Updated on November 17th, 2023
Updated a bunch of formatting and copy. Checked links to make sure all the guitars are still available.
In this article we're rounding up our best beginner electric guitar recommendations. These guitars are budget-friendly, giving you the opportunity to invest a smaller amount of money, but still get a decent guitar and playing experience in return. When buying an electric guitar as a beginner, it's important to make sure you're spending lower, but also to make sure you're not getting something too cheap or low quality.
Some cheaper electric guitars are built more like toys than actual guitars, which is something we want to avoid.
Just because you buy cheap doesn't mean you want a poor experience with the instrument.
Luckily for beginner guitar players, there are brands that specialize in these types of guitars that are cheaper, but still give you a reliable experience with the instrument. Many of them are actually built to mirror much nicer and more expensive guitars.
Those are what we'll target in this list.
Read more: Best electric guitars overall
Best Electric Guitars for Beginners (top 5 picks)
Guitar | Name | RatE | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|
 | PRS SE Standard 24 and 245 | n/a | |
 | Squier Classic Vibe '50s Tele | n/a | |
 | Epiphone Les Paul Standard | n/a | |
 | Squier Jazzmaster | n/a | |
 | Jackson Dinky | n/a |
Not sure? Try our electric guitar buying quiz.
A Quiz to Find an Electric Guitar that Suits Your Situation
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1. PRS SE Standard 245
Best beginner electric overall
The PRS SE Standard 24 and 245 are some of our favorite electric guitars for beginners, primarily because the quality of the PRS brand is so consistent and reliable. Even at these lower price points, the SE series - which is made to be cheaper than the mainline PRS models - houses some of the nicest and best-value guitars on the market, leaving plenty of room for lower budgets while still giving you an incredible first-time experience with the electric guitar. Note that the body carving and parts are not as pristine as what you get with the main PRS guitars, but the Standard 24 and 245 are still excellent for just about any beginner.
Quick Review Card
BEST FOR: Heavy rock, rhythm, and more percussive playing styles
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- Dual humbucker setup
- Iconic bird inlays
- Dual tone and volume control
- Looks and feels like the real-deal PRS
- Percussive and thick tone response
- Stock humbuckers and parts
- No body carving
2. Squier Classic Vibe '50s Telecaster
Best beginner Telecaster
For fans of clean tones, country, and bluesier styles, the Classic Vibe Tele series from Squier brings us some of the best beginner electric guitars on the market. It's made to mirror the popular Fender Player Telecaster, but with fewer bells and whistles and a much cheaper price tag. For getting a guitar that looks and feels like a popular, high-value electric guitar, the Classic Vibe series is one of your best bets.
One of the most popular beginner guitars (and guitar series) on the market. Image via Arks Shakeel Projects
Price History
Price History for Squier Classic Vibe '50s Telecaster - Butterscotch Blonde
Statistics
| Current Price | $429.99 | December 4, 2023 |
| Highest Price | $459.99 | January 4, 2023 |
| Lowest Price | $339.99 | September 6, 2022 |
Last price changes
| $429.99 | January 18, 2023 |
| $459.99 | January 4, 2023 |
| $419.99 | December 14, 2022 |
| $367.99 | December 9, 2022 |
| $344.99 | November 30, 2022 |
Quick Review Card
BEST FOR: Country, blues, and clean tones
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VERSATILITY
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- Modeled after the Fender Player Telecaster
- Great with clean tones and bluesy styles
- Love the aesthetics (yellow finish is awesome)
- Vintage Telecaster bridge hardware
- Higher in our price range than we'd like
- Cheap pickups
3. Epiphone Les Paul Standard 60s
Best for classic and modern rock
For those more into classic rock tones, we like the Epiphone Les Paul Standard which is made to mirror the Gibson Les Paul Standard, yet at a fraction of the price. Looking at the two side by side, they're hard to tell apart, which means you're getting the feel and experience of a much nicer guitar. We like the dual humbucker setup for heavier playing styles, perhaps if you want to pair it with a distortion pedal or heavier amplifier. Generally speaking, the Epiphone Les Pauls are very versatile and accommodating of a wide range of styles. For beginners, we'd have a hard time recommending a better option.
For an upper-tier beginner electric, Epiphone has a lot of solid options. Their Les Paul models are definitely worth a look. Image via Main Street Guitars.
Quick Review Card
BEST FOR: Classic rock fans, heavier playing styles, and general versatility.
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- Dual humbucker pickups
- Looks and feels like the Gibson version
- Multiple versions to choose from
- Versatile tone profile
- Slightly high priced tag
4. Squier Classic Vibe Jazzmaster
Best for clean tones
The Jazzmaster fits into the same style vein as the '50s Telecaster, being strong on clean tones and open chords. Made to mirror the Fender Jazzmaster, the Squier version uses cheaper tonewood, parts, and pickups. However, this isn't going to matter to most beginners. While not as nice as the full Fender version, this Jazzmaster comes close enough that you aren't going to miss out on anything as a beginner. Most won't notice the difference in pickups and parts in the early stages of learning the instrument.
Fun fact: The Fender Jazzmaster, along with the Fender Mustang, was one of the guitars Kurt Cobain played with Nirvana back in the day.
Quick Review Card
BEST FOR: Clean tones, open chords, and beginner practice
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- Multiple versions with different pricing options
- Kurt Cobain vibes
- Great clean tones
- All the trimmings of the full-tilt Fender Jazzmaster
- Cheap pickups and parts
5. Jackson Dinky JS22 and JS32
Best beginner guitar for heavy rock and pickup upgrades
For metal fans and heavy rock enthusiasts, the Jackson Dinky is one of our favorite beginner electric guitar recommendations for its menacing style and floating tremolo system. While there are several versions of the Dinky, most are fairly cheap, and some of the most accessible beginner electric guitars on our list. We'd specifically recommend the JS22 and JS32. Not only are these great beginner electric guitars, but they're good candidates for pickup upgrades and modifications later if you decide to keep it.
Read more: Jackson Dinky pickup upgrade
The Jackson Dinky JS32 and JS22 are both fantastic beginner guitars and are particularly well-liked for mods and humbucker upgrades. Image via Nafiri Music
Quick Review Card
BEST FOR: Heavy metal, rock, pickup upgrades, and faster playing
TONE
n/a
VERSATILITY
n/a
CONTROL
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COST/VALUE
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- Locking tremolo system is awesome
- Great for metal and speed
- All the menacing looks of a full Jackson electric guitar
- Multiple versions with variable price tags
- Great upgrade or pickup swap candidate
- Again, cheaper components
- Cheaper tonewood
Features to watch for
In beginner electric guitars we're primarily concerned with getting you something that looks and feels like a full, read-deal electric guitar. While we don't mind it being cheap, we want to avoid the toy syndrome that some lower cost electric guitars run into, where they look and play more like a toy than an actual guitar. Thus, features to watch for should revolve around the goal of giving you a genuine experience with the guitar.
We'd target the following:
- Target a three single coil pickup system or dual humbucker system
- Target at least a three-way pickup selector
- Look for a bridge with a tremolo system or stopbar bridge
- Look for cheaper guitars modeled after nicer, more expensive models
- Make sure the price doesn't go too high
That's why we love recommending guitars in the PRS SE and Squier lines. They're cheap and affordable, but they look and play like much more expensive electric guitars. Look for the pickup configurations we mentioned (two or three single coil pickups or two humbuckers).
What is a good price for a beginner electric guitar?
What exactly is a good beginner electric guitar price? What's the scope we're aiming for? In my experience, we try to target a lower price range in the $300 to $600 range. $200 is the floor and we don't recommend going cheaper than that, just because you run into guitars that are lower quality and more like toys than real instruments. $700 is kind of our ceiling, because going above $700 means you're outpacing the typical roster of beginner electric guitars. On average, you should plan to spend somewhere in the neighborhood of $500.
Questions and Comments
If you can get an electric guitar with a good reputation, that's modeled after a guitar with an even better reputation and higher quality threshold, then you can buy cheap and still have a great experience as a beginner. That's what this list is meant to help you do.
- Spend low
- Have a great experience with the instrument
For those just getting started on the guitar, that's all you really need to worry about. As you progress and improve, you can start looking at nicer guitars that up the quality standard and build on what these beginner electric guitars helped you start. For questions about our best beginner electric guitars list, feel free to drop us a line in the comments section below. We'll jump in and help out as much as possible. See you there.
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Written by Bobby Kittleberger on Electrics & Roundups
Written by Bobby Kittleberger on Electrics & Roundups
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