How to Inspect a Used Guitar From Photos Before You Buy

Most of the guitars that come across my bench were bought sight unseen — ordered online, shipped in a box, opened on a kitchen table three states away from the seller. And most of the time it works out fine. The trick is knowing how to read a listing before you pay, because a used-guitar listing is a small pile of evidence, and the photos are the biggest part of it.

Here is the short version: a good listing gives you clear, well-lit photos from every angle, an honest written description of the wear, and a seller who answers direct questions without getting cagey. If any one of those three is missing, slow down. Below is exactly what I look for in the pictures, in the order I look for it, and the handful of questions that separate a clean buy from a headache.

The photos an honest listing should have

Before I zoom in on anything, I count the angles. A serious listing shows you the full front, the full back, the headstock front and back, the neck and fretboard, the bridge and tailpiece area, the control cavity or at least the jack and knobs, and close-ups of any dings or blemishes the seller mentioned. If a guitar is only photographed from one flattering front angle on a fuzzy blanket, that is not a photo shoot, it is a magic trick. Something is being kept out of frame.

Resolution matters too. Pinch-zoom into the darkest and lightest parts of each photo; if the image falls apart into mush before you can see the grain of the wood, ask for better shots. A seller who is proud of the guitar will happily send more. One who suddenly goes quiet just told you something.

Read the finish under raking light

This is the single most useful thing you can ask for, and almost nobody does. A guitar photographed with the light coming straight at it looks flawless — that is what straight-on light does, it fills every dip and hides every ridge. But ask for a photo taken with the light low and coming across the top, and the surface tells the truth. Swirl marks, buckle rash, finish checking, and the tell-tale witness line where a repair was blended in all throw a shadow the moment the light rakes across them.

What am I looking for? Fine parallel cracks in the clearcoat are finish checking — common and mostly cosmetic on older nitrocellulose finishes, caused by the finish getting cold and warming up too fast. On a vintage instrument, collectors actually expect it as proof the finish is original. What I care about more is uneven gloss: a patch that reflects differently from the wood around it usually means a touch-up or a repair. Not automatically a dealbreaker, but it is a price conversation, and the seller should be up front about it.

The neck and frets: what photos can and can't show

Be honest with yourself about the limits here. A photo can show you a lot about the frets and almost nothing reliable about the neck's straightness, so weight your judgment accordingly.

For frets, ask for a close-up shot down the length of the fingerboard with light raking across the wire. New frets have a rounded crown; worn frets go flat on top, and the wear shows up first under the first four or five frets of the plain strings, where most of us live. Light flattening is normal and a level-and-crown by a tech is routine. Deep divots you can see a shadow in, or frets worn down toward the board, mean a refret is on the horizon — that is real money, so factor it into your offer, not your regret later.

The neck itself is the honest limitation of buying from photos. You cannot reliably judge relief, a slight twist, or a maxed-out truss rod from a picture — a subtle twist can even read as normal relief on one edge of the board. This is exactly where your questions do the work the camera can't. Ask directly: how much relief does it have, does the truss rod still adjust both ways, and is the action where you want it. A straight answer here is worth more than any photo.

The headstock is worth its own close-up

If you are looking at a Gibson — a Les Paul, an SG, anything with that angled headstock — the back of the headstock and the area right behind the nut deserve their own well-lit photo. Gibson uses a roughly 17-degree headstock angle cut from a single piece of mahogany with no scarf joint, and that steep angle leaves relatively short wood grain running through the thinnest part of the neck. It is a big part of why these headstocks crack when a case tips over. That design gives the strings good downward pressure over the nut, but it also means a repaired headstock break is one of the most common things you will run into on a used Gibson.

A repair is not the end of the world — a well-done glue joint can be strong — but it dramatically changes the value, and some sellers will photograph around it. Look for a color or gloss mismatch behind the headstock, an overspray haze, or a fine line running across the grain. If the seller hasn't shown you a clear back-of-headstock shot, that is the first photo to request.

Hardware, electronics, and the “extras” shot

Zoom in on the screw heads, the tuner buttons, the bridge posts, and the pickup rings. Buggered screw slots and mismatched hardware tell you someone has been inside the guitar — not necessarily badly, but you want to know. Ask whether the electronics are all original and fully working: does every pickup selection make sound, do the pots sweep without crackle, are the pickups the ones that left the factory. None of that shows up in a glamour shot.

One photo I actually love to see is the pile of extras — the original case, the hangtags, the paperwork, the truss rod wrench. It does two things: it is a small provenance trail that makes a fake or a franken-guitar less likely, and it signals a seller who kept track of the instrument.

Questions that separate a clean buy from a headache

Once the photos check out, a few plain questions do the rest of the work. I ask every one of these before I commit: What is the total weight? How much neck relief does it have right now, and does the truss rod still adjust both ways? Are the frets original, and how much life is left? Are the electronics all original and working? Has the neck or headstock ever been repaired? And is there anything a buyer would be annoyed to discover that isn't in the photos?

That last one is the important one. You are not just gathering facts; you are watching how the seller answers. Clear, specific, unbothered answers are a green light. Vague, defensive, or dodged answers are the actual condition report.

Your safety net

Even done right, buying from photos carries some risk, so know your backstop before you pay. If you are buying through a marketplace like Reverb, purchases are covered by buyer protection: if the gear arrives damaged or genuinely not as described, you generally have a 7-day window from delivery to contact the seller or the platform with photos and start a return. Beyond that window, returns come down to the individual seller's stated policy, so read the payments-and-returns section of the listing before you check out, not after. Buying from a shop, ask what their return policy is and get it in writing. A seller who stands behind the guitar will tell you plainly.

Buying used from good photos is a skill, and it is one of the best ways to get more guitar for your money. Read the pictures, ask the boring questions, keep your safety net in mind — and if a listing won't give you those things, there is always another guitar. You can see everything currently on our bench, photographed the way I have described, in the guitars in stock collection.

FAQ

Can you really tell if a used guitar is good just from photos?

You can tell a lot — finish condition, fret wear, hardware, and any obvious repairs — but not everything. Neck straightness, relief, and how the guitar plays can't be judged reliably from a picture, so pair the photos with direct questions to the seller and a known return policy.

What photo should I always ask for if a listing is missing one?

A raking-light shot of the top and a clear, well-lit photo of the back of the headstock. The first reveals finish repairs and swirl marks; the second is where headstock break repairs hide, especially on Gibsons.

Is finish checking a reason to walk away?

Usually not. Fine parallel cracks in the finish are typically cosmetic and, on older nitro finishes, are even expected as a sign the finish is original. Uneven gloss or a mismatched patch is the bigger flag, because that can indicate a touch-up or repair.

Does a repaired headstock make a guitar worthless?

No, but it significantly lowers the value and should be disclosed and reflected in the price. A clean, well-done repair can play and hold up fine — just make sure you are paying repaired-guitar money, not all-original money.