Best Acoustic-Electric Guitars Under 500 – Guide 2017

Acoustic guitars are wonderful things – resonant, rich, full. But sometimes you aren’t just playing for your bedroom walls, in which case they simply may not be loud enough. Or maybe you want to record your acoustic guitar, but, since putting a mic on an acoustic instrument is difficult, expensive, and leaves you prone to feedback, you’re looking for another option. Luckily, there are instruments designed explicitly to solve these problems.

Acoustic-electric guitars are fully acoustic guitars that have some sort of mic or pickup integrated into their design. That means they can be plugged into a guitar amp, mixing board, or recording interface. Many acoustic guitarists rely on acoustic-electrics when recording and playing live. If you are one of the guitarists who wants to be able to plug in your acoustic, then this best acoustic-electric guitar under 500 guide is for you.

• Yamaha FGX730SC
• 4.8 Customer rating
• Back and sides: Rosewood
• Fingerboard: Rosewood
• Top: Solid Sitka Spruce

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• Fender Tim Armstrong Hellcat
• 4.6 Customer rating
• Back and sides: Laminated Mahogany
• Fingerboard: Rosewood
• Top: Solid Mahogany

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• Luna Fauna Phoenix
• 4.9 Customer rating
• Back and sides: Mahogany
• Fingerboard: Rosewood
• Top: Select spruce

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• Fender T-Bucket 400CE
• 4.9 Customer rating
• Back and sides: Flame Maple
• Fingerboard: Rosewood
• Top: Flame Maple

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• Dean Exotica Cocobolo
• 4.3 Customer rating
• Back and sides: Cocobolo
• Fingerboard: Rosewood
• Top: Cocobolo

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• Ibanez AEL207E
• 4.8 Customer rating
• Back and sides: Maple
• Fingerboard: Rosewood
• Top: Flamed Maple

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Top 7 Acoustic-Electric Guitars Under 500 Dollars

Yamaha FGX730SC

The first guitar on our list is the Yamaha FGX730SC. This guitar is part of Yamaha’s FG series – a celebrated line of affordable acoustic guitars that was started by Yamaha in the 1960s. Since that time, players have praised FG series guitars for their value as well as their overall quality. Owners of the FGX730SC acoustic-electric are generally very happy with the guitar, citing its impressive acoustic sound, its easy playability, and its quality amplified tone. Some owners even claim that it sounds and plays better than “name brand” guitars whose price tags are double or more that of this Yamaha.

The FGX730SC features a solid spruce top, rosewood back, sides, and fretboard, and an internal pickup for amplification. Its rosewood construction creates a warm, round tonal foundation, and its spruce top adds a healthy measure of definition to its sound. Overall, the sound of this guitar, both acoustic and amplified, is balanced, but not without body or fullness.

Fender Tim Armstrong Hellcat

The Fender Hellcat was designed for Tim Armstrong, formerly of Rancid. Like Armstrong, the Hellcat is visually striking and sonically no-nonsense. A relatively small-bodied acoustic guitar, the aesthetically distinct (but not necessarily ornate) Hellcat delivers an impressive punch, and features high-quality electronics. Overall, it is difficult to find a harder-working acoustic-electric, in this price range or any.

The Hellcat features a beautiful solid mahogany top, laminate mahogany back and sides, a rosewood fretboard and bridge, and scalloped bracing. It comes standard with Fishman electronics (some of the best in the industry). In addition to its striking top, it features a faux-tortoise-shell pickgaurd and detailed hellcat inlays. Its sound, for a smaller-bodied instrument, is warm – due in part to its mahogany top and in part to its scalloped bracing – and it shines particularly brightly when it is amplified.

Luna Fauna Phoenix

Luna is not a big name, not like Yamaha or Fender. But sometimes when you’re buying a guitar, what you lose in recognizability you gain in value. The Fauna Phoenix is an example of that sort of thing. It is a solid, affordable, quality acoustic-electric guitar, worthy of being included on this list.

The Fauna Phoenix is an aesthetically impressive guitar. It has a small, dark, single-cutaway body with a distinctive, large abalone bird inlay on the guitar’s top. Like its appearance, its sound is sharp. It features a built-in 4-band EQ that accentuates the instrument’s top end, and, in part due to its small body, it sounds crisp, even “twangy.” For that reason, it is well suited to country, as well some folk and rock, and it works well any time you need to cut through a mix. Overall, this is a beautiful, distinct guitar with a highly defined sound.

Fender T-Bucket 400CE

The Fender T-Bucket 400CE is another single-cutaway acoustic-electric, this time in a full-sized dreadnought style. And it is another visually striking instrument. It features a flame maple top and back, which adds considerably to its aesthetic appeal, and it has an impressive hologram soundhole inlay. Other aesthetic features include body and neck binding, a headstock inlay, an “F” inlay at the 12^th fret, and gold hardware.

The T-Bucket would, however, be worth the money even without those frills. In terms of sound, particularly when amplified, this guitar is more than worthy of your consideration. In addition to the maple construction of its body, it features a mahogany neck, a rosewood fretboard and bridge, scalloped bracing, and Fishman electronics (including a three-band onboard EQ and an onboard tuner). Its maple construction makes for a certain measure of sharpness and definition, but its scalloped bracing, mahogany neck, and rosewood fretboard and bridge balance its sonic profile out nicely. It isn’t as warm as some guitars, but it is more full-bodied than, for instance, the Luna was.

Dean Exotica Cocobolo

Dean is one of those guitar manufacturers that deserve more attention than they get. They have been around for a long time, making quality instruments that are played by many industry professionals, but they are often passed over on lists such as this one. The Exotica Cocobolo is an example of Dean’s ability to make a great guitar at an affordable price.

The Exotica series by Dean is an attempt to bring lesser-known, not-often-used exotic woods into the construction of acoustic guitars, all at a price that is less than daunting. The Cocobolo model features gorgeous, dark-grained cocobolo wood for its top, back, and sides. In addition to being visually striking, this wood is big and rich sounding, and it adds a rather unique dimension to the guitar’s sound. In addition to cocobolo, this guitar features a mahogany neck and a rosewood fretboard. Its electronics are made by Dean and are high quality, and it features an onboard exciter made by Aphex. Overall, this guitar sounds quite rich, and when amplified, especially with the addition of the Aphex exciter, it has the ability to ring with impressive clarity.

Ibanez AEL207E

The Ibanez AEL series is a series of acoustic-electric guitars with large bodies, meant for producing sweet tones when amplified and big, loud sounds when unamplified. The word with these guitars is “projection.” This particular model – the AEL207E – is the seven-string member of the AEL series. It is the only seven-string on our list, and for good reason – it is a fantastic, heavy, sound machine. This seven-string acoustic, like most, has an additional low string (usually tuned to a B, a fourth below the usual low E string). As such, it is capable of producing an array of bassy, heavy, deep chords, and is great for covering some of the ground traditionally held by a bassist, whether in a band setting or when playing solo.

This guitar has a flamed maple top, a maple back and sides, a mahogany neck, and a rosewood fretboard. Coupled with its large body and low B-string, its mahogany and rosewood make for a round, deep sound, while its maple body ensures that the instrument retains some definition and “snap.” It also features a Fishman pickup and an Ibanez preamp (with a three-band EQ and what Ibanez calls a “tone shaper”, in addition to an onboard tuner). In general, whether plugged or not, this is a great sounding seven-string guitar.

Best Acoustic-Electric Guitars Under 500 Comparison Chart

Best Acoustic-Electric Guitars Under 500 Comparison Chart

Gretsch G5022CE Rancher

Gretsch is one of those hip manufacturers that have gained a lot of popularity in recent years. Once mainstays of rock and roll, they fell out of favor for a time, only to be resurrected by some Indie and Low-fi rock acts. Their instruments are full of character, and many of them are rather expensive. This guitar looks and feels like its straight out of rock history, and it has the sound to back it up.

With its vibrant orange paintjob and triangular soundhole, the Rancher is sure to turn heads. But its construction ensures that those heads will stay turned once they hear what it’s capable of. It features a solid spruce top, scalloped bracing, a mahogany neck, and a rosewood fretboard. Its electronics are made by Fishman, which as we have been seeing is an industry standard. These guitars are known for rich resonance, whether amplified or unplugged, due in part to their large bodies. In general, this guitar can sing, whether you’re looking to rock out like it’s 1955 or do something unlike anything that has come before.

Conclusion

There are a lot of things to consider when you’re looking for an acoustic guitar that you can plug in: What style of music do I want to play? What kind of EQ profile do I want the instrument to have? How loud do I want it to be when it is unplugged? How do I want the instrument to look? How important is the name of the manufacturer to me? How many strings do I need? What kind of electronics am I looking for?

We have seen, on this list of the best acoustic-electric guitars under 500 dollars, an array of great guitars. Somewhere here is something for just about everyone. The point was not to tell you what to buy, but to show you the landscape, pointing out important landmarks along the way. There may be a lot to consider, but fortunately you can’t go wrong with any of the guitars on this list.

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