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10 Rock-Solid Guitars Under $600

10 Rock-Solid Guitars Under $600

Do you need to spend a ton on a gig-worthy axe? Probably not.

There has never been a better time to get your hands on a gig-ready guitar without breaking the bank. Sure, we’ve all lusted after the high-end models, but these 10 guitars balance affordability, features, and construction.

Squier J Mascis Signature Jazzmaster

This affordable signature Jazzmaster from Dinosaur Jr.’s famed dealer of decibels offers the traditional lead and rhythm circuits à la vintage JMs, but pairs that with an Adjusto-Matic bridge and a slightly wider nut.

$499 street

fender.com

Jackson Dinky Arch Top JS32Q DKA

This sleek shred machine builds on Jackson’s Super-Strat lineage with a 24-fret compound radius neck that’s smooth and fast. It’s loaded with a pair of the company’s high-output humbuckers. One twist: This particular model comes as a hardtail. Dive bombers need not apply.

$299 street

jacksonguitars.com

Epiphone Nancy Wilson Fanatic Outfit

Heart’s lead axe-wielder brought back her classic signature model this past year. The mahogany body is based on the NightHawk and has a figured maple veneer top. Other highlights include a pair of ProBucker pickups (FB720 and 3 Slant), through-body construction, and twin parallelogram inlays.

$579 street

epiphone.com

ESP LTD SN-200HT 

Although this is definitely a modern speed demon, the traditional styling shines through with a basswood body and maple neck. It’s outfitted with a charcoal metallic finish, thin neck, and a push/pull tone knob. The guitar comes loaded with ESP LH-150 pickups and a fixed bridge.

$449 street

espguitars.com

Kramer Assault 220

The classic lines in this Les Paul-shaped body are tried and true, but Kramer has updated it to create a modern-rock marvel. A mahogany body and licensed Floyd Rose tremolo with locking nut are highlights, while other features include alnico V humbuckers, K-Speed SlimTaperC” neck, and 24 medium jumbo frets.

$379 street

kramerguitars.com

Gretsch G2215-P90 Streamliner Junior Jet Club

A mix-and-match approach can always open up new creative pathways and this particular Gretsch solidbody combines a Broad’Tron BT-2S with a P-90 Soap Bar. The wraparound bridge is anchored to a nato body with an aged white binding.

$399 street

gretschguitars.com

Ibanez AZES40

Born out of the higher-end AZ series, this budget HSS guitar aims to cop the same vibe and feel of its more boutique counterparts. They are available in three colors, each loaded with ceramic pickups, T106 bridges, and Jatoba fretboards.

$349 street

ibanez.com

Sire Larry Carlton S7

One of the newest models in Carlton’s line of signature models is this S-style setup featuring an HSS pickup array. Other highlights include a roasted maple neck, alder body, bone nut, and a 2-post tremolo bridge.

$599 street

sire-usa.com

G&L Tribute ASAT Classic


Built upon the bones of Leo’s timeless T-style designs, this ASAT Classic offers bolt-on construction, sassafras or poplar body, and a hard rock maple neck. As the name suggests, even the pickups pay homage to Leo’s design with a pair of MFD single-coils.

$589 street

glguitars.com

Yamaha Revstar RS320

Inspired by the design style the company uses in their high-end motorcycles, this nato-bodied model comes in at the price of a high-end pedal. It features a pair of ceramic YGD humbuckers and a thin neck profile with a rosewood fretboard.

$399 street

yamaha.com

Andy Powers has been working with electric guitars his whole life, and he’s been slowly collecting all the ideas that could go into his own “solo project,” waiting for the right time to strike.

His work as designer, guitar conceptualist, and CEO of Taylor Guitars is well-established. But when he set out to create the electric guitar he’d been dreaming about his whole life, this master luthier needed to set himself apart.

Great design starts with an idea, a concept, some groundbreaking thought to do something. Maybe that comes from a revelation or an epiphany, appearing to its creator in one fell swoop, intact and ready to be brought into the real world. Or maybe it’s a germ that sets off a slow-drip process that takes years to coalesce into a clear vision. And once it’s formed, the journey from idea to the real world is just as open-ended, with any number of obstacles getting in the way of making things happen.

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An all-analog ’60s-inspired tremolo marries harmonic and optical circuits that can be used independently or blended to generate phasey, throbbing magic.

Spans practical, convincing vintage trem tones and the utterly weird. Hefty build quality.

Big footprint. Can’t switch order of effects.

$299

Jackson Audio Silvertone Twin Trem
jackson.audio

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Almost any effect can be used subliminally or to extremes. But tremolo is a little extra special when employed at its weirder limits. Unlike reverb or delay, for instance, which approximate phenomena heard in the natural world, tremolo from anything other than an amp or pedal tends to occur in the realm of altered states—suggesting the sexy, subterranean, and dreamy. Such moods can be conjured with any single tremolo. Put two together, though, and the simply sensual can be surreal. Modify this equation by mating two distinctly different tremolo types, and the possible sound pictures increase manifold.

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Bonnaroo announces its 2025 lineup featuring Luke Combs, Hozier, Queens of the Stone Age, Avril Lavigne, and more.

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Chat Pile's Luther Manhole and Stin Rig Rundown​
- YouTube

The fast-rising Okies use solid-state amp heads, baritone guitars, and a bit of Peavey magic to bring their nightmare-rock to life.

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