You might be on a strict budget for your first guitar, but you still need a great one. Well, this article is for you. Here we’ve got wonderful electric guitars that are below $500.
These guitars are selected in a few main categories – how unique they are and the value of their construction, set, and specs. Here are some good guitars at an affordable price.
Best electric guitars less than $500
1. Schecter C-1
This guitar has a wonderful body, coil-split Schecter Diamond SuperRock-II humbuckers, flat fretboard radius, ultra-smooth neck finished with satin, and a hardtail string-through bridge.
2. Gretsch G2420T Streamliner
This guitar has a maple semi-hollow build that is laminated using parallel bracing, great looks with a nice neck and body made of vintage, two broad tron humbuckers that produce bright and throaty tones, and a chunky U-shaped neck with a 12-inch-radius laurel fretboard.
3. Squier Classic Vibe ’50s Telecaster
This guitar has Alnico V single-coil pickups and a vintage style bridge. It is a butterscotch blonde over a pine body.
4. Danelectro ’59XT
This guitar has high-output P-90 (neck), vintage-inspired looks, Wilkinson tremolo bridge for versatility and stability, a maple neck, and a rosewood fretboard on a semi-hollow body.
5. Yamaha Revstar RS420
This guitar is a robust, streamlined instrument that can nail majority styles of rock. It has vintage-output YGD Alnico V humbuckers, with pull/push “Dry Switch” that divides the humbuckers, but it also filters out bass frequencies for clarity and punch.
6. PRS SE Standard 24
This guitar has a mahogany body that can be purchased in three different types of finishes. It also has a maple wide thin-set neck, fretboard from rosewood, coil-split pickups for versatility, and a nickel PRS patented tremolo.
7. Sterling by Music Man Cutlass SSS
This electric guitar has great choices for color, a strong poplar body, a two-point vibrato with screw-in trem, and a flat 12″ radius.
8. Squier Classic Vibe ’60s Jazzmaster
This has a unique rhythm and lead circuits, and their corresponding controls, and a floating vibrato system – just like on a traditional jazz masters. It also features Fender designed alnico pickups, a slim C-shaped neck, and a vintage gloss finish.
9. Epiphone G-400 PRO
This electric guitar has split-coil Epiphone Alnico PRO Classic humbuckers and a body that is easy to carry. It can be bought for $350, with a blackwood or jatoba fretboard, coil-split ESP LH-150 pickups, a thin U-shaped neck for fast playing, and comfort.
10. ESP LTD EC-256
This electric guitar has a single-cutaway with a mahogany body and three-piece mahogany set neck, and 22 extra-jumbo frets.
These are guitars you can buy under $500. Which one will you choose?