Best Cheap Electric Guitar In 2025
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If you are looking for a cheap electric guitar you have landed at the right place. Some of you might be beginners gaping at the prices of your favorite high-end guitars. However, there are affordable electric guitars from established brands that can accompany you to your jamming/ practice sessions.
Take a look at some of the cheap electric guitars that will help you improve your playing style.
Comparison Table
Product | Features | Latest Price |
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1. Squier Affinity Telecaster [amazon fields=”B0002F58TG” value=”thumb”] |
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[amazon fields=”B0002F58TG” value=”button”] |
2. Yamaha Pacifica 112V [amazon fields=”B01CFOAQP2″ value=”thumb”] |
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[amazon fields=”B01CFOAQP2″ value=”button”] |
3. Fender FA-100 [amazon fields=”B0071NO7I0″ value=”thumb”] |
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[amazon fields=”B0071NO7I0″ value=”button”] |
4. Martin LX1E Little Martin [amazon fields=”B001CM7U5I” value=”thumb”] |
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[amazon fields=”B001CM7U5I” value=”button”] |
5. Taylor GS Mini [amazon fields=”B007IVUOXM” value=”thumb”] |
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[amazon fields=”B007IVUOXM” value=”button”] |
Our Best Cheap Electric Guitar For 2020 Reviews and Comparisons
1. Squier Affinity Telecaster
Product Highlights
Squire’s Affinity Telecaster comes at a price anyone can afford. Deemed as a perfect choice for beginners this guitar is known for its well-balanced tone and a simple setup. Made of alder, it has proven to last guitarists many years.
Features
The guitar gives a warm and clear sound with the classic tone that goes so well with country, jazz and blues guitar. It has a bolt-on C-shaped maple neck with a maple fretboard featuring 21 medium jumbo frets.
It is fitted with two vintage-style single-coil pickups at the bridge and neck position. These can be adjusted by a master volume and master tone control, and a three-way pickup selector switch.
One modern adjustment to the guitar is the inclusion of a fully-adjustable six-saddle bridge with a top-loading configuration. This fixed bridge is accompanied by a set of chrome tuners, providing good tuning stability.
The Affinity Telecaster is not recommended for heavier playing styles because it is a finesse guitar. However, if you are a beginner and have an overdrive you can play decent hard rock music.
See Related Article: Best Electric Guitar Under $1500 For 2020
What We Like About Squier Affinity Telecaster
The guitar has a thin body and smooth neck favoring beginner guitarists.
What We Don’t Like About Squier Affinity Telecaster
As the volume increases the guitar begins to show a few signs of being a cheaper guitar when the pickups start to hum and buzz.
PROS
- Equipped with chrome tuners for good tuning stability
- Budget-friendly
CONS
- Not recommended for music genres like hard rock and heavy metal
2. Yamaha Pacifica 112V
Product Highlights
Yamaha launched the Pacifica line of electric guitars in 1990. The Pacifica line of guitars was known to be made of single pieces of wood unlike the other budget guitars belonging to the early 1990s.
The Pacifica 112V is carved out of solid alder. Alder bodies are capable of producing a clear, well-rounded tone and feature a great bass response and a thick midrange.
Features
The Pacifica 112V makers aimed to give an Alnico tone to the guitar but still create a vintage/modern sound. This resulted in a versatile instrument capable of producing a wide range of tones and sounds.
Featuring a standard vintage vibrato design, the company has fixed block saddles intended to add a little firmness to the tone. The saddles also give a precise breakpoint for the string.
The most noteworthy feature is its three pickup options. Two of the single coils are situated on the neck and the middle. The third coil is a classic Alnico Humbucker coil. which helps in producing deep, well-rounded notes.
There is a 5 position switch with coil tap to fiddle with the pickup selection.
The hardtail bridge of the guitar holds strings in tune for long periods of time. If you find tuning strings individually a hassle you can use the tremolo arm to tune all in one go.
What We Like About Yamaha Pacifica 112V
The high-end metallic hardware and fine knobs make it a great buy. Additionally, it features an attractive design and has better versatility resulting in both steely tones and warm, well-rounded tones.
What We Don’t Like About Yamaha Pacifica 112V
Although the Tremolo Bridge reduces tuning hassles, tuning the entire bridge using the tremolo arm is difficult for inexperienced beginners.
PROS
- Offers great tonal variety
- Stays in tune for weeks
CONS
- Tone is a bit thin
- Not for professional guitar players
3.Fender FA-100
Product Highlights
Fender is a great name in the guitar making industry. They’ve been around since the late 1930s and although their roots are in the electric guitar, they’ve been in the acoustic guitar business for decades.
It gives full and vibrant tones and is suitable for strumming and delicate styles of fingerpicking. It is a wise choice for any beginner as it comes as a bundle starter kit with a bunch of handy accessories.
Features
If you pick up the FenderFA-100 you’ll notice it’s a full-size guitar right away–which is a great option even for young players to start from. The Fender FA-100 is built with a Spruce laminate top (which is typical of almost every acoustic guitar) and Basswood back and sides.
Overall, the sound you’ll get from the Fender FA-100 acoustic guitar should be satisfying enough for anyone who has never played guitar before. You should be able to press your fingers down to the fretboard quite easily when you’re playing the FA-100 beginner acoustic.
This is the “playability” and it’s actually not that bad for an entry-level guitar. The closer the strings are to the fretboard, the easier it becomes to play.
The top comes with effective x bracing and body binding. Along with a c-shaped neck, the guitar has the signature Fender head-stock shape and pick-guard. It has a smooth rosewood fingerboard with pearl dots which is 20 frets in length. It also has a rosewood bridge with a synthetic bone saddle and chrome hardware.
What We Like About Fender FA-100
The guitar uses the typical Spruce wood at the lower price end, as a laminated spruce top, since not many tonewoods offer such a good dynamic response. It’s great for a wide range of styles of playing coupled with a bright resonance as a bonus.
What We Don’t Like About Fender FA-100
While the good part is that the Fender FA-100 strings are close to the fret – its flaw is that some buyers have complained that they also get an occasional buzz (which happens when the strings accidentally hit the frets). Users have also faced some durability issues with this guitar.
PROS
- Comes as a bundle starter kit with accessories.
- Spruce laminated top for good response and resonance
- Good playability
CONS
- Occasional buzzing
- Not highly durable
4. Martin LX1E Little Martin
Product Highlights
The Little Martin does feel a bit industrial, but we have been captivated by its more conventional spruce-top voice from the very first strum. If you’re a classic Martin fan, you’ll become fond of this guitar with a lovely crisp-edged voice.
Features
This one has a conventionally braced back with less decoration, no position markers on the face of the fingerboard and a single five-band rosette. However, despite its small size, this model manages to sound really good and has a special air about it.
With a pre-amp combo system along with the Fishman Isys T, this guitar features built-in tone shaping, volume control, and phase control. This gives you a whole new level of sound customization.
This guitar is small, but it’s not the smallest guitar on the market. Due to its size, it is a great option for people who are always on the move, young players and those with small hands.
What We Like About Martin LX1E Little Martin
Martin used Sitka spruce as they do in most of their guitars (this feature also looks nice on electric guitars). This material allows the guitars to sound brighter and more dynamic. Martin LX1e is the right choice if you need a guitar that has the best of both worlds (small size and stunning sound).
What We Don’t Like About Martin LX1E Little Martin
The tones from this guitar might sound too conventional for some people. Also, its sound isn’t wide enough.
PROS
- Highly portable and good for musicians who travel often
- Built-in tone shaping, volume control, and phase control
- Spruce top for bright and dynamic sounds
CONS
- Tone too conventional for some users
- Nature of the sound isn’t wide enough
5. Taylor GS Mini
Product Highlights
GS Mini doesn’t resemble a ‘travel guitar.’ Also, the construction is flawless. The body is small enough at 143/8 inches wide to make it comfortable to play even when sitting down yet substantial enough that the player will not slouch over it.
Features
The plain woods— caramel-colored Sapele for the back and sides, solid Sitka spruce for the top— and satin finish give it a simple look. Its three-ring rosette and three-layer purfling give it the credibility of a higher-priced instrument.
Strummed softly or with a medium attack, the Mini produces a warm, clear tone that slightly favors the midrange but with rich bass and bright trebles. The sound begins to break up with an aggressive attack, particularly in the bass, making it better suited for playing solo or in a small group.
The prominent midrange brings a punch to jazz chords which are easy to play up and down the fingerboard, with the comfortable factory setup and neck of the guitar.
What We Like About Taylor GS Mini
It’s a satisfying and fun guitar to strum, fingerpick, or flat pick. Along with this, it has a wide dynamic range, clear tone, long sustain, and an affordable price. Considering all these factors, it would be a great second — or even first — guitar for any player who needs to have a quality instrument always within reach.
What We Don’t Like About Taylor GS Mini
The only problem encountered while using this guitar was its low durability. It needs to be handled with great care.
PROS
- Simple looking guitar with the credibility of a higher-priced instrument
- Suited for playing solo or in a small group
- Easy and satisfying playability
CONS
- Not highly durable
Final Verdict
Taylor GS Mini is the best cheap acoustic guitar according to us. It offers value for money and sounds great during solo performances. Beginners can play this guitar with ease and become their first memorable instrument.
However, there are options to choose from if you’re looking for other specific features or brands. We hope our article was informative and helped you pick a guitar that you’d like to invest in.
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