Cort · Acoustic-electric guitar
Masterpiece Series Roselyn
Natural Gloss
Cort's flagship: L.R. Baggs Anthem, Gotoh gold, and a side port aimed at the player
9.5/105.0 (1)
Independent analysis · Amazon US
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63
Instruments analysed
21
Instrument types
6
Editorial score axes
9
Buying guides
Featured
What we are recommending now
The instruments we would put in someone's hands today, across every price bracket in the catalogue.
Yamaha · Electric guitar
Pacifica PAC611HFM
Translucent Black
Seymour Duncans, Grover locking tuners and Graph Tech hardware, on an alder Pacifica
9.0/104.2 (36)
Cort · Acoustic-electric guitar
Luxe II Frank Gambale Signature
Natural Gloss
A fusion player's acoustic: small body, light strings, and electronics built for a stage
9.0/10No Amazon ratings yet
Jackson · 7-string electric guitar
Pro Plus Series Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut ET7
Metallic Black
An EverTune bridge, stainless frets and a 20-inch radius — a studio seven-string
8.8/10No Amazon ratings yet
Best value
Most instrument for the money
Ranked by our value-for-money score: what the specification actually delivers against what it costs.
Yamaha · Acoustic guitar
FG800J
Natural
The safest recommendation in budget acoustics, and it has been for years
7.8/104.6 (368)
Yamaha · Acoustic guitar
FS800J
Natural, Concert
The FG800J in the smaller body, and the easier guitar to actually hold
8.0/104.3 (25)
Cort · Acoustic guitar starter pack
Earth Pack (Earth60)
Open Pore
The rare starter pack where the guitar would be worth buying on its own
7.8/104.5 (7)
Squier · Electric guitar
Classic Vibe '60s Stratocaster
Candy Apple Red
Alnico pickups and a bone nut on a Squier — the reason this line has the reputation it does
8.7/104.5 (232)
Starting out
For beginners
Slim neck profiles, forgiving radii and hardware that will not fight a new player.
Ibanez · Electric bass
SR305E
Pearl White
The five-string that makes the extra string feel easy
8.7/104.3 (52)
Squier · Electric guitar
Classic Vibe '60s Stratocaster
Candy Apple Red
Alnico pickups and a bone nut on a Squier — the reason this line has the reputation it does
8.7/104.5 (232)
Yamaha · Electric guitar
Pacifica PAC112J
Black
The beginner guitar teachers actually recommend, and an alder body at Squier money
8.5/105.0 (1)
Ibanez · Electric guitar
AZES40
Purist Blue
Nine pickup sounds from three pickups, and a short scale that suits smaller hands
8.5/104.5 (95)
Serious kit
For advanced and professional players
Instruments where the hardware solves real problems: tuning stability, fret wear, feedback control.
Cort · Acoustic-electric guitar
Masterpiece Series Roselyn
Natural Gloss
Cort's flagship: L.R. Baggs Anthem, Gotoh gold, and a side port aimed at the player
9.5/105.0 (1)
Yamaha · Electric guitar
Pacifica PAC611HFM
Translucent Black
Seymour Duncans, Grover locking tuners and Graph Tech hardware, on an alder Pacifica
9.0/104.2 (36)
Cort · Acoustic-electric guitar
Luxe II Frank Gambale Signature
Natural Gloss
A fusion player's acoustic: small body, light strings, and electronics built for a stage
9.0/10No Amazon ratings yet
Jackson · 7-string electric guitar
Pro Plus Series Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut ET7
Metallic Black
An EverTune bridge, stainless frets and a 20-inch radius — a studio seven-string
8.8/10No Amazon ratings yet
Electric
Electric guitars
Yamaha · Electric guitar
Pacifica PAC611HFM
Translucent Black
Seymour Duncans, Grover locking tuners and Graph Tech hardware, on an alder Pacifica
9.0/104.2 (36)
Jackson · 7-string electric guitar
Pro Plus Series Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut ET7
Metallic Black
An EverTune bridge, stainless frets and a 20-inch radius — a studio seven-string
8.8/10No Amazon ratings yet
Yamaha · Electric guitar
Revstar Element RSE20
Swift Blue
A chambered mahogany double-cut with the smartest coil-split circuit at the price
8.8/104.7 (55)
Cort · Solidbody electric guitar
KX700 EverTune
Open Pore Black
The tuning problem, solved in hardware — and the reason studios keep buying these
8.8/104.6 (7)
Acoustic
Acoustic guitars
Cort · Acoustic-electric guitar
Masterpiece Series Roselyn
Natural Gloss
Cort's flagship: L.R. Baggs Anthem, Gotoh gold, and a side port aimed at the player
9.5/105.0 (1)
Cort · Acoustic-electric guitar
Luxe II Frank Gambale Signature
Natural Gloss
A fusion player's acoustic: small body, light strings, and electronics built for a stage
9.0/10No Amazon ratings yet
Martin · Acoustic guitar
D-28
Natural
The dreadnought every other dreadnought is measured against
8.8/104.9 (41)
Cort · Acoustic-electric guitar
Core-GA Blackwood
Open Pore Light Burst
The wide-nut fingerstyle guitar in the range, in an unusual tonewood
8.8/105.0 (1)
Cort · Acoustic-electric guitar
Core-OC Spruce
Open Pore Trans Black
The classic spruce-and-mahogany pairing, all solid, in the most versatile body size
8.8/104.5 (9)
Cort · Acoustic-electric guitar
Gold-OC6 Bocote
Natural Glossy
A torrefied top that arrives already broken in, over a tonewood almost nobody uses
8.8/105.0 (1)
Cort · Acoustic-electric guitar
Core-OC Blackwood
Open Pore Light Burst
Blackwood in the standard-nut body, with the simplest preamp in the range
8.7/104.3 (9)
Yamaha · Acoustic-electric guitar
FSX800C
Natural
The same guitar as the FGX800C, in the body that suits fingerpicking and smaller hands
8.3/104.6 (116)
Yamaha · Acoustic-electric guitar
FGX800C
Natural
The FG800 with a cutaway and a proper pickup system bolted on
8.3/104.7 (273)
Cort · Acoustic-electric guitar
Core-DC Mahogany
Open Pore Black Burst
All-solid mahogany, bone nut and saddle — the specification usually costs twice this
8.3/10No Amazon ratings yet
Martin · Double-neck acoustic-electric guitar
Grand J-28E DN
Double neck, Aging Toner
A Grand Jumbo with two necks, built for the player who refuses to swap guitars mid-song
8.2/10No Amazon ratings yet
Yamaha · Acoustic guitar
FG830
Autumn Burst
The same rosewood-backed FG830, in a warmer burst
8.2/104.7 (530)
Yamaha · Acoustic guitar
FG830
Tobacco Sunburst
Rosewood back and sides, for about a hundred dollars more
8.2/104.7 (530)
Fender · Acoustic-electric guitar
CD-60SCE Dreadnought, All-Mahogany
Natural
A solid mahogany top and a Fishman system, well under the price that usually buys either
8.0/104.4 (888)
Yamaha · Acoustic guitar
FS800J
Natural, Concert
The FG800J in the smaller body, and the easier guitar to actually hold
8.0/104.3 (25)
Cort · Acoustic-electric guitar
MR500E
Open Pore Natural
A solid spruce top, a cutaway and a working preamp — the jump worth making
8.0/104.1 (8)
Yamaha · Acoustic guitar
FG800J
Natural
The safest recommendation in budget acoustics, and it has been for years
7.8/104.6 (368)
Yamaha · Thinline acoustic-electric guitar
APX600
Black
The same stage acoustic, in the finish that disappears behind you
7.8/104.5 (1,226)
Yamaha · Thinline acoustic-electric guitar
APX600
Vintage White
The acoustic for electric players, in the finish that gets it noticed
7.8/104.5 (1,226)
Cort · Acoustic guitar starter pack
Earth Pack (Earth60)
Open Pore
The rare starter pack where the guitar would be worth buying on its own
7.8/104.5 (7)
Enya · Carbon-fibre acoustic-electric travel guitar
NOVA GO SP1
Black
A guitar you can leave in a car boot, with reverb built into the body
7.8/104.5 (185)
Cort · Acoustic-electric guitar
SFX-MEM
Open Pore
A thin-bodied acoustic for people who find full-depth guitars uncomfortable
7.7/104.3 (13)
Cort · Acoustic guitar
Standard AD810
Open Pore
The dreadnought Cort sells to first-time buyers, and it earns the recommendation
7.3/104.3 (108)
Fender · Acoustic guitar starter bundle
FA-125 Dreadnought
Natural, with accessory bundle
Fender's entry dreadnought, with everything a beginner needs in the box
7.0/104.5 (2,793)
Fender · Acoustic guitar starter bundle
FA-125 Dreadnought
Sunburst, with accessory bundle
The same FA-125 bundle, in the sunburst finish
7.0/104.5 (2,793)
Ibanez · Acoustic-electric guitar
PJ50E Performance Series
Open-Pore Vintage Amber Sunburst
A jumbo body and a working preamp, at a price where you usually get neither
6.8/105.0 (1)
Yamaha · Acoustic guitar
JR1 FG Junior
Natural, 3/4 size
The 3/4 guitar that keeps getting recommended, twenty years on
6.7/104.4 (1,119)
Gretsch · Acoustic guitar
Prelude D100 Dreadnought
Black
An all-laminate dreadnought that survives being carried around, and sounds like one
6.0/104.4 (60)
Low end
Basses
Jackson · Electric bass
Pro Series Signature Adam Blackstone "Gladys" Concert Bass V
Black Stone
A session player's signature bass, not a metal bass with a famous name on it
8.8/105.0 (1)
Yamaha · Electric bass
BB734A
Dark Coffee Sunburst
The BB434's engineering, plus the active EQ that makes it a stage bass
8.7/104.4 (19)
Ibanez · Electric bass
SR305E
Pearl White
The five-string that makes the extra string feel easy
8.7/104.3 (52)
Yamaha · Electric bass
BB234
Yellow Natural Satin
The workhorse BB formula at its entry point, and a genuinely narrow neck
8.3/104.3 (66)
Yamaha · Electric bass
BB434
Black
The working bass that quietly outbuilds everything near its price
8.2/104.5 (36)
Ibanez · Short-scale electric bass
miKro GSRM20
Transparent Red
A real bass at three-quarter size — the answer for small hands and small rooms
8.2/104.6 (1,986)
Squier · Electric bass
Affinity Series Precision Bass PJ
Olympic White, Maple fingerboard
The most useful pickup layout in bass, at the lowest sensible price
7.8/104.6 (244)
Ibanez · Electric bass
GSR206SM
Natural Grey Burst
Six strings for the price most brands charge for four
7.5/104.5 (272)
The comparator
Put them side by side
Add any number of instruments and see every specification aligned in one table, with the rows that actually differ marked out. Score profiles are overlaid on a single radar, and the conclusions — best value, best build, best for metal — recompute from your selection rather than from a fixed list.
Browse
By instrument type
Stratocaster
Three single-coils, a tremolo and a contoured body
Telecaster
The first mass-produced solidbody, and still the most direct
Superstrat
Strat ergonomics rebuilt for speed and gain
Semi-hollow
A centre block that keeps the warmth and kills the squeal
Single cut
One horn, maximum mass
Double cut
Both horns carved away for reach
Metal
High output, hard hardware, fast necks
7-string
A low B under the standard six
Dreadnought
The loud, broad-shouldered standard
Concert
Smaller waist, tighter focus
Auditorium
The middle ground that suits most players
Jumbo
Maximum air, maximum bloom
Parlor
Small, dry and characterful
Thinline acoustic
A shallow body built to be plugged in
12-string
Octave pairs and natural chorus
Precision Bass
One split humbucker, all the low mids
PJ
Precision body, Jazz bridge pickup
JJ
Twin Jazz pickups
5-string
A low B for modern repertoire
6-string
Low B and high C
Short scale
30 to 32 inches, easier reach
Buying guides
Read before you buy
Guide
What You Actually Need to Start Playing Guitar
Four things matter on the first day. Most of what gets sold alongside a first guitar does not, and one of the four is the accessory almost nobody buys first.
Guide
The Best Guitars of 2026
Six guitars, from a $200 first instrument to a signature seven-string built for the studio. Every specification here was checked against the manufacturer before it was published.
Guide
The Best Electric Guitars
The electric guitar is not one instrument but half a dozen, each solving a different problem. Here is what separates them, and which one to buy.
Guide
The Best Guitars for Beginners
The specifications that matter to a beginner are not the ones on the front of the box. Here is what to look for, and the four instruments we would recommend.
Deals
Price tracking, honestly
We do not publish invented discounts. The deals page explains exactly what we track and what we do not.