Best Koa Top Electric Guitars in 2023
Here you'll find the best Koa top electric guitars. It's a type of wood native to the Hawaiian Islands, where it's pretty common. Its musical properties make it a great wood for making guitars, but it's especially popular for building Ukuleles.
Out of the more than 2000 guitars in our database, these are the best scoring ones. You can use our filters to the left to narrow down these results, or click on "Compare" to get a deep comparison between them. Our automated scoring system takes into account the ratings from ours users who own the guitar, and dozens of parameters to determine the build quality, playability, pickups quality, value for money, and more.
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1. Fender Custom Artisan Koa Thinline Stratocaster
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- From Fender Custom's 2020 Artisan series
- Made in United States
- 6 strings
- 25.5"'' scale
- 9.5" to 12" Fretboard Radius
- 4A Figured Koa top
- Roasted Ash body
- 3A Roasted Birdseye Maple neck
- Round-Lam Ebony fretboard
- Bridge pickup: Fender Custom Shop Hand-Wound Fat '60s Single-Coil Strat (Single Coil/Passive)
- Bridge pickup: Fender Custom Shop Hand-Wound Fat '60s Single-Coil Strat (Single Coil/Passive)
- Middle pickup: Fender Custom Shop Hand-Wound RWRP Fat '60s Single-Coil Strat (Single Coil/Passive)
- Neck pickup: Fender Custom Shop Hand-Wound Fat '60s Single-Coil Strat (Single Coil/Passive)
- 1 volume and 2 tone Bell knobs
- 5-way Switch
- Custom Shop Vintage Synchronized Tremolo bridge
- '60s Oval C Bolt-On neck
- 21 Narrow Tall frets
- Vintage Style with Tortoise Shell Buttons tuners
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Strengths & Weaknesses
Fender Custom Artisan Koa Thinline Stratocaster
Fender Custom Artisan Koa Thinline Stratocaster
- Made in United States
- Expensive Wood
- Bone Nut
- Top Brand Pickups
- Tremolo
- Compound Radius Fretboard
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- No Locking Tuners
- No Neck-Through Build
- No Push Knob or Extra Switch Option
- No Luminescent Inlay
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- No Strap Lock
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2. Ibanez RG6PKAG Premium
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Player Feedback
- Neck profile shape: D (2 votes)
- Neck speed (thickness): Herman Li fast (2 votes)
- Pickups noise: Noiseless (7 votes)
- Pickups power: Clean (4 votes)
- From Ibanez's 2021 RG series
- Made in Indonesia
- 6 strings
- 25.5"'' scale
- 16" Fretboard Radius
- Koa top
- African Mahogany body
- 11pc Maple/Walnut/Bubinga neck
- Rosewood fretboard
- Bridge pickup: EMG 81 (Humbucker/Active)
- Bridge pickup: EMG 81 (Humbucker/Active)
- Middle pickup: EMG SA (Single Coil/Active)
- Neck pickup: EMG SA (Single Coil/Active)
- 1 volume and 1 tone Dome knobs
- 5-way Switch
- Edge bridge
- Wizard Bolt-On neck
- 24 Jumbo Gold frets
- Gotoh machine heads tuners
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Strengths & Weaknesses
Ibanez RG6PKAG Premium
Ibanez RG6PKAG Premium
- Gold Frets
- Expensive Wood
- Locking Nut
- Top Brand Pickups
- Tremolo
- Luminescent Inlay
- No Locking Tuners
- Made in Indonesia
- No Neck-Through Build
- No Push Knob or Extra Switch Option
- No Weight Relief
- No Compound Radius Fretboard
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- No Retainer Bar
- No Strap Lock
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3. Fender Custom Artisan Koa P90 Telecaster
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- From Fender Custom's 2020 Artisan series
- Made in United States
- 6 strings
- 25.5"'' scale
- 9.5" to 12" Fretboard Radius
- 4A Figured Koa top
- Chambered 2-Piece Fiji Mahogany with 4A Figured Koa Top body
- 4A Roasted Flame Maple neck
- Round-Lam Ebony fretboard
- Bridge pickup: Fender Custom Shop Hand-Wound Loaded '51 Nocaster (Single Coil/Passive)
- Bridge pickup: Fender Custom Shop Hand-Wound Loaded '51 Nocaster (Single Coil/Passive)
- 1 volume and 1 tone Dome knobs
- 3-way Switch
- Reverse Nocaster Bridge with Brass RSD Saddles bridge
- '60s Oval C Bolt-On neck
- 21 Jumbo frets
- Vintage Style with Tortoise Shell Buttons tuners
- Compare Specs >
Strengths & Weaknesses
Fender Custom Artisan Koa P90 Telecaster
Fender Custom Artisan Koa P90 Telecaster
- Made in United States
- Expensive Wood
- Bone Nut
- Top Brand Pickups
- Weight Relief
- Compound Radius Fretboard
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- No Locking Tuners
- No Neck-Through Build
- No Push Knob or Extra Switch Option
- No Tremolo
- No Luminescent Inlay
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- No Strap Lock
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4. Fender Custom Artisan Koa Dual P90 Strat
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Player Feedback
- Neck access to high frets: Hard (1 vote)
- Fret edges: Smooth (1 vote)
- Tuning stability: Sightly unstable (1 vote)
- Weight: Slightly heavy (1 vote)
- Neck profile shape: C (1 vote)
- Pickups noise: Slightly Noisy (1 vote)
- Pickups power: Clean (1 vote)
- From Fender Custom's 2020 Artisan series
- Made in United States
- 6 strings
- 25.5"'' scale
- 9.5" to 12" Fretboard Radius
- Koa top
- 1-Piece Vintage Michigan Mahogany body
- 3A Roasted Flame Maple neck
- Round-Laminated Rosewood fretboard
- Bridge pickup: Fender Custom Shop P90 (Single Coil/Passive)
- Bridge pickup: Fender Custom Shop P90 (Single Coil/Passive)
- 1 volume and 1 tone Dome knobs
- 3-way Switch
- 6-Saddle Hardtail with Pat. Pend. Saddles bridge
- 1960 Oval C Bolt-On neck
- 21 Narrow Tall frets
- Vintage Style tuners
- Compare Specs >
Strengths & Weaknesses
Fender Custom Artisan Koa Dual P90 Strat
Fender Custom Artisan Koa Dual P90 Strat
- Made in United States
- Expensive Wood
- Bone Nut
- Top Brand Pickups
- Weight Relief
- Compound Radius Fretboard
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- No Locking Tuners
- No Neck-Through Build
- No Push Knob or Extra Switch Option
- No Tremolo
- No Luminescent Inlay
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- No Strap Lock
5. ESP LTD TE-1000 Evertune KOA
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Player Feedback
- Neck profile shape: D (16 votes)
- Neck speed (thickness): Fast (25 votes)
- Pickups noise: Noiseless (3 votes)
- Pickups power: Hot (3 votes)
- From ESP LTD's 2021 TE series
- Made in Indonesia
- 6 strings
- 25.5"'' scale
- 13.78" Fretboard Radius
- Hawaiian Koa top
- Mahogany body
- 3pc Maple neck
- Macassar Ebony fretboard
- Bridge pickup: EMG 57 (Humbucker/Active)
- Neck pickup: EMG 66TW (Humbucker/Active)
- 1 volume and 1 tone Dome knobs
- 3-way Switch
- Evertune (F model) bridge
- Thin U Set neck
- 24 XL Jumbo Stainless Steel frets
- LTD Locking tuners
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Strengths & Weaknesses
ESP LTD TE-1000 Evertune KOA
ESP LTD TE-1000 Evertune KOA
- Stainless Steel Frets
- Locking Tuners
- Expensive Wood
- Top Brand Pickups
- Coil Split Pickups
- Stays in Tune (Evertune)
- Made in Indonesia
- No High-Quality Nut
- No Neck-Through Build
- No Weight Relief
- No Tremolo
- No Luminescent Inlay
- No Compound Radius Fretboard
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- No Strap Lock
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6. EVH Wolfgang WG Standard Exotic Koa
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Player Feedback
- Neck profile shape: C (4 votes)
- Neck speed (thickness): Fast (4 votes)
- Pickups noise: Noiseless (3 votes)
- Pickups power: Slightly Hot (2 votes)
- From EVH's 2022 Wolfgang Standard series
- Made in Indonesia
- 6 strings
- 25.5"'' scale
- 12" to 16" Fretboard Radius
- Koa top
- Basswood body
- Baked Maple neck
- Baked Maple fretboard
- Bridge pickup: Direct Mount EVH Wolfgang Humbucking (Humbucker/Passive)
- Neck pickup: Direct Mount EVH Wolfgang Humbucking (Humbucker/Passive)
- 1 volume and 1 tone Dome knobs
- 3-way Switch
- EVH-Branded Floyd Rose Special Locking Tremolo bridge
- Wolfgang Backshape Bolt-On neck
- 22 Jumbo frets
- EVH-Branded tuners
- Compare Specs >
Strengths & Weaknesses
EVH Wolfgang WG Standard Exotic Koa
EVH Wolfgang WG Standard Exotic Koa
- Locking Nut
- Top Brand Pickups
- Tremolo
- Compound Radius Fretboard
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- No Locking Tuners
- Made in Indonesia
- No Expensive Woods
- No Neck-Through Build
- No Push Knob or Extra Switch Option
- No Weight Relief
- No Luminescent Inlay
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- No Retainer Bar
- No Strap Lock