How To PROPERLY Try Guitars In Guitar Stores! - What To Look For When Buying Your Next Guitar!

Laughs at him in British

I always check for neck dive too- very important for we with respect to gigging- hate hate hate neck dive!

Really hate buying guitars hate it so much always frustrating and buyers remorse

I got an LTD MH-1000 as my first guitar... It was calling at me.

Every music store should have several full-length mirrors in the guitar section, because how you look with the guitar is a large portion of the difference between electric guitars.

Ive been learning 7 month now but about 2 hours a day and not missed a day. I still wont play in a store though haha its not because of the staff its customers that put me off as its aways customers who ive seen playing incredibly well.

I really wish I’d known this back when I first tried guitar 20 years ago…I gave up in the end.

I walked in, the chap was so helpful telling me the best guitars for me and why I didn’t need to spend loads more on the fancy ones…he was great…he asked if I wanted to hold the guitar, so he set it up with an amp, handed it to me and said “I’ll let you have a play with it” and walked away.

I felt like a complete idiot because I knew maybe 2 chords…but that was it…I just sat there not knowing what to do for about 20 minutes.

His advice had been sound, I bought a pacifica, but that period sitting there I just felt lost…

I feel like the worst thing you can do is blow a ton of money on the same signature guitar that your favorite guitarist plays. You are not Eric Clapton, Van Halen,or Slash. Find your OWN perfect guitar and master the craft.

BRO, PLS MAKE A VIDEO ABOUT YOUR GUMBALL 3000🔥

you are a LEGEND sir. Well said.

why are your antiquity guitar range not set up properly ??? i tested out a GS1 sg style guitar and the strings were way too high over the top nut and was painfully difficult to play chords as you had to push down hard on the fretboard .. the body is crazily too thick !! wow !! but look good though

Well, strictly speaking it's not about the looks of the guitar, but how much it inspires you to pick it up and play it with a big smile on your face.. but.. yeah.. looks play a part in this..

Great video! Super helpful advice! But.. first thing: Respectfully ask the staff, before you just grab a guitar. And get rifd of your bullhorn bell buckle before you scratch that sweet instrument you are trying out.

Hmm. I went to PMT in Northampton in 2022 ready to buy a Gibson J35 or Taylor 315. I could not get served and so left after an hour. Never had that problem in Andertons or PMT Norwich. Anyway... The most important thing about YOUR guitar is that it inspires you to pick it up and play it. As a beginner there are dark days ahead when your fingers are sore and you feel like you are not making progress. That guitar must call to you and inspire you to continue. When I finally could afford a Gibson Les Paul, it would lean against the sofa with the case open when I could not play any longer, just so I could look at it.

Very great tips Dagan! I also love your energy and how you show the audience that you can have fun with not very expensive guitars, like I see you smiling with that Squier Telecaster. Thanks for all the tips!

After 30 years, I've spent a lot of time in guitar stores.

I've had good experiences. Ive had bad experiences.

A lot of time the guys in the store are just disinterested, waiting till its 5:30pm.

Just bought a 2023 Ebony Epiphone Les Paul Custom. Fresh out of the box and tuned, it’s got a good bit of fret buzz across a bunch of strings/frets. I have done nothing but tune it. No professional set up. But my other guitars (LTD Eclipse and Gibson Explorer) don’t have this problem and I haven’t really needed to do set ups on them. Is that normal to have fret buzz on a new guitar out of the box (a few slightly high/low frets when testing with a straight edge)? Trying to decide on keeping or returning the guitar within the guitar center return window. Thanks!

This is such an empathic video. So many total newbs have no idea even how to "turn on" a guitar...or how to plug it into an amp.

The best tip someone told me was while the guitar is hanging on the wall, hold the body of the guitar with your left hand and pluck the high E string with your right. If it resonates well you’ll feel the vibrations in your left hand. If it feels alive, then it’s a contender. If it doesn’t resonate then no amount of mods will fix it and you need to move on.

Get the help to change strings or lower the action. Yeah right. The last guitar that I purchased from a store took 30 minutes to get down off the wall. How many hours would you wait for a lower set up?

Ask the guitar store if they rent guitars and amps. For a fraction of the cost of buying, you can try a guitar/amp for a couple days (or weeks), bring it back and swap it for another one till you find one you like. Once you find something you like you can buy it.

If you are ever in Newcastle do pop in there the staff are amazing and friendly built a mutual kinship with the guys Dagan, Jordan, Clem, John and the rest of the staff are legends

I still have the fear after 50 years.
I play my worst in a guitar shop every time 😊

I have the exact same Tobacco Burst Strat that you have in your studio. Mine is a pro 2 with some personal mods. That is my main guitar.

Nope. Quality is so shit nowadays even with "big name" brands, outsourcing all the parts to junk shops in mexico, korea, china etc... i'm never buying a brand new guitar again. All the guitar "manufacturers" are owned by the same two selfish greedy "investment" firms, that don't know or give two shits about anything music instrument related.

Tell us you have never been to guutar center. Just try to get some help when you are there.

I look for a30 day trial period, take a likely one home and play it. I don't play guitars in stores.

One tip I have for beginners playing is to pick something neutral for the stuff you're not there to test. Let's say you already have a sweet guitar and you're looking for an amp. I'd either find the same (or similar) guitar off the rack or play something very very neutral like a strat. Strats are great guitars, but they're not especially weird in any way. It's just about isolating the variables yknow.

Also don't be afraid of the staff. If it's a shop worth buying from the staff won't be bothered by "dumb" questions. I get pretty stressed at my job, but honestly the beginners are a breath of fresh air. I want you to get into guitar, I really do. Let me know how I can make that happen.

How the hell do you hang a headless guitar?

I feel like this too. I want to go in and try a guitar but I can't play anything yet just a couple of chords on my acoustic so I don't know what to play when I'm testing it.

What kind of guitar is Dagan demoing in this video?

Looks is huge! Especially if you are a beginner. You have to want to pick it up every time you walk by it or you'll never get better at playing. Once you find a style you like, ask about what colors it comes in. I love Les Paul style guitars but have seen ugly ones

I shop at guitar center in Cheektowaga NY. The staff is friendly and helpful. Even the other customers are fun to be around.

Anyone got the link to Sam's set up jargon clip he mentions?

I bought my first "proper" guitar from PMT in Cardiff. Up until then I'd been trying to learn on a £40 acoustic from Argos. I only knew a couple of chords at that stage and was too embarrassed to play in front of other people. The guy who served me was absolutely wonderful. He played about a dozen guitars in my price range so I could hear them, explaining the traits of each one. I eventually settled on a Squier Telecaster which I still have. I've played and owned much more expensive guitars since then, but that little Tele holds a special place in my heart and I'm grateful to that guy for taking the time to be nice to a newbie. I was on the verge of giving up because it was so difficult to learn on that crappy little acoustic but he found me the perfect guitar for me and I've never looked back.

How is that headless guitar staying on the wall hanger 😂😂😂

Weight and balance. Play standing up with a strap and sitting down. Make sure you are comfortable with the weight and that it feels stable and balanced. Beware of neck dive when standing. It can really feel miserable after a while. And sort of related to the looks, but deeper. Does it inspire you? Can you walk by without feeling like you need to pick it up and play it? If so, keep walking.

I go to pmt manchester alot and i have to say the staff are so helpful and nice to begginer guitarists. Im a pretty good player and i always jam with people who are starting out to help them feel comfortable and its great! I love guitar stores!

If you pay attention he always has a hand supporting the neck which is interesting because even on the tele with no neck dive he’s used to his SGs which he has to support. Love you Dagan.

You should do a video about guitar kits and building your own guitar.

Ironically, the first time I ever picked up a guitar in the store, I had only one person trying to be negative about it (my foster father - go figure). Yet, of course, having never touched a guitar (acoustic or electric) before, I had the staff calling me a liar, because according to them, I sounded like Slash one minute, and Jimmy Hendrix the next.
Now, fast forward twenty years, and I'm having to relearn everything. I can barely do chords (still pushing myself for that), yet I can somehow do harmonics and arpeggios without even thinking. 🤦🤷

I love PMTVUK, shout out all the UK shredder's

The íbanez q feels SOOOO GOOD, I went to a guitar store a year after buying mine and literally none of the guitars I played came close to the comfort level, it feels way more like an extension of me than all the other heavy wood blocks

5% guitar sounds and 95% voice wanker.

Pick The guitar and not the air please.

Millie Vanille fingers ? Air wanker.

Would your camera man focus on your shoes so we can see the guitars ?

You can play stairway to heaven drunk and start a riot.