Some guitars hit the sweet spot of do-it-all versatility and real-world price points. Here are a dozen that will have you covered, regardless of your budget
SQUIER PARANORMAL ESQUIRE DELUXE £375
What’s cooler than a regular Tele? ATelecaster with a 70s-style full-face scratchplate. In fact, this poplar-body/maple-neck reimagined Esquire tells the tale of Leo’s blueprint model, had it been designed 20-odd years later. As such, it’s got a Wide Range humbucker, but there’s some switching tricks up its sleeve with a coil-split as well as control bypass positions on the three-way rotary control. Get it in the none-more-70s Mocha or Metallic Black finishes.
GRETSCH G2215-P90 STREAMLINER JUNIOR JET CLUB £399
This model boils down everything we’re after in a multi-purpose single-cut to a, frankly, ridiculous price. Let go of your ‘tonewood’ snobbery; £399 gets you more than a taste of the Gretsch vibe, with a Broad’Tron BT-2S humbucker at the bridge, the added ‘neckiness’ of a P-90 in the neck position, simple master volume/tone controls, and a rock-solid wraparound compensated bridge.
GORDON SMITH GS1 FROM £999
There are workhorses and then there are oxen – and the Gordon Smith GS1 is the latter. Built to keep going forever with few ‘frills’ but plenty of thrills, the base spec uses an open-pore natural finish, with mahogany all round and a rosewood ’board. The single humbucker is an in-house GSG, but you can personalise your GS1 in nearly every way, from the neck profile down to the string gauge, with 24 selectable options on the website.
SHERGOLD TELSTAR STANDARD ST14 £379
The Telstar Standard will draw you in with its slightly slanted T-style looks, including that poplar body’s raised centre channel and enough metal to make Jaws feel inadequate. But you’ll stay after the realisation that this guitar is packing some serious rock ’n’ roll tone, straight from the brain of Patrick James Eggle at just £379. The Page FilterSonics lean towards traditional ’bucker tone but cover a lot of ground; we love the contoured neck heel, too. www.shergoldguitars.com
PRS SE CE 24 STANDARD SATIN £499
PRS is making guitar-buying decisions easy with a model seemingly on every rung. Here, the SE CE 24 is whittled down to a Standard series with a satin finish, carved mahogany body and bolt-on maple neck with rosewood ’board (plus bird inlays). It has 24 frets and includes a PRS vibrato and 85/15S Treble and Bass humbuckers, complete with coil-splitting, once again proving the SE range represents some of the best-value guitars in their price bracket. www.prsguitars.com
