Best Electric Guitars Around $500 – Updated 2025 Guide (Roxy Music, La Porte, Indiana)

If you're searching for the best electric guitars around $500, you're in the perfect price range. This category is where tone, quality, and reliability finally meet affordability. Whether you're buying your first electric guitar or looking for a dependable recording or gigging instrument, today’s $500–$599 guitars deliver performance that used to require spending twice as much.

At Roxy Music in La Porte, Indiana, we hand-select, test, set up, and approve every instrument before it hits our wall. This guide highlights our 2025 recommendations: the PRS SE Standard 24, Squier Classic Vibe, Yamaha Revstar Element, and our #1 “sleeper pick” — the Ibanez Standard AZ22S1F.

Some models have increased in price since this guide was first written: the Revstar and AZ Series now land closer to $599. However, they remain some of the best value guitars on the entire market, and we absolutely recommend them for players looking for long-term quality.

What to Expect From a $500–$600 Electric Guitar

Below the $300 range, quality is inconsistent. Around the $450–$600 mark, craftsmanship jumps significantly. Here’s what you get:

• Quality tonewoods like mahogany, maple, meranti, and poplar
• Comfort-focused neck shapes that help beginners learn and help pros play longer
• Upgraded electronics with better clarity, responsiveness, and noise control
• Reliable hardware that stays in tune under real-world playing
• Playable fretwork with smooth bends and proper intonation
• Gig-ready tone that works on stage, in church, or in the studio

This is the price range where your guitar stops fighting you — and starts helping you grow as a musician.

Top Picks: Best Electric Guitars Around $500

Here are the guitars we consistently recommend to Northwest Indiana musicians. Most fall under $500; a couple stretch slightly above — but offer features that absolutely justify the bump.

Watch: Best $500 Electric Guitars (Video Review)

Want to hear these guitars in action? In this video, we highlight several of our favorite around-$500 electric guitars — including the Ibanez AZ Standard, which absolutely shocked us with its premium feel.

Scroll down for detailed specs and our shop-approved recommendations — or browse electric guitars online.

PRS SE Standard 24 – The Best All-Around Guitar in the Price Range

Price: $499 | Includes PRS Gig Bag | Body: Mahogany | Neck: Maple | Fingerboard: Rosewood | Scale: 25” | Pickups: 85/15 “S”

The PRS SE Standard 24 is easily the best “do-everything” guitar around $500. It balances warmth, clarity, sustain, and playability better than anything else in this range. The 85/15 humbuckers handle blues, rock, worship, fusion, and even higher-gain tones with ease.

Bonus advantage: This model includes a PRS gig bag — a big value add over most guitars at this price point.

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Squier Classic Vibe – Vintage Fender Charm at an Affordable Price

Price: $449 | Body: Poplar | Neck: Maple | Scale: 25.5” | Pickups: Fender Alnico Single-Coils

If you’re looking for the unmistakable chime and punch of Fender Stratocasters or Telecasters, the Classic Vibe line gets shockingly close for the money. Bright cleans, iconic tones, great necks — and always one of our most recommended beginner-to-intermediate guitars.

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Yamaha Revstar Element – High-Performance Style and Sound

Price: Around $599 | Body: Mahogany | Neck: Nato | Fingerboard: Rosewood | Scale: 24.75” | Pickups: Yamaha Alnico Humbuckers

The Revstar Element has increased in price recently, but it remains a fierce contender in the sub-$600 market. Its contoured body, Japanese-inspired design, and “dry switch” (a noise-free single-coil-like option) make it one of the most versatile guitars available.

If your budget allows a small stretch beyond $500, this is an outstanding choice.

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Ibanez Standard AZ22S1F – The Sleeper Hit Around $599

Price: Around $599 | Body: Meranti | Neck: Roasted Maple | Fingerboard: Jatoba | Scale: 25.5” | Pickups: Alnico V Single-Coils (S-S) | Features: Stainless Steel Frets, Locking Tuners

The AZ22S1F is our runaway sleeper pick. Even at $599, it offers features that are rare even on $1,000 guitars:

• Stainless steel frets (ultra-durable, smooth, premium)
• Roasted maple neck with rolled edges (incredible feel)
• Factory locking tuners
• Responsive tremolo system
• Dynamic Alnico V pickups with vintage-modern balance

This guitar punches so far above its price that we consider it one of the best values you can buy under $1,000 — let alone under $600.

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Why Buy Your Guitar from a Local Shop?

Every guitar at Roxy Music receives:

• A full multi-point inspection
• A professional setup (relief, action, intonation)
• Electronics testing
• Fret polishing

This is why musicians from Michigan City, Chesterton, Valparaiso, South Bend, and New Buffalo travel to shop with us.

Final Thoughts

Finding the best electric guitar around $500 doesn't mean settling for “entry level.” These guitars — PRS, Squier, Yamaha, and Ibanez — offer real tone, real craftsmanship, and real inspiration for beginners and working musicians alike.

If you need help choosing the right guitar, stop by Roxy Music or reach out online. We’re musicians helping musicians — since 1939.