Best Electric Guitars Under $300

Just because you didn't spend a few grand on a guitar does not mean it can't sound good or that you aren't a dedicated player. In fact, you can make a budget guitar sound great. Here are several of the best electric guitars under $300 that prove this point.

IN THIS REVIEW

The Best Electric Guitars Under $300
Our Favorite Electric Guitars Under $300
Our Top 9 Picks
Best Electric Guitars Under $300 Review
1. Fender Squier Affinity Series Stratocaster Guitar
2. Squier Standard Telecaster
3. Dean Custom Zone
4. Schecter Omen
5. Ibanez RG421
6. Epiphone Les Paul SPECIAL-II
7. Epiphone SG Special VE
8. Jackson JS32 Rhoads
9. Yamaha Pacifica Series PAC112V
Budget Guitar Buying Guide
Why Buy A Budget Guitar?
How To Choose Your Budget Electric Guitar?
What Do You Need With An Electric Guitar?
Common Questions
Overall Top Choice
Conclusion

The Best Electric Guitars Under $300

There are a variety of reasons someone would want to pickup a cheaper electric guitar. Fortunately, there are a ton of great companies that produce high quality instruments for a decent price.

If you want a sub $300 electric guitar but you're not sure where to start, this review has your name all over it. We take a deep look at several of the best budget electric guitars under $300 available today.

Our Favorite Electric Guitars Under $300

Our top pick from this list is the Epiphone Les Paul SPECIAL-II. Everything about this guitar is great. It looks great, it feels great, and, most importantly, it sounds great. Get a head start into the Les Paul world with this fantastic instrument.

Our Top 9 Picks

1. Fender Squier Affinity Series Stratocaster Guitar

2. Squier Standard Telecaster

3. Dean Custom Zone

4. Schecter Omen

5. Ibanez RG421

6. Epiphone Les Paul SPECIAL-II

7. Epiphone SG Special VE

8. Jackson JS32 Rhoads

9. Yamaha Pacifica Series PAC112V

Best Electric Guitars Under $300 Review

1. Fender Squier Affinity Series Stratocaster Guitar

We decided to start this list out with a bang. The Fender Squier Affinity Series Stratocaster Guitar Bundle is out top pick for the best electric guitars under $300. You get so much guitar for aa great price.

Bundle

Not only can you get a great sounding guitar, but you also get a huge bundle of accessories to go along with it. This pack comes with a Fender gig bag, a digital clip-on tuner, Fender strap, an assortment of picks, and an instructional DVD.

"C"-Shaped Neck

Regardless of your hand size, the "C"-shaped neck makes playing this guitar a pretty comfortable experience.

Tremolo Bridge

The tremolo bridge is a hallmark of the Strat. Grab your whammy bar and go to town with some hot blues licks.

2. Squier Standard Telecaster

Faithful Recreation

The Squier Standard Telecaster is a faithful recreation of the Fender Standard Telecaster just at a more budget friendly price. You can experience the simple genius of the "guitarist's guitar" without breaking the bank.

Dual Pickups

This guitar comes equipped with two single coil pickups. The 3-way switch allows you to use either the hot bridge pickup, the chrome covered neck pickup, or a combination of both.

Gorgeous Finish

The beautiful Antique Burst finish, along with the red tortoiseshell pick guard, on this guitar is absolutely eye catching. It blends perfectly with the Rosewood fretboard. You not only get a guitar that sounds amazing, but also one that looks great too.

3. Dean Custom Zone

Pink & Black Attack

The first thing you, and anyone else for that matter, will notice is the shockingly bright pink and black finish of this instrument. If you like to make an artistic statement before you even play a note, this will get your point across. It is loud, vibrant, and will tell your audience to be ready for you.

Maple Neck & Fretboard

The maple neck on the Dean Custom Zone really corresponds with the bright color of this instrument. It is a solid piece of maple, similar to what you may see in a classic Strat. This gives you a smoother playing experience as well as resulting in brighter highs and nice lows.

Dual Humbuckers

With a pair of dual humbucker pickups at your disposal you can experience the full range of loud and warm sounds your guitar can make. Humbuckers, because they have two single coil pickups set to opposite polarities, mostly eliminate the hum from single coil set-ups. This results in a less bright, but much warmer tone.

4. Schecter 431 C-6 Deluxe

Maple Neck and Rosewood Fretboard

Get the best of both tonewood worlds with this solid maple neck and rosewood fretboard combo. The maple is going to give you a nice bright sound while the rosewood will help level off some of the more harsh frequencies.

Thin "C"-Shaped Neck

This guitar is not just a great instrument but it is perfect for players that have smaller hands. The neck has a very comfortable "C" shape (maybe the "C" is for comfortable?) and the thinner neck makes it easy for any guitarist to reach all 24 frets of this guitar with ease.

Tune-O-Matic Bridge

Lock in the best tuning and intonation with the Tune-O-Matic bridge system. You can accurately dial in each individual string for the exact sound you need.

5. Ibanez RG421

Dual Humbucking Pickups With Parallel Mode

This guitar comes equipped with a pair of humbuckers and a 5-way pickup switch. You get your standard access to single neck, single bridge, or both combines. But you also can switch the neck into parallel mode.

Parallel mode essentially turns your neck pickup into dual single coil. You can get that bright and hot single coil sound but with a bit of the noise canceling capabilities of a humbucker.

Wizard III Neck

The Wizard III neck by Ibanez is one of the thinnest guitar necks out there. If you want a guitar that is easy to play fast, you will probably want to give this guitar a go. On top of the thin neck, it also features a "D" shape as well.

Made For Metal

This guitar is lightweight, thin necked, with a pair of hot Quantum humbucking pickups. This instrument was made for speed and digging into some heavy riffs.

6. Epiphone Les Paul SPECIAL-II

Les Paul

The Les Paul guitar is iconic in the world of rock & roll. From Jimmy Page to Slash all the way to Bob Marley, the Les Paul body and tone go hand in hand with legends. The Epiphone Les Paul Special II gives beginning players access to that look and sound at a pretty reasonable price.

Not Just For Beginners

The tone and build of this instrument is of the utmost quality. It's a perfect instrument to learn on but it's also nice to have around for seasoned veterans. It's a great "road guitar" to play when you want to keep your higher value instruments at home.

Dual Humbuckers

The dual humbucking pickups in this guitar are perfect for screaming solos or heavy riffs. Both are high output pickups; an Epiphone 700T at the bridge and an Epiphone 650R at the neck. You can switch between the 2 with a 3-way toggle switch or use them both at the same time.

7. Epiphone SG Special VE

Epiphone

The entire family of Epiphone guitars opens up the world of iconic instruments to beginners and players that want to keep a lower budget. You've already seen the Epiphone Les Paul Special II. Well, the Epiphone SG Special Vintage Edition is right up there as a fantastic homage to a true rock icon.

Dual Humbuckers

Again, like the Epi Special above, the SG is also equipped with a 650R for rhythm playing and a 700T for more lead focused playing. Play with either of these options or a combination of the two.

Epiphone Designed Hardware

All of the hardware on this guitar is designed by Epiphone and is of the utmost quality. The tuning machines are a premium die-cast 14:1 ratio. You also have a Stopbar tailpiece and a Tune-O-Matic bridge to keep your tuning locked in tight.

8. Jackson JS32 Rhoads

V-Shape Randy Rhoads Style Body

If you want to feel like a rock star, all you need to do is pick this guitar up. The V-shape body will instantly make you feel awesome. Top this off with the high contrast of a white body, black hardware, and shark fin inlays. You have an instrument worthy of playing.

Double Locking Tremolo Bridge

The locking tremolo keeps your guitar's tuning locked in tight even when using your tremolo. You also have a string locking mechanism at the nut for extra protection.

High Output, Ceramic Magnet Pickups

These humbuckers were made for heavy rock. You get a 3-way toggle switch with options of using the neck pickup, bridge pickup, or both pickups together.

9. Yamaha Pacifica Series PAC112V

Alnico V Pickups

Alnico V pickups are some of the strongest magnets available. Alnico is an abbreviation of aluminum, nickel, and cobalt and the V stands for 5, which is the strength of the magnet. These pickups will deliver a crystal clear, high output signal from your guitar strings.

Pickup Mixup

One of the cooler functions of the PAC112V is the variety of pickups available. You have two single coil pickups; one at the neck and one center pickup. Then you have a single humbucker located at the bridge. Similar to a Strat, you have a 5-way selector switch for a variety of pickup options. THEN you have the "Coil Tap" tone knob…

Coil Tap Tone Knob

If you want to change one of the humbuckers to get a single coil sound, you can do that with the tone knob. The tone knob has a "Coil Tap" function which turns the humbucker into a single coil pickup. Just pull the tone knob out to access it.

Budget Electric Guitar Buying Guide

You've seen the options. Now, how do you make sure you pick the right electric guitar?

Here are a few things to consider:

Why Buy A Budget Electric Guitar?

First, figure out why you want a budget electric guitar in the first place.

Are you just learning how to play and you don't want to invest too much into an unknown hobby? Have you always played acoustic and you want to change up your style of playing a little? Maybe you just want to a cheaper guitar to carry around with you when you can't access your more expensive instruments.

Once you know why, or even if, you really need a budget electric guitar, it's much easier to choose the right one for your needs.

How To Choose Your Budget Electric Guitar?

So, you know why you want one. Now, how do you decide which is the right guitar?

Pickups

The types of pickups in the guitar will have an effect on the type of sound you can get. For example, single coil pickups with often a brighter, more crisp tone, while humbuckers are usually a bit heavier in tone.

Seymour Duncan has a pretty extensive dive into the pickup discussion.

Tonewood

Tonewood is just the term used for the type of wood your guitar is made from. The density and weight of the tonewood characterizes the sound your guitar will produce.

For example, the tonewood in the Telecaster above is Basswood. Basswood is know to be lightweight and soft. This gives your tone a warmth and brightness when the instrument resonates.

Neck/Fretboard

Just like the tonewood used for the guitar body, the tonewood of the neck and fretboard shapes the sound. GuitarPlayer.com gives an excellent review of different tonewoods and how they affect sound.

Budget

Simply put, if the guitar is out of your price range, it is probably not the guitar for you. To avoid finding the "perfect" instrument and not being able to afford it, figure out your budget first and then ONLY look at instruments within that window.

What Do You Need With An Electric Guitar?

Unlike an acoustic guitar, where all you need is the instrument to start playing, an electric guitar has a few requirements. Here is a short list of additional accessories you may need with an electric guitar.

Strings

Obviously, your guitar is going to need strings. It will likely come with strings already. It's always good to have a set (or 5) of backup strings for when one breaks.

You will also want to play around with different gauge strings to see which ones feel and sound best to you.

Amp & Cable

You AB-SO-LUTE-LY MUST have an amp with an electric guitar!

Yes, you can strum it and make some noise without an amp. However, the solid body of the guitar will not give you resonance that you want or need. Often times, this results in overcompensating by playing harder. Over time, you can develop bad habits and poor technique.

Save yourself some time, frustration, and later heartache by picking up at least a good practice amp and a quality set of cables.

Strap

Electric guitar is meant to be played standing up. They are not designed the same way as an acoustic guitar which can fit comfortably on your lap.

Get yourself a good, comfortable strap so you can just concentrate on playing and not supporting your guitar at the same time.

Tuner

Having the best guitar tuner is incredibly convenient. You can make sure that you are always in tune and always sound good.

Capo

A capo will let you easily play a song in a different key without having to transpose anything. We recently did a review on the best capos too!

Case

Give yourself peace of mind with a protective case for your guitar. WIth a hard shell case you can be confident that nothing will hurt your instrument. If that's not in your price range, a heavy duty padded gig bag is much cheaper and will still protect your guitar from most damage.

Lessons

If you're a beginning guitarist, find a good teacher and learn from them. Getting a teacher right away will give you a solid foundation and keep you from starting out with bad habits.

Once you have a good teacher, you can start to develop your own practice schedule.

Common Questions

We found a lot of common questions while researching budget electric guitars. Hopefully some of yours will be answered here.

If not, let us know in the comments.

Do I Need A Whammy Bar?

Not at all. The whammy, or tremolo, bar is a fun accent to add to your playing, but it is not a necessary piece for your guitar.

How Much Should I Spend?

That really depends on your budget and skill level. If you are a beginner who is not even sure that guitar is something you want to dive deep into, then you shouldn't spend too much. You can find a perfectly good starter guitar for under $300.

Sometimes, often during the holidays, you can even find bundle deals with a guitar, amp, gig bag, and assorted accessories for under $200.

How Can I Make My Electric Guitar Sound Better Cheap?

Some ways to make your guitar sound better is to make sure it has been properly setup. You can take it to your local music shop and usually get this done for a reasonable price. If you want to try it yourself, there are plenty of tutorials online.

You can also change out your strings for a different gauge and higher quality brand. Replacing the pickups can sometimes help, too. Just remember, you can't upgrade a poorly made guitar.

Make sure you get your budget guitar from a reputable manufacturer so any upgrades can make a difference.

Can I Play Electric Guitar Without An Amp?

You can, but it isn't advised. It will not sound very good and, if done for a prolonged period of time, can cause you to develop poor playing habits.

Our Favorite Electric Guitars Under $300

Again, our top pick from this list is the Epiphone Les Paul SPECIAL-II. You can't go wrong with this axe. Who knows, maybe you'll be the next Jimmy Page or Slash.

Conclusion

The first step on the path to guitar superstardom is by picking up an electric guitar. Which one will you choose?

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