Electric Guitars

When you think of electric guitars, you think of the Fender Telecaster and Stratocaster, and Gibson’s Les Paul and ES-335. These guitars represent the epitome of what an electric guitar is. While Fender and Gibson has had their ups and downs as companies, these guitars are still must haves. The Custom Shop of these companies consistently turn out great guitars.

There are also a lot of great boutique guitar makers out there. These boutique guitars are typically based on the Fender electric guitars. My favorites, in no particular order are:

Fender Based

- Suhr

- Nash

- Melancon

- Anderson

Non Fender Based

- Gadow

- McInturff

- Brian Moore

These builders just make magnificent guitars. The tone, playabilty, fit, and finish is just incredible. These guitars are typically priced around the same price as the Fender Custom Shop guitars.

FYI – Nash customer service is great. Easy to deal with, prompt, friendly, and helpful.

I have not had the opportunity to play a Grosh.

There are other small manufacturers such as Schecter USA Custom Shop that makes great guitars, but are too big to be classified as boutique.

Other great electric guitars out there include:

- PRS

- Musicman

- Rickenbacker

- G&L

- ESP

- Hamer

- Guild

I will say the G&L ASATs (Tele style) are nice, but the Legacy (Strat style) is over rated. I will also say G&L has the worst customer service I have ever dealt with and I will not buy another G&L guitar.

My favorite commercial builds are:

- Fender

- Gibson

- PRS

- Guild

Making things even more interesting is the availability of high quality guitar bodies, necks, and electronics, which allow you to build your own dream guitar.

Bodies and Necks:

- USACG

- Warmoth

- All Parts

Pickups

- Barden

- WCR

- Lollar

- Duncan

- DeMarzio

- Fralin

I’ve played some great parts guitars and they’re a great deal if you find one with the components you like.