen for excessive hum. Some hum is normal with single-coil pickups; it should drop when you touch the strings.
• On electro-acoustics, check the preamp battery and the built-in tuner.

6. Buying used: extra checks

• Ask why they are selling, how long they have owned it and if it has been repaired.
• Check the serial number and model against the manufacturer's website to spot fakes of popular brands.
• Meet in a safe public place, or at the seller's home with a friend. Use a payment method with some protection.
• Compare prices with recent sold listings for the same model.

Frequently asked questions