Best Guitars Under $500
Are you looking for a guitar with a reasonable price and really high quality? Well, you’ve got to the right place. On this section, we will be reviewing the best guitars under $500. These guitars are perfect for those that want to get a really high quality guitar for a reasonable price.
Our recommended store is ZZounds since they have the best prices and also offer free shipping.
Click here to see the lowest prices on Zzounds.
As its name promises, the Fender Modern Player Telecaster Plus delivers the classic twangy tones of the Fender Tele with a few key updates for the modern-day musician. The most notable addition to this legendary design is this Tele’s unique three-pickup configuration. Now, in addition to the expected Tele pickup in the neck position, you’ve got a Stratocaster single-coil pickup in the middle seat.
Below that, you’ll find a humbucker in the bridge slot with its own mini-toggle coil-split switch. With the three most common electric guitar pickups in a single instrument, it’s an understatement to say that this guitar offers incredible tonal versatility! This Modern Player Telecaster is further distinguished with an all-pine body that looks gorgeous under any finish.
Highlights:
- Classic Tele Neck, Fretboard and Hardware
- Three Pickups, Infinite Tones
- Warning: May Make Your Other Guitars Unnecessary
Steinberger Spirit GT Pro Deluxe Electric Guitar collection features many of the same advantages and revolutionary designs as found in our more expensive models. With its compact and comfortable body styling, rock-solid neck-through construction, 40:1 DoubleBall tuning system and headless design, the Spirit collection offers amazing performance and value.
Now you can capture the sound and style of the ’80s at an incredible price. This Sprit GT Pro features passive pickups and the classic Steinberger headstock-less design.
The Epiphone Limited Edition Les Paul Electric Guitar continues to inspire a legacy of great sound. Epiphone’s history with legendary guitarist and innovator Les Paul dates back to the early 1940’s when Les, working late at night at the Epiphone factory on 14th Street in New York City, created what might have been the world’s first solidbody electric guitar, better known as “The Log.” Over the years, Les continued to work closely with Epiphone luthiers reviewing product ideas and offering suggestions. “Epiphone always made a good guitar,” Les often said.
Highlights:
- Classic Features
- Alnico Humbuckers and the Les Paul Sound
- Legendary Epiphone Hardware
In an effort to make the JEM available to a broader fan base, Ibanez has released the JEMJRSP, providing more affordable access to the magic that is the JEM.
When Steve Vai teamed up with Ibanez in 1987, little did he realize what a lasting impact his signature model guitar would have. Today, the JEM is an iconic instrument immediately identified with the legendary guitarist. Famous for its distinctive look and innovative design, time has seen this popular, upscale guitar become the most counterfeited model in the world.
Featuring a Mahogany Body attached to a Wizard III neck, the JEMJRSP offers many of the JEM’s distinguishing characteristics; the H/S/H pickup configuration, the “Tree of Life” inlay, a double locking tremolo system, and of course, the famous Monkey grip and Lion’s Claw tremolo cavity.
The SG is one of rock ‘n roll’s most famous and popular guitar styles, and now Epiphone has produced the G-400 PRO, a guitar that delivers the sound, feel, and look of classic SGs at an extremely wallet-friendly price. The G-400 PRO contains the distinctive, player-friendly double cutaway SG body style and adds Alnico Classic PRO humbucking pickups and push-pull coil-tapping for producing more single coil-like tone. Added to that foundation are tonally rich, balanced-feel tonewoods, as well as high-quality Epiphone hardware, making the G-400 a tremendous value.
Highlights:
- Alnico Classic Pickups For Classic Tone
- Tonewoods for Balanced Sound and Feel
- Solid, No-nonsense Hardware
- Follow in the Footsteps of Legends
Loaded with the features that modern guitarists seek, the Schecter Omen Extreme Floyd Rose electric guitar has a Floyd Rose Special bridge that lets you play for hours without any tuning fears.
A comfortable, double-cutaway body made of mahogany with a quilted top gives good looks and comfort, while the maple neck and rosewood fingerboard give excellent playability. This beautiful guitar also includes vector inlays and black chrome hardware.
Schecter tuners and 2 Schecter Diamond Plus pickups provide an array of tones for every musical mood. Plus, the guitar’s no-nonsense controls include a master volume and tone control with a 3-way toggle switch.
Your Squier J Mascis Jazzmaster electric guitar pays tribute to the alt-rock axe-man of Dinosaur Jr., J Mascis. This beauty boasts a pair of versatile Jazzmaster single-coil pickups, slide switchable lead/rhythm tone circuits, upper and lower volume and tone controls for both lead and rhythm circuits, 21 jumbo frets over a rosewood fingerboard, a comfortable C-shaped maple neck, a warm-sounding basswood body, a tasteful Gold anodized aluminum pickguard, and a secure and ready-to-rock Adjusto-Matic bridge with a Vintage Style “Floating” tremolo tailpiece. You get a serious dose of tonal versatility, sleek looks, and addicting playability all in a single electric guitar.
Highlights:
- Jazzmaster Basswood Body
- C-Shaped Maple Neck with 21 Frets
- Pair of Jazzmaster Single-Coil Pickups
- Troves of Tonal Control
The regal Jackson JS32 King V has a basswood body, bolt-on maple speed neck with graphite reinforcement, compound-radius (12″-16″) bound rosewood fingerboard with 24 jumbo frets and pearloid sharkfin inlays, and bound headstock. Other features include dual high-output Jackson humbucking pickups with ceramic magnets and three-way toggle switching, Jackson-branded Floyd Rose double-locking tremolo bridge, black hardware and die-cast tuners.
Highlights:
- Basswood body
- Bolt-on maple speed neck with graphite reinforcement
- Dual high-output Jackson humbucking pickups with ceramic magnets
- White Binding on Neck and Headstock
- Black Hardware and “Zebra” Style Pickup Covers
Back in the late ’50s, the world was graced with the infamous Explorer guitar body shape, and Epiphone has taken this classic axe to the dark side with the Epiphone Gothic Series Explorer electric guitar. A mahogany body keeps your tone beefy and heavy, housing a pair of open coil Alnico Classic humbuckers to fuel your amplifier. A sturdy mahogany neck stretches 22 frets long over a silky smooth roewood fingerboard. Sharp eyes will notice a menacing “XII” inlay that adds an intriguingly stark visual appeal, and dual volume controls and a kill-switchable tone control let you craft your output the way rock demands it to be.
Highlights:
- Going Gothic: A Twist on the Explorer Guitar
- Mahogany Body
- Open-Coil Alnico Classic Pickups
- Convenient Tone Control Kill Switch
- Mahogany Neck for Your Rocking Pleasure
