Green is a refreshing and tranquil color usually associated with nature. But it can also signify money, luck, and health, as well as envy.
But what about guitars? Green is not a color that is commonly used for a guitar’s finish, but there are some exceptions, such as Surf and Seafoam Green Fenders, lots of Steve Vai’s Ibanez JEMs, Chris Cornell’s signature Gibson ES-335, and a few more, that we’ll get to soon. If you're also looking for other colors, we're written about pink electric guitars, black electric guitars, red electric guitars.
So, I decided to go green and take a look at the 10 best green guitars you can buy covering various styles and budgets, so let’s get going with the…
Best Beginners Green Electric Guitar - EastCoast ST1 Electric Guitar in Surf Green
If you’re setting off on your journey to become a guitarist, but don’t want to spend a lot of money on an instrument until you find out if you enjoy playing or not, EastCoast has the perfect option.
This excellent beginner's electric guitar is furnished in gorgeous surf green and gives you the features and looks that you’d get from a ‘real’ Fender Strat, but it will cost you about a seventh of the price. A great choice for any novices on limited budgets.
Best Mint Green Electric Guitar - Ibanez AZES40 AZ Essentials Series Electric Guitar in Mint Green
Sticking with the iconic Strat shape, if you want to spend a little more and get a higher-quality guitar, this mint green Ibanez is a fantastic option.
This reasonably priced green beauty again gives you the same basic features that you’d find on a Strat. However, as opposed to the three single coil pickups (SSS) you find on most Strats, this has the more flexible Humbucker-single-coil-single-coil (HSS) configuration. It also features Ibanez's Dyna-MIX9 switching system giving you even more sonic versatility.
If you’re looking for a rock-solid, highly usable, and affordable guitar, the AZES40 is the perfect choice.
Best Green Guitar for Kids - Squier Mini Jazzmaster Electric Guitar in Seafoam Green
This little stunner could hold many titles, not only is it the best green guitar for children, but it’s arguably the best seafoam green guitar out there because it simply brings a smile to your face every time you look at it.
It’s a faithful recreation of the legendary Fender Jazzmaster in miniature, with all the features of the full-sized guitar apart from the tremolo (whammy) system.
It’s a fantastic first guitar for children due to its smaller size. Or, if you need a super cool travel guitar get yourself one of these and a Pignose amp for a great-sounding, ultra-portable setup you can use anywhere.
Best Lime Green Guitar - Jackson X SERIES KEX Electric Guitar in Lime Green Metallic
Looking for a lime green guitar to bring out your inner metal shred monster? Then look no further, the Jackson KEX is your six-string dream.
With an electrifying angular offset body - very pointy! - a lightning-fast neck, and a tremolo system created in divebomb heaven, this is a guitar for those with higher than average notes per second counts.
If you want the ultimate in lime green metal sophistication, with a massive sound, reliable performance, and exceptional value for money, get one now!
Best Neon Green Guitar - Jackson X Series Dinky DK3XR HSS in Neon Green
If you love the features of the previous Jackson but can’t picture yourself with a pointy guitar, then the Dinky could well be the axe for you.
With its more traditional guitar-shaped design, the X Series Dinky (as opposed to the budget Dinky’s) gives you the ultimate in performance without having to break the bank. Featuring a cut neck heel to reach the upper frets, Floyd Rose®-licensed double-locking tremolo bridge system, and an ultra-playable neck, this is made for heavy distorted chords and breakneck speed solos.
The neon green finish brings the whole guitar to life, plus the pink pickup bobbins and pink Jackson headstock logo give it that extra touch of edge. All this makes it a fantastic option for shredders who love a bit of shocking color, plus, it’s quite a few hundred dollars cheaper than the KEX which makes it even more attractive.
Best Slime Green Guitar - Ibanez YY10 Yvette Young Signature Electric Guitar In Slime Green Sparkle
On the hunt for something a bit different? Then you’ll love this signature model from virtuoso Yvette Young, in what has to be the worst-sounding green color for a guitar ever… slime green sparkle!
Even though it sounds horrible, the guitar looks great, you might even go as far as to call it cute. The unusual shape reminds me of a less offset Jaguar/Jazzmaster with a similar pickup layout and fiveway selector a Strat but with only single volume and tone knobs. The input jack is also similar to a strat but horizontal, not angled, and longer giving it space to hold the tone knob, making it look slightly Telecaster’ish. It’s a bizarre combination of classic design influences, but it works, giving it a cool cute look.
Whether you’re a massive fan of Yvette Young (if not? why not? you should be!) or you're a bit bored of the usual guitar designs, give this a go, it’s expensive but worth it.
Best Surf Green Guitar - Fender Tom DeLonge Starcaster In Satin Surf Green
Sticking with the theme of signature guitars and slightly unusual designs, next we have Blink 182’s Tom DeLonge signature Starcaster.
Starcasters are one of Fender’s strangest and least popular lines of guitars, in fact, the company probably sells more Strats in a day than they sell Starcasters in a year. But they do have their fans, Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood often plays one alongside his regular Telecaster Plus Deluxe, Killers guitarist Dave Keuning, Jamie Cook of the Arctic Monkeys, and Depeche Mode's Martin Gore are occasionally seen with them, and the Mission’s Wayne Hussy goes through phases of playing them every once in a while.
They are definitely not to everyone’s visual taste, but they play well and sound great, so again, if you’re after something a little bit different in the classic Fender color, Surf Green, check one out, you might be surprised by how much you like it.
Best Olive Green Guitar - Gibson Chris Cornell Signature ES-335
And another signature guitar, but this time, it’s exceptional!
Nearly all the guitars on this list are widely available from local music stores or online, but this is one of the two exceptions. But it just had to be included because it is easily the best guitar ever finished in olive green (drab olive green to be precise). It was envisaged by the late great legendary Chris Cornell of Temple of the Dog, Soundgarden, and Audioslave.
Chris is best known as one of the greatest vocalists of all time (No. 9 on the Rolling Stone Magazine Best Lead Singers Top 100), but he was also an accomplished musician. He rarely played guitar with Audioslave (and I don’t blame him for that, I’m not sure if I would want to strut my guitar chops with the mighty Tom Morrello standing next to me on stage). However, he played rhythm guitar for Soundgarden and even started off as their drummer.
It’s pretty much a standard ES-335, but there are some subtle but very important differences. First off, it features aged Lollartron humbuckers giving it a Gretsch-esque, slightly rockabilly tone with a ton of rich bottom end. And visually, the satin finish gives it a distinct feel, while the clear top hat control knobs with no number markings add to its unique vibe.
Now for the bad news, it was only produced as a limited run of 250 drab olive guitars in 2013 (plus 250 black versions with no Bigsby), therefore it is highly collectible and will cost you a fortune. A tribute version was also released in 2019, but again only 250 were produced.
If you're a massive fan of Chris Cornell or olive green is your favorite color and you want the very, very best, take a look around used guitar sites such as Reverb.com, they are out there for those with very deep pockets.
Best Ibanez Green Guitar - 2017 Ibanez Jem 777 30th Anniversary in Loch Ness Green
I’ve featured quite a few green Ibanez guitars in my lineup already, not only because they make outstanding quality and exceptional value-for-money instruments, but the company also seems to produce far more green-finished guitars than anyone else.
But, I’ve saved the best from Ibanez till last, with probably the biggest-selling line of guitars focused around a single player in history, Steve Vai’s JEM (excluding Les Paul, but that was a little bit different). Unlike the last few instruments I’ve covered, they are not signature guitars as such, they are a long-running series of design ideas imagined and created by Steve Vai and the team at Ibanez.
There have been so many JEM variants at different price points, and so many green color options, that picking one was very difficult. But if you’re looking for the ultimate green JEM, it could well be this JEM 777 30th Anniversary edition in what has to be the coolest shade of green ever - Loch Ness Green!
It features exactly what you’d expect on a 777 - monkey grip handle, disappearing pyramid inlays, vivid green, pink, and yellow fixtures, scalloped highest frets, crescent-shaped neck scoop, and lion claw tremolo. It’s all there and works together perfectly to produce soaring tones with incredible playability. Is it the ultimate green JEM? Quite possibly!
Best Sage Green Guitar - Fender Custom Shop 60's Tele Custom NOS Electric Guitar in Sage Green Metallic with Bigsby
The final entry on my list of the Best Green Guitars is the most expensive (apart from a used Chris Cornell ES-335 or JEM depending on how much you pay?). But, as they say, quality doesn’t come cheap.
Legendary guitar manufacturer, Fender, has produced some of the most successful and popular electric guitars in musical history. But what if you want something even better and more refined than a Fender? Well then, you need the Fender Custom Shop.
The Custom Shop takes the legendary Fender guitar and makes it even better, basically the best of the best. They deliver the highest quality possible with the utmost attention to detail, creating instruments that not only look stunning but deliver the ultimate in playability and tone.
And that’s exactly what you get with this stunningly beautiful sage green Telecaster based on a 60s Tele Custom and featuring a Bigsby tremolo. This classic looks, plays, and sounds like a dream, the only problem is that you might need to remortgage the house to pay for it.
However, if money isn’t an issue, and you want the ultimate green guitar, this is the one for you.
If, after going through my list of the 10 best green guitars you can buy, you’re undecided and maybe even thinking of keeping your current guitar and making a few upgrades to give it some green credentials. If so, let's take a look at the…
Best Green Parts to Upgrade Your Electric Guitar
As with the rarity of green guitar finishes, there aren't a lot of green parts to install on your guitar, but don’t worry, there are a few, such as…
Starting with the tuning machines, I couldn’t find anything all-green, but if you want green buttons on your tuners and your guitar has gold hardware, you could try these Guyker GK-44SP 3R3L Locking String Vintage Deluxe Tuning Pegs Gold or for instruments with black hardware, these Guyker GK-44SP 3R3L Locking String Vintage Deluxe Tuning Pegs Black.
For Strat and Tele players, the quickest and easiest major color change to a guitar is by swapping the pickguard. So, to add a little green to your look, check out the Guyker PG003 11-hole S/S/S Modern Resin Pickguard for Stratocaster® or the Guyker PG002 Fender 8-hole Modern Telecaster Resin Pickguard.
And finally, how about a change of knobs? Again there are no all-green versions, but these Guyker CKB020X Green Turquoise Surface Electric Guitar Metal Control Volume Knobs will add a touch of sophistication and a little bling to any guitar. Or, if you’d like the Tree of Life to signify your growing guitar skills, you could go for these Guyker CKB026 Metal Control Knobs Dia. 6 for Guitar. And my final option for those who love mystical greeny-blue has to be these CKB027 Metal Control Knobs Dia. 6.35 for Guitar.
Wrapping it Up
If you enjoy being a little different from the norm, a green-colored guitar is the perfect way to show it. Or maybe green is your favorite color and a lot of the stage clothes you wear (or intend to wear) would go with a green guitar perfectly? Either way, let your inner green shine through and buy your dream green guitar.
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