Looking for a new guitar to step up your shredding?
One of the biggest myths floating around the guitar world says “the higher the price tag, the better the instrument”. As a luthier who’s built, repaired, and played the top of the top-line guitars, I’m here to tell you that that is absolutely untrue.
Some of the best metal guitars are priced under $500, and a lot of the biggest brands try to make their price points at or under that margin.
In fact, my favorite guitar is an Ibanez SZ-320 that I’ve had for going about 13 years now. It cost (funnily enough) about $320 brand new back in 2004, and I have never experienced a connection with an instrument the same way since.
I’m not talking about after I modified it beyond recognition, this guitar played perfectly from day one and I’ve only ever given it a setup (which you should do with any new guitar) and switched out the pickups on it – everything else is still stock.
So – a luthier who could build anything his heart desires is happy with his dinged up $320 Ibanez. You know why? Because these days, mass guitar manufacturing has become so precise that you mostly only have to watch out for the quality of the parts when you’re buying new.
In fact, $500 is actually a budget I’d be very happy to work with – so let’s take a look at some of the best options available to you now!
- Poplar body w/ Quilted Maple arch-top
- 3-piece through-body maple neck (“speed neck”)
- 12 – 16″ Compound radius
- 24 Jumbo frets
- Jackson Floyd Rose® Licensed bridge
- Double cutaway
- Basswood body
- 1-piece Maple neck
- Laurel fretboard
- S-S-H pickup configuration
- 25.5” scale
- Floyd Rose Special tremolo
- Curly Maple top/Mahogany body
- Jatoba Fretboard
- Wizard II-7 3pc Maple neck
- Dual QM7 humbucking pickups with Ceramic magnets
- Ibanez tuners and a fixed 7-String bridge
- Wizard III Maple neck
- Mahogany body
- Jatoba fretboard w/ edge-set white dot inlay
- Jumbo frets
- Quilted Maple Top
- Mahogany Body
- Maple Neck
- Maple Fingerboard
- Quilted Maple Top
- Floyd Rose Special Bridge / Locking Nut
- Bolt-On Neck Construction
- 25.5″ Scale
- 24 Extra Jumbo Frets
- ESP Designed LS-120 (Neck/Mid), LH-150 (Bridge) Pickups
- Mahogany Body
- Mahogany Neck
- Roasted Jatoba Fingerboard
- Tune-O-Matic Bridge w/ Tailpiece
- 3-Piece Set Neck Construction
- 24.75″ Scale
- 22 Extra Jumbo Frets
- Thin-U Neck Contour
- Passive ESP Designed LH-150 pickups
- Mahogany body
- Quilted Maple Top
- Maple neck
- Rosewood fretboard
- 24 X-Jumbo frets
- Thin C shape neck
- Schecter Diamond pickups
- Floyd Rose Special bridge
- 7 Strings
- Graph Tech Tusq Nut
- 24 X-Jumbo Frets
- Schecter Diamond Plus Pickups
- Mahogany body
- Maple neck / fingerboard
- Classic slim but wide neck profile
- 25.5″ scale
- Alnico V Humbucker pickups
And just incase you thought I was kidding about $500 being a great budget to work with, here’s one more that you may not have expected to see here – it’s a little more versatile than some of the others, but it still earns a spot on our list of best metal guitars!
- PRS Patented Molded Tremolo, PRS Low Mass Tuners
- Volume and Push/Pull Tone Control with 3-Way Blade Switch
- Nickel Hardware
- 25″ Scale Length
- Mahogany Body
- Maple Neck
- Rosewood Fretboard with Bird Inlay
- PRS SE HFS Treble Pickup (neck)
- PRS SE Vintage Bass Pickup (bridge)
Really, these are some of the best metal guitars, regardless of price.
Finding a good guitar under $500 is easy – if you’re unsure of how much to spend on your first guitar or you’re getting a gift for someone that’s into metal, I can assure you that this is a great budget. You’ll be able to get all of the classic features any metal guitarist is familiar with – 24 frets, a locking tremolo bridge & whammy bar, some high gain humbuckers, and an awesome body shape – just to name a few.
If you still wanna go lower, then I highly recommend checking out this article that sets a budget of $300 for a starter guitar.