Buying guide · updated 2026-08-24
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.
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Our picks
Best StratocasterSquierAffinity Series Stratocaster3-Color Sunburst, Laurel fingerboard
Five pickup positions, a 9.5-inch radius and a 2-point tremolo. The most versatile single electric guitar under $300.
7.5/10 Fretline4.6 (531)
Best superstratJacksonX Series Dinky DK3XR HSSNeon Green
24 jumbo frets, a compound radius and a double-locking tremolo — the full superstrat specification without the superstrat price.
8.3/10 Fretline5.0 (6)
Best semi-hollowEpiphoneMasterbilt Gem Archer SheratonCherry Red, left-handed, with hardshell case
Mini humbuckers keep single-coil clarity with humbucking silence, and the maple centre block controls feedback.
8.3/10 Fretline
Best seven-stringJacksonPro Plus Series Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut ET7Metallic Black
A 26.5-inch scale keeps the low B tight; the EverTune bridge keeps it in tune.
8.8/10 Fretline
Best budget electricIbanezGIO GRX70QATransparent Black Sunburst
An HSH layout and a genuinely thin neck at a price where most rivals offer neither.
7.2/10 Fretline4.6 (2,567)
Not sure between them?
Add any of these to the comparator and see every specification aligned, with the differences marked and the score profiles overlaid.
Open the comparatorThe four body types worth knowing
Solidbody
A solid slab of wood with pickups screwed into it. No feedback problems, maximum sustain, and the format that covers rock, pop, metal, country and funk. The Stratocaster and the superstrat are both solidbodies; the difference between them is ergonomics and hardware, not construction.
Semi-hollow
Hollow wings for air and resonance, with a solid block down the centre for sustain and feedback resistance. Semi-hollows are the most tonally flexible electrics made — equally credible for jazz, blues, indie and classic rock — at the cost of being physically large.
Hollow body
No centre block at all. The most acoustic-sounding electric, with a blooming attack that a solidbody cannot imitate, and a feedback threshold that arrives early. A specialist instrument, and a wonderful one in the right hands.
Extended range
Seven and eight strings, almost always on a longer scale. The extra tension is what keeps the low B or F# from turning into mud. Anything shorter than about 26.5 inches on a seven-string is a compromise you will hear.
Pickups: what the letters mean
SSS means three single-coils — bright, articulate, and prone to hum. HH means two humbuckers — thicker, louder and quiet. HSS and HSH split the difference, putting a humbucker at the bridge where you need power and single-coils elsewhere where you want clarity. A five-way switch on an HSS or HSH guitar usually splits the humbucker in the intermediate positions, which is why those layouts cover more ground than a plain HH.
Mini humbuckers, as fitted to the Epiphone Sheraton on this page, are a fourth option: narrower coils that keep single-coil top end while cancelling hum. They are the reason 1960s Epiphones sound like nothing else.
Common questions
- HSS or HH?
- HSS if you want one guitar that covers clean and dirty sounds — the single-coils give you sparkle the humbucker cannot. HH if you play mostly with gain and value output and silence above versatility.
- Are 24 frets worth having?
- Only if you play up there. The real trade-off is that 24-fret guitars move the neck pickup slightly towards the bridge, which makes it a little brighter and less woody than the same pickup on a 22-fret guitar. Neither is wrong.
Instruments in this guide
Squier · Electric guitar
Affinity Series Stratocaster
3-Color Sunburst, Laurel fingerboard
The default first Stratocaster, and it earns the position
Jackson · Electric guitar
X Series Dinky DK3XR HSS
Neon Green
A double-locking Floyd Rose and a compound radius, in the loudest finish Jackson makes
Epiphone · Semi-hollow electric guitar
Masterbilt Gem Archer Sheraton
Cherry Red, left-handed, with hardshell case
USA Gibson mini humbuckers in a semi-hollow — and, unusually, built left-handed
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
Keep reading
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The Best Guitars for Beginners
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