Best Electric Guitars under £1000

16 Feb Best Electric Guitars under £1000

Posted at 01:22h in Guides by paul

The choice has got even better for sub £1k!

Build quality, playability, prestige and value are all top notch now in the sub £1000 electric guitar sector. You have a choice of many solid, semi and hollow body models from a huge range of manufacturers. Here are our top ten picks for 2023:

PRS SE Silver Sky
Fender Nowenta Jazzmaster
Epiphone BB King Lucille
Ibanez Q54
Godin Summit Classic HT
Gibson SG Tribute
Cort G300 Pro
Kramer Custom Graphic
Manson Meta MBM-1
Shergold Masquerader

Some of the US makers have a few guitars in their ‘homemade’ section – the Gibson SG for example – or you can opt for their offshore models – PRS, Fender and Epiphone models can be found here.

Whatever your passion – rock, blues, indie, jazz, metal and shred – there is a quality guitar out there with your name on it.

These are our choices, in no particular order, from across a number of shapes, sounds, genres and finishes:

PRS SE Silver Sky £850
The guitar that broke the internet in 2018 is now available in the affordable SE range at c£850.

A take on the ‘modern Strat’ and designed with John Mayer, the US made signature Silver Sky comes in at c£2500 so this is a welcome addition to the SE range.

More info: PRS SE Silver Sky

Fender Nowenta Jazzmaster £899
Designed to blend the classic Fender style with powerful tones, modern playability and cool looks, the Nowenta guitars are made in Mexico and come with a deluxe gig bag, maple or pau ferro fingerboards, alder bodies, bolt on necks and those cool P90’s.

More info: Fender Nowenta

Epiphone BB King Lucille £800

It seems that the Lucille (BB King named every one of his guitars this) has been around at Epiphone and Gibson forever, but this new signature design from them is beautiful.

You get a six-position Varitone switch, a pair of Alnico Classic PRO™ humbucking pickups wired to CTS® potentiometers, and stereo and mono output jacks for maximum flexibility. An EpiLite™ case is also included.

More info: Epiphone

Ibanez Q54 £849
Released in late 2021 these Q or Quest Series headless guitars from Ibanez, come in a range of options and finishes. Hardware includes custom designed R1 single coil and Q58 humbucker pickups, a new Mono-Tune bridge, and a proprietary custom string locking mechanism.

More info: Ibanez Q Series

Godin Summit Classic HT £915
This single cut, LP style guitar has a lightweight, chambered Canadian Laurentian Basswood body with a Carved Maple top giving it extra bite. Throw in a set Silver Leaf Maple neck and Rosewood fretboard and this thing looks set to rock!

More info: Godin

Gibson SG Tribute £899
Seems SG’s are in! With a traditional mahogany body and maple neck and open twin humbuckers this is a great US made SG. Available in vintage cherry satin or natural walnut satin.

More info: Gibson

Cort G300 Pro £749
As well as making guitars for many prestige brands Cort have their own and this is the flagship of the of their iconic G Series, a boutique-style guitar with modern enhancements that represents the best of what Cort can offer. Features include a top-grade American Basswood body with maple top, roasted maple neck and fretboard.

More info: Cort G Series

Kramer Custom Graphic Series £899
Looking for some ’80’s rock inspiration? Then look no further than the recently released Kramer Hard to Rock collection! The Custom Graphics Collection’s designs range from the glittering flames of Hot Wheels cars, to retro fashion snakeskin and leopard, and even the iconic ECTO-1 car from the film Ghostbusters.

More info: Kramer

Manson Meta MBM-1 £938
This is the new entry level Manson guitar, designed to deliver a whole new playing and ownership experience for the Manson Guitar Works player. The body shape is 100% MB signature and available in the ever-popular Satin Black or a new Starlight Silver finish. Comes with the Sustainiac sustainer system allowing endless sustain at the flick of a switch.

More info: Manson Guitar Works

Shergold Masquerader £765-£835
Shergold Guitars are designed in the UK and handmade in their workshops in Indonesia. They are designed to capture the essence of British rock ‘n’ roll, updated for the 21st century. Choice of humbuckers, single coils or P90’s as well as a range of colours.