Getting a new instrument is a big headache on its own, it can turn into a real stress if you are on a budget. Budget most of the time can be a preventing factor from getting a guitar. There are so many options on the market. Under 200 dollars you can find hundreds of guitars, but a big percentage of them will be crappy, made specifically to deceive beginners. They are well advertised in the best way possible, to make you think you found the right one. That is exactly what happened to me. I was so motivated to learn how to play and wanted to hold the instrument so much that I bought the first cool-looking guitar.
That did not work for me in the long run, so I learned on the hard way that you need to make research before you get an actual instrument. I did not know how to distinguish a good, affordable instrument from the cheap one. Now I know it all so I made some research for someone who is trying like I did once. Obviously, I do not want anyone to be deceived, therefore I have prepared a list of the best acoustic-electric guitars under 200, together with some general information about the instrument itself and tips. Enjoy my work. Here goes the list.
What’s The Best Cheap Acoustic-Electric Guitar
| Image | Guitar Model | ||
|---|---|---|---|
 | Ibanez Performance Series PF15 |  (4.9 / 5) | Check on Amazon |
 | Yamaha FX325A |  (4.8 / 5) | Check on Amazon |
 | Epiphone AJ-100CE Cutaway | (4.8 / 5) | Check on Amazon |
 | Ovation AB24-RR | (4.8 / 5) | Check on Amazon |
 | Jameson Guitars Blue Full Size Thinline Acoustic Electric |  (4.7 / 5) | Check on Amazon |
Ibanez Performance Series PF15
As always – the Ibanez Guitars are of excellent quality, and is very affordable compared to its sound quality so any category of players could enjoy it. It features a Dreadnought-size body, which has full sound and cutaway for upper fingerboard access. I personally am impressed by its amazing craftsmanship, its top is made of spruce. As for the sides and back, the material used is mahogany. This combination has always been one of the best as it has perfect resonation. Appointments include a black and white sound hole rosette and chrome die-cast machine heads for precision tuning. The PF15 cutaway comes with an on-board pickup and preamp system with 2-band EQ and tuner, perfect for plugging in and jamming with friends or performing solo, so nothing is on your way of rocking out. I would recommend this guitar to anyone who wants to enjoy excellent performance with an affordable price.
Pros:
- Affordable
- Beginner-friendly
- Good electronics
Cons:
- Okay sound
- Need to change strings
Yamaha FX325A
Yamaha always does an amazing job of combining low prices with high-quality sound and exquisite craftsmanship. This particular model is no exception and is one of the best cheap acoustic-electric guitars. It features a dreadnought body style with a nato back and sides, so you get the idea of its amazingly rich and warm tone. It is equipped with chrome die-cast hardware, so going out of tune surely is not a problem. The Yamaha FX325A acoustic-electric guitar comes with system 53 piezo/preamp with 2-band EQ. All of above mentioned means that this guitar is desirable for many people and not only for beginners. It undoubtedly gives you room to grow and develop skills.. The sound is so clear, rich, and deep that it just gives you a sensation like you are playing a much more expensive – 1000-dollar instrument. I really like the folk-like timbre, surely delivers a special vibe. Yamaha has done it again – produced a very affordable guitar meant for beginners but sounding to satisfy even professionals. If you get it, you will not plan on buying a replacement for this sweet guitar any time soon.
Pros:
- Affordable
- Good sound
- Comfortable
Cons:
- Strings are too high
- Thin tonewood
Epiphone AJ – 100CE Cutaway
This acoustic-electric guitar has a body which is made from select mahogany and a bridge – made from beautiful rosewood, glued at the precise point for stable intonation. This guitar features a select spruce top. Spruce is a rich and complex tonewood that begins to breath. It is a fact that Spruce improves with age and with lots of playing time. So play the AJ – 100CE a lot. It has a solid mahogany neck. The whole instrument is pretty comfortable, so you will not get easily tired while playing it for many hours, seated or standing. The Epiphone instrument is a great acoustic guitar with a beautiful cutaway for nicer upper fret access that can keep up with you and is built with over a century of expertise and skill. The AJ-100CE is legendary for being easy to set up and for staying in tune, so no matter how much playing time you have, it’s ready to go. Epiphone did a pretty nice job with this affordable model.
Pros:
- Great, boomy sound
- Comfortable for a jumbo guitar
- Affordable
Cons:
- Okay quality tonewood
- Might want to re-string
Ovation AB24-RR
The Ovation AB24-RR acoustic-electric guitar is great for beginner and intermediate players and perhaps is the best acoustic-electric guitar from their collection. This guitar has all the essentials of the classic Ovation Balladeer sound and style, as well as the Applause Balladeer AB24 Acoustic Electric. It has a loud and well-defined voice, and smooth playability, so you will surely not get tired even after playing non stop for many hours. Premium features include a laminated spruce top for a clearly articulate tone and a mid-depth Round back Lyrachord body for greater volume and projection, excellent balance and supreme durability. The guitar also features fast, comfortable action and an easy-playing nato neck profile with a satin finish. This lovely guitar has an Ovation OP-4BT pickup/preamp system with a built-in tuner for superior amplified tone and performance. You will never ever have a problem playing live with this guitar. You can choose from many choices of color of the body, so it will cater to many tastes. The ovation AB24-RR acoustic–electric guitar is undoubtedly one of the most popular models under 200 dollars.
Pros:
- Comfortable
- Consistent
- (ehm…) Affordable
Cons:
- Tonewood is not the best quality
- Basic electronics
Jameson Guitars Blue Full Size Thinline Acoustic Electric
Jameson Guitars have always been a great value. So, Blue Full Size Thinline Acoustic Electric is no exception. You can play this full-sized guitar as an acoustic or plugged into an amp. It features a rosewood fingerboard, also the nato body as well as a spruce top. A high gloss blue burst finish tops off this guitar and it looks really as if it was in a much more expensive category. It has never been this affordable to own a guitar of that quality before. The overall Length of the instrument is 41 inches, Body Thickness – 2 inches while Scale Length – 25.5″ with Nut Width – 1.685″. So you get the idea of how simple it is to hold this guitar. Definitely one of the most comfortable instrument from the list. The thin line body makes it very easy to play not only for adult players but young players as well. Jameson Guitars Blue Full Size Thinline Acoustic Electric is equipped with nice tuning system. It holds the tune pretty well and almost never goes out of it. Very easy to press the strings. It sounds wonderful and feels good to hold and play. Definitely a great deal for the price.
Pros:
- Affordable
- Beginner-friendly
- Decent electronics
Cons:
- Okay sound
- Change the strings
Those instruments truly are top models under 200 dollars, among acoustic-electric guitars. We hope you made up your mind about which one to get, and the list of unlimited options is significantly decreased.
There is something so attractive about electric-acoustic guitars that makes you want to own them the second you hear its beautiful sound. Well… That is exactly what happened to me. I was in a café one evening and live music started to play. The room was dark and you could only see the light on the small stage, where the player was sitting. Suddenly he started to play in the most amazing way possible. His voice was so perfect, and the guitar’s voice was making it even more perfect. Everything around me went silent for a moment and it felt so good as if my heart skipped a bit. Within next month or so I was saving up money like crazy, in order to get this beautiful instrument and learn how to create music myself. The sensation that playing an electric acoustic gives me is indescribable. It has a nice, clean, natural sound of acoustic but with a lot of power. That leads us to the first thing that I want to explain to you.
Acoustic-electric vs Electric vs Acoustic
Well to be precise, the acoustic-electric guitar is a combination of electric and acoustic instruments. So, simple huh? That’s what its name says as well. This instrument is perfect if you want to have a beautiful sound of an acoustic but play it for a bigger crowd. The instrument delivers natural tone of acoustic but adds a huge power to it, so you basically get 2 in one. Simply said it is an acoustic guitar plugged into amp. If we go into more details we need to mention that electric acoustic guitars have piezoelectric pickups. Therefore, an incorporated preamplifier into the guitar body is needed to amplify the signal before it reaches the main guitar amplifier. Those preamps sometimes come with tone controls of varying types, but generally equalizers with up to six frequency bands. Now you see, how much of a trouble it is to hear the sound of amazing acoustic-electric.
- The acoustic-electric guitar will satisfy the need of everyone who lacks the power and volume while playing acoustic. It will be a nice partner if you go on stage, or play for big crowd.
- Even though you are on the budget, still try to pay attention to details and make the most out of the amount you have. Buy affordable, not cheap. At first you might think those are the same thing, but they are not. With an affordable instrument, you get nice tone and solid quality, while the cheap one’s sound is not of a good quality. Try to find the best solution in your budget – the golden ratio, so that you still don’t pay too much, but get nice quality. For example, top wood materials affect sound a lot so find the one that has solid top material instead of laminated, and splurge a bit on it. But, on the other hand you can always save some money on back and side wood, as they affect sound less.
Conclusion
Finding a perfect match is very difficult, especially if you are looking for the best-value acoustic guitar. There are so many options available on the market. You might get your mind a bit messed up, as it is sometimes hard to distinguish a nice, solid, affordable instrument from the crappy, cheap one. Hope now you know a bit more about it, so feel free and relaxed as there is less chance to be deceived by nice ads, when you know exactly what you want to get. Tight budget is also a not-so-pleasant thing to deal with. You might even think that normal instruments are not available for under 200 dollars, money always seems not enough for what you want to buy. We hope that you were proven wrong with this article, as one always can make the most out of the budget and get very high quality, even if it is really tight. Do not forget a very important thing when getting a new instrument – it is always best if you are able to try out everything in your hands. It might have the best specs and reviews possible, however, in your hands it may not feel comfortable. The comfortability of the guitar is definitely a key factor you should pay attention to. The instrument should feel nice and smooth not only seated, but standing as well. Try not to stress too much about the choosing part, but make the most out of it, as music should be all about pleasure. We hope that the article about best acoustic-electric guitars under 200 will be the first successful step in your music.
