Definitions and Grading Scale

DEFINITIONS OF TERMS:

NEW

Never sold. May be shopworn or show storage dings, but any manufacturer's warranty would still apply.

NOS

New, old stock. New, but discontinued--no longer in the manufacturer's catalog.

HSC

Hardshell case.

SSC

Softshell case.

OHSC

Original hardshell case.

OSSC

Original softshell case.

Gig Bag

Padded soft nylon bag.

FR

Floyd Rose locking tailpiece.

Hardtail

Guitar without a tremelo system.

Through-neck

Guitar neck and body are joined, or the neck goes right through the body to the end of the guitar. Found normally on more expensive instruments. Allows for easier fingering on the high frets, as the neck block is not present.

Bolt-on neck

Assumed on most guitars, unless specifically stated otherwise. Neck and body are two pieces joined at the top of the guitar body.

Strobe-tuned

Adjusting the length of each string so that the guitar plays in tune with itself all the way down the neck.

GUITAR GRADING:

Grading of used guitars is more of an art than a science. Normally, a scale from 1-10 is used. 10 is new, or as new (see the movie starring Bo Derek for reference). 1 means you could probably find a source of kindling closer to where you live. Grade numbers tend to focus more on condition, rather than originality. Wherever we know, we note those items that are non-original.