Top 5 Budget Electric Guitars: Good tones for under 500 pounds
When money is tight but you need a quality guitar
Ibanez PGMM31 PGM miKro Paul Gilbert · Source: Ibanez
Epiphone 2017 Les Paul SL · Source: Epiphone
Cort Mansons M-Jet · Source: http://www.cortguitars.com/en/product/product_view.asp?qCate=&qSeries=416&qProdTag=&qPack=&qNew=&qKey=all&qWord=&idx=1158#featured_t
PRS SE Standard 24 - Bargain! · Source: PRS
Luckily for us guitarists, modern guitar production techniques and global manufacturing mean that we can now get some quality guitars for very reasonable money. Here are my Top 5 Budget Guitars from the last 12 months that you should check out if you’re in the market for a new instrument but don’t have thousands to spend…
Epiphone Les Paul SL
At under $100 this solid bodied electric guitar is a real steal and one that even back in July I thought was a winner. What does it for me is the pretty amazing colour choice and the overall build quality also looks to be more than decent.
Okay, it isn’t perfect as you will probably need some new tuners to make it super stable tuning wise, but at only $99 you could easily factor in a set of decent tuners.
I also love that this guitar to me would be a perfect modding platform and therefore I would go wild with modifications if I were to buy one myself.
RRP – USD 99
Epiphone 2017 Les Paul SL – Bargain of the year? · Source: Epiphone
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PRS SE Standard 2017 Model
At the other end of the budget guitar scale, but never the less, still great value for money I think the PRS SE Standard 2017 Model is a steal.
If you are on a budget and need a want a solid guitar you can gig and record with then I think you should be checking these out. They have 85/15 “S” pickups and come with versatile switching systems complete with coil taps.
Probably no need to change a thing on these guitars and at under £500 you are getting a lot of guitar for your money.
RRP – GBP 475
PRS SE Standard 24 – Bargain! · Source: PRS
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Cort Manson M-Jet
A modern-day guitar and designed for players that want more than just a Blues/Rock style instrument. When I wrote about this one back in February I was pretty impressed by how much you got for your money and I would stand by that now as well.
Based upon the infamous Manson Matt Bellamy signature guitars but at a fraction of the cost the M-Jet has a lot going for it and will prove popular with a more demanding player.
The guitar is American Basswood and the bolt-on 25.5″ scale length neck is made from Canadian Hard Maple. The rosewood fretboard has a compound radius of 12″-15″ and so is very flat indeed. There are 24 frets, and the guitar has my favourite type of truss rod adjustment, with the access via a thumb-wheel.
Again, a great guitar for modding and one I would happily ‘bastardise’ to my own tastes.
RRP – GBP 469
Cort Mansons M-Jet · Source: http://www.cortguitars.com/en/product/product_view.asp?qCate=&qSeries=416&qProdTag=&qPack=&qNew=&qKey=all&qWord=&idx=1158#featured_t
Video
https://youtu.be/9mZEydyZsU0
Fender Squier Deluxe Jazzmaster with Tremolo
Okay, I had to get an offset on my list, as I just love a Jazzmaster and this year’s Squier Deluxe Jazzmaster is a lot of guitar for the money. I wrote about these budget offsets back in January and I think you owe yourself the time to go and check these models out.
I went and played a few this year myself and think they are ace for the money and that lush Candy Apple Red colour looks great in the flesh as well. Squier is making guitars that I would happily gig with and this one is no exception.
RRP – GBP 336
Squier Jazzmaster in Candy Apple Red · Source: Fender
Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqFp3YqT4kE
Ibanez PGMM31 PGM miKro
Yes, this is my wildcard and rightly so as it’s a little smaller than your standard guitar, but boy is it a lot of fun to play!
Come on, its a Paul Gilbert Signature model for under £200, that in itself is a bargain.
The PGM miKro is a short scale guitar with a hardtail and looks just like Paul’s classic signature model, but with a much smaller footprint. Sorry, but I think this guitar, even though small, is excellent value for money and something worth checking out.
Plus, if you are a parent and your child would like to get a cool guitar for Christmas, how happy would they be with one of these in their Christmas Stocking?
The guitar itself is a poplar body with a 22.2″ maple neck loaded with 24 medium frets. The pickups are a set of Ibanez Infinity ceramic humbuckers and therefore should be able to get you some cool shred guitar tones.
RRP – GBP 175
Ibanez PGMM31 PGM miKro Paul Gilbert · Source: Ibanez
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