today we're gonna be ranking guitar brands from worst to best in the category of 1000 to $600 I have a video of under $600 and they plan to do an under $300 and over $1000 category to be clear to be on this list there's a couple things first you have to be manufacturing guitars as of making this video we're not talking about old guitars or old brands other thing that's important is we're not talking about use guitars and we're also only talking about import brands or import guitars I should say we're not focusing on anything else we're looking to see who's making the best guitars who's got the coolest stuff who's got the best value to be on this list I have to have some experience with the brand whether they owning it repairing it reviewing it something so I have reference of the brand at least I have put my hands on a few of their models before we do this and I of course I look at other categories like how many guitars they offer in each category what's the overall brand value what are the features what's the fit and finish how many times have I repaired brands like this so if your brand doesn't do well just put in the comment below why you thought you should you be better a couple you guys made some really good points in the last video and I'm not saying to change my mind but I have considered what you said let's start with number 40 which is vintage guitarist now I rated them pretty well in the under $600 category but the over $600 list to $1000 list they just don't have a lot of interesting guitars in this category first of all there's nothing about them that's superior in fit and finish and there's nothing exciting about the designs I'm pretty sure these are made in Vietnam but they could be made in China or Indonesia as well now number 39 is Aria Pro aria pro is not made in Japan at this price point we're so we're not talking about a Japanese brand at this point but the guitar offering is very slim there's only a few models and most of them look exactly like what Ltd and other brands are offering and again no brand recognition there's not a whole lot of outstanding quality to put them ahead of other brands and it's just very lackluster number 38 is fret King now fret King I want to tell you if it finishes great a lot of these made are in the mir Factory in Korea very good quality obviously designed by Trev Wilkinson someone who I really really admire however these guitars have a very reverend feel and let's be clear reverend has much bigger category of guitars in this price point and technically fred king shouldn't be in this list because a lot of their guitars are over $1000 but i constantly found retailers discounting them under $1000 so i thought let's go ahead and put them on the list number 37 is greco guitars now greco guitars are made in japan the quality is really good the issue I have with them is a couple things first they're about six hundred and fifty dollars six hundred thirty dollars you got understanding that in that price point there is a lot of competition for a strat and tele style guitar number thirty-six is depend to get ours now here's a brand I really should just fast track them up to the top because they're just a cool cool guitar there's only a small group of guitar players looking for something as crazy as depent oh if you are looking for a guitar like this keep in mind there on the high end of the spectrum they're about 950 dollars so these guitars are gonna put you close to $1,000 the fit and finish on them are pretty good I've never had any issues that I've seen playing them is kind of fun that like said it's just an out-there kind of crazy guitar number 35 which is Washburn guitars now Washburn guitars is interesting because I didn't even think they're gonna make this list because when I think Washburn I always thought about affordable more affordable price guitars sub $500 but Washburn has really put a heavy focus on acoustics and although I think they make some of the best acoustics around especially for the price they make the in 24 which is a great guitar they have guitars with the Stevens cutaway there are some fantastic guitars that you can love number 34 is Hagstrom now Hagstrom is a brand I brought up on the sub 600 line I thought they would fare better than this because I thought there would be in these price points more but you know there's just a lot stiffer competition out there number 33 is Eastwood guitars the Eastwood guitars is a great brand interesting enough when I when I reviewed the one I did they told me it was made in Korea although when I look at their brand as a whole it never says where they're manufactured I found one or two that say made in China I've never found anything else that said anywhere else so I'm not really sure where they're manufactured but they are good guitars number 32 is interesting because it's court guitars they make probably half if not more than the guitars on this list pretty much anything made in Indonesia is coming from court or Samak now court as a brand is just not that interesting as a $600 to $1,000 guitar to be honest with you when I look at those guitars when I played them there's just nothing about them that makes me want to buy a 600 to $1,000 court guitar not because they're not quality the fit and finish on the guitars was good looks are kind of boring they don't really get as involved as the brands that make them build guitars for them and their value to be honest with you back in the day court you could buy a court for almost half of what the brand-name guitar was and that was a real savings right now it's about twenty percent less it's not the huge savings it used to be so it doesn't rank as high number 31 is Framus now Framus makes the D series these are made in China and option wise they put good pickups in them there's really not a whole lot to offer besides that in this price point if you want the German Reed once those are about three to seven thousand dollars however I think for in the price point you're gonna see there's a lot of offerings in this category and there's just a lot of dominant force number 30 is su Pro now sue pro is made in Korea and the quality is very good Trev Wilkinson is the designer behind these guitars and I'm a huge fan of the super guitars but believe it not when I was weighing a couple things including the fact of other guitar brands they just didn't rate as high there's a thing about them and to be honest with you as many times that played one I've never felt the inkling to own one number 29 is agile they really are on the bottom end of this price point in other words they're not really in the thousand dollar range they're in the low seven hundreds to high six hundred price point for the most part on the few offerings they have I think they only have one guitar that's six string in this category for price point otherwise everything else would be seven or eight number 28 is d'angelico I'm with Sarah and this is the official way you say d'angelico but also d'angelico if you're Italian now I love d'angelico guitars but this is a semi hollow in solid body list we're not really focusing on hollow bodies I plan to do a worse the best hollow body list and of course I think d'angelico will do much better on that list number 27 is revolta guitars now revolt of guitars are made by Eastwood so we have the same issue I don't know where they're manufactured or I don't know what country they're coming from but the guitars look cool so this is like their sub brand of fan no guitars there were some of the most impressive guitars I played at the 2020 am show and I have to say I thought they're really cool but that being said they just didn't rank any higher number 26 is Michael Kelly now Michael Kelly guitars are made in Indonesia and they're very Fender ask they have a lot of Telly's a lot of strats and they have some Les Paul shapes they're owned by Sam Ash but they're sold at other retailers as well I think there's better offerings in the tele strat market in these price points so that's why they didn't rank is high but check them out because they are cool guitars number 25 is GNL now I know what you're thinking didn't GNL rate really really high on the tribute series under 600 bucks they did but you can understand they don't offer a whole lot of guitars in the over 600 category which makes sense because once you hit over about $1,000 you're now talking about their American line now the ones they do offer are really good but one of the things that hurt them is they're not much better than what they offer for five hundred dollars so the reason they got hurt was if you're looking at a GL the $500 ones I think are fantastic the six or seven hundred are ones are maybe the same number twenty four is probably gonna upset people because it upset people on the last list its Gretch a lot of people seem to upset that I drank wretch so low on these lists you gotta understand this is a solid body and semi hollow body list which means the hollow bodies are left out for another list and I think Gretchen's gonna dominate on the list when I think affordable hollow bodies under $1,000 that are fantastic of course Gretch dominates however that's not the case with their solid bodies they're very good most of our made in China but they're just not gonna rank higher number 23 is guild guitars now ideal did well on the last list they're doing great on this list as well they're made in Korea and they have great fit and finish if you're looking for something different they have that cool old guild vibe to them they have a great aesthetic if you're liking that old-school look they're one of those brands that not making those entry level low price guitars and they're not making crazy outrageous price you know $6,000 custom shops they're really focusing on making good product at the right price number 22 is Tajima now Tajima made the under 600 or list but that was four they're made in China product when we're talking under $1000 Tajima is the made in Brazil product so these are products that made in Brazil they would be equal in my opinion two fenders made in Mexico facility number 21 is Dane electro now Dane Electro's are made in Korea they don't offer a whole lot of guitars in this price point they have a few guitars $6.99 $7.99 they really don't venture up to the 999 price point so although they do really well on this list they didn't kind of dominate it because they don't really dominate this price category they're a brand who really is actually sadly enough their sweet spots in between these two lists so if I was going to make a 500 to $7 range I think Dane electro would really kill in that category but based on the price points I picked this is how well they did number 20 is Kramer and what about their guitars is there not loaded with a ton of stuff some of them just have one seymour duncan pick up and a floyd rose bridge and that's all you need fit and finish seems pretty good they're made in Indonesia and they look cool one of the things I gotta say is they're nailing the way they look when I see them I kinda always want to Cramer now number 19 so it made it in the top 20 Chapman guitars now some of you guys were upset and some of you guys were happy that Chapman didn't do better on the sub 600 our price point but in the $600 to 1000 and these guitars are either made in Indonesia some few ones are made in Korea but the bulk of them are gonna be Indonesia now I think Chapman to get into the Korean line you have to go over 1,000 dollars I found that with the Chapman guitars the more expensive they get the better they get it seems like there have more to have the ability to kind of guarantee better quality as the price increases number 18 is Dean now Dean didn't do so great in the under $600 category because I feel like I always have to repair some of their import lower price guitars however in this category what you'll notice in the over 600 price point a lot of the guitars that Dean offers are made in Korea the fit and finish is fantastic there are some guitars in there that will rival some thousand to $1500 guitars number 17 is sterling guitars even though they kind of have more guitars in this price point which gives them points for having a variety of products they're fit and finish doesn't much improve in fact that's one thing that's factored into this when I was looking at this some of the guitar companies will give you the same quality at under 600 ours is over 600 hours and that actually hurts them helps them when it's better for less but it hurts them when it's not much better for more they are great however I find the more expensive they get it's not so much the better they get even though the quality is very good it doesn't really improve as we go up number 16 is Jackson guitars these guitars are mostly made in Indonesia which is going to be the dominant force so you know it's good point the time to point out almost all the guitars on this list are made in Indonesia feels like two factories are making all these guitars probably not far off from that number 15 is evh now the interesting thing about that is they have two different manufacturer origins in this price category and the 600 are range lower six 650 700 RS you're gonna get Indonesia once you hit closer to 800 to a thousand you're gonna be made in Mexico and in Sonata Factory both guitars I'm very impressed with in fact this is one of my favorite guitars in this price category I don't know why I didn't rank higher I ranked is scored across I like a lot of things that one of the things that did hurt it though is because they don't really put a finish on the neck where I'm where I live where it's very dry I do a lot of fret sprout issues with that particular guitar and that's kind of something I had a factor in as a repair how many times do they come in for repair number 14 is Yamaha and I'm scratching my head going how did Yamaha be evh I thought I liked evh more but the M ha stuff is still really impressive to me I have to tell you that the evh am huffing was almost equal and to be honest with you I think if I would have plugged in one little thing different or our kind of thing I thought about it just a little bit different I could see what a vh1 but either way let's just say that was a tie number 13 is Dean's Linsky now this is not Dean this is Dean's Linsky some of you guys might remember that Dean szalinski was Dean guitars then he was with DBZ well now he's Dean szalinski again another issue where I can't figure out country of origin because they're not labeled on their guitars I couldn't find any it's like a pool stick it's so it's little different it's it's definitely a neck that if you love it you love it and if you don't you hate it but if you haven't tried one if you ever get the chance please check one out number 12 is she G no she she is a brand you've probably never heard of there may in China and I have to tell you there's some of the best playing guitars I've ever played period at any price point these guitars rank in around $7.99 and they come with quarter sawn roasted maple necks go to bridge go to pickups it's a guitar that I liked when I did the review I have to say I liked even more now they're just growing on me and more times than not when somebody comes over plays a guitar it seems to stand out more than any other guitar for its quality number 11 is Epiphone now I have to admit I thought I'd buffoon make the top 10 I'm a huge Epiphone fan they make a lot of great stuff this is a price category that's good for them however I think again they fall victim to the $500 to seven or eight it but in the $600 to $1,000 category once you get up there in the higher price they don't offer a whole lot of Epiphone at $1,000 what they do offer is pretty good but not dominating the market so to speak they do manufacture their stuff in China and it is very good for how it's built one of the funniest things ever said to me was I once had a customer come in for a pair and asked me if I can make his Gibson play as good as his Epiphone that's never ever stop making me laugh so who's gonna be in the top ten well the first one in number ten is FG n Fuji Jen these are made in Japan so keep in mind saint manufacturing that makes a prestige buy Ibanez and stuff like that very cool guitars very basic but if you're looking for like that sir kind of really nice fit and finished usually comes with brand-name pickups very good quality and again sub $1,000 made in Japan check out Fuji gen or also always known as FG in number nine is go Dan we sometimes in the USA Godin it always gets everybody riled up I did a how do you say video or I asked manufacturers to tell us how do you say it I was Mario and this is the official way you say goddang guitars I still say Godin because I guess it's a u.s. thing to say Godin so you guys can fight that out in the comments the importance of this is although I gave them number one in the $600 category because they are canadian parts assemble in the u.s. in this category they didn't do as well because there's some stiff competition once you break $600 they have more offerings in this price category including a tele style guitar number eight is soul our guitars the one I own is $6.99 the other side played we're all $7.99 and $8.99 fantastic guitars my soul are still one of my favorite guitars of course they have that cool look he all is a great YouTube personality plus a fantastic musician and what's important is it's another brand that a lot of you probably have not tried so if you get the chance like I said check them out number 7 beating out soul are is ESP guitars which is really Ltd at this price point you're not an e-2 yet and you're definitely not ESP e 2 would be the Japanese manufactured units but they would be all over 1,000 if not over 1 $1500 so this is the Ltd brand most their guitars are going to be made in Indonesia some are gonna be made in Korea in this price point either way fit and finish fantastic guitars number 6 is Ivan is now again another one was funny on the under 600 our price point a lot of you guys hey I can't believe Ibanez did so bad a lot of you were like I knew it once you break 600 ollars you start getting really good guitars I personally feel once you break $1,000 you're getting really good guitars with Ibanez once you hit that close to $1,000 over $1000 price point but in this category that did really good in fact I was shocked I thought for sure that was going to be Ltd inching them out but I want to scoring everything out I was factoring everything in thinking about it just for some reason a TSP is great Ltd is great but Ivan is just interested out now we're in the top five these are my top five favorite manufacturers and let's get into number five which is charvel Charvel have you guys seen the reviews I think you cannot beat what Charbel is doing in the under $1000 price point with tons of features like go to bridge seymour duncan pickups all their bodies roasted maple necks on some of their models locking keys and let's be honest Charvel is a great brand made in mexico and number four is Peter S se now PRS se are made in Indonesia now yes they make all their guitars now by Coretech and so they're all made in Indonesia especially under the $1,000 price point one of the biggest questions I get is are they as good as the Korean manufactured ones as a whole yes now when I say as a whole I can't speak about everybody's guitar in every situation but what I can tell you is nothing that I've picked up has flagged me to go oh I wish they would go back to the old manufacturer I think they're doing a really good job but keep in mind I said this in the last video PRS is one of the companies that when they get the guitars in from that manufacturer they pull them out and check them so you're not going to see a ton of defective product some people say I've seen one you're gonna see some but you shouldn't see very many because they're filtering the defective product out number three is Reverend guitars Reverend guitars are made in Korea in the mir Factory this is really one of those brands that I could easily say should be number one I love the way they look I love the design I like the vibe of the company I love the idea that they don't make inexpensive entry-level product and that they don't make really high-end crazy price product they're just making great product at that mid price which is expensive but again not the crazy you know super cheap or super expensive price points number two is Schecter guitars now Schecter guitars is of course one of my favorite brands this price point under $1000 you're still talking Indonesia I know a lot of you guys are gonna go know Korea there's a few models made in Korea at this price point but most of them in these six hundred to a thousand dollar range you're still in there Indonesian factory but still very good stuff a lot of offerings especially in the left handed section a lot of left-handed guitars a lot of cool stuff I don't think I've ever talked up a brand as much as I've talked up sector and I think it's because it's a brand that I think when you compare it to guitars that are 2 and 3/4 times the price point they always hold their own so that brings us to number one its Fender guitar so we're talking about the main Mexico Fender guitars Telecaster stratocasters jazz masters guitars between $600 and $1,000 man do they dominate this market in my opinion you cannot beat a made Mexico Fender guitar and in today's day and age the main Mexico one's the player series I think is fantastic I reviewed a player series where I pretty much said that it felt just as good as a 2008 era usa-made strat and I still hold true to that statement today very good stuff I think if you buy a player series of a product from Fender I think you're buying a product that is really going to hold value in the long term it's a it's a it's a lifetime guitar and the fact that it's it's just a brilliant guitar that's gonna last it's a good quality guitar some you guys may disagree some you guys may agree that's where it stands the one thing I also love is is that they're also giving you the fender branding that's really cool this isn't the sub branding of Squire some of you guys going to say hey what happened to Squire Squire doesn't really make any offerings over $600 so that's what's interesting you're in the fender land so think about this you can buy for the 600 to 700 range really impressive fenders and another thing that made scored them high too is some of the most impressive Fender guitars that they have the player series are 650 so even though this is $1600 fender is in that really lower range that $600 are the the range of this category and they're still dominating so that gives them points too so there you have it that's my worse the best brands for under $1,000 I hope you guys enjoyed it let me know what you agree with what you disagreed with let me know if there's other lists you'd like me to do these lists seem to be really popular and they're kind of fun to make so I think maybe that's why they're fun to watch I'm not sure I know that you guys have other things that you can do with your time or watch and I appreciate you watching and spending some time with me don't forget if you want to support this channel you can just hit the like button or subscribe and hit that Bell icon until the next time know your gear [Music] [Applause] [Music]
