Top 10 Worst Guitar Brands

Do not, I repeat, DO NOT under ANY circumstances use First Act guitars for playing music of any kind. These are only guitars in the philosophical sense. They're guitar-shaped, they have frets, six strings, and are made of something that, at some point, qualified as wood. However, when it comes to practical uses, these so-called "guitars" are rather excellent for any one of the three following jobs:

1. Smashing (on the ground, over someone's head, etc.)
2. A prop for a low budget film studio or theatre company.
3. All-natural endorphin booster: Whenever you feel down, simply set this plywood abomination across from your favorite chair, grab a drink, and have a seat. Now, point at the "guitar" and laugh at it.

Personally, I don't like the fender and gibson knockoffs, and squire's aren't the best brand, but I have a squire telecaster, which is actually great quality, better than I expected, and it has a slightly more drier, shaky tone that an actual tele, which is a nice feature. My friend has a squire precision bass, and upon hearing it, I honestly thought it was an actual precision bass at first, so, if you must get squire, than consider either the tele or the precision.

Squiers. New bullets- very bad. Affinity series: made in China- wouldn't even take a free one. Made in Indonesia-pretty solid and nice playing guitar. Any in the standard series or better are wonderful! Every time I walk into a pawn shop or guitar shop I play the different squiers and ever single one China-bad, Indonesia-good and if you come across an old Japanese or Korean made (especially the Japanese) for a good price, like under $200 BUY IT(not that it will ever happen).

Unbelievable how people are ignorant. Yamaha makes number of products but the origin and set up are totally different. Its music division was used to be specialized manufacturer called "Nippon Music Instrument". Yamaha took over and still maintains the specialty.

If you don't know what brand to buy, buy Yamaha. There's a reason this brand is chosen by almost every music education establishment, they are the best available. The only downside is a lack of style, which I personally prefer, fashion is for sheep.

I realize this list is for the worst, uyt being a musician for the past 40 years, I don't look for the worst or cheapest... Every guitar manufacturer, from Gibson to First Act, have variations in their instrumentsa that can be tweaked to suit the playability of a particular instrument... I have an early model SX guitar, that has a great action and the electronics and quality of wood, make this my back-up on stage and the one I always practice with...!
No one guitar is going to sound, OR play, exactly like another of the same model, and I'm sure the newer/cheaper manufactured SX guitars will not compare to the vintage instrument I own...

Washburn is an EXCELLENT brand. I have owned an N4, 2 N2's, and their latest, cheapest Nuno model for my daughter. My daughter's guitar is amazing for the price I wish I had such quality for my starter guitar. I would put my N4 up against ANY guitar- period. Plus, whenever I have contacted the company, they have top notch customer service. I know this isn't about amps, but I wrote them about an issue I had with my Randall amp ( a division of Washburn). Without me asking, they mailed me an amp part with an apology. Top notch.

ESP LTDs are a ripoff. All the money goes into the finish and nothing else. Cheap hardware and poor electronics. All of the LTDs I've ever owned couldn't stay in tune worth a damn, have noisy, poppy switches, and crappy pots. I have the Viper 400, and it's an overrated turd. Luckily, I got it for a steal. The thing can't stay in tune at all. I will be replacing the alleged Grover tuners with real Grover lockers. That still doesn't solve the issues with the soft finish and ultra-noisy electronics. Plus, it has a humpy neck, a cracking neck joint (like all of my LTD set-necks), and the frets were likely leveled by a monkey considering the quality.

Basically, I will be tearing it down and rebuilding it. Imagine if a luthier did it? We're talking $600+ worth of work. Any company that puts their name on this deserves to be on this list.

What is an Essex? Also who compiled this list? It definitely wasn't guitar professionals. Every guitar maker has top line and then entry level guitars. Top line for those that can play and entry for the beginner who 9 out of 10 stop playing and they don't care that a $60 to $200 mistake lays in the closet for years. Yamaha makes 100's of styles and a lot are great guitars and some stink. It goes with the territory in a very competitive market. This should have been better defined and broken down by cost levels. Because this could have even been titled "The 10 Best Guitar List"

I disagree totally, I had a applause about 20 years ago and I wish I never had to sell it. It was a great guitar for the price and it sounded great hooked up to a decent amp.

I own an '80s Applause Strat and when played clean, sounds better than a MIM strat. Dirty sounds a little muddy but that might be because I have a crappy 60 watt Peavey amp.

My first acoustic was an Applause and was given to me by my grandfather, it's an amazing guitar and my first acoustic.

I learned my lesson after owning a few and will never again.

If they were as great a guitar, even as a bargain, as some make out, you wouldn't find millions of them for resale on Craigslist, eBay, etc. Even more so, people willing to take almost anything, including non-musical instruments, in a trade for them.

Yet, the LP clones of the pre-lawsuit era are harder to find and command a higher price.

Truth be told, they're just not that good. Cheap electronics, bad finish, fretwork was bad on every one I owned, cheap tuners, and bridge. Sure, you can dump another 500 into a guitar to bring it up, but then you have an $800.00 Epiphone on your hands that nobody is going to give you $400.00 for, and it still won't sound as good as a Gibson.

Save your money. There are better Gibson alternatives out there.

Taylors are okay as guitars go, but I've owned three, sold them all in mint condition, and lost considerable coin in doing so. I think they belong on this list because they charge handmade prices for mass-produced guitars. Don't believe me? Take the Taylor that you own and do a search for it on eBay. That's right, at this very moment, there are hundreds of guitars just like yours for sale on eBay. And that's only checking this one sales venue! These guitars are worth half of what you paid because the market is saturated with them. Taylor cranks out hundreds of them per day and hundreds of thousands per year. If you're shopping and seriously considering a Taylor, you can get comparable quality and far better value elsewhere. Choose carefully, and you'll see your investment go up in value. Aside from some special, collectable models of Taylor, you will lose money on this brand.

Not sure about all of the models but I recently purchase one of the new Terra line models and I couldn't be more pleased! I have the Mitchell T333CE-best Solid Top Mahogany Auditorium Acoustic-Electric Guitar Edge Burst. Came set up from the factory...Tuners are the only question mark but honestly, this isn't really a ding as the guitar stays in tune remarkably well. Great tone as this has a solid Mahogany Top, Sides and Back. I regularly use this guitar for singer/songwriter performances. Of my 16 guitars, this and my Tak are my go-to instruments.

Ibanez is a heartless, soulless corporation run by dicks who don't know a guitar jack from their ass. Their amps were good, but known-nothing corporate dicks screwed over their owners when it came to for repairs, so their reputation is trashed for good. How much does a reputation cost, Ibanez? More than you can afford!

However, the necks on the RGs are flawless. Young growth mahogany is a trashwood that fractures too easily. Washburn does not make a guitar for any price that can match the quality of an Ibanez neck.

Another brand riding on its history far beyond any sensible attempt to provide actual value to their customers. The headstock design is not just inefficient. It's fragile to the point you may as well break it and fix it so that it will have the strength to be an effective neck afterwards. That's a complete failure of design. I didn't vote for Epiphone because it's not their fault they are the junior brand that has an albatross like Gibson around their necks. At least now, the current models actually have CTS pots in them, so there's no good reason not to consider an Epiphone instead of a Gibson. Just get a String Butler and be careful with the neck!

This guitar is absolutely terrible.

Perfect for girl beginners... Not good.

The reason I hate this brand is because, they advertise like there toys are a real instruments. The fret board feels like ass, the whammy bar does nothing be put the guitar out of tune. It should be a Lil Wayne signature guitar, then they would have an excuse to make a Horrible guitar.

The guitar brand Spectrum isn't even that horrible. It sells great starting guitars, electric and acoustic, and are full sized. Some of the electric guitar kits even come with a mini amp. Although this brand is great, I would not recommend it for professionals.

I got my first guitar when I was 14 although I didn't know much about guitars I knew that I wanted to learn, so I did. I can't name the exact model, but it was worth a lot more then I had expected. I'm 16 now and I went from simple strumming patterns to complex fingerpicking and singing without any trouble from the guitar. Now that I know more about the differences of guitars I am certain that fender was a great start for me. I recommend this guitar to anyone, beginner or an experienced player.

Just played a 3000 dollar custom shop model, the low E string was next to the neck and totally off the pickup poles, not the first one I've seen this way, they play terrible as well, if you think these are by the best of the guitar world then you are looking at it moneywise as most of the owner who swear by them only know 2 companies. Try some others and you will see Fender is actually crap! Leo Fender wasn't even a guitar player, and it shows!

I've had an Ovation Celebrity for over 5 years. Great action, wonderful sound with or without an amp. Stays in tune. Play anything from classical to rock. The Ovation can do it. The sound is unique, so making it your only guitar may not work if your in a band. If you're a beginner, the string tension is really low so it's easy on your fingers. It is a hollow body accoustic, but it plays like an electric. I've owned and still own several guitars. This is the one I reach for the most.

Personally I like my Ovation it has one of the best necks I've ever played on a guitar acoustic or otherwise and when you plug it in it delivers powerful crisp clean tone and a one of a kind presence. Plus the body are made from Apache helicopter blades! So that's sick too I love mine Eat it!

I played a Dean 3/4 size black guitar at a guitar store on sale for 50 percent off, and immediately fell in love with its raw, funky, almost crappy tone. Really, there is just a certain something it has that I love: blues especially. Admittedly, the intonation is terrible, and not even fixable because the bridge is routed incorrectly. But I can get some pretty pleasurable tonal variety out of it, and for funky picking with harmonics and such, oh yes! It sort of has OK intonation if you stay well below the 5th fret.

Of course, I changed the tuners to better quality. I have D'Addario lights, and put on a .017 solid steel G string, because I dig bends. I love jamming blues with this thing.

I have had some dog bad guitars! You and every one passes up Rickenbacker. I just dumped mine, I had two in my life they are bad out dated guitars. I saw people come in a store to buy one, they play one with a great Fender amp and walk out with some other brand. You do not see and of the greats play them. The sounds of the 60's is not a Ricky. Look for them and you will only see old photo of Lennon play one, no solos!

I( picked one up in a pawn shop, totally ignorant of the brand, quality, string action, etc. I'm actually very pleased with the guitar. It has tremendous tone and sustanibility. String action is terriffic top to bottom. For a brand that I understand is no longer in production, I am glad to have it in my collection.

Worst guitar company in the world... This company is must be shut down asap.
They make such crappy guitar.. After a week you get fret buzz and after a month they are totally junk of firewood.

Coming from experience.. Save up buy a yamaha or takamine..

It's Givson, an Indian ripoff the Original brand... Sucks!

Really the worst. It is the fake brand of 'Gibson'. The guitars are third class..

This brand all in all is bad. I've played probably 5 or 6 different models with varying price tags. Most low price guitars will be pretty crappy compared to a higher end guitar, but even Staggs pricier guitars just aren't good. They feel cheap, especially in the neck. They're les paul is the worst for that. It feels like you can just snap the neck right off the body. The sound is ok, but if you're paying 500 for a Stagg I'd rather get an epi, schecter, even a Squier over a Stagg. Stagg does have some decent instruments that aren't guitars, but as far as guitars go I'd stay away.

Good for newbies but seriously the worst guitar I've ever owned! Why the hell is Gibson on this list? My favourit brand by miles, expensive yes but the quality you get is amazing!