12 Best Expensive & High-End Guitars – Why They’re Worth It

As guitarists, we often dream of amassing a selection of expensive guitars - not because of the price, but simply due to the fact that high-end guitars are loaded with superior tonewoods and electronics.

The most expensive guitar brand might make you think of a Sunburst Les Paul, a White Falcon guitar, or a Martin D-28 - all high-end guitars that many players dream of!

Whether you need to add one of the best high-end jazz guitars to your collection or are just searching for something special - this list will help you find what you need.

We consider upgrading from our beginner guitar as a type of ‘graduation’ into the upper-echelons of the music world - but why do these upgraded, 'pro-level' guitars cost so much?

It all boils down to quality.

High-end electric guitars are relied upon by professional musicians all over the world. Thanks to meticulous construction processes, upgraded pickups, and a keen focus on playability, an expensive guitar from a reputable brand will almost always be worth the money.

You're investing in quality. So, we thought we’d round up some of our favourite expensive guitars and show you exactly why they’re worth it.

Now, before we get into our list, we should state that we’re not talking about Custom Shop models or super-vintage guitars that cost hundreds of thousands of pounds - we’re looking at high-end guitars that us mere mortals can afford, or at the very least aspire to get our hands on after a little budgeting.

The Gibson Les Paul Standard is one of the best electric guitars for the money relied upon by professional guitarists all over the world. A selection of brands have tried their best to emulate this design, but there’s only one Gibson Les Paul.

There’s nothing quite like plugging one into a Marshall amp and letting rip. So why is the Gibson Les Paul one of the best expensive guitars? Well, at around £2000 for the latest Les Paul Standard model, you won’t have to remortgage your home to afford one. But if you’re just starting out in the world of guitar it might be a little stretch for your budget.

The thing to remember here is, you’ll never ever have to upgrade – your collection may grow, but you won’t have to replace a <ade in USA Gibson Les Paul Standard – this thing will be passed down to your grandkids!

The higher price tag comes down to the use of superb tonewoods, the awesome humbucking pickups and the fact each guitar is meticulously made by hand in the Gibson Factory in the USA.

Take the Gibson 1958 Les Paul Standard Reissue VOS in Bourbon Burst, for example. This guitar features a solid mahogany back, with a two-piece maple top and two vintage-voiced Custombucker Alnico III pickups.

The non-chambered solid mahogany back ensures your guitar resonates beautifully whilst the maple top ensures you have that snap and articulation for those solos and big riffs. The inclusion of vintage-voiced pickups gives you the closest approximations of the classic Les Paul tone, offering a sound that is instantly recognisable and unmistakably a Gibson.

All guitarists need a Gibson Les Paul in their collection. Easily one of the best high-end electric guitars ever made.

Shop all Gibson Les Paul guitars.

Next up we have one of the best high-end acoustic guitars ever produced. The Martin D-28 has been relied upon by some of the most revered names in music, including Johnny Cash, Neil Young, Jimmy Page, and Joni Mitchell.

This is the ultimate acoustic guitar that almost every player aspires to get hold of - as soon as you ring out a chord on this guitar you can hear hundreds, if not thousands of famous songs instantly as the sound is that recognisable.

The reason the Martin D-28 Re-Imagined makes our list of Best Expensive Guitars is due to its unique and iconic Dreadnought shape and booming sound that no other guitar can replicate. This D-28 made the Dreadnought shape fashionable back when it was introduced in 1931, where smaller parlour size guitars had previously ruled.

Guitarists loved the louder, more pronounced sound that this acoustic guitar offered and the simple yet classy look of the guitar allowed it to be adopted by players of all genres. We love it as it features X Bracing which, when combined with the East Indian rosewood back and sides ensure your chords ring out for days!

The addition of a sitka spruce top also ensures your fingerpicked notes stand out in the mix and each string is heard correctly. Try one of these acoustic guitars and see what all the fuss is about – this is one of the best high-end fingerstyle guitars available.

Shop all Martin Guitars HERE.

From Jimi Hendrix to David Gilmour, Eric Clapton to The Edge - the Fender Stratocaster has helped sculpt the sounds of some of the most iconic guitar players in history.

The Fender American Stratocaster makes our list of expensive electric guitars as we believe they are entirely worth the £1000+ price tag. These guitars are put together using meticulous design and construction processes that ensure your guitar feels and sounds amazing as soon as you take it out of its case.

We love the Fender American Professional Stratocaster in particular as it features a set of V-Mod single-coil pickups that provide all the original Fender flavour without any of the associated humming that sometimes creeps in with single coils.

An all-new Modern Deep C Shape neck actually makes playing the Strat a LOT easier too, which really helps when you’re 2 hours into your set or rehearsal. You could go for vintage guitars, but where’s the fun in buying an already beat-up guitar when you could do it yourself!

Pictured: The Fender American Professional Stratocaster MN, Black 

Shop all Fender Stratocaster Guitars HERE.

Since 1958 the Gibson ES-335 has been a mainstay in the guitar world and has been championed by the likes of Chuck Berry, Eric Clapton and B.B. King. Whilst other hollow-body guitars would start to feedback easily, the ES-335 was able to handle hi-gain scenarios thanks to the addition of a solid maple block that runs through the middle.

This was a welcome innovation for hollow-body players who wanted that warmer tone and better sustain without all the associated noise. These guitars are still relied upon by players of all genres, from Blues to Metal – yep, Brent Hinds from Mastodon even uses them! The signature 335 sound is achieved thanks to the 3-Ply Maple/Poplar/Maple body and top construction and centre block.

This combination of tonewoods ensure your guitar is resonant yet snappy, whilst the centre block and semi-hollow construction allow your notes and chords to really ring out with warmth.

The new Gibson ES-335 Dot in Antique Faded Cherry features a set of 57 Classic pickups which offer all the vintage-style Gibson sound you need, with enough versatility to turn your hand to any genre you wish.

This guitar is steeped in history, and the fact it’s still made in the USA with superior tonewoods and components means it's one of the best high-end electric guitars on the market today.

A 335 will cost upwards of £2000, so it’s definitely one of the most expensive guitars around - but entirely worth it. This is an entirely unique sounding guitar and we really recommend trying one out.

Pictured: Gibson ES-335 Figured Semi-Hollow Guitar, Sixties Cherry 

Shop all Gibson ES-335 Guitars HERE.

The Gretsch White Falcon is probably the coolest-looking guitar on the market. This thing really stands out from the crowd and is not for the shy guitarists out there!

The Cult’s Billy Duffy helped put this guitar on the map, and since then it has become one of the go-to guitars for rockabilly players, blues guitarists and those who love a guitar with a bit of panache that can back up the looks with a quality sound.

We love this guitar as it includes two highly-sensitive Filter'Tron humbucking pickups which are capable of providing lush, glass-like cleans whilst remaining more than comfortable when you throw some distortion at them.

The laminated maple body is snappy, whilst the hollow body construction ensures your chords ring out nice and clear.

Finally, we need to talk about how this thing looks.

The inclusion of gold hardware, gold sparkle binding and a gold Bisgby all look amazing when partnered with the all-white body. This thing stands out from the crowd both tonally and visually.

Pictured: Gretsch G6136T-WHT Players Edition Falcon with String-Thru Bigsby 

Shop all Gretsch Guitars HERE.

Next up we have the Charvel Satchel Signature Pro-Mod DK Electric Guitar Green Bengal. Now, at just over £1000 it’s not an unobtainable guitar but it’s certainly not cheap – and for good reason.

Whether you love Steel Panther, or you’re just a fan of all things 80s hair metal and you need the right tool for the job, the Fishman Fluence Classic Humbucker Pickups in this guitar will take you there.

These pickups are capable of providing all the huge sounds that have put this band on the map, and when coupled with the highly resonant alder body, your solos will scream louder than the crowd.

Just as with all of the best high-end shred guitars you have Floyd Rose hardware allowing you to dive-bomb as hard as you want - in addition to this there are push/pull switches for splitting the humbucker and a hand-rubbed urethane neck for added comfort and smooth transitions.

This is an incredible guitar for the shredders out there and easily one of the coolest expensive guitars around.

Also available in Yellow Bengal. Shop all Charvel Guitars HERE.

What are the best guitars for metal?

The Ibanez RG5000 guitars (as well as the rest of the Ibanez Prestige series) are there for those metal players who want to make the transition into the realms of pro-level sound. These guitars are worth every penny and make our best high-end guitars list with ease thanks to the incredible pickups and hefty focus on playability.

The sleek body curves on this RG5000 in particular, as well as the super-fast Wizard HP neck, allow for a far more comfortable playing experience whether you’re stood-up rocking out or sat down recording your next masterpiece.

For this guitar's voice, the set of Fishman Fluence pickups deliver a seriously aggressive tone without any of the unwanted noise or hum. The inclusion of the Fishman Fluence Voicing Switch allows you to change the voice of your pickups for tonal variety - you can go from active to passive and enjoy crisp cleans, or engage the active with a bit of distortion and watch your windows start to shake!

One of the coolest expensive guitars on the scene today and an aspirational model that metal guitarists will love.

Pictured: Ibanez RG5120M Electric Guitar Frozen Ocean 

Shop all Ibanez Guitars HERE.

 Well, obviously we have to have the Fender Telecaster guitar in our best high-end guitars list. In particular, we’re including the Fender Telecaster MN Butterscotch Blonde, as it’s the quintessential Tele finish.

This makes our best high-end guitars list as it’s one of the most iconic guitars in the music scene.

Despite being associated with blues and country musicians, the Telecaster performs like any of the best high-end guitars for jazz, as well as being used by countless rock musicians the world over, and even by metal players. It is a truly versatile beast!

The guitar itself has gone through fairly minimal changes in terms of design, as Leo Fender pretty much got it right the first time. However, the Fender American Professional Telecaster includes a set of reliable V-Mod pickups which reduce that single-coil hum whilst maintaining the key sound of the Telecaster.

A Treble Bleed circuit has been installed which retains the tone of your guitar even when you roll the volume down, and the 'Modern Deep C-Shape' neck is far more comfortable to play than a vintage model.

At around £1200, it’s reassuringly expensive yet totally attainable with a little budgeting.

Every guitarist should have a Tele in their collection, and this is a great option.

Shop all Fender Telecaster guitars HERE.

The Music Man Artist Series is one of the coolest guitar series we’ve ever seen here at PMT. Music Man as a brand chooses who they work with very carefully,  and create very special run guitars for their artists that sound and play incredibly well - and they have the price tag to match too!

With a price tag upwards of £2,000, the artist series guitars are some of the best high-end electric guitars on our list, featuring an array of premium appointments that make your playing experience far more enjoyable than you’d expect.

Take the pictured Music Man Valentine Electric Guitar for example; one of the key noticeable benefits of this guitar is the roasted maple neck with Gunstock oil and hand-rubbed special wax blend. When you pick this thing up it basically encourages you to play better as the neck feels amazing in your hands. It’s smooth and sleek without any of that drag that sometimes occurs with “sticky” necks.

The two custom-wound pickups in a HS (Humbucker/Single) configuration with coil-split option offer an array of tones and are suited to all genres of music, whilst the 3-way pickup selector allows you to blend your pickups how you wish.

You also have the ingenious headstock design that ensures that G string problem is solved – no more tuning that string more than others.

Shop all Music Man guitars HERE.

The Taylor Builder's Edition series is the pinnacle of craftsmanship from Taylor. The key features that set these guitars apart are the focus on refined body shapes, sonic power and overall feel.

These are performer's guitars for the discerning musician, put together by hand by experienced luthiers at Taylor.

You have the likes of V-class bracing, contoured body shapes and interesting tonewood combinations like maple paired with torrefied spruce that really bring out the subtle nuances of your playing.

These guitars have been meticulously designed and constructed to provide a playing feel and sound quality like no other Taylor, and we highly recommend these high-end guitars.

Pictured the Taylor Builders Edition K14ce V-Class Electro-Acoustic Guitar.

Shop all Taylor Builder's Edition guitars HERE.

The Rickenbacker 300 series is an iconic line of guitars, used extensively by Paul Weller of The Jam, Brix Smith of The Fall, and Peter Buck of REM.

Originally favoured by 60s bands who were able to utilise the jangly nature of these guitars and their 12-string counterparts, the Ric has become synonymous with a beautiful, twinkling tone that is hard to replicate on anything else.

They seemed to work pretty well for The Beatles!

Shown above is the Rickenbacker 330 in Fireglo - but check out the 360 Series too and see which one you prefer.

Shop a full range of guitars over at PMT Online today or call into your local PMT store to try out a full selection of high-end acoustic guitars, electric guitars and more. Whatever your budget, we’ll have the guitar for you! Shop a full range of Premium / Custom Shop Guitars too! 

If you're looking for the best high-end classical guitars, take a look at our stunning range here.

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Updated 19-07-2021