It’s also worth taking a moment to think about which brands you prefer, and which ones will cater for you the best. We’re lucky enough to have access to so many great guitar brands at the moment, but each one has their own style and a thing they do best.
In the Strat-style category, brands like PRS and G&L (and of course, Fender) have the traditional style covered pretty happily with classic neck profiles, vintage-inspired hardware and electronics and classy finishes.
Brands such as Yamaha, Sterling by Music Man and EBMM have the middle-ground on lock – combining old-school pickup configurations and hardware with sophisticated compound fingerboard radii and other modern features.
You’ve then got brands like Jackson, Suhr, Charvel and Ibanez, whose guitars are mostly a showcase of ultra-modern specs and features. We’re talking locking tremolos, high-output and active pickups, super-skinny neck profiles and the like.
Find out more about how we make our recommendations and how we test each of the products in our buyer's guides.