Electric Guitars · Models

Model

Fano Alt de Facto JM6

United States

The Fano Alt de Facto JM6 is a hand-built electric guitar with a contoured alder body and a curvy, vintage-inspired outline. It uses a 25.5-inch scale and is often loaded with hot Lollar P-90 pickups, though pickups, woods, hardware, and finishes are all chosen to order. Like the rest of Fano's Alt de Facto line, each JM6 is built one at a time in the USA.

Model

Charvel San Dimas

Electric guitar

One of the original hot-rodded superstrats, named for the California town where Charvel was based. With a Stratocaster-derived body, high-output pickups, and a locking tremolo, the San Dimas helped define the fast, aggressive guitars of 1980s rock and metal.

Model

Gretsch G6120

Electric guitar · Japan

One of Gretsch's most famous hollow-body electrics, originally developed with Chet Atkins and finished in its signature bright orange. With FilterTron humbucking pickups and a Bigsby vibrato, it became a cornerstone of rockabilly through players like Eddie Cochran and Brian Setzer.

Model

Jackson Soloist

Electric guitar, Guitar

The Jackson Soloist is one of Jackson's flagship series: a neck-through-body superstrat with a sleek double-cutaway body, deep cutaways for upper-fret access, compound-radius 24-fret fingerboards, high-output humbucking pickups, and double-locking tremolos. It is offered from Pro and Pro Plus models through USA-built versions.

Model

Epiphone Casino

Electric guitar

A fully hollow thinline electric with twin P-90 pickups, the Casino is best known for its use by all three guitarists in the Beatles. Its bright, raw, slightly raucous tone made it a favorite for both clean and overdriven playing.

Model

PRS Custom 24

Electric guitar · United States

The guitar that launched Paul Reed Smith in 1985 and remains the company's flagship, the Custom 24 features a carved figured-maple top on a mahogany body, 24 frets, and a versatile pickup-switching system. Its blend of Fender- and Gibson-like qualities, fine craftsmanship, and bird inlays define the PRS identity.

Model

G&L ASAT Classic

Electric guitar

A Telecaster-style electric from G&L, the company Leo Fender founded after Fender. The ASAT Classic uses G&L's Magnetic Field Design single-coil pickups in a familiar single-cutaway body, delivering a bright twang with a fuller low end.

Model

D'Angelico Excel EXL-1

South Korea

The Excel EXL-1 is a 17-inch single-cutaway hollow-body archtop electric guitar inspired by John D'Angelico's original Excel introduced in 1947. It pairs a laminated spruce top with laminated flame maple back and sides, a set three-piece neck with a C-shaped profile, an ebony fingerboard, and a 25.5-inch scale. A single floating Seymour Duncan Johnny Smith mini-humbucker, a floating ebony bridge, and the brand's stairstep tailpiece give it a woody, articulate tone for jazz rhythm and lead.

Model

Parker Fly Deluxe

Electric guitar · United States

The flagship Parker Fly model, an ultralight electric guitar with a poplar body and neck sheathed in a carbon-glass exoskeleton and stainless steel frets. The Fly Deluxe pairs magnetic humbuckers with a blendable Fishman piezo system and Parker's flat vibrato; a 'refined' Deluxe was announced in 2003 for the line's tenth anniversary.

Model

Rickenbacker 360

Electric guitar · United States

A deluxe semi-hollow with rounded, bound body edges, the 360 is one of Rickenbacker's best-known guitars and is especially famous in its twelve-string form. Its shimmering tone helped shape the sound of the Beatles and the Byrds.

Model

Duesenberg Starplayer TV

Electric guitar · Germany

A semi-hollow electric from the German maker Duesenberg, styled with retro Art Deco flair. It pairs a single-coil neck pickup with a humbucking bridge pickup and a smooth vibrato tailpiece for a versatile, vintage-flavored voice.

Model

Schecter C-1

Electric guitar

A metal-oriented electric and a cornerstone of Schecter's Diamond Series, the C-1 uses an arched double-cutaway body with high-output pickups. Often fitted with active humbuckers, it is built for high-gain hard rock and metal.

Model

Fender Telecaster

Electric guitar

Launched in 1950 and renamed the Telecaster in 1951, it was the first commercially successful solid-body electric guitar. Its single-cutaway slab body, bolt-on maple neck, and two single-coil pickups produce a bright, cutting twang that became foundational to country, rock, blues, and pop.

Model

Anderson Drop Top

Electric guitar · United States

The Drop Top is Tom Anderson Guitarworks' signature S-style electric guitar, introduced in 1990. It features a book-matched exotic tonewood top (flame or quilted maple, walnut, or koa) 'dropped' over a tonewood back of alder, mahogany, swamp ash, or basswood to create a contoured forearm bevel, paired with a bolt-on Anderson neck.

Model

Dunable R2

Electric guitar

The R2 is one of Dunable's longest-running models and an early flagship, a double-cutaway mahogany solid-body with an ebony fingerboard and two Dunable Cthulhu humbuckers with coil-split on a 25.5 in scale. It is offered as a USA custom build and as the import DE version.

Model

Nik Huber Dolphin

Electric guitar · Germany

The Dolphin is Nik Huber Guitars' signature carved-top electric guitar, built on the distinctive Dolphin body shape. It features a carved flamed maple top over a mahogany body with a set mahogany neck, two humbuckers, and a tune-o-matic-style bridge, and is offered with a wide range of custom woods and appointments.

Model

Vigier Excalibur

Electric guitar · France

The Excalibur is Vigier's flagship solid-body electric guitar line, built around the company's 10/90 carbon-reinforced maple neck (no truss rod) and hardened zero-fret system. The Excalibur Original is an alder-body six-string with a 25.6 in (650 mm) scale and an HSH Seymour Duncan pickup set.

Model

Novo Serus T

Electric guitar · United States

The Serus T is a Novo Guitars retro-modern solid-body electric guitar handbuilt in Nashville. It features a tempered pine body, a tempered maple neck with rosewood or maple fingerboard, a 25.5-inch scale, two single-coil pickups (a Fralin high-output Tele in the bridge and a Fralin P-45 in the neck), and a Telecaster-style bridge plate with compensated brass saddles.

Model

James Tyler Studio Elite HD

Electric guitar

The Studio Elite HD is one of James Tyler Guitars' most popular models, an S-style solid-body electric guitar built in the USA. It features a solid alder body (with swamp ash or mahogany options), a quartersawn maple neck, a slanted SSH pickup configuration of Tyler single coils and humbucker with a midboost preamp, and a two-post tremolo bridge.

Model

Steinberger Spirit GT-PRO

Electric guitar · United States

The Spirit GT-PRO is Steinberger's headless, ultra-compact 6-string electric guitar on a 25.5 in scale, with a basswood body, three-piece maple neck, and an HSH pickup configuration. It features the R-Trem locking tremolo, 40:1 Direct-Pull tuners, and a zero fret.

Model

Reverend Double Agent

Electric guitar · South Korea

A semi-hollow electric from Reverend Guitars pairing a P-90 in the neck position with a humbucker at the bridge. It includes the brand's bass-contour control for dialing back low end, giving a wide range of jangly to punchy tones.

Model

Harmony Rocket

Electric guitar

A hollow-body electric from the American budget maker Harmony, popular in the 1960s. With its thin archtop body and gold-foil-style pickups, the Rocket offered an affordable, characterful tone that has been rediscovered by modern players.

Model

Danelectro 59

Electric guitar

A reissue of Danelectro's classic late-1950s design, built with a Masonite-and-plywood body, a bolt-on neck, and bright-sounding lipstick-tube pickups. Inexpensive yet distinctive, it delivers a jangly, slightly lo-fi tone that has charmed players for decades.

Model

Supro Dual Tone

Electric guitar · United States

A 1950s and 1960s electric from Valco's Supro brand, fitted with two pickups and known for its raw, gritty tone. Associated with players from Link Wray to Jimmy Page, it has become a sought-after vintage instrument.

Model

Squier Classic Vibe '50s Stratocaster

Electric guitar

The Squier Classic Vibe '50s Stratocaster recreates the look and feel of an early Stratocaster, with a pine body, a maple neck and fingerboard, a 25.5-inch scale, 21 narrow-tall frets, three Fender-Designed alnico single-coil pickups in an SSS layout, and a vintage-style synchronized tremolo.

Model

Mayones Regius

Electric guitar · Poland

The Regius is a flagship Mayones superstrat-style electric guitar built in Poland with a multi-piece neck-through-body construction. It features a 25.4-inch scale (with a 26.5-inch baritone option), two humbucking pickups, and exotic timber tops, and is offered in 6- and 7-string configurations.

Model

Dean Cadillac

Electric guitar

A single-cutaway electric from Dean Guitars built in the carved-top, set-neck tradition. It pairs a mahogany body with a maple top and humbucking pickups for a thick, sustaining rock voice.

Model

ESP Eclipse

Electric guitar

ESP's flagship single-cutaway electric, the Eclipse takes the classic set-neck, carved-top format and builds it for modern hard rock and metal. Typically loaded with active humbuckers and finished in bold solid colors, it pairs a familiar single-cut shape with a high-output, aggressive voice.

Model

Fano Alt de Facto GF6

United States

The Fano Alt de Facto GF6 is a hand-built, offset semi-hollow electric guitar with a carved top, a center block, and F-holes. It uses a 25.5-inch scale and an early-'60s 'C'-shaped neck, and can be ordered with a range of woods, pickups, and bridge or vibrato hardware. Each one is built individually in the USA and finished in aged nitrocellulose lacquer.

Model

Fano Alt de Facto RB6

United States

The Fano Alt de Facto RB6 is a hand-built solid-body electric guitar whose look blends 1960s British-invasion styling with a German-carve top. It has a 24.75-inch scale and a late-'50s round-back neck profile, and is offered with a choice of woods, pickups, and bridge or vibrato options. Fano builds each RB6 individually in the USA with an aged nitrocellulose finish.

Model

Fano Alt de Facto SP6

United States

The Fano Alt de Facto SP6 is a hand-built electric guitar that pairs the body shape and neck feel of a classic 'Junior'-style solid body with the electronics, bolt-on neck, and string-through layout of a vintage solid body. It has a 24.75-inch scale and a late-'50s round-back neck profile, and can be ordered with a choice of woods, pickups, and bridges. Each one is made one at a time in the USA and finished in aged nitrocellulose lacquer.

Model

Knaggs Severn

Electric guitar · United States

The Severn is the flagship of Knaggs Guitars' Chesapeake Series, a double-cutaway solid-body electric guitar with a flat body, a set rock-maple neck, a 25.5-inch scale, and 22 frets. It is offered in a wide range of pickup layouts (including SSS, T-style, HSH, HH, P90 and Firebird) with Knaggs Chesapeake hardtail or tremolo bridges.

Model

Kiesel Aries

Electric guitar · United States

The Aries is a Kiesel Guitars build-to-order superstrat-style electric guitar with a bolt-on neck and radiused neck heel. It features dual direct-mount passive Kiesel Lithium humbuckers, 24 stainless-steel frets, a 25.5-inch scale on the standard six-string, and a Hipshot fixed bridge, and is offered in 6-, 7-, 8- and 9-string and multiscale configurations.

Model

Suhr Classic S

Electric guitar · United States

The Suhr Classic S is an S-style solid-body electric guitar built by Suhr in Lake Elsinore, California. It combines an alder body and a bolt-on tinted maple neck with Suhr V60LP single-coil pickups and a two-post vintage-style tremolo, and is offered in both SSS and HSS pickup configurations, the latter adding an SSV bridge humbucker.

Model

Fender Jaguar

Electric guitar

Introduced in 1962 as Fender's top offset model, the Jaguar uses a short 24-inch scale, bright single-coil pickups, an elaborate rhythm/lead switching system, and a floating tremolo. First embraced by surf players, it later became a favorite of alternative and indie guitarists.

Model

Fender Jazzmaster

Electric guitar

Introduced in 1958 as Fender's flagship, the Jazzmaster has a large offset body, wide flat single-coil pickups, a dual rhythm/lead circuit, and a floating tremolo with a separate bridge. Originally marketed to jazz players, it instead became a cornerstone of surf, then later alternative and indie rock.

Model

Nash S-63

Electric guitar · United States

The Nash S-63 is an S-style solid-body electric guitar built by Nash Guitars with aged, relic nitrocellulose finishes. It pairs a standard alder body and rosewood-fingerboard neck with three single-coil pickups and a vintage-style tremolo, paying homage to the early-1960s S-body design while updating playability and sound.

Model

Ibanez JEM

Electric guitar · Japan

The signature guitar of virtuoso Steve Vai, introduced in 1987 and built as a high-performance superstrat. It is famous for its "monkey grip" handle cut into the body, a scalloped upper fingerboard, 24 frets, a recessed double-locking tremolo, and high-output pickups, all tailored to Vai's extreme technique.

Model

Parker Fly

Electric guitar · United States

The Parker Fly series, designed by luthier Ken Parker and built from 1993, is a family of ultralight electric guitars whose wooden body and neck are wrapped in a stiff carbon-glass exoskeleton. Flys combine a thin, resonant body with stainless steel frets, a Fishman piezo system blendable with magnetic pickups, and a flat-mount vibrato. The series spans models such as the Fly Deluxe, Fly Classic, Fly Mojo, Fly Supreme and Fly Artist.

Model

Guild Starfire

Electric guitar

A line of semi-hollow electric guitars Guild introduced in the early 1960s, ranging from simple single-pickup models to fully appointed double-cutaway versions. The Starfire family is prized for its warm, woody tone and vintage character.

Model

Friedman Cali

United States

The Friedman Cali is a hot-rodded S-style electric guitar designed by Dave Friedman with luthier Grover Jackson and built in Southern California. It pairs an alder body and bolt-on maple neck with two Friedman humbuckers and an Original Floyd Rose tremolo, finished in thin aged nitrocellulose lacquer. A 10-to-14-inch compound-radius fingerboard and Plek-finished frets give it the fast, modern feel of the classic San Dimas performance guitars.

Model

Collings 290

Electric guitar · United States

The Collings 290 is a single-cutaway mahogany solid-body electric guitar inspired by the Les Paul Junior, with a solid mahogany body and neck, an East Indian rosewood fingerboard, a hand-set mortise-and-tenon neck joint, and P-90 pickups. It is hand-built in Austin, Texas.

Model

Fano Alt de Facto TC6

United States

The Fano Alt de Facto TC6 is a hand-built electric guitar with a single-cutaway shape that echoes a classic string-through solid body. It is typically fitted with a pair of hot TV Jones Supertron Filter'Tron-style humbucking pickups, uses a 25.5-inch scale, and has an early-'60s 'C'-shaped neck. Each TC6 is made one at a time in the USA and offered with custom woods, hardware, and aged nitrocellulose finishes.

Model

D'Angelico Excel DC

South Korea

The Excel DC is a double-cutaway semi-hollow electric guitar built on a 16-inch laminated flame maple body with a solid center block for added sustain and feedback resistance. It uses a set three-piece neck with a C-shaped profile, an ebony fingerboard, and a pair of USA Seymour Duncan humbuckers with push/pull coil-splitting. A 24.75-inch scale and gold tune-o-matic bridge make it a flexible instrument for jazz, blues, and rock.

Model

Friedman Vintage-T

United States

The Friedman Vintage-T is a single-cutaway, T-style solidbody electric guitar built in the USA by Dave Friedman with luthier Grover Jackson. The reviewed model pairs a mahogany body and a bolt-on maple neck with a pau ferro fingerboard and a set of Friedman Classic 90 (P-90 style) pickups over a fixed hardtail bridge. Thin aged nitrocellulose lacquer, a 10-to-14-inch compound-radius board, and Plek-finished fretwork give it vintage looks with modern playability.

Model

D'Angelico Deluxe Atlantic

South Korea

The Deluxe Atlantic is a single-cutaway solid-body electric guitar with an alder body, a set three-piece neck with a satin C-shaped profile, an ebony fingerboard, and a 24.75-inch scale. Two Seymour Duncan Seth Lover humbuckers with coil-splitting feed a nickel tune-o-matic bridge and stopbar tailpiece. Part of D'Angelico's premium Deluxe series, it offers a warm, vintage-voiced solid-body alternative to the brand's archtops.

Model

D'Angelico Deluxe Bedford

South Korea

The Deluxe Bedford is an offset-body solid-body electric guitar with an alder body, a three-piece maple-and-walnut neck with a satin C-shaped profile, an ebony fingerboard with split-block inlays, and a 24.75-inch scale. Two Seymour Duncan stacked P-90 pickups feed a gold Wilkinson six-point tremolo bridge. It is part of D'Angelico's premium Deluxe series.

Model

Höfner Club 40

Electric guitar

A small, thin hollow-body electric guitar made by the German maker Höfner from the mid-1950s, built without soundholes. The Club series (Club 40, 50 and 60) was popular with British players in the early 1960s; John Lennon's first electric guitar was a Höfner Club 40 he bought in Liverpool in 1959.

Model

D'Angelico Excel SS

South Korea

The Excel SS is a single-cutaway semi-hollow electric guitar with a 15-inch laminated spruce top, maple back and sides, and a solid center block for sustain and feedback control. It uses a set three-piece neck with a C-shaped profile, an ebony fingerboard with split-block inlays, and a 25-inch scale. Two USA Seymour Duncan humbuckers with coil-splitting feed a gold tune-o-matic bridge and the brand's stairstep tailpiece, suiting jazz and roots playing.

Model

Höfner President

Electric guitar

A hollow-body archtop electric guitar made by the German maker Höfner, produced from the mid-1950s into the early 1970s. One of Höfner's best-known vintage electrics, it was offered in full-depth and thinline bodies and in non-cutaway and Florentine-cutaway forms, with pickups that evolved across the production run. George Harrison played a Höfner President early in his time with The Beatles.