Black Friday electric guitars for 2020

An interesting mix for the most-wished-for guitars this year on guitar shopping sites.

2020 has obviously been a real rough year. Where guitars are concerned, yes they have been selling, but most people are concentrating mainly on "safe" designs with cool colors. And that's fine.

These will be listed highest-to-lowest where prices are concerned.

First, the guitar seen above.

Fender Player Stratocaster HSS (see price)

For whatever reason, people are buying a ton of HSS Strats, and where Fenders are concerned, I can see why people go for this one. Great color, great price. For a Fender, that is.

Epiphone Les Paul Standard PlusTop PRO (see price)

The killer color this year for the Epiphone Les Paul is Cherry, which is what you see above. This is not a solid color as there is some tiger flame going on, which suits the guitar very nicely. It is labeled as a "Triple AAA Flame Veneer Top".

If you've played an Epiphone Les Paul Standard before, you already know this guitar well. But the Cherry with the flame top? That makes this better. Very nice looker.

ESP LTD EC-256FM (see price)

Again, it's the color that makes people want this guitar. The color is Cobalt Blue. With the thin flame style on the top, it has a pair-of-jeans look to it. The chrome hardware works very nicely with the finish, and compared to other models, this has black knobs instead of gold (which in all honesty does work better with the color).

You can consider this a more modernized Les Paul. It's like the Epiphone but will be easier for those that like to play on the higher frets more often.

Squier Classic Vibe '70s Stratocaster HSS (see price)

Ever since Squier released this black Strat with the big headstock, people can't get enough of it. This is absolutely the classic '70s Strat look, but fortunately feels and sounds a lot better (original 1970's Stratocasters did not have a reverse wound pickup in the middle for hum canceling on the 2 and 4 pickup positions).

With the HSS configuration, you get hum canceling on positions 1, 2 and 4 instead of just 2 and 4, so that's a bonus.

If the Fender HSS is priced too high for your liking, you get the Squier instead.

I actually like the look of the Squier better than the Fender.

Squier Affinity Stratocaster (see price)

I said recently that I don't like the look of this guitar, and I still feel the same way. It has to do with the headstock. The logo treatment really needs a redo on this model...

...but I do understand why people buy this guitar so much and still do. It is the easiest and cheapest way to get a decent quality Strat in Surf Green. This guitar is notably better than the Bullet Strat and I don't deny that.

Also, the Surf Green on the Affinity Series is one of the better versions of this color. Some Surf Greens look dopey but this one gets it right.

Squier Affinity Telecaster (see price)

This is a guitar where I absolutely do like the look. Love it, in fact. This finish by Squier is called Arctic White, which is a banana yellow color or "vintage white" depending on your point of view. I think the color is great. One of my SX Furrians is in this color and looks very similar to this guitar.

The Affinity Tele is a solid Telecaster and a very easy player. And, again, it is notably better compared to the Bullet Telecaster. You'll especially notice it in the tuners. The Affinity Series has a nice set of them, and this can also be said for the Strats.

Ibanez AX120 (see price)

I owned one of these before, but not in red. Great guitar.

The most amazing thing about this guitar is the fact the super low price has not changed since introduction. It can still be had for the same price I bought mine for when I had one.

Great build, great feel, great everything. I'm just more of a Telecaster guy which is why I parted with mine. However, if you like the SG guitar, you will like the AX120 a whole lot.

There are times I do miss this guitar. Sounds fantastic and looks great too, especially with those block inlays on the neck.

Published 2020 Nov 26