Best guitar for around £1500 - £2000

Kalimna

Spend just a little bit more and order yourself a Ryder custom build.

Adam

ESBlonde

Best value is something that needs to be quantified in your eye.

Best financial value only applies if you might sell it on. Presently that would restrict choice to one of the big USA names that hold resale value.

If you intend to keep it forever, then get a luthier to make your dream. The fact that you'll struggle to sell your unique guitar for half its cost 5 years on is not relevent if you keep it.

Best value as an instrument would probably be a used high end guitar that the original owner took the hit on and upgraded with booteek hardware.

Of course if you don't like the guitar after the honeymoon period, it wasn't good value anyway.

soma1975

I would second the Eastman shout. They are everything a Gibson should aspire to be, quality-wise. 

A £1500 Eastman is easily Gibson custom shop quality and to be honest, probably far better QC. 

WindmillGuitars

+1 for Eastman (and not just because I'm one of their dealers) - they are seriously impressive guitars in that price point.

Cols

Stevepage said:

NOS 2015 Les Paul with Robotuners

He said one guitar, not three of them.

Rowby1

Another +1 for Eastman. You’ll struggle to find anything as good in that price range. I paid less than that for my T486B and it’s a really great guitar.

Stevepage

Cols said:

Stevepage said:

NOS 2015 Les Paul with Robotuners

He said one guitar, not three of them.

Well I'm sure Essex recording studios has one just above his price range. Plus he can help fund the local music scene for up and coming musicians.....

BeardyAndy

Check out Fidelity.

JerkMoans

Your business of course @bingefeller, but does it HAVE to be brand new?  You'll get so much more value in the meat market if you take a walk on the wild side and feast your eyes on some pre-loved guitar flesh.  Such as may be found in the notorious classifieds section, I have heard tell.

RaymondLin

You have a few choices and a few ways to look at it from the perspective of best bang for buck.

Best bang for buck in terms of getting the most from what you get for your money? Then nothing beats a Squire or Epiphone.

If you mean best bang for buck in terms of resale value then you shouldn’t be looking at a new guitar, full stop.

If you mean best bang for buck in quality of material in that bracket compared to other offering higher up i.e. Custom Shop, then PRS S2 in terms of fit and finish or American Original Fender.

If you mean best bang for buck in quality of material, resale value together then you need to wait for a massive sale or go used. You can easily get a PRS Core for under £2k, something like a year old. I’ve seen plenty of Silver Sky in that price. That’s like 50% off new. Now that’s good bang for buck.

NelsonP

BeardyAndy said:

Check out Fidelity.

Fidelity are good enough for Dave Grohl...
https://guitar.com/news/mystery-guitars-big-hits-and-rick-astley-the-story-from-inside-dave-grohls-secret-london-gig/

Used, things like k-line, suhr, friedman can all be had within your budget.

RonnieHotdogs

RICKENBACKER

bobbatone

My money would probably go on one of the new Gibson Les Paul Specials in TV yellow. I played a few of them pre-lockdown and thought they were really good for the money. They cost around £1000.

I also liked the Gibson Les Paul 50s standards which is cost more but also felt well worth the price. 

Fishboy7

Actually £1.5k to £2k is an odd point in the market,...,, for new guitars anyway.  I searched GuitarGuitar in that price range and it's all pretty bland, boring stuff.  

I'd probably either go cheaper, (Eastman, Gretsch Electromatic, Mexican Fenders) or look for a Used CS Fender or Gibson R6,7,8

guitarmangler

You’d get a custom Kiesel with shipping and import for less than 2k.