Lightweight electric guitars are an ideal choice for people who prefer to play guitar during a concert, but don’t have the weight and bulk of a full-size instrument.
Lighter guitars make it easier to carry around in your backpack, and they’re ideal if you need a portable accompaniment while you travel.
But what if you want to take your guitar along with you when you go camping or hiking, or just have it with you wherever you go?
Well, that’s where the ultra-portable guitars come in! They’re lightweight, easy to pack, and make it easy to take your guitar anywhere you need it.
We’ve done the research and rounded up the 9 best lightweight electric guitars that are perfect for the player who wants to save space, but still want to get a quality instrument.
Whether you’re a beginner or you’re more experienced, we’ve got you covered. Whether you want a budget model or something a little more expensive, we’ve got you covered. Let’s get started.
Quick list:
- Ibanez GRX 6 String Solid-Body
- Ibanez GRGA 6 String Solid-Body
- Fender 6 String Solid-Body
- Fender Squier 3/4 Size Kids Mini Strat
- Squier by Fender Mini Stratocaster
- Epiphone Les Paul
- Traveler Guitar Ultra-Light
- Ibanez JEMJRWH Steve Vai Signature
- Ibanez RG450DX RG Series
Best Lightweight Electric Guitars Reviews
1. Ibanez GRX 6 String Solid-Body Electric Guitar
If you’re looking for a good-looking, easy-to-play guitar that will take you from the practice room to the stage, the Ibanez GRX guitar is just the ticket. Its eye-catching Quilted Maple top has an attractive grain pattern and a beautiful wood finish. The maple neck is also very comfortable to play and it is designed to be lightweight, making it great for traveling.
Even though it’s a 6-string instrument, the Ibanez is pretty light and easy to handle. Its body feels solid and its sound is surprisingly articulate.
The Ibanez GRX features a T106 tremolo bridge that allows for a variety of tremolo effects, including tremolo, vibrato, and whammy bar. To activate the tremolo, simply press down on the tremolo plate, which will engage the tremolo function.
The Infinity R pickup is a humbucker pickup that offers a classic, balanced tone. This makes the GRX an excellent choice for blues, rock, and metal players. These pickups are designed to give you a more classic-sounding tone that’s full and rich without being overly bright.
2. Ibanez GRGA 6 String Solid-Body Electric Guitar
The Ibanez GRGA features a solid maple neck with a beautiful arched top and body binding, as well as a treble-cut fretboard with a poplar body. The combination of these elements gives the GRGA a sleek, stylish appearance, while also offering excellent playability and tone.
The GRGA is also a great choice for those who are looking for an affordable, lightweight electric guitar that can be used for a variety of genres. With its small size and compact feel, it’s perfect for anyone who wants to play fast and accurately.
The guitar also features two Infinity R pickups that are quite powerful, especially in the lower strings. The pickups are mounted at the top of the fingerboard, so they don’t interfere with your picking hand. The sound quality of the Infinity R pickups is excellent.
3. Fender 6 String Solid-Body Electric Guitar
It’s a compact, lightweight, and affordable 6-string electric guitar. Instead of having a spring tensioned bridge, the guitar has a tremolo bridge that is free to move up and down as you play. This means the player can bend strings more easily and get creative with their tone.
The “C”-shaped neck profile gives you a more comfortable playing experience, and the inclusion of a trio of single-coil pickups with five-way switching provides a ton of versatility for your playing style. The neck pickup allows you to switch between different types of pickups, depending on what type of sound you’re after.
Another feature of this lightweight guitar is its sealed die-cast tuning machines, which ensure that your strings will stay in tune over time. You can also adjust the action on this guitar by loosening the truss rod up to 10 mm, making it easier to play.
4. Fender Squier 3/4 Size Kids Mini Strat Electric Guitar
Fender Squier 3/4 Size Kids Mini Strat Electric Guitar is ideal for younger players, especially those who don’t have much experience playing an instrument. It’s a great entry-level guitar because of its light weight, compact size, and the excellent features it offers.
It’s got a great selection of features, including three single-coil Stratocaster pickups, five-way pickup switching, vintage-style hardtail Stratocaster bridge, and more. All of these things combine to make this an excellent starter guitar.
The guitar comes with everything you need to start playing, from a guitar to an amp to an instructional DVD.
In addition, the guitar comes with an amplifier and a pick that are both useful to players of any skill level. All in all, the Squier Electric Guitar is a great starter guitar that will provide a variety of fun, exciting, and rewarding experiences to any beginner or intermediate player.
5. Squier by Fender Mini Stratocaster
The Squier guitar is a great choice for beginners or anyone who wants to learn to play guitar and get a feel for the instrument. With a lightweight body, three single-coil pickups, and a 22.75-inch scale length, you can play for hours without ever feeling fatigued.
The Squier by Fender Mini Stratocaster Electric Guitar is available in both right-handed and left-handed versions. Its light weight and ergonomic shape make it easy to hold and play, and the controls are simple enough that even a beginner can pick it up and start playing with minimal instruction.
The tone produced by this guitar is very versatile, as well. It’s warm, yet crisp, with an open sound that allows it to handle many different types of music. The chrome-plated tuning machines are sealed to keep your tone pure and prevent loss of tone when taking the strings out of tune.
6. Epiphone Les Paul Electric Guitar
The Epiphone Les Paul Special-II LE is one of the best best lightweight electric guitars. This guitar is recommended for beginners, as well as intermediate players. It’s got everything you need to start playing and sounds great.
The guitar is made of solid Alder, which makes it strong and durable. The mahogany back is nicely shaped and the neck is comfortable to hold. The Epiphone Les Paul Special-II LE has a nice rosewood fretboard with 24 jumbo frets that provide plenty of room for your fingers.
The neck width is perfect for most players, and the 24 frets offer enough room to finger pick. In addition, the Epiphone Les Paul Special-II LE has two classic humbucker pickups with adjustable tone controls. This is a versatile guitar that can be used as a standard Les Paul or as a Telecaster with a Bigsby vibrato bar.
7. Traveler Guitar Ultra-Light Acoustic-Electric Guitar
With a one-piece Eastern American Hard Maple body, it’s extremely lightweight and compact, making it perfect for traveling and packing into your suitcase.
As you can see from the picture above, it’s pretty small – it weighs only 2 pounds, 15 ounces – making it one of the lightest travel guitars on the market. However, its small size doesn’t mean it lacks power. In fact, it packs an amazing amount of tone for such a small device.
As an added bonus, the Traveler guitar comes equipped with a piezo pickup that can be plugged directly into any electric or acoustic amplifier.
The Traveler Ultra Light Acoustic-Electric Guitar is an exceptional travel guitar with a lot of features that make it an excellent choice for many different types of players. It is easy to transport, packs a ton of power for its small size, and features a beautiful neck that makes it perfect for any player who wants to take their guitar on the road.
8. Ibanez JEMJRWH Steve Vai Signature 6-String Electric Guitar
This guitar has some awesome features. Firstly, it’s a double-locking bridge, which allows you to easily maintain your tuning stability. It also has a wizard III neck which provides a slim profile for a comfortable feel. And the neck is made of maple and the body is made of mahogany. It’s pretty much the best for players who love to play fast runs and arpeggios.
The guitar features two Quantum humbuckers and a single Quantum single coil pickup. It also has a 5-way switch that allows you to change between different sounds such as single coil, humbucker and even single-coil with a bridge pickup.
9. Ibanez RG450DX RG Series Electric Guitar
The Ibanez RG450DX features a jumbo fretboard with a bound rosewood fretboard. This combination provides you with a smooth playing experience that is enhanced by the large fret spacing.
The body is constructed of a lightweight material, which makes it a perfect guitar for any player. It also includes a standard bridge with adjustable truss rod, and an optional tremolo bridge. This is an excellent choice for players looking for a durable, lightweight electric guitar.
It comes equipped with a standard D.L. bridge and has a standard 25.5″ scale length.
It has a good, powerful sound that is very clean and clear. It sounds like a guitar that is played in a live setting. The tone is really nice and the guitar is very well balanced and easy to play.
Things to Consider When Buying a Lightweight Electric Guitar for Beginners
Electric guitars can be quite heavy, so if you’re not used to them you might want to consider getting one that’s lighter. There are a number of different factors to take into consideration when buying a lightweight electric guitar for beginners.
Size
The first thing you need to think about is what size of guitar you’re looking for. This is something you should discuss with the store or your favorite guitar teacher to get a better idea of what type of guitar will work best for you.
Most beginner electric guitars will have a standard scale length of about 25 inches (63 cm). If you want to buy an electric guitar that’s a little longer than that, then you’ll probably want to look at an electric guitar with a 35-inch (88 cm) scale length. This will usually be in the range of a classical guitar.
Weight
Another thing you need to think about is the weight of the guitar. When you’re buying an electric guitar, you should consider how much you’ll be carrying it around and playing it. A heavier electric guitar will be more difficult to carry around and will take up more space on your instrument case. It will also weigh more when you put it down.
On the other hand, a lighter electric guitar won’t require as much of your energy when you’re carrying it around, which will save you time. However, it will be harder to handle, and it will be less portable.
The best lightweight electric guitars will generally weigh around 5 pounds (2.3 kg). You may want to look at models that are a little heavier if you’re going to be using it for a while.
Saddle
Most electric guitars have an adjustable saddle that can be adjusted for different positions and preferences. If you’ve never used an electric guitar before, then this might be something you want to look at. You don’t necessarily have to get one with an adjustable saddle, but it’s definitely something to consider.
Pickups
Another thing you need to think about when you’re buying a lightweight electric guitar for beginners is the type of pickup system it has. Pickup systems are what make an electric guitar sound different when you play it.
There are two basic types of pickups – humbucker and single coil. Humbuckers are generally considered more versatile than single coils because they can offer a lot of different sounds. You’ll usually find humbuckers in higher-end electric guitars, but they’re also available in entry-level guitars.
Single coil pickups are normally found in lower-end models, but they’re also very popular with beginners. Single coils are typically louder than humbucking pickups, and they don’t have as many tonal variations as humbucking pickups do. That said, a beginner will probably want to start out with a humbucker, so it’s worth taking that into consideration when you’re buying an electric guitar.
Other Factors
There are a number of other things to think about when you’re buying a lightweight electric guitar for beginners. For example, the neck is the part of the guitar that extends from the body. It connects the head to the body, and it’s usually made of wood. The neck is usually set at a specific angle that you’ll need to learn in order to play the guitar.
It’s important to make sure that the neck fits your hand correctly. If you’ve never used an electric guitar before, then it may be hard to determine if the neck fits your hand correctly. You should ask the store or your favorite guitar teacher to help you find one that will work best for you.
A guitar’s finish is also something you’ll want to think about. This is the type of surface that the guitar has, and it will affect the way it looks. Some models are more popular than others, so you may want to look at some models in person before you buy.
Finally, when you’re buying a lightweight electric guitar for beginners, you’ll probably want to consider getting a gig bag to keep your new instrument safe. It’s also good to get a carrying case for your guitar, as it will make it easier to move around when you need to.
Conclusion
Lightweight electric guitars are a great option for guitar players who want to cut down on weight without sacrificing tone. They also offer a more convenient way to carry your instrument around with you.
To conclude, the best lightweight electric guitars are the Ibanez GRX, Squier by Fender Mini Stratocaster and Epiphone Les Paul.
