Best Intermediate Electric Guitars That Are Worth The Money
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After you’ve progressed through the beginning stages of learning to play guitar, you’ll reach the intermediate stage, where you’ll be sharpening your own style and becoming more creative. Along with your newfound inventiveness, you’re probably in need of an instrument upgrade that will take you beyond your beginner guitar. The best intermediate electric guitars are the next stage, whether you’re an electric guitar player, or if you’ve been learning on an acoustic guitar and want to improve.
But what is it, exactly? Although there are no de facto intermediate electric guitars, there are guitars in the mid-price range that can assist you in expanding your creativity. Let’s take a look at some of the top-rated electric guitars that are trending among intermediate guitarists:
Best Intermediate Electric Guitars – Comparative Table
| Product | Features | Latest Price |
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| 1. Ibanez Steve Vai JEMJRSP [amazon fields=”B0784SNWKT” value=”thumb”] |
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[amazon fields=”B0784SNWKT” value=”button”] |
| 2.Schecter Omen Extreme-7 [amazon fields=”B0002NPR2G” value=”thumb”] |
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[amazon fields=”B0002NPR2G” value=”button”] |
| 3. Yamaha Pacifica Series PAC112V [amazon fields=”B001C4ZDG4″ value=”thumb”] |
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[amazon fields=”B001C4ZDG4″ value=”button”] |
| 4.Schecter Damien Special [amazon fields=”B005CP07S8″ value=”thumb”] |
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[amazon fields=”B005CP07S8″ value=”button”] |
| 5. Sterling by Music Man St Vincent STV60 [amazon fields=”B01IINM97M” value=”thumb”] |
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[amazon fields=”B01IINM97M” value=”button”] |
Best Intermediate Electric Guitars – Our Reviews and Comparisons
1. Ibanez Steve Vai JEMJRSP
Product Highlights
It is a JEM JR, not a JEM. Although it is not produced in Japan, it has a low price tag. If you’re drawn to this guitar, it’s either because you want to produce insane dive bombs or because of the brilliant finish and weird aesthetic appeal to you.
Features
- With a Meranti body, Maple neck, and Jatoba fretboard, the tonewoods are just fine.
- The Wizard III neck shape is quick to work with, with a fingerboard radius of 15.75″ and 24 jumbo frets to facilitate the quickest shredding and riffing. The fact that it’s a “Jr” guitar has no bearing on its scale length, which is still a full 25.5″.
- The 5-way switch blade on Infinity pickups in the H-S-H configuration features typical settings in positions 1, 3, and 5, but you may split the neck humbucker with the middle single-coil at position 2 and the bridge humbucker with the middle single-coil at position 4.
- The hardware requirements are completed with a Master Tone, Master Volume, and a Double-Locking Tremolo with a locking nut. While the ability to push those pickups to their extremes exists, the 5-way blade in positions 2, 3, and 4 loses output when played cleanly.
- When using single-coils, this is to be anticipated, but if you saturate the tone and increase the volume on your amp, you won’t notice the loss.
- The humbuckers are unquestionably hotter; they’re warm, thick, and create tight lows at the neck and lovely highs at the bridge.
What We Like About Ibanez Steve Vai JEMJRSP
Here’s what to anticipate. Metal accents, strong edges, and a super strat. The horns and headstock could make you sweat, but the Monkey Claw Grip and bright color help to soften the blow with a quirky vibe. The Wizard III neck shape is ideal for shredders, and the Tree of Life inlay on the fretboard gives it a unique look. The JEM JR is a more economical version of the famous signature model, allowing more players to try it out.
What We Don’t Like About Ibanez Steve Vai JEMJRSP
Several customers have expressed concerns regarding fret buzz and other quality control difficulties. While some players appear to enjoy the pickups, others have expressed dissatisfaction with the sound.
| Pros | Cons |
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2.Schecter Omen Extreme-7
Product Highlights
This is where high-end meets low-cost, as Schecter goes above to demonstrate how Indonesian-made guitars are gaining traction throughout the world. The Omen Extreme-7 is a guitar for players with a lot of skill.
Features
- The Black Cherry finish on the Quilted Maple arched top is stunning, and the body, neck, and fingerboard are all bound in body Crème multi-ply binding.
- The Mahogany body features deep double cutaways, and the bolt-on Maple neck has a fast thin C neck that’s just a millimeter thicker at the first fret (20 mm) than an Ibanez Wizard III – not bad for a 7-string guitar! It also features 24 X Jumbo frets.
- The Rosewood fingerboard is inlaid with Abalone and Pearloid Vector inlays. It features a lengthy scale length of 26.5″ and a flatter fingerboard radius of 16″.
- Another expensive feature is the GraphTech XL Black Tusq nut, which is paired with Schecter tuners on the 3+3 Schecter headstock.
- The Omen Extreme-7 features a TOM bridge with a string-thru-body mechanism to improve sustain and tuning stability.
- Two volume knobs, a tone pot with coil-splitting, and a 3-way toggle switch are included with Schecter Diamond Plus humbuckers. Ernie Ball Regular Slinky 7 #2621 (10-56s) strings are also included with the Omen. If you tune the additional string to a low B, the rest of the strings will be set up like a conventional 6-string, and you’ll be ready to go.
- Flat radius, speed neck, jumbo frets, and hot pickups combine to make this guitar a metal monster.
The standard pickups are mediocre, and you might want to update as your abilities grow, but if this is your first 7-string guitar and an intermediate purchase, they’ll suffice.
What We Like About Schecter Omen Extreme-7
Saturated tones vibrate loudly while yet keeping note clarity. You can hear character and tone when played clean, but it has some oomph to it, as though it’s ready to be turned up for overdriven tones at any moment.
What We Don’t Like About Schecter Omen Extreme-7
Seasoned guitarists may not like its sound quality.
| Pros | Cons |
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3.Yamaha Pacifica Series PAC112V
Product Highlights
Just one glance at the Pacifica PAC112V and it’s clear where the designers got their body form inspiration: the Fender Stratocaster. Despite their similarities, there are also significant distinctions. The Pacifica guitars series, unlike many inexpensive guitars in the early 1990s, were carved out of single pieces of wood, with the Yamaha PAC112v, in particular, being constructed of alder.
Features
- The bolt-on neck of the 112V electric guitar is made of solid maple with a delicate satin finish and a rosewood fingerboard with a “C”-shaped curve, a clear tribute to the instrument’s Fender cousin. It does, however, have 22 frets as opposed to Fender’s customary 21. To the touch, the neck feels quick and smooth.
- The original Pacific series featured ceramic pickups, but in the early 2000s, they were replaced with Alnico 5 pickups, which were an excellent enhancement, giving the guitar a powerful, aggressive punch that the ceramic pickups lacked.
- The pickup setup of the 112 is HSS with a bridge position humbucker, which is a noteworthy design aspect. The option to coil split the humbucker, which is enabled by pushing outward on the tone knob, is even more intriguing.
- The single-coils have a tendency to hum, while the humbucker and humbucker-single-coil combination alternatives do not.
- The hardware on the 112 is rather impressive, and it performs better than one might think for the price of an electric guitar.
- The inline tuners are of good quality and don’t detune excessively over time, although they will detune a little if you use the tremolo bar a lot. On that point, the tremolo bar is OK, but might be improved.
- Gentle tremolo usage will be alright, but bending the strings to death will certainly cause difficulties because it is, after all, a cheap guitar that can’t take much abuse.
- Overall, the Yamaha Pacifica 112V sounds okay, but not exceptional. There is an audible buzz unless the humbucker pickup is chosen. Apart from the buzz, the single coils sound great, with a deep mid-range and rapid dynamic response.
- It was a brilliant idea for Yamaha to upgrade the 112 to Alnico V pickups, and it shows.
- Although the tremolo bar is a lovely feature, it should be utilized with caution.
What We Like About Yamaha Pacifica Series PAC112V
The 3-ply pickguard is a lovely addition that adds a vintage flavor to the guitar’s look while also demonstrating that the designers put some attention into it. A 5-way pickup selector switch, as well as a master volume and tone knob, are included with the 112.
What We Don’t Like About Yamaha Pacifica Series PAC112V
The pickups have a nice amount of punch throughout, although they sound a little thin and have a thinner overtone response than other guitars.
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4. Schecter Damien Special
Product Highlights
We would recommend Schecter to musicians looking for a strong intermediate guitar because they offer a large selection of superb instruments at reasonable pricing. The Schecter Damien is a great guitar for intermediate players that want a little more.
Features
- This guitar is ideal for shredders and heavy metal guitarists. A 24-fret rosewood fingerboard is included, which is both easy to play and solidly constructed.
- The body is composed of maple, which serves to increase the instrument’s tone. Two EMG Active pickups provide the optimum tone for a wide range of guitar styles.
- The Floyd Rose tremolo mechanism on this guitar allows you to do dive bombs and other guitar stunts.
- This guitar is sturdy and keeps its tune nicely. To finish out the gear, there’s a tone, volume, and pickup selector switch.
- The guitar has a nice tone in the middle range and is quite responsive.
- The neck on this guitar is fantastic, and the double-cutaway makes it simple to play the upper notes. You can’t go wrong with a guitar like this because it comes equipped with practically everything you’ll need to improve your guitar skills.
What We Like About Schecter Damien Special
For intermediate players, the Schecter Damien is a good choice. This is an excellent choice for anyone who requires a little more but does not want to spend a lot of money on an intermediate guitar.
What We Don’t Like About Schecter Damien Special
It can be tough to understand the fretboard markers on this guitar.
| Pros | Cons |
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5. Sterling by Music Man St Vincent STV60
Product Highlights
Only a few signature guitars can truly be described as one-of-a-kind, and the St. Vincent STV60 is unquestionably one of them. Annie Clark (St. Vincent) developed this futuristic guitar from the bottom up to be as comfy as possible, and we must admit, it is. With all the straight lines and angles, it may not appear so, yet it hugs the body flawlessly and is a real delight to play.
Features
- It has a unique sound in addition to its distinguishing appearance. The guitar’s trio of mini-humbuckers is responsible for this. Think of these pickups as a cross between a traditional single-coil and a humbucker, with a surprising amount of power and a terrific high-end attack.
- The maple neck, while different from the USA line, is comparable and really comfortable, and the instrument’s overall workmanship is great. Whether or not you are a fan of St. Vincent, this is one to check out.
- St Vincent, as expected, has a thick voice that adds substantial hair to our previously clean test amps: juicy and fruity on the solo pickup locations, with some pleasant hollowness from the neck and bridge positions, as well as all three, which adds a touch of Stratty-ness.
- Although the mix locations give lots of currency for more textured, funkier voices, this is a guitar that adores gain and can really fly. The vibrato arm on St Vincent has an unusual arrangement: we couldn’t get it out after we pushed it in.
What We Like About Sterling by Music Man St Vincent STV60
If you’re searching for something a little out of the ordinary, this is it. The St Vincent has a lot of power and proved to be a great driver for our pedalboard and Helix LT. It has an unusual appearance, but the more we play it, the more comfortable the form becomes.
What We Don’t Like About Sterling by Music Man St Vincent STV60
The unique shape of the guitar may not be liked by all players.
| Pros | Cons |
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Final Verdict
Schecter Omen Extreme-7 is the best intermediate electric guitar according to us. Not only does it look stunning but also boasts excellent construction. Feel free to choose from other models if Extreme-7 does not cater to your taste.
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