It is hard-wanting something that you cannot get. You have spent a lot of time going to music stores or online, just to take a glimpse of your dream guitar for a second and imagine what it would feel like in your hands.
You tried to save some money for this beautiful instrument but failed as its price is really out of your league. What if we could tell you that it is okay, and there is a huge possibility of you finding “the one” in your budget? Get ready, this secret is going to be uncovered. We have made some research on Best Electric Guitar under 300, so do not worry anymore, here goes the list, enjoy.
What’s The Best Electric Guitar Under 300
| Image | Guitar Model | ||
|---|---|---|---|
 | Epiphone Les Paul-100 |  (4.9 / 5) | Check on Amazon |
 | Gretsch G5425 Electromatic Jet Club Electric Guitar |  (4.8 / 5) | Check on Amazon |
 | Squier by Fender Deluxe Stratocaster | (4.8 / 5) | Check on Amazon |
 | Schecter OMEN-6 |  (4.7 / 5) | Check on Amazon |
 | Squier by Fender Vintage Modified 70's Stratocaster | (4.7 / 5) | Check on Amazon |
 | Yamaha Pacifica Series PAC112V |  (4.6 / 5) | Check on Amazon |
 | Jackson JS32 Dinky | (4.7 / 5) | Check on Amazon |
 | Sterling by Music Man Axis AX3S | (4.6 / 5) | Check on Amazon |
 | Oscar Schmidt OE20QTE-A-U | (4.6 / 5) | Check on Amazon |
 | Ibanez RG421 |  (4.5 / 5) | Check on Amazon |
Epiphone Les Paul-100
This gorgeous instrument is designed with specs similar to the original 1952 Les Paul. It has a vintage sunburst color and design, giving it a classic look. The guitar’s body is made of mahogany with a maple top, making it lighter than full-size Les Pauls. This ensures that your long practice sessions are more comfortable and enjoyable. It has a bolt-on neck. Epiphone Les Paul-100 Electric Guitar is equipped with 700T Humbucker pickups. The instrument never goes out of tune. This guitar has a rich tone and sounds wonderful. It is undoubtedly much better sounding and more exquisite than you can imagine at that price. You can purchase the instrument separately, as well as in an all-inclusive package to start playing right away.
Pros:
- Les Paul Design
- Powerful Sound
- Cheap
- Good Tuning Stability
Cons:
- Non Satisfactory Tonality
- String buzz
- Very basic pickups
Gretsch G5425 Electromatic Jet Club Electric Guitar
In this day and age, nobody wants to stay on the ground and satisfy themselves with ordinary things. We all want to reach the sky either with our bodies or via imagination. Either way, we need something powerful to help us on that journey – something like a jet. Electromatic G5425 Jet Club does truly stand by its name and is one of the best electric guitars under 300. Its sonic power will make you feel as if you are a superhero with extraordinary strength and interminable possibilities. Its specs aren’t anything to write home about at first glance, but if you scrutinize them carefully, you’ll find some details that are pretty surprising at this price point. Two of those are definitely pickups. Dual-coil humbuckers on the neck and bridge are so good that you won’t even have to swap them for anything else. Upgrading a cheap guitar with better electronics is common, but not necessary for this one. The G5425 has a lightweight basswood body with chambers, an arched laminated maple top, a maple neck, and a rosewood fingerboard. Everything fits together perfectly like the parts were made for each other!
Pros:
- Wonderful pickups
- Stays in tune for a long time
- Beautiful sound
Cons:
- Chambered body (just in case that’s a con for you)
Squier by Fender Deluxe Stratocaster
Squier by Fender Deluxe Stratocaster is ready to give you that authentic retro vibe. It comes in four different colors: Daphne blue, Black, Olympic white, and pearl white metallic. All of them let you get that vintage, classic look. The instrument has a Basswood body with a polyurethane glossy finish. Satin-finished C-shape maple Neck with maple fingerboard and 22 medium jumbo frets makes your connection with the guitar simple and convenient. The guitar has three classic Duncan Designed™ Single-Coil Pickups that produce a great sound you’ll love. It stays in tune easily, and the bridge is excellent and simple to set up. This guitar offers fantastic quality for its price, impressing both beginners and intermediate players alike.
Pros:
- Clean Sound
- Understated, Classy design
- Decent tuning stability
Cons:
- Dents Easily
- Moderately Powerful Sound
Schecter OMEN-6
We can proudly say that Schecter OMEN-6 is the next level among the best electric guitars under 300. It has goth vibes and is available in three different colors. The satin finish on the body is what really sets it apart from the glossy versions and makes it exquisite. This instrument is perfect for nonstop hours of playing metal. This guitar is light. A maple neck and basswood body together with a rosewood fretboard produce beautiful sounds and a really nice tone with no noticeable fret buzz. It is equipped with Schecter Diamond Plus Pickups, made for crunchy rhythms and perfect for drop tuning. With this guitar, you can push your amp to its limits. The instrument is extremely high quality and will leave pleased even experienced musicians.
Pros:
- Powerful Sound
- Great Sustain
- Dark, Metal themed design
Cons:
- Beware dents and scratches
- Heavy tone bias
Squier by Fender Vintage Modified 70’s Stratocaster
Squier by Fender Vintage Modified 70’s Stratocaster is an incredible value and has extremely high quality for the price. It delivers the vibes of the 70’s with its beautiful, classic vintage design. The instrument has a basswood body to give excellent sustain and great resonance at mid and high frequencies. Maple C Shape neck with 21 medium jumbo frets and a Maple fingerboard lets your hand easily glide while playing. Three Duncan DesignedTM SC-101 single-coil pickups are definitely a highlight. The instrument is perfect for someone who is just starting out. You will enjoy time spent with Squier by Fender Vintage Modified 70’s Stratocaster and will make the most out of it.
Pros:
- Vintage Design
- Easily Customizable
- Detailed Sound Control
Cons:
- Soft Body
- Tuning Stability
Yamaha Pacifica Series PAC112V
I don’t think it’s possible to look at Yamaha Pacifica PAC112V and not feel relaxed and inspired. The name itself always calms me down, not to mention the playing experience that takes away all of my anxiety. The name of this one can’t be forgotten – it would be equal to forgetting your whole essence. Apart from soothing character, this affordable electric guitar has a spec or two to brag about. It deserves the most appraisal in the body region, as it’s built with solid alder. It’s combined with a maple neck and rosewood fingerboard, which work together like harmonious partners. The pickup configuration is HSS, with the humbucker being on the bridge. Single-coil pickups can be a bit noisy, while humbuckers sound great. With the coil-splitting feature, you can change your sound significantly. The tremolo bar works fine, but if you don’t use it often, you shouldn’t have any issues.
Pros:
- Amazing build quality and materials
- Dynamic sound
- Diverse features
Cons:
- Tremolo bar could have been better
- Single-coils tend to produce some noise
Jackson JS32 Dinky
Some of you may laugh at this guitar’s name, which really sounds a bit funny, but when it comes to the specs it’s when it gets super serious. Jackson JS32 Dinky is a very solid instrument, it looks cool, sounds excellent and overall is perhaps the best electric guitar under 300 if you mainly play metal. It has an arch-topped basswood body, bolt-on maple neck with graphite reinforcement, with 24 jumbo frets. As its manufacturer says – this guitar can scream! It really has an impressive sound that will make you feel like a metal god and turn your hours of practice into a much more pleasurable process. With Jackson JS32 Dinky you are able to get top-notch quality sound and original design without having to break the bank.
Pros:
- Powerful
- Affordable
- Cool Fretboard Design
Cons:
- Cheap Nut
- Non-innovative design
Sterling by Music Man Axis AX3S
It’s easy to miss great, yet conventional instruments in search of something unique. Queer body shapes and features do attract our attention, but it does also mean that we can be taken on easily. It’s not uncommon to think that a distinctive piece is what your collection needs, but in reality, it could simply be a decent, powerful guitar. You just have to know what to look for and where. One place that will definitely accommodate your needs is Sterling by Music Man and their Axis AX3S. It features the most mainstream body design – a single cutaway and colored headstock. It comes in two colors, black and white, and is certainly a traditional guitar. Yet its features work wonders in reality and make up a guitar that is hard to beat. We have a basswood body, hard maple neck, and Jatoba fingerboard. The pickup configuration is HH, but you get countless options with them. By playing around with a 5-way toggle, you have the chance to access interesting combinations and create versatile results. Axis AX3S does have its flaws, but those are expected at this price point. Still an amazing axe!
Pros:
- Affordable
- Wonderful feature set
- Impressive sound
Cons:
- You might have some difficulties with tuning
- Tremolo bar doesn’t work as well as it should
Oscar Schmidt OE20QTE-A-U
Affordable guitars come at a cost – some more than others. We all know that we have to make some sacrifices, which are always minor enough to make the purchase worth the trouble. If the issues are too big, then we’re left with an unusable piece of gear. Luckily, Oscar Schmidt OE20QTE-A-U belongs to the category which requires smaller compromises. Even though you might be the lucky one and receive the guitar in perfect condition, there are still chances to encounter some issues with quality control. The guitar might have some flaws that skipped the eye before the shipment, but they can easily be fixed. You might find it hard to adjust intonation as well, but, again, you can come up with some solutions to avoid that problem. After all, all affordable guitars need some upgrades in order to be perfect for us. OE20QTE-A-U has a beautiful sound and seems to be really comfortable to play. Once you hold it in your hands, you won’t have the desire to let go!
Pros:
- Good value for money
- Decent sound
- Comfortable to play
Cons:
- Issues with quality control
- Difficult to adjust intonation
Ibanez RG421
This guitar is awesome! It’s not just great “for the price,” but one of Ibanez’s most popular products. The guitar features a fantastic Wizard III 3-piece maple neck and a rosewood fretboard with white dot inlay. With its two-octave 24 jumbo frets, you can easily do bigger note bends. It has a mahogany body that makes the instrument very resonant and lightweight. It is equipped with dual Ibanez INF pickups wired to a 5-way switch for a wide range of coil combinations and sounds. The guitar never goes out of tune. We would recommend Ibanez RG421 not only to someone who is new to the music but also to an experienced as well – who is looking for a budget instrument with exceptional characteristics and sound as well.
Pros:
- Comfortable to play
- Good for beginners and intermediate players alike
- Simple Controls
Cons:
- Heavy
- Odd control knob placement
How to choose an affordable electric guitar
Now that you know everything, are you a bit relieved? Maybe you are feeling happy? We hope that you have discovered “the one” from the list above. If not yet, we will give you some tips in order to make your decision-making process even easier.
First of all until we go into the specifications of guitars let’s talk about one really important thing. Sometimes when purchasing something, we like its specs so much that we buy it and do not pay attention to the look. Well… it is not going to work for this kind of instruments. You need to connect with your guitar, express what you feel with it, have a long happy relationship with “the one” you choose, so what is the best way to do that if not having an instrument that matches your personality. If you are into heavy stuff, you better get that of a rock star looking guitar that will definitely deliver those special vibes. If you are more into chill, retro kind of vibes, you will without a doubt enjoy some of the products from the list above that have a signature vintage design to let you get that feeling.
Next thing that we can advise you is to have a realistic expectation for the instrument. It is true that you can truly get the quality sound from this pocket-friendly guitars, but it can still not be as good as some of your friends’ guitars that cost 1000 or even more. We can guarantee that some of the products from this list are truly phenomenal for the money and will leave you happily surprised, but something will definitely be better.
We would also highly recommend you do research about how generally guitars are constructed. It’s more of a “must-do” before actually purchasing the instrument. At first, you need to learn about the details of its construction, then make up your mind about what you want, how you would like it to sound, and then finally find that instrument and you will connect with it in the best way possible. You need to ask yourself questions like:
- What kind of wood you would like your guitar to be made of?
- Would you like it to have humbucker or single coil pickups?
- What shape do you want it to be?
- Bolt on neck, set neck, or neck through?
- Fixed bridge vs floating?
If all of these questions are Greek to you, that is proof that you need to look into this more deeply. Do not forget that the more details you now, the better the choosing part will go- as Francis Bacon once said: “knowledge is power”.
Also, the thing that you should keep in mind is not getting too stressed out – remember that you are purchasing guitar for pleasure and fun. Thinking and analyzing everything is good, but you need to know the golden ratio, especially when it comes to music.
Conclusion
Overall, it all comes down to your preferences. All of these instruments are unique in their own ways. They all have something that gives them a specific sound and special vibe. Therefore, you need to really understand its purpose and know how you want it to sound. Everyone on a budget can find a guitar to suit their taste and personality, from the list above. We hope that you will use our tips as well and find your best electric guitar under 300. Remember that choosing a guitar can be very stressful process as well as satisfying, so it is completely up to you which way to go. Okay so now enough talking…it’s time for Rockin!
