Author: Liam Plowman | Updated: | This post may contain affiliate links.
Nothing says heavy metal quite like a V guitar. Used by the absolute best rock and metal players such as Randy Rhoads, Dave Mustaine, Robert Flynn, and Alexi Laiho. The V shape lets you know exactly what you’re in for well before a single note has even been played.
This makes them a popular choice for younger musicians who are looking to make a bold statement, and the good news is there’s no shortage of budget-friendly V-shape guitars available.
Top 3 - V Style Guitars
So whether you’re an advanced player who’s always wanted to own a V guitar but doesn’t want to break the bank, or a parent looking to get your child a new guitar this Christmas, there’s something available for you.
So today I’ve put together a hand-picked list of 5 of the very best affordable V-style guitars that not only look amazing, but they sound great and are reliable too!
5 Best Budget V Style Guitars - Cheapest Options
Table of Contents
- 5 Best Budget V Style Guitars - Cheapest Options
- 1. Jackson JS Series RR Minion JS1X
- 2. Epiphone Flying V
- 3. Jackson JS Series King V JS32
- 4. Kramer Nite-V Plus
- 5. ESP LTD Arrow-200
- Choosing the Right V Guitar for You
- Body Shape
- Output Jack Location
- Tonal Considerations
- Buy Expensive or Buy Cheap and Upgrade?
- Shred on a Shoestring Budget
1. Jackson JS Series RR Minion JS1X
If you’re a Randy Rhoads fan, this is going to be the perfect choice for you. Randy’s original Jacksons were distinguished from other models like the Gibson V by being more pointy and having a shortened bottom horn that tapers off which makes it look extra sleek and sharp.
This guitar is designed to be an affordable, entry-level guitar that is specifically geared toward those who want to shred and play heavy metal music.
The most important feature of the Jackson JS Series RR Minion JS1X is its shorter scale length. Coming in at just 22.5” (as opposed to a regular scale length of 25.5”) the neck is perfectly suited to younger players or those who have smaller hands/fingers.
Despite being a cheaper guitar, there are a few aspects of the RR Minion that you wouldn’t commonly associate with a budget instrument.
Most importantly is the graphite reinforcement in the neck which helps protect it against temperature and humidity changes. This means it will require far less maintenance and upkeep than a regular guitar, ideal for a beginner who doesn’t know how to set a guitar up by themselves yet.
The guitar includes two of Jackson's own high-output humbucking pickups which are specifically voiced for metal, although they aren’t super-articulate, they get the job done.
One thing I found troublesome about the guitar was the volume knob being mounted so close to the low E string which caused my hand to keep knocking into it. But if you’re a player with smaller hands this won’t be an issue.
2. Epiphone Flying V
The Epiphone Flying V adopts that iconic Gibson V look which was inspired by the original classic from 1958. It includes the thicker and more rounded horns which harken back to the original guitars of artists such as Jimi Hendrix and Albert King.
This makes it more of an appropriate choice if you're a traditional blues/rock player.
Epiphone is the smaller brother of Gibson guitars, they manufacture instruments that are essentially the same design as real Gibsons but use cheaper components or are made overseas to bring the cost down.
But don’t let that fool you, Epiphone guitars are fantastic and the difference between them and Gibson is not as substantial as you might think.
The Epiphone V has all the classic features that made the original Gibson V great, the slimmer C profile neck shape, the contoured neck joint for easy access to all 22 frets, and Epiphones own ProBucker 2/3 in the neck and bridge position respectively.
Tonally, I found the guitar hits all the main beats of the original Gibsons, with that nice pronounced midrange and fantastic sustain. Despite its bulky body when compared to some other V models, the shorter 24.75” scale length helps it remain a bit more playable for younger musicians with smaller hands.
Overall the Epiphone flying V offers a fantastic entry point into the world of the Gibson-style V, yet despite its lower price tag this instrument could easily be used in any professional musical setting and makes a strong choice if you wanted a less metal-looking V guitar.
3. Jackson JS Series King V JS32
While at first glance the King V may look very similar to the Randy Rhoads V, you can easily tell it apart as the bottom horn of the V is the same length as the top. This makes it more substantial in size and weight, but its bulkier design makes it a pain to play sitting down.
Once again this is designed to be a rock and metal machine and this time it includes a full tremolo system that allows you to do those cool lead guitar tricks with the whammy bar.
One of the best features of the King V JS32 is the compound radius fretboard which starts off at 12” near the nut for comfortable chord holding, and it slowly tapers up to a flatter 16” radius towards the bridge to help facilitate super-fast lead soloing. A wonderful addition that’s seldom seen on guitars at this price point.
The guitar has Jackson's own unbranded humbuckers which, while certainly high output, did come off as exceptionally muddy and unarticulate. I highly recommend putting in some aftermarket pickups which will help enhance the sound greatly.
Fortunately, the pickups are mounted via pickup rings instead of direct mounted so this should be an easy process, even if you’re not experienced in swapping out pickups.
Its sleek, black aesthetic which includes all-black hardware, coupled with those iconic Jackson sharktooth inlays makes this thing look efficient and dangerous. A great choice for anyone who wants to show they mean business from the get-go.
4. Kramer Nite-V Plus
One downside to the regular Gibson V and Jackson V shapes is the fact that they are popular, you’ll see these shapes everywhere which can be a real downer if you’re looking for something truly unique that’s going to make you stand out from the crowd.
This is where you might want to consider the Kramer Nite-V which has its own unique take on the traditional V shape with a more rounded middle section, which oddly enough feels great to play sitting down as your leg isn’t squished inside the tight angle of the V.
One of the best aspects about the guitar is that it comes with high-output Seymour Duncan branded pickups which sounded fantastic straight out of the box, no aftermarket upgrades are needed here!
It also has the Les Paul style tune-o-matic style hardtail bridge which works great for those aggressive palm-muted metal rhythms and is super stable, meaning less maintenance and upkeep for you.
I really liked the pearloid V shape inlays which look extremely sleek when paired with the white and silver finish. Although the black pickup mounting rings were a poor choice considering the overall white aesthetic of the guitar, you may want to swap these out to create a more cohesive look.
If you’re looking for something that’s a little more unique and ‘out there’ when compared to what people generally envision when they think of a V guitar, this is certainly one to consider.
5. ESP LTD Arrow-200
ESP are no strangers to flying V designs, particularly having made Rhoads style V’s for the legendary Alexi Laiho. But here we have an alternative V model which shakes up a few design elements to provide something a little more unique and quirky than your regular V.
The first thing to note is the extreme cutaway on the underside of the guitar, not only does this create a cool asymmetric look but it gives unhindered access to frets 21-24 and is supremely comfortable to play.
The inner side of the V shape has also had some additional contouring which allows your leg to fit snugly inside, which makes it far better suited to playing sitting down it also keeps the cables from jabbing into your leg which can be a problem on some V-style guitars.
The ESP LTD Arrow-200 includes two of ESP’s own LH-301 humbucking pickups which were specifically voiced for rock and metal tones. But it has an extra trick up its sleeve as it can also be coil split, allowing for some really smooth clean tones.
However, one thing to note is there’s no tone knob here, just a single volume knob and a 3-way toggle switch.
Additionally, I am not a fan of the back of the neck being painted, this has a tendency to accumulate grease and oils over time which can make the neck feel less comfortable to play. So you’ll need to put some extra effort into wiping the neck down after each play session.
Choosing the Right V Guitar for You
Despite their stylized look, the V is actually a really popular guitar shape, and not just for metal either, plenty of blues and rock players sport these extreme-looking instruments too.
But there are a lot of them on the market, and sometimes the subtle differences between their models might not be immediately clear, so here are a few tips and ideas you may wish to consider to ensure you’re picking the right V guitar for you.
Body Shape
When referring to a ‘V’ guitar, all this means is that the body generally takes on a V shape. But there are various takes on the V style that can be more or less appropriate for a particular player depending on their preference.
For example, the Gibson/Epiphone V shape has more of a traditional look and might be considered more appropriate for lighter styles of music such as blues and rock.
But they are also pretty huge, and monstrously heavy if it has a mahogany body. So if you’re small you may have trouble handling its overall large size.
In this scenario, you may wish to consider a Rhoads style V which has a reduced bottom horn that makes the guitar lighter, easier to manage for smaller players, and is also a little more comfortable to play while sitting down.
Output Jack Location
This is an often under-discussed point about V guitars, but it’s one that can easily catch you out if you aren’t careful.
The old Gibson V’s used to have the output jack on the front of the bottom horn, which is perfectly fine whether you play standing up or sitting down. However, as guitar designers tried to get smart they took to putting the jack on the side of the horn.
While this is great if you like to play standing and wish to tuck the cable around the strap (something people commonly do when performing live to stop the cables from accidentally getting yanked out should they step on it), when playing sitting down, it often means that jack will jab into the side of your leg.
Not only is this uncomfortable, but putting pressure on the cable causes the internal wires to weaken and eventually break. Basically, it ages your cables faster.
So you should pay close attention to the output jack location and think about how you like to play the guitar so you don’t end up buying one that’s uncomfortable to play.
Tonal Considerations
Even though these are budget guitars, we still want them to sound good. There are 2 main aspects of a guitar that you will want to take a look at to determine whether it’s going to produce the kind of sound you want, these are the pickups and the tonewoods.
Let’s start with the woods. In general, V guitars are used for heavier styles of music such as metal or hard rock. This means woods like mahogany or basswood are ideal as they will produce a rich and thick low end and provide all the punch you need to make your guitar sound massive.
Woods like swamp ash are less desirable as they tend to be a bit lacking in the bass and instead accent the highs.
When it comes to pickups, affordable guitars usually come with very cheap pickups that might not sound great out of the box. But don’t worry, it’s possible to remove these and upgrade them at a later date, so don’t let brandless pickups deter you from making a purchase, you don’t have to be stuck with them forever!
Buy Expensive or Buy Cheap and Upgrade?
When it comes to buying a low to mid-range guitar, there are two philosophies people adopt that help to determine which price point is right for them.
The first approach is to just buy a slightly more expensive guitar that comes with nice pickups, woods, and tuners and essentially is good to go out of the box. This is ideal if you don’t like the idea of mucking around with the guitar and having to install upgrades at a later date.
The second approach which is worth considering if you are on an extreme budget, or you actually like the idea of tinkering and personalizing the guitar further down the line to make it your own, is to buy an ultra-cheap instrument which you then slowly upgrade over time.
There are a lot of aftermarket upgrades that can be made to a guitar, whether it be new pickups, giving it a fret dressing, new tuners, a graphite nut, or a brass trem block, almost everything can be upgraded on a guitar!
While ultimately your total investment will end up being comparable, having a guitar that you’ve worked on yourself and is unique to you can be very satisfying, but it does of course take a bit more manual work from you to install all these upgrades.
Shred on a Shoestring Budget
Despite their impressive looks, Flying V guitars don’t need to be expensive and you certainly don’t need to break the bank in order to look like a true guitar hero.
Provided you put some careful thought into your own needs and preferences you’ll easily be able to find a V-style guitar that fits both your budget and tonal requirements.
Best of luck with finding your next guitar purchase!
