Finding the best electric guitar for under $500 that plays awesome, sounds great, and looks sick isn’t that easy. There are a ton of different options out there to choose from. Today, with the market being so competitive, manufacturers are trying to create something that will draw your attention with proven quality. That’s why there are a lot of electric guitars that can be found at cheap or affordable price point category, which will probably meet your standards and needs.
In order to save you some time, we have done the research considering the overall performance, quality, and some features which matter, and came up with the list of some of the best electric guitars that can be found under $500. Firstly, let’s give you an insight into what types of electric guitars are there so that you can narrow your choice even more.
Top 5 Best Electric Guitars Under $500
2021 Comparison Guide and Review
Contents
| Best Electric Guitar Under $500 |  |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ranking | #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5 |
| Brand | Ibanez | Fender | Gibson / Epiphone | Dean | Schecter |
| Model | JEM JRWH (See on Amazon) |
Squier Telecaster (See on Amazon) |
Les Paul Std (See on Amazon) |
Dave Mustaine (See on Amazon) |
Omen Extreme 6 (See on Amazon) |
| Woods | Mahogany body Maple Neck Rosewood fretboard |
Pine Body Maple Neck Maple fretboard |
Mahogany body Mahogany Neck Rosewood fretboard |
Mahogany Body Mahogany Neck Ebony fretboard |
Basswood Body Maple Neck Rosewood fretboard |
| Frets | 24 Jumbo | 21 Jumbo | 21 Jumbo | 24 Jumbo | 24 Jumbo |
| Pickups | 2 Quantum humbuckers | Vintage Style Single-Coil Tele Pickups | 700T Humbucker pickups | Humbuckers | Dual Schecter High-Output Alnico humbucker |
| Bridge | Floyd Rose | Fender Tele | Tune-O-Matic | Tune-O-Matic | Floyd Rose |
| Best Feature | Tree of Life Inlay | Tele Sound | Sunburst Finish | Awesome Body Shape | Very Playable |
| Check Price | Check Price | Check Price | Check Price | Check Price | Check Price |
Compare this List of the Best Electric Guitars under $500
Here is a list of the best electric guitars under $500 that will help you stay under budget and still play, sound, and look great!
- Ibanez Jem JrWH
- Fender Squier Telecaster
- Ephiphone Les Paul Standard
- Dean Zero Trust Dave Mustaine
- Schecter Omen Extreme-6 FR
Let’s take a look at each guitar to see how they compare to one another and figure out which one is right for you.
Ibanez JEMJRWH Steve Vai Signature
Ibanez! Should we say more? It was never a mistake buying an Ibanez guitar. That rule also applies to this one. With the mahogany body, maple neck, and rosewood fingerboard, it will show the longevity that’s expected from one Ibanez. What extremely adds to the appearance of one guitar are small details. This Ibanez JEMJRWH Steve Vai Signature has the tree of life inlay throughout the fretboard.
Perfect look, jumbo frets, 2 Quantum humbuckers, Quantum single-coil with a five-way switch, and double locking bridge are the things that make this guitar so special. Needless to say, its sound quality simply fondles your ears.
Pros and Highlights:
- Sound quality – Like any other Ibanez, this one just hits the right note! Its sound quality will make you love music even more.
- Durability – Thanks to the finest materials used, it excels in longevity and will serve you for ages.
- Lightweight – With only 8 pounds, you will feel no back or neck pain while carrying it around or jamming on your guitar while standing.
- Appearance – Details matter. The appearance of this guitar is, simply put, stunning!
Cons and Potential Flaws:
- Not a single one.
Bottom line:
Definitely, this is one of the finest (if not the finest) examples in the category of under $500. When we sum everything, sound quality, durability, and other properties that this guitar has to offer, it is definitely on top of our list!
Squier by Fender Classic Vibe 50’s Hand Telecaster Electric Guitar
Fender is one of the most popular manufacturers in the world of music. So, coming from Fender, we’ve expected nothing less from this Squier telecaster. Having its pine body, and neck in C shape made of maple, it is quite comfortable to play. There are 21 jumbo frets, of which higher frets are easily approachable due to the Venetian cutaway.
It features single coil telecaster pickups and offers quite rich, beautiful sound. This telecaster comes with Fender strings to improve its sound quality even more. Simply put- a highly valuable guitar to start with or add to your current collection.
Pros and Highlights:
- Great appearance – For those in love with the old-school looking guitars, this one might seem like a good option. Coming in the color of a natural wood, and providing such natural acoustic-like tone, it will quickly take your heart.
- Pickguard – There is a black pickguard to protect your guitar from scratches while strumming. It actually protects the overall appearance and the durability of the guitar.
- Sound quality – What should be expected from this one is a natural sound that any other telecaster will provide you with. Those that like how telecaster sounds, this one will amaze even more.
Cons and Potential Flaws:
- None thus far.
Bottom line:
Shortly- great durability, performance, and the overall quality for the price. Its sound quality and simplicity of playing, due to the highly comfortable maple neck, are the reasons why we have put it on our list.
Epiphone Les Paul STANDARD Electric Guitar
This ebony beauty coming from Epiphone surely deserved to be on our list. Epiphone is a manufacturer with a lot of experience in the music world, and therefore, knows exactly what its customers want from an instrument.
This guitar is made of mahogany body and maple top, which will definitely increase its longevity to amusing level. With alnico classic humbucking pickups, you will be able to enjoy its darker tone and great distortion. There is a rosewood fretboard, which is one of the most common materials used for the fretboard.
Pros and Highlights:
- Easy to play- 75 scale, inlays on the fretboard and the Venetian cutaway are there to ease the whole process of playing and improvising.
- Tuno-O-Matic bridge- with this bridge and stopbar tailpiece, the sound quality is guaranteed. You will be provided with much more sustain, and the whole process of string changing will be a lot easier.
- Superb Resonance- Thanks to the mahogany body, the acoustics of this guitar will simply speaking, amaze you.
- Humbucker pickups- Pickups are of great quality and it will dive you into the world of distortion as you’ve never heard before.
Cons and Potential Flaws:
- Not for all kind of genres- Since it provides a bit darker tone, it’s not the biggest match for certain genres.
Bottom line:
With everything said above, it’s quite clear why Epiphone’s beauty is on our list. It’s one of the best representatives of that darker tone and offers quite a good distortion. Being comfortable to play and providing a superb resonance are the two main reasons which prevailed with this one.
Dean Dave Mustaine Electric Guitar
If you are familiar with Megadeth, or even a fan, then this one is true must-have! It offers quite a unique appearance that will take a glance of even an uninterested online passenger. Axe shaped guitar with Florentine cutaway will surely take your hearth on the first look. It’s not only about the look, but the sound quality as well.
It features mahogany top and body, set neck, black hardware, and rosewood fingerboard for improved comfort. “In Deth we Trust” is a fine representative of metal guitars that can be found under $500. 24 frets, easy to approach, and DMT design pickup system are what makes this guitar so special.
Pros and Highlights:
- Longevity- Thanks to the finest materials, this guitar excels in durability and will last for ages. Unless you smash it from the ground it in the middle of your gig.
- Great appearance– For Megadeth fans, this one will be like a cherry on the top while playing their favorite Megadeth songs.
- Simple to play– Easily approachable frets, great for improvisation. Rosewood fingerboard makes it much easier and comfortable to play.
Cons and Potential Flaws:
- A bit heavy- With 14 pounds, it belongs to a bit heavier group of guitars. But, what is that for one Megadeth warrior, right?
Bottom line:
This one is a fine example of metal genre guitar. For those in love with Megadeth, only the appearance will be enough to prevail. But on the other hand, that’s not the only thing that this guitar has to offer. Great sound, distortion (of course), and longevity due to the finest materials are what can be expected from “In Deth We Trust”.
Schecter Guitar Research Omen Extreme-6 Electric Guitar
Coming from Schecter, this guitar is surely crafted with care and with a lot of experience. It offers a Schecter Diamond Plus pickup system, with exceptional sound quality. There is a double cutaway to ease the approach to those upper frets which are, by the way, 24 on the rosewood fingerboard.
With humbuckers that this one offers, you will be able to choose between the varieties of tones, which can match any of your moods. Comfortable to play, lightweight, and beautiful! There are inlays throughout the fingerboard, which improve not only the overall appearance but your orientation through the fretboard as well.
Pros and Highlights:
- Appearance- Majestic look! Everyone in love with a bit darker shades will fall in love with this one.
- Double cutaway- It’s not only about the appearance, but about the ease of reaching those upper frets as well.
- Good for professional purposes as well- Not only that you can use it for your home purposes and practice, but this guitar offers the quality capable of studio recording or even gigs.
Cons and Potential Flaws:
- The action- By default, the action will be too low. You will need to adjust it.
Bottom line:
A piece well worth the money! No need to discuss the quality. The guitar is lightweight and easy to play.
ESP LTD EC256FM Electric Guitar, Lemon Drop
The first thing that comes in our minds about this guitar is: “Damn! It looks amazing”. Then, we think twice about everything else and it makes us stunned even more. Now, there must be a catch. It must be the price! Nah, it’s not about the price neither (cheap price point category). This guitar is absolutely one of the best representatives of our $500 bracket.
It has a TOM bridge and tailpiece of the finest quality. Mahogany body and maple top are in charge of its remarkable durability. When it comes to neck it has 24.75 scale and 22 Jumbo frets. Featuring thin U neck, it is extremely comfortable to grip, and bare chords will never be easier to play. The pickup system is ESP designed LH-150 and they will come with standard LTD tuners.
Pros and Highlights:
- Price tag- Considering the quality of this guitar, it definitely pays its price.
- Capable of various genres- Now, it may sound impossible, but this one can be played in some of the most opposite genres. Therefore, you can use it for blues, hard rock, classic rock, prog, fusion, and a bunch of other genres.
- Performance- Simply put, this beauty excels in the field of performance, offering high-quality sound and variety of genres compatible with.
Cons and Potential Flaws:
- The tuners quality- This lacks and considering the overall quality of the guitar, it is quite below the one that it should have. However, replacing these might provide you with a superb instrument.
Bottom line:
With a bit of your personal touch and some really cheap investments, you can improve the fabric version to a top-notch guitar. It is compatible with different genres and its overall performance is much better than one guitar from the cheap price point category should have.
Our Top Recommendation
As we previously mentioned, Ibanez JEMJRWH, is our top recommendation! The reason behind is quite simple- its value is much bigger than the price tag that we have seen.
It can be used for professional purposes, or you can practice on it. It is compatible with various genres and really grateful to have in your collection, or as a starting guitar. Lightweight, the ease of playing is on the highest level, and its appearance is breathtaking.
That’s not all! Once you hear its sound, that’s the moment when you instantly fall in love with Ibanez JEMJRWH.
Final Verdict
In the light of everything aforementioned, these are some of the best samples of the electric guitars that can be found under $500. Considering the market, and how competitive manufacturers are nowadays, you can find some pretty good quality guitars in this bracket.
Nevertheless, some of the models are even compatible with the professional purposes as well. So, hopefully, this article made your choice a bit easier.
What to look for in a Guitar Price Below $500
Types of Electric Guitars
There are several different aspects that you should know about electric guitars. The most important parts of the electric guitar are the guitar’s pickup system and its body. Therefore, guitars divide into those with different body style, and into those with different pickup system.
Different Types of Body Styles
- Solid body electric guitars
Made of the solid wood, this category is one of the most popular among experienced guitarists. They are more resistant to feedback and have much more sustain than the other guitar types from this category. Also, with a much powerful distortion, it’s needless to say that they are great for certain genres like metal and rock.
The most popular electric guitars coming from this body-type category are well-known Stratocaster, Super Strat, Telecaster, and much more.
- Semi-Hollow guitars
With an exposed opening, these guitars most likely will have those f-shaped wholes on their resonating box. They are quite beautiful, looking like big violins, and commonly related to Jazz or Blues.
- Hollow body electric guitars
Although they sound similar to semi-hollow guitars, there is one small difference- they lack a wood block that regularly runs down the middle. That results in more natural, acoustic-like sound.
Different Types of Pickup Systems
- Single Coil
As their name says, single coil guitars have one magnet. They are not able to pull out the distortion like the one that you can hear with Humbucking pickup system, but that’s mostly because they are not even invented for this sort of playing. As compensation to this, they offer a quite rich tone.
- Humbucking Pickups
Humbucking pickup system offers a bit darker tone. With that said, they’re not only great for some heavier genres like metal or rock, as its distortion is at a high-quality level, but for playing Jazz and other genres that can benefit from such, darker sound.
- P90 Pickups
Being just between the aforementioned pickup systems, this system offers a bit higher output than you can find in the single coil system, but not as high as the one that can be seen in the humbucking pickup system. They are easy to identify, as they consist of 6 metal dots, and are quite large.
With everything said above, you have all the information needed for choosing the best suiting electric guitar under $500. So, check out our list!
wish i had seen tHis before i bought my first electric. A Squier Strat.
I looked at both the Squier telecaster and the Ibanez. Bought the Strat purely on colour.
Never start a kid on a guitar with a Floyd Rose Bridge. It will be such a challenge to restring a tune for a beginner. Most kids find it too hard and give up. Keep the starter simple.