Fingerstyle guitar is a popular technique used in all styles of music. Although not every guitar is great for fingerstyles
Today we are looking at the best electric guitar for fingerstyle to help you find one that suits you needs. Our experts have carefully reviewed the guitar marketplace to bring you our top picks.
The technique of fingerstyle involves using the right hand to pluck the individual strings. This is commonly used in folk and blues music, but has since become more mainstream. It’s known for being used by modern acoustic artists like Ed Sheeran.
This article looks at some of our favorite electric guitars for fingerstyle, breaking down and comparing their key features.
Interested in reading about the best electric guitars? Check out our post!
Introduction
I tested 7 products and found the Fender Deluxe Nashville Telecaster to be the best electric guitar for fingerstyle.
You probably won’t be surprised to see a Fender guitar as the top choice. You might be surprised to see that this is a Telecaster with 3 pickups! (Usually they have 2).
The Nashville telecaster is a cool variation of the king of electric guitars.
This is a great guitar all round, but particularly sweet for fingerstyle!
I spend a lot of time looking at guitars. Probably too much…
Guitars are one of my favorite musical instruments. There’s something just so cool about them.
Sometimes it can be hard to choose a new one because there are so many out there. I’ve been putting guitars to the test to help you find the diamonds in the rough.
We picked the Fender Deluxe Nashville Telecaster as the best fingerstyle electric guitar for several reasons!
First, it has the superior feel and quality of a Fender. This is a serious guitar.
Second, it’s a deluxe telecaster, so it has the right tone, and extra features.
Third, it’s fitted with 3 vintage noiseless pickups including a strat pickup. This opens up new tones never heard before.
Keep reading for our full exploration of the best fingerstyle electric guitars.
Alternatively, need a guitar for worship? Check out our post about the best electric guitars for worship.
Best electric guitar for fingerstyle in our tests
- Fender Deluxe Nashville Telecaster Electric Guitar
- Fender Player Stratocaster Electric Guitar
- Gretsch Streamliner Hollow Body
- Squier Classic Vibe 60’s Stratocaster
- Epiphone SG Special VE Electric Guitar
- Fender Player Telecaster Electric Guitar
- Starshine 12 String Full Size Electric Guitar
7 Best electric guitar for fingerstyle reviews in Details
1. Fender Deluxe Nashville Telecaster Electric Guitar
Product info
The Fender Nashville Telecaster is the perfect mix of modern and traditional. Taking its name from Nashville, Tennessee, this guitar is an homage to the home of country music.
This Fender Telecaster is a fantastic fingerstyle electric guitar for many reasons. Sure, most Telecasters are great for fingerstyle. But this one is special. The Nashville edition is geared towards a certain country tone – that lends itself well to playing fingerstyle.
No matter what style you play, Fender made sure to include all the essentials for professional performance: a fast-playing maple neck, a comfort-contoured body. Crafted in signature lightweight and resonant Alder, it’s ready to be your new favorite guitar.
This guitar sounds stunning, using two vintage style noiseless fender Tele pickups as the neck and bridge pickup, and a third vintage strat pickup in the middle. It’s unusual to see three pickups in a telecaster, but the strat pickup is a nice addition and brings extra versatility.
The neck feel of this guitar is great for finger style. We all know Fender makes some of the best electric guitars, so this could be one of the best for fingerstyle!
Overall we recommend this guitar for pro players, looking for a unique telecaster with an awesome country tone. This came rated as our best fingerstyle electric guitar!
Pros and Cons
- Unique country tone, great for blues and fingerstyle
- Retro-inspired
- Loaded with authentic Fender style and quality
- Two vintage noiseless Tele pickups
- Extra Single Vintage Noiseless Strat pickup
- Well-suited for jazz, blues, and fingerstyle playing
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2. Fender Player Stratocaster Electric Guitar
Product info
Remember when music was something you played? The original inspiration for countless guitarists and the vehicle that propelled musicians into the pantheon of rock and roll royalty.
The Fender Player Stratocaster is a reimagining of that vintage Strat sound and style, with true Strat single-coil pickups, a synchronized tremolo bridge, and bent-steel saddles. The neck has a 9.5 neck radius and a large neck shape.
This guitar would feel great for any style of music, but I think it works well for fingerstyle. The tone and feel of the guitar will be at home for those who play fingerstyle.
The Player Series offers exceptional value for players of all levels with features that include 2-point synchronized tremolo with bent steel saddles, alder body wood, and Fender-designed pickups with Alnico 5 magnets.
The Fender Player Stratocaster guitar is an inspiring instrument that combines classic Fender sound with modern refinements. It delivers a classic Fender tone that’s enhanced by Texas Special pickups and other great Stratocaster features. You’ll find the Player Stratocaster an expressive, comfortable guitar with a lot of style-for any style of play.
With its classic Fender feel and style, the player Strat is perfect for any purpose-from rockin’ out at home to taking on the world on stage. With its classic tone, easy playing feel, and versatile sound, the player Strat won’t slow you down or hold you back from playing your own style.
For players who want a pro guitar without the pro price, the Fender Player Strat is the perfect guitar. It’s got all the playability, feel, and classic tone of a U.S.-made Fender Stratocaster at a great price.
Pros and Cons
- A warm tone that’s perfect for any style of music
- Beautiful eye-catching design
- Fantastic articulation
- Super high Fender quality
- Great sustain
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3. Gretsch Streamliner Hollow Body
Product info
Introducing a badass jazz guitar – the Gretsch Streamliner.
Designed with innovative technology and signature Gretsch style, this guitar is perfect for those with a desire for something beyond the norm. The G2420T’s modern sound, updated electronics, and killer looks are sure to wow any audience.
Gretsch Streamliner guitars are made of quality wood, making them durable and resonant.
This model uses a Bigsby B60 tailpiece that produces exceptional string vibration and is great for pitch bending.
The Gretsch Streamliner guitar is a great guitar for fingerstyle technique. The hollow body, slim neck, and resonant tone have a relaxing sound perfect for jazz, blues, folk, and country. The Streamliner has a slightly acoustic sound thanks to the body shape and style. With a relaxed string tension, this guitar is great for finger and hybrid picking.
It has a great plucky tone with a vintage vibe that’s perfect for fingerstyle technique. The single-cutaway body is comfortable and sleek so you can play for hours without feeling cramped.
If you’re looking for a unique guitar with powerful sonics, the Gretsch Streamliner is for you. With this beautiful hollow body electric guitar, you’ll be able to play fingerstyle guitar with a classic Gretsch tone.
Pros and Cons
- Unique Hollow Body tone, lightweight
- Nato neck delivers a solid feel and good sound quality
- Laurel Fingerboard with a 12” radius allows more accurate playing
- Secured Adjusto-Matic bridge provides stability and easy adjustments
- Bigsby B60 tailpiece delivers great for pitch bends
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4. Squier Classic Vibe 60's Stratocaster
Product info
Squire Classic Vibe Stratocaster was designed by none other than the legendary Fender and is a faithful reissue of their classic 1960s-era models. This 100% Fender-designed Squire features the same great ingredients that made the original models so popular: an alnico single-coil pickup in the bridge, the 60s “C” shaped neck profile, vintage-tint gloss
The Squire Classic Vibe Stratocaster is a perfect fit for anyone looking to have a vintage style while staying on a budget.
Inspired by 1960s-era Stratocasters, the Squire Classic Vibe Stratocaster has a gloss neck finish and nickel-plated hardware.
This guitar is great for fingerstyle playing because of the neck design and low action, so your fingers can move freely up and down the neck.
It has a comfortable and fast C-shaped maple neck with a maple fingerboard and 21 medium jumbo frets, three single-coil pickups, and a five-way selector switch.
These squire Stratocasters are great all-rounder guitars. They are versatile enough to work for rock, fingerstyle, blues, jazz, pretty much anything! We recommend these for the guitar player in search of a reliable and affordable guitar.
Pros and Cons
- Affordable, good feel and tone for the price
- Versatile sound and tone choices
- Durable and long-standing
- Flexible controls
- Vibrato bar
- Mediocre pickups – easily upgraded
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5. Epiphone SG Special VE Electric Guitar
Product info
Epiphone’s SG Special, designed in 1961 and still popular today, has been a favorite among rock ‘n’ rollers worldwide. From the late ’50s to the early ’60s, the original SG not only rivaled guitars of its day but also became a favorite of some of rock-and-roll’s most influential artists.
With its distinctive beveled edges and long upper cutaway, this solid body electric guitar is a perfect fit for anyone looking to find a classic sound with tons of personality.
The Epiphone SG Special guitar has a mahogany body with a poplar top, mahogany bolt-on neck, and a slim ’60s profile 24.75″ scale length. The rosewood fingerboard is dot-inlaid, the pickguard is cream-colored, and the bridge has 6 adjustable saddles.
This is a great choice for fingerstyle players because of the fast neck and double cutaway. This makes playing these particular techniques easy on this guitar. A great feature of this guitar is its weight. These models are incredibly light, with their solid body giving them great sustain and resonance.
Featuring open-coil humbuckers with ceramic magnets and a vintage worn finish, this SG-Special will bring new life to your rock and roll setup. The SG-Special VE also features Epiphone hardware and has classic styling.
These guitars are usually known for hard rock, but I think they work well for certain styles of fingerpicking. If you are looking for a fun new musical instrument to play fingerstyle on, the Epiphone SG is ready to deliver.
Pros and Cons
- Affordable
- Double Cutaway
- Fast wide neck
- Lightweight body
- Heavy humbucker tone
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6. Fender Player Telecaster Electric Guitar
Product info
You know the sound of a Telecaster. You’ve heard it all your life. You’ve heard it through your headphones, on your car radio, and on the stage of any venue, you’ve attended. It’s that unmistakable, round, woody tone that cuts through everything else in the mix. When you pick up a new American-made Fender Player Telecaster, you’re holding the next generation of that sound.
A Fender Player Telecaster will give you the flexibility and feel at a lower price than a Strat. With two-player Series single-coil Telecaster pickups for raw vintage power, a modern C”-Shaped neck profile for sleek playability, and a string-through-body bridge with block saddles for top-notch string response, you can’t go wrong with this Tele.
Built for the player who wants a modern take on a vintage Fender guitar, the Player Telecaster is a guitar with style and substance. The alder body with gloss finish provides a rich and resonant tone, while the two single-coil pickups (Player Series) offer crisp, punchy sound with sparkling high frequencies. From surf to the country to indie rock, this guitar can do it all.
These are beautifully made instruments with top material and hardware choices. It may be a personal preference, but I think telecasters make some of the best fingerstyle electric guitars because of their smooth feel, and twangy sound. This guitar is suitable for professional guitarists.
Pros and Cons
- Superior Fender build and sound quality
- Smooth, deluxe pickups
- Comfortable, thin neck with single cutaway.
- Iconic look. Classic twangy sound – great for fingerstyle tones.
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7. Starshine 12 String Full Size Electric Guitar
Product info
The final guitar on this list is a little different. This is a 12 string electric guitar – a Stratocaster style with a twist.
The sound of a 12 string guitar is bright, rich, and full. They lend themselves well to playing fingerstyle because of their unique, chorus-like sound. They are fairly uncommon instruments and usually made as acoustics rather than electrics.
For a 12 string electric guitar, at this price, we were pleasantly surprised with the build and sound quality. This thing is impressive for the low cost. You can capture the sound of a 12 string electric guitar very easily now. This has a unique, twangy tone, which stands apart from the standard 6 string designs.
These electric guitars are designed for comfort and playability. The neck is very smooth & fast to play with. And the coil tap design gives a fantastic tonal range.
With a focus on power, tonal range, and playability, this 12 string electric guitar hits the mark. The roasted Maple neck and fretboard provide maximum strength and durability and acts as an acoustic resonance enhancement device. The coil tap design means you can take your humbuckers from single coils to a twangy retro sound.
This guitar has a beautiful look but is comfortable as well as powerful.
We recommend this to guitar players looking for a fun new fingerstyle electric guitar. This might not be for everybody, but the sound is so glorious and unusual that we had to include it.
Pros and Cons
- Unique 12 string model
- Unusual, attractive sound
- Coil-splitting pickups
- Fun to play
- Great tone for country, blues, and folk
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Important Factors to look for when choosing an electric guitar for fingerstyle?
When choosing an electric guitar for fingerstyle, there are a few factors to consider.
The main being the feel and sound of the guitar.
You want to choose a guitar that feels nice to play with a fingerstyle technique. The positioning of the hand is slightly different for fingerstyle compared to playing with a pick. So some guitars will feel more comfortable than others.
The sound and tone of the electric guitar are important too. Not all guitars have a good sound for fingerstyle. It really depends on the genre you play, but some heavy models aren’t a good fit.
Nut width is also important. This affects the width of the neck. In general, a wider neck is more helpful for the fingerstyle technique. It increases the string spacing, making the strings feel less condensed.
Larger nut widths are also important for players with big hands.
Got big hands? Check out our post about the best electric guitars for big hands!
FAQs
How Can You Fingerstyle On An Electric Guitar?
Fingerstyle or finger picking technique involves the use of the right hand’s fingers to play the strings.
When you play guitar in fingerstyle, you stop using a guitar pick altogether. The fingers do all the work. This lets you play more detailed and intricate right-hand plucking patterns.
Is It Hard To Learn Fingerstyle On An Electric Guitar?
Is Telecaster good for fingerstyle?
Conclusion
Overall the best fingerstyle electric guitar was the Fender Deluxe Nashville Telecaster.
This unique fender guitar is a true beauty. It has all the features you need for fingerstyle and has a super high Fender Quality. They don’t call it deluxe for nothing!
A classic telecaster design, with the addition of a middle strat pickup for extra versatility. A smooth and refined neck, insane tuning stability. You couldn’t ask for more.
Check out the Fender Deluxe Nashville Telecaster here!
Noah is an accomplished audio engineer with several years of experience producing music for major companies and independent artists. He enjoys sharing his vast knowledge of audio engineering topics to help musicians and music producers create great music.