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The Best Electric Guitar Brands
Submitted by Jason on Thu, 12/22/2011 - 05:42.
If you're looking for the best electric guitar - look no further - we have the ultimate guitars here for you to drool over!
When we rated these to see which were the best of the best electric guitars we took into consideration their quality, popularity with professional guitarists, and the impact they've had on rock music.
The top 5 electric guitar brands are: Gibson, Fender, Gretsch, PRS, Ibanez.
Gibson
Although Fender are a bigger company, Gibson are the brand behind the iconic Les Paul. Both the guitar and the man with the same name have had a bigger impact on the electric guitar than any other.
50th Anniversary 1959 Les Paul Standard
(Gibson 50th Anniversary 1959 Les Paul Standard pictured above)
The 'Les Paul' is the gold standard in rock guitar. The Les Paul solid body guitar was a huge innovation when it was first developed by Les Paul, and the 1959 Les Paul Standard is one of the most sought after guitars by collectors.
Gibson 1950s Les Paul Studio Tribute Humbucker
You will find it next to impossible to get one of the originals, however the 50th anniversary edition is an excellent tribute to the original and available at all good online music stores.
The MSRP is $8,504 but you can buy it online for just under $6,000. If that's a bit too much for your budget you can always go for the Les Paul Studio '50s Tribute Humbucker which sells for around $850.
For more information visit Gibson - 50th Anniversary 1959 Les Paul Standard.
Fender
Fender are the biggest guitar company in the world with more sales than any other guitar manufacturer. Their first solid body electric guitar was the hugely successful Telecaster, but they are far better known for the Stratocaster - the guitar of choice for Eric Clapton and of course Jimi Hendrix.
Fender Custom Shop Limited 1950s Road Show Stratocaster (Dale Wilson Masterbuilt)
(Fender Custom Shop Limited 1950s Road Show Stratocaster pictured above)
An original 1950s Strat is the top prize for most Fender collectors. It featured many innovations including the pick-guard attached to the surface of the body with all the electronics attached - just remove a few screws and you could remove all the electronics in one piece.
Fender Standard Stratocaster
The Fender Custom Shop Limited 1950s Road Show Stratocaster is an excellent tribute to the original 50s Strats, and has become a collector's piece in its own right.
The MSRP is $7,800 but you can buy it online for around $6,300. The budget priced alternative is the Fender Standard Stratocaster which sells for $450.
See this home film tour of the Fender factory in 1959 featuring Leo Fender and people making Stratocasters. Visit Fender
PRS (Paul Reed Smith)
Paul Reed Smith is a relative newcomer having been born just 2 years after the Stratocaster was created, and founding PRS Guitars in 1985, but in that relatively short period of time PRS have made a huge impact on the guitar world, have been used by the likes of Carlos Santana, Ted Nugent, Dave Navarro. and Mark Tremonti, and have earned their place among the best electric guitar brands.
PRS Private Stock Signature Limited Run
(Image courtesy of Sweetwater - #1 of 100 pictured above)
Although the "Pre Lawsuit Single Cutaways" have been the most collected PRS models, the PRS Private Stock Signature Limited Run with only 100 individual guitars, launched at Winter NAMM in 2011, looks set to be an instant classic.
PRS-Mark-Tremonti-SE-Signature
The tonal spectrum is more spread out than most guitars with both a lot of high end and bass, and it has a number of notable endorsers including Tom Wheeler who was the editor of Guitar Player Magazine for over 20 years, and Davy Knowles- Paul Reed Smith says this is the guitar he plays himself.
The MSRP is $12,400 - however you can find it selling online for around $9,000. An alternative for the budget conscious is the Signature Tremonti SE (Student Edition) which sells for around $530.
Gretsch
Gretsch was founded in 1883 and started out making banjos - it wasn't until the 1930s that they began producing guitars - but during the 1950s their guitars began to take on legendary status. During the 1960s their popularity hit stratospheric levels because George Harrison was playing a modified 1957 Gretsch Duo Jet that he bought second hand for £70 from a ship crew member in Liverpool who had bought it brand new in New York. Most collectors agree that the 50s & 60s are the most sought after Gretsch guitars.
G6128T GH George Harrison Tribute Custom Shop Duo Jet
(G6128T GH George Harrison Tribute Custom Shop Duo Jet pictured above)
George Harrison's original guitar is not for sale, but you can get this meticulously presented tribute version, and it too will be a collectors' piece with only 60 if them ever to be produced.
G6128T-GH George Harrison Signature Duo Jet
It comes with some very special extras including one of George's own guitar picks, an original 1987 7" record and picture sleeve of his hit "Got My Mind Set On You", and a personal letter from the Harrison family.
The MSRP is $20,000 - and that's what you'll pay at the stores too. Gretsch don't do things by halves, so if you want a cheaper version the best you'll find is the G6128T-GH George Harrison Signature Duo Jet which comes with a $5,000 price tag.
Visit Gretsch for all the details.
Ibanez
Although Yamaha are a better known Japanese musical instrument company, Ibanez stands out from the crowd in rock guitars, not just in Japan - but the world over - with a number of big name guitarists such as Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, and Paul Gilbert having signature models. They originally built their American presence in the 1960s on the back of Gibson and Fender copies, however the RG series introduced in the 1980s was a more original design, based on Steve Vai's JEM Universal, and became one of the biggest selling metal guitars of that period and beyond.
Ibanez JCRG2011 RG J Custom
(Ibanez JCRG2011 RG J Custom pictured above)
The J Custom versions of the RG series are the cream of Ibanez guitars and are handmade in Japan.
Ibanez RG321E
Its Super Wizard neck is the thinnest you'll find at 17mm and is designed specifically to enable the fastest possible lead guitar action.
The MSRP is over $4,600 but you can get it for around $3,500. The introductory version fo the RG Series is the RG321E which sell for around $250.
Other Electric Guitar Brands
Those above are the top 5 we've selected.
Some might argue for the inclusion of other brands like Rickenbacker, Jackson, Dean, Schecter, ESP, or others - but we had to make the cut somewhere.
Please feel free to share your choices in the comments below and say which electric guitar brands you feel should be included.
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I'll go to bat for a USA
I'll go to bat for a USA Jackson any day!
I'll second that!
I'm fortunate enough to have ordered and owned a Jackson Soloist since 1987. Best playing guitar ever. Well, so far.....
Suhr should be in the list
I would add Suhr Pro Series S6 to the list
http://www.suhrguitars.com/proSeries.aspx?series=s5_s6
Best guitars
Godin Guitars. Crafted in Canada, assembled in USA. Best value ever! I've got three of them and planning another. Godin used to be a ghostmaker and made many of the famous boutique guitars that people swear by.
I've been playing for 50 years. Once you play Godin, you never go back to the "big names".. unless you have a burning desire to throw money away.. or absolutely must have that big name on the headstock to match your t-shirt or cap. :}
We like Godin Guitars
We do like Godin here at GuitarSite.com - we've covered many of their new releases, most recently their Godin 5th Avenue Uptown GT.
Top 5 and more
+1 on USA Jackson; they've been GREAT since day one. I'd also swap ESP in for Ibanez any day... ESP Signature and Custom guitars are as fine an electric guitar as is made.
And what about Rickenbacker? I'd have put Ric in the top five instead of Gretch....
It was a difficult decision
It was a difficult decision to leave out Rickenbacker - they were at the top of our list for our 12 string electric guitar roundup.
Don't forget Carvin USA.
Don't forget Carvin USA. Made in California. They sell direct to the consumer. Finest guitar I ever played.
My Don Felder 'Murphy' is
My Don Felder 'Murphy' is the best I've heard, seen or played--hands down, no argument
Did someone forget the tele?
I own some 13 or so, high end American, Canadian and/or Japanese 6 strings 7 basses and a full studip of gear and if my opinion means FA then I can't help but not mention my Washburn Custom Shop WV548! It has Parker guitars (famous for the FLY) patented composite glass carbon fiber fretboard, EMG active PU's (81, 85) and a real Floyd with the Buzz Feiten system and it is bar none, the fastest, smoothest, and by far the nicest playing (and sounding for that matter) guitar I own or have played in my some 30 odd years plus, playing electrics.
BTW this is versus my Jackson RR1, 1958 VOS Les Paul, Shred V, 67 Flying V custom, RD Standard, USA Charvel custom shop, USA DLX Ash Telecaster, Lado TL60 Prototype, and more etc. etc. etc.
This was more about brands
This was more about brands rather than individual guitar models, but the Tele made it onto the Top 10 Guitars list at http://www.guitarsite.com/top-10-guitars/
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