Best Gigging Guitars: 5 Reliable Options for Live Use
Guitars for hitting the road!
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Best Gigging Guitars: 5 Reliable Options for Live Use · Source: andrew catterall / Alamy Stock Foto
The best gigging guitars should be useable, reliable and good to play. Here, we’ve got all of those qualities, and we’ve also considered value for money.
Best Gigging Guitars
Best Gigging Guitars: What Music Do You Play?
What guitar you use for live performances will vary in so many ways. Whether it’s music type or budget, your six-stringed stage companion could be anything. Obviously, some guitars work better than others depending on application.
If you’re in a Metallica tribute band, then you’re less likely to need a bright sounding acoustic guitar. Likewise, if you’re in a country duo, you probably don’t need a 7 string super Strat with locking tuners.
Moreover, if you’re just starting to get out there performing live, you might only have one tool for the job. Which is fine! However, this list of gigging guitars should hopefully point you in the right direction if you have the time and money to hand pick a dedicated guitar for your shows. Let’s see what we’re working with.
Fender Malibu Player
For our first look at the best gigging guitars, we’re going acoustic. This example comes in the form of this *Fender Malibu Player.
This entry comes as a personal recommendation. Since 2018, I’ve gigged with a slightly different version of this guitar, a 2016 Fender California Series Malibu CE in Olympic White, which they sadly no longer make.
Nevertheless, this Malibu Player would be an excellent guitar to use for small pub gigs and open mic nights. With the compact shape and modern C profile neck, it’ll be comfortable to play. For 3 chord songs, it’s ideal with 20 frets at our disposal. The best part, it’s a relatively inexpensive way to get into liver performances.
- More from Fender
Telecasters
Moving on, we’re going electric. Overall, any Telecaster style guitar will be as tough as old boots. Branded as one of the most versatile guitars ever, let’s take a look.
For this portion of our look at the best gigging guitars, I’ve selected three examples that work around different price points. Overall, they’ll all provide similar results. Great for clean tones, and just right for slightly heavier stuff.
With their popular bodies and bolt-on maple necks, these guitars are just big lumps of wood. However, combined with two singe coil pickups, you’ll get the twang for any lead lines. I’ve had one of my Telecasters for 12 years, and it’s never let me down on stage before.
Plus, in my experience, I’ve always found the input jacks on a Telecaster to be more reliable than on a Stratocaster. Which is vital when performing, avoiding the crackle crackle of a faulty input.
Yamaha FX370C
Similarly, another acoustic that won’t break the bank. As far as the best gigging guitars are concerned, Yamaha are one of the most reputable names in the business.
With a 1-way piezo pickup system, you’ll be able to plug in and play anywhere. This dreadnought style acoustic is slightly bigger than some players may be used to. However, it’s your archetypal camp fire guitar.
With a spruce top, expect some bright sounding chords, and a rosewood fingerboard to ensure smooth melodies and changes. A great thing with this example, you could use it as a dedicated acoustic gig guitar, or something to grab from the wings when your set list demands something softer. Anything *Yamaha, you’re in safe hands.
- More from Yamaha
Gretsch G2622T
Another personal recommendation here, and a guitar I regret selling every day. However, for usability and versatility, they don’t come much better than this *Gretsch G2622T.
This semi-hollow bodied guitar comes from the Streamliner series. You get a nice thin body with a triple cutaway and cream bindings. Performers should be visually impressive, and all of these guitars have a beautiful laminated maple finish.
As far as versatility is concerned for our look at the best gigging guitars, we’ve got the light and airy benefits of it being a hollow body. Furthermore, the twin Broad’Tron BT-3S humbuckers will play anything from metal to muzak. Plus, that Bigsby is always good fun!
- More from Gretsch
Fender AM Acoustasonic Tele
To conclude our look at the best gigging guitars, we’ve got another example from Fender. Gibson players, it’s nothing personal, but these *Acoustasonic guitars are pretty cool.
As a teacher and a guitar podcast host, I get asked about these a lot. They appeal to players who want an acoustic sound, without committing to the size and effort of a real acoustic.
We’ve still got a C profile neck, and 22 narrow tall frets ideal for soloing as well as chord playing. Furthermore, we’ve got a 3 pickup system with a 5 way selector, making it similar to a typical electric guitar. They’re expensive, but they essentially give you the best of both worlds if you’ve just got one guitar to use.
Best Gigging Guitars: Testing Testing, 1,2,3…
Overall, you’ll only know what guitar you want to use live once you get to know that instrument. For instance, I love my Telecaster with twin humbuckers, but it’s just too heavy to play 2 hours of music with. See what qualities you like, and what budget you have to work with, and then pull the trigger. Although, I’d happily use all of the above products myself, and have used two of them.
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