9 Best Cheap Electric Guitars in 2020!

In this article we are going to take a gander at the 9 best cheap electric guitars that don't suck, to try and highlight the ways in which of the best guitar brands have managed to make great electric guitars more accessible to the masses.

Some guitar brands make fantastic profits on their high-end models and can provide budget instruments they don't need to make a large profit on. Other companies redesign their high-end models (or competitor's high-end models) to reduce production costs until they have a guitar that has a lower price tag. Unfortunately, some use low build quality components, and manufacturing processes and ultimately produce instruments which are terrible by comparison.

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In this day and age, we order online and companies ship online to how do you tell if you are getting value for money? How do you tell if you are getting a quality import? If you are looking for a cheap electric guitar whatever your playing skill level you will still want your money's worth and you might be surprised at just what you can get for very little investment, so let's have a look.

View The Best Cheap Electric Guitar Below

1. Epiphone Les Paul Special-II

The Les Paul Special-II from Epiphone makes for a solid contender for the best cheap guitar because it has all the makings of a much pricier model. Gibson took on Epiphone purely to stop their biggest rivals. The Epiphone Les Paul Special-II whilst many could sit and argue the differences until the early hours provide a fantastic homage to their flash friends. They have all the essential Les Paul elements guitar players know and love but at a super low price.

The Epiphone Les Paul Special-II guitars feature the LockTone Tune-O-Matic bridge and stop-bar tail-piece for added sustains and convenient string changes.

They are constructed with mahogany bodies and have a bolt-on style neck with a rosewood fingerboard housing 22 frets.

The pickups are 700T/650R (open-coil humbucking) delivering that unmistakable Les Paul tone. It has stunning vintage sunburst aesthetics. And comes with D'Addario 10-46 strings.

Pros:+ Great tones.
+ Humbucking.
+ Narrow neck (Gibson in general).

Why We Liked It - The Epiphone Les Paul Special-II comes in at just below the $200 mark and really does great intonation and action, chords ring, the guitar strings have defined individual clarity and it is pretty gorgeous to look at too. Alternatively, you can look at getting the Les Paul Standard.

2. Squier by Fender Affinity Stratocaster HSS

This entry-level Squier Affinity features the popular Stratocaster, double-cutaway body shape it Is constructed form great tonewood. Fender's Squier Affinity is an alder body that is very lightweight and has a bolt-on c-shaped maple neck and a rosewood fingerboard. The Squier Affinity has 2 single-coil Strat pickups and one humbucking bridge pickup, a very popular pickup set up known an HSS but also dubbed Fat Strat sound. It has five-way switching with a master control for volume.

The Fender Affinity Stratocaster delivers the notorious Fender Strat tones and is available as an economically priced kit the Fender Stratocaster comes with a guitar amp leads strap and everything you could possibly ever need down to an Alan key!

Pros:+ Lightweight alder body
+ Good quality manufacture.
+ Humbucking.

Why We Liked It - The Squier Affinity subsidiary produces fantastic affordable musical instruments to put Fender Fat stat sounds at the fingertips of all budding guitarists. There is a menagerie of Strat copycats on the budget market, but Fender's Squier series has the edge.

3. Yamaha Pacifica PAC012

Next up is a fantastic low-priced entry by Yamaha, a company that offers a wealth of affordable models and who have helped shape musicians from learners into professionals for decades.

The Pacifica series are known for their outstanding play-ability they have to comfort contoured bodies and benefit from quality Japanese construction.

This Yamaha Pacifica PAC012 was the initial model from the Pacifica series and despite being a perfect first electric guitar it appeals to many as a great knock-around to due to its minimal price tag.

It too is a double cut-away shape, reminiscent of Fender Stratocasters. The Yamaha Pacifica PAC012 features popularly desirable 5-way switching between it's Seymour Duncan pickups in an H-S-S configuration which provides pretty awesome voicing for a budget guitar.

The Yamaha Pacifica PAC012 produces vintage warmth, has great intonation and they come with a range of colored finishes that complement their chrome hardware. They feature locking Sperzel tuners and a whammy bar for instant vintage vibrato. The guitar itself has a maple 22-fret neck which bolts on to its Agathis body. Agathis is similar to the basswood body and a little cheaper to the source which contributes greatly to the low retail price without compromising on electrical components in any way.

Pros:+ Humbucking.
+ Quality components.
+ Whammy bar.

Why We Liked It - The Yamaha Pacifica PAC012 is a stat inspired instrument that delivers good tones and adds a touch of modernization to the shape with is contoured edges, it is low priced and makes for a great first ax.

4. ESP LTD EC-10 KIT

The LTD brand was created in the mid-'90s to help bring ESP guitars into a lower price range. The EC series features a single-cutaway Eclipse-style body that is crafted from basswood The EC-10 harbors dual humbuckers for hard rock sounds and epic tones. The LTD own-brand pickups are of a superb quality it is important to note that before stepping into guitar manufacture ESP manufactured pickups and other components for many of their competitors' top brand guitars.

Some of the more notable aspects include the Tune-O-Matic bridge and tail-piece like the Epiphone Les Paul. It has a U shaped maple neck with rosewood fingerboard it is a slightly larger scale length with 24 frets and typical nut width. The electronics are passive and of a high caliber. They come with a gig bag and are covered by a limited lifetime warranty.

It is a simple understated classic black gloss finish design.

Pros:+ High-quality construction, no outsourcing.
+ Dual humbuckers' gritty distortion.
+ Good tonewoods.
+ Basswood body

Why We Liked It - It makes for a great basic model the double humbucker is a fat warm sound it is competitively priced and ESP makes some fantastic guitars.

5. Ibanez GIO Series GRX20Z

Ibanez produces an astoundingly wide range of top guitars that don't suck! Their GIO series is the line that specifically caters to those with a shoestring budget. GIO musical instruments are just as heavily inspected and rigorously set up in the same manner as more expensive models.

The GRX20Z is a solid-bodied instrument and it features a double-cutaway basswood body again the shape we associate with Strats. It is well made and has a GRX bolt-on maple c-shaped neck with rosewood fingerboard.

It is a full size 22-fret electric guitar and makes for an excellent first guitar from a top brand with some high esteem. It has dual Powersound humbucking pickups, FAT 6 bridge, and a standard tremolo handle

Pros:+ Dual humbucker pickups.
+ Tremolo handle.
+ Bundle buy.
+ Super low price.

Why We Liked It - It provides powerful sound and retails at an unbelievable price especially considers is sells as a bundle with a gig bag, stand and polishing cloth.

6. Squier by Fender Affinity Telecaster

Another good budget electric guitar modeled on one of their parent companies best-selling iconic guitars the Fender Telecaster. The Squier version is a perfectly adequate and easily affordable priced homage to the rich cutting tones and Tele twang of that Fender sound that dominated throughout the decades.

The Fender Affinity Telecaster sports the stylish retro looks of the original telecasters. It has a solid alder body

and a maple C-shaped neck and fingerboard although there are Indian laurel versions available for sale.

The Fender Affinity Telecaster also features 21 frets which are larger in comparison for added comfort and is 25.5 scale length and 1.6” nut width. It has 2 vintage style single coil pickup and 3 way switching to provide the signature tones synonymous with the Fender Affinity Telecaster. It has EQ dials and volume control.

Pros:+ 21 jumbo frets.
+ 2 single-coil Tele pickups.
+ Tone control.
+ Affordable price.

Why We Liked It - The Fender Affinity Telecaster is lightweight and resonant, looks good, sounds good. It is another great cheap electric option that provides the sound and image of a Fender Affinity Telecaster topped with its comfortable playability.

7. Oscar Schmidt OE20

This electric guitar model is a single-cutaway and is similar in shape to the Eclipse budget-friendly guitar from ESP and of course an attempt at a Les Paul type. It has a mahogany body and a set maple neck. The fingerboard comes in rosewood or ebony inlaid with a mother of pearl serpent and the build quality appears good. Nice straight neck fast action goo weight. It is a head-turner with its gold tuners, mother of pearl and abalone decor. It features a Tune-o-Matic bridge with a stop tail for convenience. It is a classic dual humbucking configuration they are unbranded stock pickups with a 3-way switch. For thick vintage distortion perfect for rocking and rolling.

Pros:+ Aesthetically pleasing.
+ Tonewoods used in construction.
+ Les Paul-like sound.

Why We Liked It - It is a solid purchase for the money especially if you are looking for something a bit more striking in the looks department.

8. Dean Guitars Vendetta XM Shredder

This is a solid entry-level budget-friendly guitar from Dean we have seen them take a bit of a breather over recent years with their main lines but they have been putting a lot of their efforts into affordable options we don't often see Deans below the $200.

The Vendetta shredder has a solid paulownia body which is a slightly altered Stratocaster type shape. It features an interesting shaped head-stock and bolt-on style neck which is loaded with a Tune-O-Matic bridge and string-through-body design, for great tuning retention. It has a rosewood fingerboard.

It has a pair of Dean's own brand balanced humbuckers, They offer great sound overall and very punchy high-end frequencies. It has good sustain and a vintage classic vibe but as with most double humbuckers, the clean sound is not as crystal as it could be.

Pros:+ Rare tonewood.
+ 24-Fret.
+ Tune-O-Matic bridge.
+ Dual humbucking.

Why We Liked It - Dean has packed a lot into the model they have taken inspiration from other guitars and merged them into a great value guitar.

9. Jackson JS22 Dinky

Our last review is this Jackson JS22 Dinky which is an archtop electric guitar it is made of basswood and covered in a polyurethane coat. It features 24 jumbo-sized frets for comfortable playing and has a bolt-on maple speed neck which has graphite reinforcements. The fingerboard is also bound with shark-fin inlays. It has a double locking tremolo synchronized fulcrum bridge. Its black hardware is stylishly offset against its color for great aesthetics.

It has a dual humbucker style pickups which are high output with ceramic magnets that have been well constructed the circuitry seems fantastic.

Jackson guitars are once again another company owned by the Fender Musical instruments corporation

the division centers its focus around relentless innovation in order to try and redefine modern guitar designs.

Pros:+ Dual humbuckers (ceramic magnets).
+ Locking tremolo.
+ 24 jumbo frets.
+ Elegant inlays.