Whether you play in a band or solo, you need the best guitar for psychedelic rock if you are to flourish in this genre.
The most exciting part about buying a guitar is that you get what feels comfortable and within your budget. There are many guitar options for psychedelic rock with high-quality features and great prices.
To help you make the best choice for your guitar, we have reviewed the top picks for different guitar tastes. These are our top picks:
1.ESP LTD EC-256FM Electric Guitar– most popular
2.Squier by Fender Paranormal Baritone Cabronita Telecaster– best budget
3.Epiphone SG Special Satin E1– best value
Best Guitar for Psychedelic Rock
ESP LTD EC-256FM Electric Guitar
This electric guitar is made of high-quality mahogany neck and rosewood. It features a dark brown color with a nice gloss finish, giving it a classical look. It has elegant metal finishings that are well placed on the body.
If you have small hands and are looking for a guitar to play psychedelic rock, this guitar is a great option for you. It is cut into a comfortable thin U contour to fit even in small hands. It gives a comfortable fit even when playing for long hours.
This guitar has awesome features to help you play around with it and switch between different genres. It has a three-way pickup selector switch that gives you three pickup combinations to give you a good switch between during your set.
The guitar also has extra features like the ESP push/pull tone pots that not only get your signal to cut through the mix but also add three more pickups to select from when playing psychedelic rock.
Pros
- Made of high-quality wood
- It has a classic design
- Fits well in hands
- Has the ESP push/pull tone pots
Cons
- The strings need a regular change
Squier by Fender Paranormal Baritone Cabronita Telecaster
If you want a well-designed guitar on a budget, Squier by Fender is a good choice for psychedelic rock. The color combination on this guitar is great and so is the finishing. The guitar has an awesome design and amazing workmanship.
If you want to start playing immediately after purchasing your guitar, this guitar is already set up right from the box. You can start practicing for your next psychedelic rock session once with the guitar without having to go for a guitar setup.
The guitar features awesome pickups and Cabronita Tele styling which eases playing psychedelic rock. The string-through-body bridge delivers the crucial stability you require when playing.
The guitar features a C-shape neck profile that makes playability easy and the experience fun. The gloss finish on the neck gives the guitar an awesome sleek finish.
Pros
- It is an affordable guitar
- Amazing and solid pickups
- Has stability for drop tuning
- It is ready to play from the box
- Features a C-shape neck
Cons
- The input jack is wonky
Squier Classic Vibe 60’s Stratocaster
If you are looking for a classic vibe for a psychedelic rock guitar, squire classic vibe 60S is a great option. The guitar is designed to capture authentic original fender designs. The guitar design makes playing psychedelic rock a fun experience.
This guitar has a C-shape neck design which makes it easy to play. This shape also makes it more comfortable and better fitting for your hands. Also, the double nickel-plated hardware adds a deep, rich throwback look to this guitar.
If you want a guitar with enough stability for tuning, this one features vintage-style tuning that makes it stable for tuning. The guitar has the alnico single-coil pickups that deliver an authentic Fender tone.
One awesome feature of this guitar is the string bending effect that is possible with the vintage-style tremolo bridge and the vintage-correct stamped steel saddles.
Pros
- It has a classic vibe
- It features double nickel-plated hardware
- Has stability for tuning
- Can produce string bending effect
Cons
- There is a need to redo the neck screwing
Epiphone SG Special Satin E1
The Epiphone SG special is a lightweight but powerful guitar. It is an amazing guitar to carry around for guitar gigs. If you are just beginning with psychedelic rock, this guitar is designed to suit beginner guitarists and those who are still exploring rock.
This guitar has a classic design. It is made of a poplar body and a Mahogany veneer. The materials featured to make the guitar are durable and lightweight. The guitar has a 60s-era Epiphone logo in silver, completing the classic look.
The guitar has ceramic pickups that are great when playing psychedelic rock. The pickups provide a great response with a smooth mid-range and a better top-end tone.
Pros
- It is a light guitar
- Has amazing pick-ups
- It is well crafted
- Has awesome sound
Cons
- The guitar strings are not strong
Buyer’s Guide For Best Guitar For Psychedelic Rock
Budget
If you are on a small budget, there are affordable guitars with great features. Some guitars have high-end features like a classic design and high-quality strings and pickups and go for a good price.
Design
Your taste determines the kind of design you’d choose for a guitar. The classic guitar design for instance is a great design for psychedelic rock. Also, a guitar with a C-shape neck is easy to hold and fits better if you have small hands.
Hardware Quality
High-quality hardware is essential for the guitar to last long. Guitars that feature mahogany are long-lasting and look great. The metal hardware should also be stainless for easy maintenance and the strings should be strong to avoid frequent string replacements.
Conclusion
While there are several brands to explore when buying a guitar for psychedelic rock, it comes down to personal taste and budget. As long as a guitar features high-quality hardware has high-quality pickups and produces a great sound, it can work well.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the optimal guitar for psychedelic rock?
Many of the titans of the psychedelic rock era embraced the Gibson SG as their instrument of choice. This includes Jerry Garcia, Jim Gurley, and John Cippolina. The Gibson SG, with its strong, robust tones, proved incredibly versatile. Amplified with a properly cranked Fender amp, this guitar yields that raw, aggressive tone that characterises so much of the psychedelic rock genre. Jefferson Airplane’s Jorma Kaukonen, on the other hand, had a distinct preference for the Gibson ES335, which brought its own unique character to his music. Choosing a guitar is often personal and is influenced by the unique style of play and the distinctive sound you are striving for.
What would be the best guitar for rock music?
If rock is your passion, you cannot go wrong with the Gibson SG Standard. This legendary guitar is essentially one of the cornerstones of rock & roll history. Offering a stunning nitrocellulose finish, the instrument is designed to breathe — a feature that will allow the guitar itself to age in a way that’s often unachievable with contemporary guitars equipped with polyurethane finishes. Incorporating a Gibson SG into your collection could serve as both, a tribute to the rock Gods of yore, and an effective tool to harness their raw musical power.
Is there a particular guitar suitable for all genres?
On the topic of multi-genre guitar options, it’s hard to look beyond the Fender Stratocaster. This guitar is a versatile beast, with a worldwide reputation for ease of adaptability across genres, making it the choice of many blues, rock, country, and pop musicians. Many renowned pros, right from blues virtuosos to the rock and roll elites, swear by the unique performance and tone selection of ‘the Strat’.
Which guitar is the most widely-used in rock music?
The Fender Stratocaster stands as an icon in the rock music world. Since its inception in 1954, this guitar has become an emblem of the rock ‘n’ roll genre. Revered music legends such as Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, and David Gilmour have wielded this instrument, shaping the course of rock history with its wide-ranging sound spectrum. The Stratocaster provides a unique versatility and tonal quality that contributes to its penetration across diverse music styles, particularly rock.