When thinking about purchasing your first guitar, you might think you need to spend big bucks in order to get something worth playing. The truth is, you don’t! High-end brands like Epiphone and Squier offer low-cost electrics that rival the highest quality models from Gibson and Fender. This guide offers a selection of the best electric guitars under $200. You can get an excellent guitar for under $200 when armed with some general knowledge, and that’s what we are providing here. These guitars represent the best options out right now for any beginner, or musician on a serious budget.
*Disclosure: There are some affiliate links below and as an Amazon associate, I may earn from qualifying purchases. However, these are all products I highly recommend. I won’t put anything on this page that I haven’t verified and/or personally used.
Squier by Fender Bullet Stratocaster Electric Guitar – HSS
Product Highlight: Extra sound options and a sleek look
Fender makes a wide range of great guitars at all price ranges. The Fender Squier Bullet is a lower-cost guitar, but it still has a lot of great features that make it a standout at under $200.Â
The best part about this guitar is that it’s an HSS model. This means you get a humbucker along with the two single coils. You’ll have more tone options for rock, metal, shred, blues, and more. The HHS Fenders are great because they appeal to a wider audience and I really love how they sound. The neck of the guitar is maple and there’s a rosewood fingerboard with 21 frets. The guitar features the standard Fender volume, two-tone controls, and the pickup selector switch. The bridge is a hardtail through the body which helps keep the tuning of the guitar stable
For those getting into playing the guitar, you can’t go wrong with a Fender Squier Bullet. Naturally, they don’t have the features of higher-priced guitars, but they give you a good sound at this price and they can’t be beat in terms of their overall value. This is a solid choice for any beginner who wants to experience that Fender sound without the major price tag. Purchase on Amazon
Epiphone Les Paul SPECIAL-II Electric Guitar Heritage
Product Highlight: Easy to play and beginner-friendly
What makes this one of the best electric guitars under $200? Epiphone is the lower-priced Gibson model and offers you a lot of value, along with many great features.
The guitar has the classic Les Paul shape so it’s a familiar shape that you’ll love to play. There are two 700T/650R open-coil humbuckers pickups for rock, blues, metal, and other guitar styles. You get a tone, volume, and a pickup selector switch on the instrument. The fretboard is rosewood and it features 22 frets. The neck is bolt-on and made out of Mahogany so it’s stable. The bridge is a Tune-O Matic so your guitar will stay in tune for longer.
The Epiphone Les Paul SPECIAL-II is an inexpensive guitar under $200, and well worth that great price. The guitar has a very nice neck for a cheaper model and it feels great to play. These instruments keep their tune very well and will last you a long time if you look after them. You can’t go wrong with an Epiphone which makes this guitar a solid buy in my opinion. It is definitely one of the best electric guitars under $200 on the market. Purchase on Amazon
Ibanez GRGA120 GIO RGA Series Electric Guitar
Product Highlight: 24 frets and high output Infinity R pickups
The Ibanez GRGA120 GIO RGA Series features two humbuckers so you’ll be able to play rock, metal, shred, and other styles on the instrument. The pickups on this guitar are quite good for what you pay, making this instrument a standout for the price. To control the pickups there’s a volume, tone, and pickup selector switch so you can get good sounds out of it. I like the double cutaway feature which is ideal for beginners because you can reach all the high notes with ease. This is ideal for beginners because their fingers aren’t as developed. The cutaway makes it more comfortable to play. The Ibanez cutaway feature is one of the best in the industry. It’s also a beautiful instrument with a maple neck and a rosewood 24 fret fretboard. People who see you playing this will never guess it costs less than $200. Purchase on Amazon
ESP LTD EC Series EC10 Electric Guitar
Product Highlight: Smooth, comfortable, thin U-shaped maple neck for easily getting to chordsÂ
ESP makes some good guitars, but they can be expensive. They do have a few that are under $200 which you should take another look at such as the ESP LTD EC Series EC10.
This instrument is the perfect choice for a beginner. It has two humbucking pickups for blues, metal, shred, rock, and other guitar styles. The pickups are ESP Designed LH-100N, and LH-100, so they are better than the average pickups you’ll find in other guitars. To control your pickups there’s a volume, tone, and pickups selector switch. There’s a maple neck with a 24-fret fingerboard which is comfortable to play and easy for beginners. The bridge is a Tune-O Matic, so the guitar stays in tune well and it makes for easy string changing.
This ESP LTD guitar is a great pick for a beginner because it has a lot of value. The instrument has jumbo frets which are easier to play than standard frets which I like. The Les Paul shape is familiar and easy to hold and play for beginners who are just starting to learn. I find the necks on these ESP guitars are quite nice, even at this price so you’re getting something that will be easy to pick up and play right away. Purchase on Amazon.
Yamaha Pacifica Series PAC012 Electric Guitar
Product Highlight: 5 position switch and great sound
Yamaha makes some nice guitars and they have several models which are cost less and offer you a good value for your dollar such as the Yamaha Pacifica Series PAC012.
This guitar has a humbucker pickup and two single coils so it offers you more value for your money. To control the pickups there’s a tone volume and pickup selector switch. The guitar has a standard fender-style tremolo system so you can do dive bombs, guitar tricks, and fancy bends. You’ll be able to play blues, rock, country, shred, and other styles with this guitar. You get a maple bolt on the neck and 22 frets.
I really like this Yamaha Pacifica as it’s a fine instrument at this price. The double cutaway is nice for beginners so they can play higher notes comfortably without straining their hands. I love the tones you can get out of it with the pickup configuration A humbucker with the two single coils is ideal for so many different styles. I have this in my guitar and love how it sounds. This is a very nice inexpensive guitar under $200 which you’re going to enjoy for a long time to come. Purchase on Amazon
Jackson JS Series Dinky Arch Top JS22 Satin Black
Product Highlight: Pickups have a very full tone with a great low-end
Jackson is a company that specializes in rock and metal guitars. They have been around since the 80s and it is managed by Fender. This ensures an exceptional build quality and the Jackson Dinky Arch Top JS22-7 is a great first choice for you.
To start, this is a 7-string guitar and is perfect for heavier genres that rely on very heavy riffs. Granted, it makes it a bit more difficult for beginners to learn where things are on the guitar note-wise. However, if you are willing to have patience, this guitar might be the one for you.
The Jackson Dinky Arch Top JS22-7 has a poplar body (which is one of the most common low-budget tonewoods for the body), a maple neck, and a 24-fretted amaranth fretboard. Amaranth is a harder wood than maple and is an extremely stable tonewood for fretboards.
As for sound, this guitar comes with a dual Jackson humbucker pickup system. These humbucker pickups have a very full tone with a great low end, which makes them ideal for the lower, heavier riffs. It is definitely one of the best electric guitars under $200 on the market
A Few Things to Consider Before You Buy Your Guitar
Before purchasing your best electric guitar under $200, you have a few things to consider. This guide will help you get the most out of your guitar and avoid a lot of the headaches that many new players experience with their instrument.
Pickups
The pickups on inexpensive guitars can be quite weak. They will produce decent sounds, but this can be a bit lacking on some models due to the cheaper price. You can make the guitar sound even better by changing the pickups. Many famous players will buy cheaper guitars and then add better pickups, so this could be an option for you with your new guitar. There are two types of pickups which are called humbuckers and single coils. The humbucker produces more harder rock tones and it sounds quite good. The single coil produces more mellow tones which are perfect for average rock, country, and blues. Pickups all come down to personal preference. Many guitars have both humbucking and single coil pickups which can be ideal as you get a wide range of tones out of the instrument. A good guitar tech can help you decide the right pickups to put in your guitar if you decide to change them out for better ones. Just remember that you don’t have to do this as it’s all just personal preference. It can add more cost to your guitar if you buy new pickups.
Strings
The strings on new guitars are usually bad because they have been sitting in a store or factory for some time. It’s ideal to take the strings off the guitar once you get it home and put fresh ones on it as the guitar will sound much better. Strings are quite cheap and you should have several sets so you can change strings often. It’s important to put fresh strings on often as this gives you better tones and they are much easier to play for beginners. For now, players, I recommend 009s gauge as these are easier to bend and play in general. The 010s are a bit too heavy for new players and can lead to frustration. You should use what you prefer, but 009s are going to make it easier for you to learn than the heavier 10s will.
Setup
The setup of your guitar is very important and this can be a problem for inexpensive guitars. They will ship from the factory as standard, but this is usually not ideal for playing. The action or how high the strings are from the fretboard is too high. This can be lowered or raised depending on what you prefer. In general, lower action makes it easier to play fast a higher action makes it easier to do string bending for most people. A guitar tech can set this for you.Â
Amplifiers
Once you have the best electric guitars under $200, may want to invest in your amplifier. There are many great amplifiers in the $300-$500-dollar range that make good intermediate amplifiers for beginner or early intermediate players which you should consider. Here is my list of the best amplifiers for under $500.
Ready for a budget-friendly acoustic? These our are top recommendations for acoustic guitars under $400.
