Perhaps, the biggest change the electric guitar went through since the early ‘50s is in the price tags. Yes, what was once a luxury $300-dollar ax can now be found well into the four-digit territory.
This can be kind of daunting for those hunting for their first or their next electric guitar. How much should you spend to buy a good instrument that will accompany you through years, or even decades of musical adventures?
Well, I’ve been playing the guitar for almost three decades and spent years selling them at a store. Believe me, I’ve played a guitar or two and know the differences between an entry-level ax and an elite-level instrument.
I poured three decades of learning about guitars into this piece, so be ready to learn a lot, very fast.
By the end of the article, you’ll know exactly what guitar you need to buy.
Before We Begin, To Buy or Nor to Buy an Electric Guitar Amp?
Before we get into the whole guitar prices thing, let’s answer a question I’ve heard one too many times. Should you get an amplifier too when you buy your electric guitar?
Well, electric guitars sound awful unplugged. Seriously, they’re mostly solid planks of wood with metal strings on top. They’re not loud enough to play with anyone and sound dull, shallow, and too bright.
To really embrace the concept of the electric guitar, you need an amplifier. On the one hand, you need to amplify the signal coming from the guitar so you can hear it. On the other hand, you might want to tweak and transform that sound.
Yes, getting electric guitar distortion, or getting an electric guitar to sound metal, you need to plug it into an amplifier. Most of them come with two channels, a clean and a distorted one.
So, before you decide to buy the guitar, make sure you leave some margin in your budget to get an electric guitar and amp.
Finally, if you’re wondering how much an amp for an electric guitar is, the answer is that you’ll find one in every price range, from two digits all the way to the price of an apartment.
Software Solutions
Nowadays, you can avoid buying a guitar amp and solve the issue with a different piece of equipment. Yes, the price an electric guitar cost with amp could be replaced by the value of an audio interface and decent monitors.
As with everything, digital technology has become a good enough substitute for the burning tubes of the old days. Furthermore, many pro musicians have gone fully digital and crowds of screaming fans haven’t noticed the difference.
So, this is what you need:
• Audio Interface – The computers work with zeros and ones because they’re digital equipment. To transform the analog signal of a guitar into something your computer can read, you need an audio interface. This is the main part of your digital rig.
• Guitar Software – Many companies jumped on board when digital modeling came to life. There, you can access a wide range of amps and effects too.
• Guitar Cable – While the audio interface is connected to your computer with a USB/Thunderbolt cable, your guitar’s analog signal needs to travel through a regular cable. You’ll need a traditional ¼” cable to play.
• Monitors/Headphones – You can think of this as optional because, if it sounds good and you can hear yourself, any pair of speakers or cans will do. That said, the better the monitors, the better the guitar sound will be.
The digital solution isn’t far from how much an electric guitar amp costs. Plus, we didn’t add the computer, which you might have at home. Yes, once you start summing up the costs, you’ll end up in a similar price range.
The choice is yours, so pick wisely.
Electric Guitar Prices and Tiers
Now that we’ve talked about how much is an electric guitar amplifier and whether you need one, it’s time to talk about our main course, guitars.
I get the question, “How much is an average electric guitar?” very often because people know I used to be a guitar salesman. Well, I’ll answer how much is the average price of an electric guitar and many other questions in these mini buying guides I’ve prepared for you.
I’ll tell you what to expect and give you some great options to choose from.
Beginner-Oriented Guitars Mini-Buying Guide
Beginner-oriented guitars have flooded the market in the past half a decade. Indeed, according to guitar statistics, sales exploded during the pandemic with a 30% increment.
19 million US citizens got a six-string ax to begin their musical journey.
As you might imagine, the more people buy from a specific range, the more models companies make oriented towards them.
So, we’re answering the question of how much an electric guitar for beginners is and adding the best options for you to look at before buying.
What’s The Price Range?
A beginner-oriented guitar isn’t an electric guitar for kids. Although it might be for a kid, we’ll talk about full-sized guitars. Kids’ guitars are usually either ¾ or ½ the size of a normal guitar.
If you’re wondering how much a basic electric guitar is, the price range we handle in the beginner-oriented segment is from $0 to $500.
This price range involves many models. Bear in mind that the closer you are to $500, the closer you’ll be to an instrument you can play for a lifetime if you take care of it.
On the contrary, guitars below $200 might be hard to learn and might not age as well.
What To Expect (And Not to Expect)
The entry-level tier of guitar making is usually made overseas, in Asia. This dates to 1982 when Fender opened Fender Japan Ltd. This was to sell Squier instruments at a lower price while keeping the name and image of Fender as a premium manufacturer and seller of fine American guitars intact.
Well, long gone are the days when Japanese guitars were cheaper. In fact, Squier moved to South Korea in 1987, and to China in 1994.
In this price range, guitars are made in China, Indonesia, the Philippines, and other Asian countries.
This is what you can expect from instruments in this price range:
• Alternative and laminated woods – As you’ll see later, tone woods make most of the price of any guitar. In this price range, you can find laminated guitar bodies. This means many small pieces of wood are glued together and then cut into the shape of the guitar. Furthermore, you can find cheaper woods like poplar and Indian laurel instead of alder, rosewood, mahogany, or ebony.
• Quality Control Issues – These issues can go from frets with sharp edges to malfunctioning electronics to blemishes in the finish. Quality control is one of the main aspects of a good guitar and it’s not as tough on these entry-level axes as it is in the following categories.
• Those annoying frequencies – To the well-versed ear, there’s a muddy low end to entry-level Les Paul-style guitars and an impossible-to-remove treble frequency to Fender-style guitars. Yes, the high-end tends to be shrill and the low-end unclear. This comes from the quality of the electronics and the laminated wood.
• No accessories – Don’t expect the guitar to come with any kind of case or gig bag, these guitars are sold in a box.
What to Look For
At this price range, what companies do the most is save on the small things. For example, most of these guitars could benefit from a new set of pickups, a proper setup by a qualified technician, and maybe a new set of tuners.
PRO TIP: These are mass-produced guitars. This means the store probably has more than one in the same color and model. Ask the salesperson to show you more than one and pick the one that plays the best. They might not be happy about the request, but hey, you’re the one paying for that guitar after all, right
Some Great Options
- Gretsch G2210 Streamliner Junior Jet Club
- Epiphone SG Special Satin E1
- Epiphone Les Paul Muse
- Ibanez Gio GRX70QA
- Ibanez Gio RG330EX
- Squier Sonic Telecaster
- Squier Classic Vibe '70s Stratocaster HSS
Mid-priced Guitars Mini-Buying Guide
When someone asks me what the average price of an electric guitar is, my response usually falls into this category. This is because this is the tightest, most competitive, and crowded range in the guitar industry right now.
These are guitars made for discerning musicians on a tight budget, hobbyists, enthusiasts, and those who just outgrew their entry-level instruments.
So, the costs associated with this segment are very much what an average electric guitar costs. Let’s dissect it together so you know what to expect and what to pay for it.
What’s The Price Range?
Once you’ve outgrown your entry-level instrument (if that happens, some people happily play their Squier Strat for a lifetime), it’s time to get serious.
This niche starts where the last one left us, at around $500, and has its top limit at $1500. As you can see, this includes guitars from very different build qualities and origins. That said, depending on your budget, you’ll find that companies are doing their best to debunk all competition and get your money.
As you can imagine, the closer you get to the top end of the spectrum, the electric guitar cost will give you a more enduring, better-sounding instrument. On the other hand, the closer you are to $500, the closer you’ll be to an entry-level instrument that won’t age as well.
Let’s dive into the details.
What To Expect (And Not to Expect)
The big companies are aiming their efforts at capturing the mid-priced market. Yet, there’s a big change that came with the pandemic and its aftermath, a phenomenon called “premium offshore”
This phenomenon is here to change our idea of how much an electric guitar made overseas should cost. Yes, with the arrival of the Epiphone Custom Shop, Fender Vintera II, Yamaha Pacifica Professional, and PRS SE lines, guitars made outside the USA are ready to compete in the four-figure market.
Also, this is because of the ramp-up in the quality of the overseas facilities. They’re now able to produce guitars that are light-years away from what they used to be in the ‘80s or ‘90s.
Finally, China has become the number-one guitar manufacturer in the world making 5 million guitars a year. That says a lot about what’s in the market today.
So, this is what you should expect from these guitars
• Original Shapes – Like the Epiphone Greeny’s open-book headstock, and the PRS SE Silver Sky (the best-selling guitar of last year in Reverb), these guitars look almost identical to the original, but with a more modest price tag.
• High-end Pickups – The Mexican-made Jackson PRO DK2 and the Charvel Pro Mod San Dimas offer original Seymour Duncan humbucker pickups, the ESP LTD Eclipse EC-1000VB comes equipped with EMG active pickups, and the list could go on. So, expect high-end pickups on these guitars
• Alternative Woods – Although you can find guitars with Ebony fingerboards or real rosewood (like in the all-new Fender Player II line), alternative woods aren’t hard to find in this segment. Furthermore, you can also find bodies made of laminated or several parts of wood.
• Gig Bags – In this price range you won’t see any fancy cases, most of these guitars come with high-end, good gig bags. The PRS ones are extremely rugged and professional.
• High-End Hardware – Some guitars in this price range come with original Floyd Rose Tremolos, real Bigsby tremolos, locking tuners, or even an Evertune bridge, like the ESP LTD TE-1000 which also packs Macassar Ebony fretboard and EMG pickups. These companies aren’t saving up in this department.
What to Look for
Guitars in this price range are aimed toward a specific audience. This is because the buyer is expected to be somewhat experienced with their guitars. That’s one of the main differences with the entry-level instruments which are less specific.
For example, if you’re a shredder, brands like Ibanez, ESP/LTD, Jackson, and Schecter can offer you great guitars with top-notch accessories in this price range. You might not get the same appointments as the Jackson RR1, but the Jackson Pro Series Rhoads RRT5 is still very close at a fraction of the price.
You won’t play like Randy, but sure look like him.
For more traditional styles, the Epiphone Custom Shop, the all-new Fender Player II series, and the PRS SE are faithful representations of what made these brands the biggest in the industry at a fraction of their price. In 2023, the PRS SE Silver Sky topped the Reverb selling chart, and the Fender Player came second and third.
Also, if you’re a Gibson fan, having a guitar so close to the real thing in this price range is something you could only dream of a decade ago.
Finally, in the world of hollow guitars, the Gretsch Electromatic series is the next best thing after the professional gives you the tone and the looks at ¼ of the price.
Some Great Options
- Schecter Hellraiser Hybrid C-1
- ESP LTD TE-1000
- Gretsch G5655T-QM Electromatic
- Fender Player II Stratocaster
- Epiphone Jerry Cantrell "Wino" Les Paul Custom
- Jackson Pro Series Rhoads RRT5
Top-Tier Guitars Mini-Buying Guide
This is the segment of guitar making and guitar buying that remains mostly undisturbed regardless of what happens in the world.
This isn’t the segment that can answer how much is a nice electric guitar. These go above and beyond nice. This is the market where connoisseurs with a big budget, collectors, professionals, and well-versed players look for their new guitars.
These are guitars you don’t start with but work your way to.
What’s The Price Range?
The question “How much is a professional electric guitar?” can be answered with a guitar in this price range.
We’re talking about guitars that go from $1500 to roughly $5000. For example, here is where most companies price their workhorse axes, like Fender’s Professional and Ultra Series, PRS’s S2 and Core Series, and Gibson’s Original and Modern Collections.
Talking about Custom Shop and vintage instruments is a different conversation because that’s a different market with different rules. We’ll focus here on production-line instruments.
What To Expect (And Not to Expect)
The guitars in this segment can either be faithful recreations of past glories or modern creations that solve real-life problems for pro players.
For example, Fender’s American Vintage II respects the original designs with their original flaws. Yes, the Jaguar and Jazzmaster bridges that are so controversial are kept the same. These are instruments for vintage lovers who can’t afford to pay real estate money for a guitar.
The American Professional II, Ultra, and Ultra Luxe, on the other hand, offer modern appointments for touring and professional musicians.
The same happens with Gibson. The company offers historic recreations in their Original Collection and more daring, modern versions of their guitars in their Modern Collection.
This is what to expect from these guitars:
• Premium Tone Woods – In this price range you can find alder, ash, mahogany, highly-figured maple, ebony, rosewood, and other premium, highly sought-after, traditional tone woods.
• High-End Accessories & Hardware – This is the segment in which cases become the norm. Moreover, you’ll also find premium hardware like true PAF pickups recreations, and Noiseless single-coil pickups. Also, companies spend countless hours matching parts, hardware, and electronics to come up with the perfect combination.
• Authenticity Certificates – Some of these guitars come with authenticity certificates, something that adds value in the used guitars market.
• World-Class Craftsmanship – Most guitar-making companies have career opportunities within the assembly lines. This means that the person working on a Gibson’s Original Les Paul or a Fender American Vintage II or a PRS Core Series has gone through years of training working on lower-priced instruments until they hone their skills to build world-class instruments.
What to Look for
This is the moment to answer the question “How many electric guitars do you need?” How so? Well, simply because guitars in this price range are even more specific than the guitars in the previous tier.
For example, session guitarists might want to have all the classic tones in their arsenal. This might mean having a Fender American Strat, a Gibson Original Les Paul, a true Japanese Ibanez Prestige, and a Japanese Gretsch White Falcon.
(The average number of guitars players have is 4.2 nationwide)
So, if you’re making your way to your first high-end guitar, you should first learn about the tones you’re seeking and then buy the guitar that can give those.
In terms of craftsmanship, hardware, and accessories, you shouldn’t worry about quality, because this segment is the show-off tier, companies aren’t cutting off on building costs.
Some Great Options
- Jackson USA Select Randy Rhoads RR1
- Ibanez Steve Vai Signature PIA3761
- Gretsch G6136-55GE Vintage Select 1955 White Falcon
- Gibson Les Paul Modern Figured
- Gibson Les Paul Standard '60s
- PRS Custom 24
- Fender American Ultra Luxe Telecaster
- Fender American Vintage II 1961 Stratocaster
Overhauling Your Instrument, The Best Way to Jump Lines
Guitars in the first and second tiers usually suffer from companies cutting corners to fit them into a price range. For example, entry-level guitars are famous for their squealing pickups and faulty tuners. The next price range might offer great playability, but you might want to change the way it sounds to something more aggressive or more mellow. Finally, if you buy a traditional guitar shape and color but want to modernize it, accessories can be swapped out easily.
I thoroughly recommend overhauling your instrument. It's not only a great, cheap tone experiment but also a great way to fill the gap between the guitar you own and your dream ax. So, go for aftermarket accessories like tuners, pickups, bridges, nuts, knobs, hardware, and electronics.
FAQs
How much is an electric guitar setup?
The question “How much does an electric guitar setup cost?” has many answers because technicians charge different prices depending on their experience. That said, the average price is $50.
How much is it to make an acoustic guitar electric?
Piezo systems start at $25.
How much is an electric bass guitar?
Bass guitars follow similar rules to what you read above and start around $200.
How much are electric guitar pedals?
Electric guitar pedals start at around $20.
Conclusion
Guitars are currently the most popular instrument on the planet being played by 43% of the total musicians. This means they’re not just a fading trend or a momentary thing, on the contrary, they shape the music world.
The time to join this growing trend is right now.
You’ve read what to expect from every price range and some cool options for buying and overhauling your instrument. Now, all you must do is pour your heart and soul over those 6 strings and take guitar music to the next level with your playing.
Happy (new guitar) playing!
If you like this article, please share it!
Be sure to join our FB Group Guyker Guitar Parts VIP Group to share your ideas! You can also have connections with like-minded guitar players, Guyker updates as well as discounts information from our FB Group.
