Buying a guitar online might have seemed unusual to many music lovers in the past. However, numerous traditional music stores have successfully transitioned to online retail, offering excellent customer service, competitive prices, fast and free shipping, easy returns, and a wide selection of brands and models. This evolution has been incredibly beneficial for guitarists worldwide wondering where the Best Online Guitar Shop is.
While visiting a physical store has its perks, especially for trying out instruments, online guitar shops offer unmatched convenience for exploring a vast range of guitars and gear. They are perfect for researching, comparing deals, and reading reviews from fellow guitarists, blending the advantages of both physical and digital shopping.
The unique advantage of a brick-and-mortar store remains the ability to personally test a guitar before buying. This hands-on experience, combined with expert advice from in-store staff, is invaluable.
This article will guide you through the best places to buy guitars online, highlighting the key features that define a top-notch online guitar shop. We’ll explore what to consider when searching for new or used guitars, along with essential gear and accessories. Keep reading to discover the ultimate choice for your next guitar purchase, complete with added benefits!
Key Features of the Best Online Guitar Shops
Extensive Selection of Instruments and Brands Online
A top-tier online guitar shop must offer a comprehensive catalog of instruments. This includes a wide variety of electric guitars, acoustic guitars, bass guitars, and more specialized instruments like ukuleles and mandolins. The sheer variety online ensures that you’re likely to find an instrument that perfectly matches your needs and budget, perhaps even discovering models you wouldn’t have considered in a physical store with limited stock.
Beyond variety, the best online guitar shops should feature leading brands in the industry. Guitarists seeking premium quality will look for brands like PRS, Taylor, Ernie Ball Music Man, Suhr, Tom Anderson, Duesenberg, and Santa Cruz. Furthermore, a truly comprehensive online shop remembers the essentials: guitar cases, gig bags, and robust warranty and return policies to give you peace of mind with your online purchase.
Leading online retailers like Sweetwater excel at offering a vast selection of high-end and popular guitars online. While you miss the immediate tactile experience of playing in person, detailed product descriptions, high-resolution images, and video demos help bridge the gap, allowing for informed online decisions.
Detailed Information and High-Quality Presentation of Guitar Gear
When evaluating an online guitar shop, consider how well they present their products. Since you can’t physically handle the guitar before purchase, the online presentation becomes crucial. Look for detailed specifications: neck profile, pickup types, bridge details, and wood types. High-resolution images from multiple angles are essential, and ideally, video demonstrations showcasing the guitar’s sound and playability should be available.
The best online guitar shops understand that online shoppers need to virtually “feel” the instrument. They provide comprehensive information that addresses the questions you’d typically ask in a store: How does the neck feel? What kind of pickups are installed? Is the bridge comfortable? Even details about the guitar’s weight can be important for online shoppers.
Beyond guitars, a great online shop will also offer a wide array of music gear, including amplifiers, pedals, and accessories. Detailed descriptions and multimedia content are just as important for these items, helping you recreate the experience of browsing through gear in a physical store from the comfort of your home.
Flexible Rental Programs (Where Applicable Online)
While not always feasible for purely online retailers, some of the best online guitar shops associated with physical stores may offer rental programs. This is particularly valuable for beginners or those unsure about committing to a specific type of guitar. Rental options allow you to try out different instruments – electric, acoustic, classical – before making a final purchase.
Online shops that offer rentals often provide high-quality, name-brand instruments, including new, used, or refurbished options. Check if your preferred online shop has any rental programs or partnerships with local stores that could facilitate this try-before-you-buy approach.
Professional Repair Service and Support Network
While an online shop primarily sells instruments, the best ones think beyond the initial sale. Consider if the online retailer offers or is affiliated with professional repair services. This is a significant advantage, especially for maintaining your instrument over time. While platforms like Reverb facilitate peer-to-peer sales of used gear, buying from an online shop with repair services ensures long-term support.
Look for online shops that offer or can connect you with services like restringing, setups, adjustments, and more complex repairs. Ideally, they should have authorized technicians who can handle warranty work, giving you confidence in their after-sales support.
Online Events, Communities, and Resources
In lieu of physical events, the best online guitar shops often foster online communities and offer virtual events. Webinars, live-streamed performances, and online lessons can enhance the online buying experience, creating a sense of community that mirrors the social aspect of physical music stores.
These online platforms can be excellent places to connect with other musicians, learn about new instruments, and get expert advice. Check if the online guitar shop you’re considering has forums, social media groups, or online event calendars to enrich your experience beyond just purchasing gear.
Exceptional Online Customer Support
Excellent customer support is paramount for any online retailer, especially for musical instruments where detailed questions and specific needs are common. Before choosing an online guitar shop, investigate their customer service reputation. Check online reviews, look for testimonials, and ideally, test their responsiveness yourself by sending an inquiry.
The best online guitar shops offer multiple channels for support: phone, email, live chat, and detailed FAQs. They should have knowledgeable staff who can provide expert advice on products, specifications, compatibility, and any other questions you might have before or after your purchase. Efficient and helpful customer service can significantly ease the online buying process and build trust in the retailer.
Free Shipping and Transparent Return Policies
Shipping costs and return policies are critical factors when buying guitars online. Many leading online guitar shops now offer free shipping on domestic orders, which is a significant benefit, especially for larger and heavier items like guitars and amplifiers.
Always review the shipping details and return policies before making a purchase. Understand the shipping timeframe, whether insurance is included, and the specifics of the return process. Hassle-free return policies are a hallmark of reputable online retailers, giving you confidence to buy online knowing you can return an item if it doesn’t meet your expectations.
Sales Staff Who Are Knowledgeable Musicians
The best online guitar shops often employ sales staff who are also musicians. This is a significant advantage because these individuals understand the needs and concerns of guitarists. They can offer informed advice, answer technical questions, and guide you to the right instrument or gear based on your playing style and musical preferences.
Look for online shops that highlight the expertise of their staff. Sales representatives with musical backgrounds can provide a level of service that goes beyond simply processing orders, offering valuable insights and building confidence in your purchase.
The Best Online Guitar Shops – Ranked
Considering these essential features, here’s a ranking of some of the best places to buy guitars online:
1. Danville Music
Danville Music stands out as a premier online guitar shop, extending the exceptional service of their San Francisco Bay Area store to a wider audience. Their online store offers a curated selection of high-end and signature guitars, along with top-quality music gear. With over 70 models in stock, you’ll find brands like Paul Reed Smith, Yamaha, Suhr, Tom Anderson, Ernie Ball, Duesenberg, Music Man, Santa Cruz, and more.
Danville Music’s online platform mirrors their physical store’s offerings: electric guitars, acoustic guitars, bass guitars, ukuleles, drums, amps, and pedals. They extend their in-store services online, offering expert advice and support to online customers. While rentals and in-person events are location-specific, their online customer service and deep product knowledge make them a top choice for buying guitars online.
Danville Music guitar store staff
Danville Music’s reputation as a PRS signature dealer in Northern California translates to their online presence, featuring a stunning collection of Core, Private Stock, Limited Edition, and Wood Library PRS guitars available for online purchase. Their online service aims to bring the personalized experience of building a PRS Private Stock guitar to customers remotely. Whether you’re in Walnut Creek or across the country, Danville Music provides a high-touch online guitar buying experience.
2. Sweetwater
Sweetwater is a giant in online musical instrument retail, boasting one of the largest inventories globally. While they have a single physical location, their strength lies in their massive online operation. Sweetwater’s website offers an enormous selection of guitars, amps, and pedals, supported by a sophisticated online infrastructure.
Sweetwater excels in providing detailed product information, high-quality images, and video content for their online catalog. They offer starter bundles for budget-conscious buyers and financing options to make online guitar purchases accessible. Brands like Squier, Epiphone, and PRS SE are readily available, alongside high-end brands like ESP, Ibanez, Jackson, Gibson, Fender, and Martin.
A key advantage of Sweetwater’s online shop is their renowned customer support. Their sales engineers are known for providing expert advice remotely, assisting with product selection, specifications, and even technical support for music software, making the online buying experience seamless and supportive.
3. Reverb
Reverb is the leading online marketplace for new, used, and vintage musical instruments. Its specialization in musical gear sets it apart from general marketplaces like Amazon or eBay, offering a focused online experience for guitar buyers.
Reverb’s online platform is particularly strong for finding unique and high-end guitars, often at competitive prices. The used market aspect means you can find rare or discontinued models. While prices can vary, Reverb is a go-to online destination for guitarists seeking specific, often premium, instruments.
The platform’s structure allows individual sellers and shops to list gear, creating a diverse online marketplace. While direct customer service varies by seller, Reverb provides a secure platform for transactions and dispute resolution, making it a trusted online space for buying guitars.
4. Musician’s Friend
Musician’s Friend is a well-established online guitar retailer with a long history. Now part of Guitar Center, Musician’s Friend maintains its distinct online identity, offering a vast selection of guitars and gear through its website.
Musician’s Friend’s online store benefits from the inventory of Guitar Center, providing a massive catalog of products. Their website is known for frequent promotions, including their “Stupid Deal of the Day,” which can offer significant discounts on guitars and accessories. This makes Musician’s Friend a compelling online option for deal-seeking guitar buyers.
While sharing inventory with Guitar Center, Musician’s Friend focuses primarily on online sales and customer service, providing a streamlined online shopping experience backed by a large retail network.
5. zZounds
zZounds is an online-only musical instrument retailer known for competitive pricing and availability of sought-after guitars. Operating solely online from Chicago, zZounds offers a wide range of major brands, including Fender, Gibson, Martin, Yamaha, ESP, Jackson, and Ibanez.
zZounds positions itself as an online shop that meets every guitarist’s needs with the right gear at the best prices. From beginner guitars to professional-grade instruments like Fender Stratocasters, their online catalog caters to a wide range of players. While customer reviews on service vary, their pricing and selection make them a noteworthy online guitar shop.
6. Sam Ash
Sam Ash is a major guitar retailer with a strong online presence and numerous physical stores across the US. Their online store benefits from the reputation and inventory of their established retail chain, offering a broad selection of guitars and gear online.
Sam Ash’s online shop provides everything from starter packs to premium and vintage guitars. They frequently offer online promotions, limited-time deals, and financing options. The option for free shipping or in-store pickup adds flexibility for online buyers who may also have access to their physical locations. Customer reviews often highlight Sam Ash’s strong reputation and reliable service, both online and in-store.
7. Guitar Center
Guitar Center is the most recognizable brick-and-mortar guitar retailer in the US, and their online store is a natural extension of their physical presence. With a history dating back to 1959, Guitar Center’s website offers an immense selection of guitars and related equipment.
Guitar Center’s online store is designed as a comprehensive destination for guitarists of all levels. The vast online catalog includes electric guitars, acoustic guitars, vintage guitars, classical guitars, amps, pedals, and accessories. Beyond sales, their website also offers resources like guitar lessons, aiming to be a one-stop online destination for all things guitar. The sheer scale and brand recognition of Guitar Center make their online shop a significant player in the online guitar market.
Find Your Next Guitar at the Best Online Guitar Shop
Buying a new guitar should be an exciting experience, not just a transaction. The best online guitar shops understand this, offering not only competitive prices but also the essential services and support that build trust and satisfaction. While large online retailers offer vast selections and convenience, shops like Danville Music combine the benefits of online shopping with a personalized, expert touch.
Danville Music exemplifies a premier online guitar shop by offering exceptional service, including free adjustments for the instrument’s lifespan and access to top-tier instructors. If you seek a high-quality guitar and superior service from an experienced music center, Danville Music, with its strong online presence and dedicated team, is an excellent choice.
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