The 30 Best Electric Guitar Brands 2024: What Our Data Shows

Here we show our results after analyzing 2110 mass-produced guitars from 30 different brands in 2024.

Each model went through our scoring algorithm that takes into account over 40 different criteria items, including —but not limited to— nut width, scale size, neck joint, country of origin, quality control, quality of materials, and a lot more.

This data is updated every time we add a new model to our database, so, unlike other resources, this post is updated in real-time as the brands featured in this article release new models .

Take into account that we only evaluate mass-produced models not coming from the custom shop. We decided to leave those out since custom jobs vary on a case-by-case basis.

Table of Contents

Brands With The Highest Average Scores in 2024

To find the brand that offers the highest-quality guitars, we analyze each model's specs. This let us score each guitar according to their playability, sound and build quality based on a scale from 1 to 100. After obtaining these three different scores, we calculate the average as the final score, which is the one we show in the data below.

According to our findings, without taking into account price, the highest scoring and best brand this year is ESP E-II. Here's our result. The maximum score possible is 100:

  1. 1. ESP E-II 78.6
  2. 2. ESP 77.8
  3. 3. Music Man 75.1
  4. 4. Schecter 74
  5. 5. Charvel 73.6
  6. 6. Chapman 73.5
  7. 7. ESP LTD 73.1
  8. 8. Solar 73.1
  9. 9. Gibson Custom 73
  10. 10. EVH 73
  11. 11. Jackson 72.8
  12. 12. Fender Custom 72.6
  13. 13. Gretsch 72.3
  14. 14. Gibson 72.2
  15. 15. Reverend 72.2
  16. 16. Ibanez 71.4
  17. 17. Yamaha 70.7
  18. 18. Fender 70.6
  19. 19. PRS 70.3
  20. 20. Dean 70.3
  21. 21. D'Angelico 69.6
  22. 22. Washburn 69.3
  23. 23. Guild 69.1
  24. 24. Cort 67.6
  25. 25. Sterling 67.5
  26. 26. Epiphone 67.5
  27. 27. Kramer 67.4
  28. 28. Harley Benton 67.3
  29. 29. Sire 67
  30. 30. Fender Squier 65.4

How Did We Arrive to This Data?

To determine the build quality of each guitar, we take a look at things like the wood type —is it a proper wood piece for making a guitar?—, hardware quality —do they use branded tuning machines and bridges, or just aftermarket parts?—, building techniques —do they use the cheaper bolt-on neck or the more resistant and expensive neck-through build? We also give a higher score to guitars that are made in countries with a better reputation, although we don't give it too much importance as it's been shown that you can make good guitars from anywhere.

To score their sound quality, we take into account where and who makes their pickups. For example, if they come from a well-known brand, they will get a higher score. We also analyze the versatility of their pickup selector and additional switches.

Finally, for their playability, we take a look at the measurements, especially of the neck. For example, do they use a C or D profile, which makes guitars easier to play for most people, or do they use a baseball-like shape that some vintage players prefer? Is the neck thickness within an acceptable range for most people?

These aren't the only things we evaluate. As we said, we have over 40 different criteria items that our algorithm takes into account. We did this for all the 2110 guitars in our database and these were the results.

But that's not all we have. Below we will show more interesting data you might want to check out.

Why do Fender, Gibson and PRS Have Low Scores? Are They No Longer Good?

Something that might catch the attention of many guitarists is how low Gibson, PRS, and Fender tend to score compared to other brands. They are often considered the most prestigious and expensive brands, so why such low scores?

The reason is because they produce guitars that aim towards a mature market looking for more "vintage" style guitars. Since these brands tend to satisfy this part of the market, most of their guitars ignore modern features like multi-switching options, stainless steel frets, locking tuners, and more. Many are also more difficult to play because older necks are often thicker than modern necks.

Many vintage guitarists dislike modern features and are always looking for that old feeling, which leads to these brands building models that satisfy these needs. Even though they still can be high-quality instruments, they are at a disadvantage here. Our algorithm gives a lot of importance to modern features because we consider it the best way to score guitars objectively. We can't put a score to the "vintage tone" or the "vintage feel, but we can evaluate how up-to-date their technology is. So if you love old guitars, don't hesitate to buy a guitar from one of these brands. They're making instruments for your style.

Which Guitar Brand Offers The Best Value For The Money?

Only taking into account the best about a guitar is not fair enough if you don't take into account the price. That's why we developed a way of understanding how much you get for the money you pay.

For this, we've created another 1-to-100 scoring system called "value for the money". To calculate this, we take into account the overall score of a guitar and we add or reduce points according to how high the listing price is.

The highest the score, the more you get for your money. When it comes to value, the best scoring brand is Harley Benton.

  1. 1. Harley Benton 78.9
  2. 2. Fender Squier 76.5
  3. 3. Chapman 75.9
  4. 4. Schecter 75.5
  5. 5. Cort 74.8
  6. 6. Kramer 74.5
  7. 7. ESP LTD 73.9
  8. 8. Yamaha 73.6
  9. 9. Solar 73.3
  10. 10. EVH 73
  11. 11. Sterling 72.8
  12. 12. Epiphone 72.3
  13. 13. Jackson 72
  14. 14. Sire 72
  15. 15. Ibanez 71.9
  16. 16. Reverend 71.5
  17. 17. Dean 71.4
  18. 18. Charvel 70.8
  19. 19. Guild 70.8
  20. 20. D'Angelico 68.7
  21. 21. ESP E-II 68.3
  22. 22. Fender 68.3
  23. 23. Gretsch 66.9
  24. 24. PRS 66.7
  25. 25. Washburn 65.3
  26. 26. ESP 63.7
  27. 27. Gibson 62.8
  28. 28. Music Man 62.6
  29. 29. Gibson Custom 58
  30. 30. Fender Custom 57.6

What Brand is the Best for Beginners?

There are indeed some features that might make things harder for a beginner, while there are others that can make their learning process a lot easier. Because of this, we also take into account the beginner-friendly traits that each electric guitar has.

It's recommended for beginners to choose a guitar with a bridge that is easy to set up, a comfortable body and neck, good tuning stability, easy-to-press frets, short scale, and more. We take all of this into account to score the guitars from 1 to 100 in the beginner-friendliness department.

Even though these are the recommended brands for new guitar players, we still recommend you to look for the specific review of the guitar you want. We provide the beginner-friendliness score of every guitar in their dedicated review.

With all this data, we found that the most beginner-friendly brand is Sire.

  1. 1. Sire 80.4
  2. 2. Fender Squier 72.6
  3. 3. Chapman 72.5
  4. 4. Fender Custom 70.8
  5. 5. Fender 70.4
  6. 6. Cort 70.1
  7. 7. Yamaha 68.8
  8. 8. Music Man 68.4
  9. 9. Sterling 67.2
  10. 10. ESP E-II 64.8
  11. 11. Schecter 64.3
  12. 12. Charvel 63.1
  13. 13. ESP 59.8
  14. 14. Harley Benton 59.7
  15. 15. ESP LTD 59.6
  16. 16. Guild 58.9
  17. 17. PRS 57
  18. 18. Ibanez 55.5
  19. 19. Reverend 55.5
  20. 20. Jackson 53.9
  21. 21. D'Angelico 52.7
  22. 22. EVH 52.2
  23. 23. Epiphone 51
  24. 24. Kramer 50
  25. 25. Gibson 49.3
  26. 26. Gibson Custom 48.8
  27. 27. Solar 48.4
  28. 28. Gretsch 46.8
  29. 29. Dean 40.5
  30. 30. Washburn 39.2

Best Brands for Every Genre

If you're looking for a guitar to play a specific music genre, here are the brands we recommend. Bear in mind that you can still use almost any guitar to play any kind of music, but some models tend to be popular for different music. For example, SSS Stratocasters for Funk, Hollow-Bodies for Jazz, Active pickups for Heavy Metal, and so on. With this in mind, here are our results.

Note: You'll notice that some brands are missing for some genres. This is because they are not producing enough models for us to get a reliable average score for the genre, so we didn't include them.

Best Brands for Playing Hard Rock

  1. 1. ESP E-II 79.2
  2. 2. ESP 77.7
  3. 3. Music Man 75.1
  4. 4. Schecter 73.9
  5. 5. Chapman 73.8
  6. 6. Charvel 73.6
  7. 7. Gibson Custom 73.1
  8. 8. EVH 73
  9. 9. Solar 73
  10. 10. Gretsch 72.7
  11. 11. Gibson 72.4
  12. 12. ESP LTD 72.2
  13. 13. Jackson 72.2
  14. 14. Reverend 71.9
  15. 15. Ibanez 71.4
  16. 16. Fender 71.1
  17. 17. Yamaha 70.3
  18. 18. PRS 70.2
  19. 19. Dean 70
  20. 20. D'Angelico 69.8
  21. 21. Washburn 68.9
  22. 22. Harley Benton 68.4
  23. 23. Cort 67.8
  24. 24. Kramer 67.4
  25. 25. Epiphone 67.4
  26. 26. Sterling 67.4
  27. 27. Guild 67.2
  28. 28. Fender Squier 65.7

Best Brands for Playing Heavy Metal

  1. 1. ESP E-II 78.4
  2. 2. ESP 77.9
  3. 3. Schecter 74.6
  4. 4. Jackson 74.2
  5. 5. ESP LTD 73.9
  6. 6. Dean 73.4
  7. 7. Solar 73.2
  8. 8. Ibanez 72.5
  9. 9. Harley Benton 68.9
  10. 10. Sterling 68.4

Best Brands for Playing Jazz

  1. 1. Gibson Custom 73
  2. 2. Gibson 72.3
  3. 3. Gretsch 72.1
  4. 4. Fender 70.2
  5. 5. PRS 70.1
  6. 6. Guild 69.8
  7. 7. D'Angelico 69.3
  8. 8. Epiphone 66.4
  9. 9. Ibanez 66.3
  10. 10. Harley Benton 65

Best Brands for Playing Blues

  1. 1. Ibanez 75.2
  2. 2. Gibson 72.4
  3. 3. PRS 71.4
  4. 4. Fender 70.3

Best Brands for Playing Funk

  1. 1. Fender Custom 72.9
  2. 2. Ibanez 72.8
  3. 3. Fender 70.4
  4. 4. Harley Benton 65.3
  5. 5. Fender Squier 65.3

Best Brands for Playing Country Music

  1. 1. Fender Custom 72.4
  2. 2. Fender 70.4
  3. 3. Fender Squier 65.4
  4. 4. Harley Benton 63.5

What Brand Makes the Best Extended Range Guitars?

Here are the top brands to choose from when looking for a baritone guitar (scale length longer than 25.5'') or with more than six strings.

  1. 1. ESP E-II 77.7
  2. 2. ESP 77.4
  3. 3. Jackson 74.3
  4. 4. Schecter 73.1
  5. 5. Solar 72.5
  6. 6. ESP LTD 72.4
  7. 7. Ibanez 72.3
  8. 8. Gretsch 69.4
  9. 9. Sterling 68.4
  10. 10. Harley Benton 66.8

What Countries Are Producing Most Guitars in 2024?

China was the most popular country for making guitars just a few years back. Our data shows that things have changed:

  1. 1. Indonesia 910
  2. 2. United States 414
  3. 3. South Korea 255
  4. 4. China 240
  5. 5. Japan 217
  6. 6. Mexico 129
  7. 7. India 21
  8. 8. Vietnam 8

The reason might be that Indonesia provides a better price/quality relationship. However, we also believe that this was a good way for brands to wash away the bad reputation of Chinese products. Even though they've proven for years that they can produce high-quality instruments, many people still believe Chinese products are of low quality.

Where Does Each Brand Produces its Electric Guitars?

Below we list each brand's countries of choice for manufacturing and how many of their models are produced there in 2024.

ESP E-II

  1. 1. Japan 33

ESP

  1. 1. Japan 37

Music Man

  1. 1. United States 33

Schecter

  1. 1. South Korea 131
  2. 2. Indonesia 70
  3. 3. China 8
  4. 4. United States 7

Charvel

  1. 1. Mexico 43
  2. 2. United States 15

Chapman

  1. 1. South Korea 8
  2. 2. Indonesia 7

ESP LTD

  1. 1. Indonesia 167
  2. 2. South Korea 10

Solar

  1. 1. Indonesia 114

Gibson Custom

  1. 1. United States 81

EVH

  1. 1. Mexico 12
  2. 2. Indonesia 9

Jackson

  1. 1. Indonesia 69
  2. 2. China 33
  3. 3. United States 31
  4. 4. South Korea 18
  5. 5. Japan 7

Fender Custom

  1. 1. United States 57

Gretsch

  1. 1. Japan 54
  2. 2. China 22
  3. 3. Indonesia 10

Gibson

  1. 1. United States 54

Reverend

  1. 1. South Korea 50

Ibanez

  1. 1. Indonesia 123
  2. 2. Japan 64
  3. 3. China 31

Yamaha

  1. 1. Indonesia 16
  2. 2. Japan 6

Fender

  1. 1. United States 75
  2. 2. Mexico 73
  3. 3. Japan 11

PRS

  1. 1. United States 35
  2. 2. Indonesia 29

Dean

  1. 1. Indonesia 35
  2. 2. India 21
  3. 3. United States 14
  4. 4. South Korea 10
  5. 5. China 6

D'Angelico

  1. 1. South Korea 19
  2. 2. Indonesia 14

Washburn

  1. 1. United States 8
  2. 2. Indonesia 7

Guild

  1. 1. Indonesia 20

Cort

  1. 1. Indonesia 32

Sterling

  1. 1. Indonesia 32

Epiphone

  1. 1. China 50

Kramer

  1. 1. Indonesia 14
  2. 2. China 5

Harley Benton

  1. 1. China 60
  2. 2. Indonesia 51
  3. 3. Vietnam 8

Sire

  1. 1. Indonesia 7

Fender Squier

  1. 1. Indonesia 36
  2. 2. China 21

That's it for now. You might also like reading about the most popular pickups found in these guitars. Alternatively, you can explore all the 2110 guitars in our database. Or, you can go to our search page to find and compare specific models you're interested in.