If you considered yourself a serious guitar player then you probably have a guitar made in one of these 7 countries that make the best guitars in the world. Forget the stories that a guitar is as good as the person playing it. Both a person and a guitar matter, and not even Jimi Hendrix could get something out of a crappy guitar. Don’t get us wrong, crappy guitars are awesome for beginners who are learning their first chord and for smashing them on gigs Nirvana style, but that’s all.
Guitars existed in various forms even in the 12th century, but the most similar musical instrument to a modern guitar appeared around the 17th century. Guitars can have from 4 to 18 strings, but the most common ones are those with 6 strings. The main two types of guitars are acoustic and electric guitars. Acoustic guitars use sound waves from the strings resonated through the guitar’s body to create the sound. On the other hands, electric guitars use magnetic pickups to transmit the vibration of the strings into amplifiers, thus creating a sound.
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Guitars are used in almost all music genres, and they stand as one of the most important and most popular music instruments in the world. Due to this fact, there are many guitar manufacturers in the world. Some of them make truly amazing instruments while others make low quality guitars that have overflowed the market in the previous decades.
Unlike 100 years ago when guitars were handmade without exceptions, today most of the guitars you see are probably mass produced and there are literary tens of thousands exactly same guitars. Because of that guitars are fairly cheap today. Despite this fact, handmade guitars, although more expensive, are highly appreciated on the market. For our list of 7 countries that make the best guitars in the world we decided to account just mass produced guitars since the quality of the brand is usually the same with every guitar. We took both electric and acoustic guitars in consideration. Also, you can compare the list with 7 countries that make the best music in the world and get a deeper insight into their music knowledge.
To discover the best guitar producing countries in the world, we took recommendation lists from Music Radar about the Best Acoustic and Electric Guitars and list from SixStringSensei about the best guitar brands in the world. Since there were no obvious rankings, every country received one point for every guitar/guitar brand on the list. After we had summed all up into our Guitar Count, we got the list we were looking for.
7. Germany
Although Nik Huber Guitars are credited for getting Germany on the list, there are few more notable and iconic guitar manufacturers from Germany. There is Hohner, company that made its name crafting harmonicas and accordions but also classic guitars. Most recognizable guitar manufacturer from Germany is without any doubt Hofner since Sir Paul McCartney used their Höfner 500/1 bass throughout his career.
Guitar Count: 2
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6. Canada
Canada isn’t so famous on the guitar market, but acoustic guitars made in this country are being more and more appreciated. The most famous guitar brand from Canada is Seagull, established in 1982 by Robert Godin, which makes quality and popular acoustic guitars.
Guitar Count: 2
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5. France
One could say that the real guitar crafting in France began in the 1980s. That’s when the two most famous French guitar manufacturers LAG and Vigier were established. Vigier brand is especially popular for its budget electric guitars that received worldwide recognition.
Guitar Count: 5
4. China
No, we are not talking about fake Gibson and Fender guitars. Lots of world’s best guitar manufacturers have factories in China producing their guitars. If we took that into consideration, China would probably top our list of 7 countries that make the best guitars in the world. But we won’t do that. There are few guitar manufacturers like Vintage and Walden that make excellent acoustic guitars made to last.
Guitar Count: 6
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3. U.K.
U.K. should mostly thank Patrick James Eggle for making it on the list. This British guitar designer with his company Patrick Eggle Guitars has made some of the finest pieces of music equipment coming from the United Kingdom. His guitars are being used by many famous guitar players like Tony Iommi (Black Sabbath) and Brian May (Queen). Another notable guitar manufacturer from U.K. is Vox that also makes some of the world’s best amplifiers.
Guitar Count: 6
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2. Japan
Even if you are a complete guitar ignoramus, you have probably heard for Ibanez and/or Yamaha. These are two Japan’s heavyweight fighters on the guitar market. Yamaha is more known for its motorcycles but Ibanez is focused completely on guitars. Some of the most notable Ibanez playing musicians are Phil Collen (Def Leppard), John Frusciante (RHCP) and one of the most appreciated guitar players in the world, Steve Vai.
Guitar Count: 11
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1. U.S.A.
When it comes to guitars, United States are dominant without any real competition. Gibson and Fender became almost synonyms with the best guitars in the world. Nevertheless, there are also numerous other guitar manufacturers in U.S. that guarantee country’s dominant status among 7 countries that make the best guitars in the world. Besides Gibson, Fender, Washburn, PRS and other guitar giants, in U.S. there are a lot of smaller manufacturing companies that have their own piece of the market. Notable Fender players include Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, and Keith Richards. Notable Gibson players are Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, and Bob Marley.
Guitar Count: 51
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