best electric guitar under 200?

  • Thread starter Thread starter oh_the_blood
  • Start date Start date
No mention of a Danelectro? I love mine. I have an old 70's epiphone that I never use because I can't put down my Danelectro. Its got a good mid sound. Perfect for me. I paid like $270 used I think, but that was like 3 or 4 years ago, I'm sure you could get one for $200 easy.
 
If you like "SG style" guitars, check out an Ibanez GAX70 (about $200) orGAX140 (about $50 more but has jumbo frets) Also Washburn is now producing several models for under $200 which are surprisingly good guitars for the money. (Guess I'm hung up on electrics)
 
I concur with the choice of Epiphone Special II. I like the feel of the neck and the sound is pretty decent coming out of the box.

Then again I've switched out pick ups and tuning pegs so it isn't the same as I bought it at the store. I also "customized" it with some stickers. That is the nice thing about a lower priced guitar. You don't feel guilty putting your own touches on it.
 
Btw

Music Man has a fairly new lower priced guitar that looks like the EVH model they had. Nice feeling neck, decent finish and decent pickups. The frets are a little small for my taste on the higher end but if you near a Guitar Center or want to log onto musican's friend it might be worth it to check one out.
 
I got an oe-30 and I like it a lot. I did do a lot of set up on it tho.
 
Well, I like the Pacifica and the Epiphone SG special. You have to look through a few more of the Epiphones, but you can find good ones. For your sound, I think the Pacifica would give you the sounds you want. BUT- You are overlooking the obvious fact that the best $200 guitar is the $1000 guitar some fool is willing to sell for $200. Even on ebay, you can often make better deals than a new guitar. If you're buying a cheap guitar, look for a private seller of a better instrument, used.-Richie
 
I used to be all about Squier strats -- my Squier was my first electric and now that I upgraded it a bit it's one of my favorites. The playability of that thing is only rivaled by my Ric.

The problem, however, is the new Squiers. I advised one of my friends who just started out to get one. He brought it home and the first thing I noticed was the weight: the thing weighed damn near nothing. The problem? Almost all of the new Squiers are made of plywood. It just feels and sounds fake.

Point being, now whenever a friend who's just starting out asks where he can get a cheap guitar, I tell 'em to go to the pawn shops. There you can find all the excellent quality guitars that go for cheap. Peavey's, Yamahas, and tons of others that aren't priced high, but match right up there with the big boys, and a lot of times you'll see 'em for a 100 bucks or less. Avoid the tuning problems, cheap wood, and cheap electronics in Squiers and go for a nice pawned guitar -- you won't be let down.
 
I'll also vouch for a Yamaha Pacifica (find it used maybe?). They've used solid ash on many of them and the "fat-strat" pickup config = versatility/tone. The overall quality of Yamaha, especially fretboard is very good. And you can later upgrade to some neat pickups, graphite nut and saddle, etc. like I did when I had one. It will last you a lifetime and another thing it does is expose Fender Strats as overpriced pseudo-legendary ripoffs that they are :D
 
Imaduck said:
I used to be all about Squier strats -- my Squier was my first electric and now that I upgraded it a bit it's one of my favorites. The playability of that thing is only rivaled by my Ric.

The problem, however, is the new Squiers. I advised one of my friends who just started out to get one. He brought it home and the first thing I noticed was the weight: the thing weighed damn near nothing. The problem? Almost all of the new Squiers are made of plywood. It just feels and sounds fake.

Point being, now whenever a friend who's just starting out asks where he can get a cheap guitar, I tell 'em to go to the pawn shops. There you can find all the excellent quality guitars that go for cheap. Peavey's, Yamahas, and tons of others that aren't priced high, but match right up there with the big boys, and a lot of times you'll see 'em for a 100 bucks or less. Avoid the tuning problems, cheap wood, and cheap electronics in Squiers and go for a nice pawned guitar -- you won't be let down.
Click to expand...

I think they offer a few different "grades" of Squire now, the bottom of the line is shit (bullet?), but the Affinity and Standards are still solid Alder.
I would still recommend squire strats. Just make sure you have a knowledgeble (and patient) friend to pick through the litter at your local music megamart.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top