When I was a beginner player, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on a more expensive instrument. I salivated at the high-end Gibsons hidden behind glass cases at the local guitar store. Signature models, vintage reissues, even the odd actual vintage instrument.
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned to appreciate the finer points of entry-level instruments.
Gone are the days of Sears catalogue monstrosities with no tone and minimal playability.
These days, even under $300 guitars aimed at beginners can be useful in a range of contexts. I’ve enjoyed modding some, and bought others for specific purposes.
Top 3 - Electric Guitars Under $300
Preview | Product | Price |
|---|---|---|
 | ||
 | ||
 |
I’ve road tested the guitars in this article at various points, typically for live shows where I needed a certain look or sound, and was budget-restricted.
Table of Contents
Beginner Guitars… Pro Quality?
I’ll be the first to say that none of the guitars on this list seriously compete with top-of-the-line instruments. Some things cost less to purchase because they cost less to produce: these factory-produced instruments are made with cheaper wood and hardware than high-end guitars.
However, I learned years ago to set my guitars up properly at home. I also subscribe to Jason Isbell’s theory of tone: there’s no such thing as bad tones, just playing inappropriate for your sound.
Of course, Mr Isbell also collects priceless vintage guitars and amps, but the wisdom stands.
With a little love and effort, it’s possible to turn an Indonesian-built mass-produced beginner guitar into a gig-worthy instrument. Although I am a big fan of changing out pickups, it isn’t always necessary: often, a great amp and a good setup will do plenty of the work for you.
My Favorite Under-$300 Electric Guitars Right Now
1. Yamaha Pacifica PAC012DLX
Ah, Yamaha. The previously unsung heroes of Japanese guitar building. Yamaha have been humbly churning out awesome instruments for decades now, often at a fraction of the price of their better-known countrymen at Ibanez and ESP.
The Pacifica series is firmly in the Superstrat mold, and I feel that the PAC012DLX is more Strat than Super.
Yamaha Pacifica PAC012
I picked this guitar up for a gig a while back where I specifically needed a Stratocaster-like tone, and all my Strat-owning friends needed theirs for their own shows. I also looked at the Squier Sonic Stratocaster, but found the neck a shade too slender for my liking.
Out of the box, as expected, the guitar plays nicely, and the intonation was spot on. I did find the pickups to be a little underwhelming, until I raised them a little. It was like they sprung to life: crisp, chiming, single-coil Strat tones.
The humbucker, too, is reasonably good, although I didn’t find much use for it in this particular use case. This gig was all about Mayer-style neck pickup clean sounds.
I particularly enjoyed the comfortable Fender-style C-shaped neck profile. It sits nicely in the palm of my hand, and I experienced no hand fatigue through the gig.
Overall, in terms of quality, I’d actually rate this guitar as a more intermediate than beginner instrument. It definitely sounds and plays better than most entry-level Superstrats, despite its competitive price.
2. Jackson Dinky JS22
I’ll always associate Jackson guitars with Adrian Smith of Iron Maiden. This Dinky, even with its nifty black satin finish and basswood body, is no exception.
I actually got the Dinky to fill in at an Iron Maiden tribute show. Naturally, I was compelled to play rapidfire riffs and legato solos!
Jackson Dinky JS22 - this finish is called Metallic Blue.
I first noticed that the basswood body feels very lightweight. The neck is nice and slender, built for speed, although I did notice a hint of neck dive.
The guitar was very well intonated out of the box. I didn’t notice any tuning or pitch issues at all. Most remarkable is the fit and finish on the neck: the frets were nice and smooth, and really encouraged the kind of aggressive, precise playing that led me to this guitar in the first place.
Although this guitar plays very nicely, and happily stood up to the rigors of my Adrian Smith impersonation, I will concede that, for high-gain playing, the pickups are a little dull for my liking.
That’s not to say that these humbuckers can’t handle high gain: they drove my Marshall into Maiden territory with no trouble at all. My only issue is the lack of clarity at higher distortion and drive levels compared with, say, a set of Duncan Distortions. Of course, replacing pickups is an easy enough mod!
I’ve long had a soft spot for 80s shredder Superstrats, and this is no exception. As well as running through my favorite Maiden riffs, I found this guitar perfectly capable of handling heavier stuff, too. It’s an awesome guitar for 80s metal, no doubt about it.
It’s hard not to fall in love with an instrument as you’re galloping through “Ride The Lightning” or “Hallowed Be Thy Name.”
Overall, a quality guitar from a quality builder. It might have the reputation as “baby’s first shredder” but the Dinky, in the right hands, is capable of far more.
Read our in-depth review of the JS22 Dinky to know more about this affordable shred machine.
3. Ibanez GIO GRGR221PA
Given the significantly diminished production costs in Asia compared to the United States, it’s no surprise to see the titans of the Japanese market, Ibanez, enter this list.
The GIO really encapsulates everything I expect from a typical Ibanez guitar in this day and age. Twin humbuckers, eye-catching finish, and shred-ready playability.
Ibanez GIO GRGR221PA
The first thing I noticed here was the finish. Burls and knots in wood reduce the resonance of the wood. You can’t use burled wood for acoustic guitars or violins. Accordingly, burled poplar is cheaper to work with than, say, solid, untouched mahogany.
Fortunately, there’s more to electric guitar tone than wood resonance, and the GIO suffers no noticeable tonal issues from its body wood. Besides, the neck is a nice piece of maple, so Ibanez clearly made an informed choice as to what parts of the guitar they could afford to cut price on.
I picked this guitar up mostly because I wanted a modern, rather than '80s-style, shredder. I wanted to play some boneheaded drop tunings and some very nerdy Polyphia-style shred.
Really, the GIO couldn’t have impressed me more in that regard. The intonation was spot on right out of the box, and it played beautifully. I couldn’t help but run through “The Worst” on the neck pickup with a clean, compressed sound.
The 5-way switch is another area where Ibanez spent wisely. It actually works to split the coils in each humbucker: the result is a fairly convincing Stratocaster tone from either pickup, especially when played clean. I even managed to coax some slinky Nile Rodgers disco sounds out of it!
Of course, being an Ibanez guitar, it’s with distortion that these pickups come to life. Heavy saturation really does allow these pickups to shine, offering searing legato leads and low-end chugs to my heart’s content.
I did feel that the bridge pickup in particular tended towards sounding muddy, so I’d be tempted to swap it out one day, but it’ll do just fine for now.
Some guitars are just fun to play, and this Ibanez is one of them.
4. Squier Affinity Telecaster
These days, I play a lot of country music, especially live. As much as it breaks my heart, modern audiences (at least for the most part) don’t want to hear me shred through Van Halen all that often.
When I started on my country journey, I wanted to go as authentic as I could, so of course I picked up an affordable Telecaster. In this case, it was the Squier Affinity Telecaster.
Squier Affinity Telecaster
I was initially very impressed by the quality of the finish. It’s nicely glossy, and it looks good in most lighting, including the suboptimal lighting of stages at local bars. The gloss finish on the neck isn’t too sticky or thick, either.
Unlike some guitars in this price range, I found the pickup selector and control knobs nicely smooth and quiet. No pot scratch or sudden pops and crackles here.
Likewise, the frets are well finished, without any noticeable unwanted buzz.
Upon plugging in, I was thrilled with the sound of that classic Telecaster twang. Of course, I couldn’t resist playing the riff from “Chattahoochee” with a little slapback delay and compression.
This guitar really invited me to run through my, at the time, limited arsenal of country licks. Double stops, pedal steel bends, and hybrid-picked sixths all sounded just right to my ear.
The Squier pickups leave a little to be desired: they don’t have all the snap and sparkle I like to get out of a classic Tele. Improved pickups cost about as much as this guitar, however, so I was willing to take the hit, especially when I was so new to country guitar playing.
Although this Tele is an Indonesian-made instrument, and of course it isn’t competing with a Custom Shop USA-made model, it’s a great instrument and it thoroughly served its purpose for me.
5. Epiphone Les Paul Tribute
I’m a big Les Paul guy, and I’ve always appreciated Epiphone guitars. I picked this guitar up to have an inexpensive instrument my students could play at lessons, and for that purpose, it worked great. It’s a convincing enough rock instrument
The Les Paul Tribute was no exception, although I will make some early concessions.
Epiphone Les Paul Tribute
First of all, the mahogany body feels thinner than I like on a real Les Paul. Secondly, and perhaps unforgivably for some Les Paul purists, it’s a bolt-on neck. This seriously killed the guitar’s sustaining power compared to the set necks in other Epiphones I’ve owned, let alone my Gibson Les Paul Standard.
However, out of the box, the intonation was spot on. The mahogany neck feels in my hand like a '60s-style Les Paul neck: enough heft to fit nicely in my hand, but slim enough to play the fast parts from “Paradise City” and “Here I Go Again.”
The Epiphone pickups are downmarket versions of Gibson’s hot ceramic pickups, which I actually quite like in their full-powered version. These, by comparison, felt quite underpowered. Rather than the full-throated roar I was expecting, my ears were greeted with more of a yell, or a shout.
Don’t get me wrong: these are still relatively useful humbuckers, and they do offer a usable classic rock tone, but I like my Les Pauls to be heavier, both in weight and in tone.
I was impressed by the use of mahogany for both the body and the neck, however. The cherry burst finish is classic Gibson, calling to mind images of Jimmy Page or Ace Frehley in their prime.
The laurel fretboard was a joy to play, although it needed a quick dose of lemon oil to feel as smooth as I prefer.
In many ways, “tribute” is the perfect name for this guitar. Just like how seeing a great tribute band offers a satisfying simulation of the real deal, this guitar feels like a satisfying entry-level emulation of a full-priced Les Paul.
6. Kramer Baretta Special
I’ve always had a soft spot for the Kramer Baretta. I’m a big Van Halen fan, and the Baretta is based heavily on Edward’s mid-80s Kramer guitar, the 5150, down to the hockey-stick headstock, sole angled humbucker, and one master volume knob.
Kramer Baretta Special
I picked this guitar up because I wanted a fun 80s shredder. That’s it. The bare-bones approach to this guitar build really helps keep the price competitive: the electronics inside are anything but complicated.
The sole humbucker is the start of the show here. Plugged in to my Marshall amp with a suitably aggressive overdrive in front, it absolutely screams. Bottom-end chugs a la “Unchained?” Check. Screaming, high-speed leads? Check. Clear, crunchy power chords? Check.
I actually wound up taking out the treble-bleed capacitor. The volume knob felt largely decorative: I wasn’t finding it that useful as a gain cut, nor for violin-style volume swells. It felt more like a slow on/off switch!
I took off the back plate, removed the capacitor, and the volume control actually wound up working much better than before. The taper was even enough to do the chorus-laden swells from “Cathedral,” so I was ecstatic.
The fret edges were a little rough, but I don’t mind that on a guitar in this price range. With enough playing, this smooths out anyway.
Similarly, the tremolo system doesn’t feel quite as sturdy as I’d hoped for a guitar so clearly built for '80s shred. The bridge and saddles felt so lightweight as to be concerning. I didn’t feel confident going for dive bombs and “Kickstart My Heart” motorbike revs, but when I went for them, they sounded fine.
For hair metal riffage and solos, it’s hard to beat the Baretta. Even if you, like me, love the sleek vibe and the MTV-ready looks and tone of an '80s hard rock machine, the Baretta is worth picking up.
Further reading: our full review of the Baretta Special.
Easy Upgrades
There are plenty of ways to enjoy a guitar under $300, and one of my favorites is to use the entry-level guitar as a springboard for easy upgrades.
It’s a great way to boost your knowledge of the instrument and make it more usable for gigs and rehearsal.
By far the most popular mod, and my favorite, is to swap out a guitar’s pickups. I’m partial to Seymour Duncans, especially JBs, as well their Telecaster set.
Cheaper guitars are often made with less durable electronics, too. Every Epiphone I’ve owned has needed its pickup selector replaced, for example.
Another great place to upgrade a beginner-priced guitar is the tuners. I’m partial to Grover tuners, myself, but this is an easy, affordable way to boost a guitar’s tuning stability and intonation.
A professional setup to set the action and intonation of a guitar is always worth doing, especially so on cheaper instruments.
Of course, I sometimes love a guitar enough not to modify it at all! It’s really up to the player.
Guitars Under $300 are Better than Ever Before!
Guitar building technology has come a long way since I was a beginner. Back then, entry-level guitars were, for the most part, bad enough to make you want not to play. The action was always too high, and they barely stayed in tune.
Fortunately, modern guitar manufacturing has improved in leaps and bounds, and there are beginner-priced instruments, like those on this list, that are a joy to play.