The best metal guitars under $700 fall into two camps: sub-$300 shredders you’ll eventually upgrade, and $600 instruments that gig for a decade untouched. This guide tells you which is which — and which stock pickups already sound heavy.
Most “best metal guitar” lists quietly pad their rankings with instruments that cost $1,200. That does nothing for a player with $700 and a specific ceiling.
Every guitar here is genuinely under $700, and each recommendation tells you the truth about its stock pickups — because at this price, that’s the line between “sounds heavy now” and “sounds heavy after a $180 upgrade.” A budget metal guitar that needs new pickups isn’t a bad buy. It’s just a different buy, and you deserve to know before you click.
Two things separate the picks below: how the guitar handles down-tuning, and whether its bridge fights you.
Quick Picks
| Guitar | Price | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Jackson JS11 Dinky | $209 | First metal guitar, tightest budget |
| Ibanez Gio GRX70QA | $229 | Beginners who want single-coil versatility too |
| Jackson JS22-7 Dinky | $269 | Anyone curious about a 7-string |
| Schecter Omen Extreme-6 | $599 | The gigging step-up with coil-split range |
| ESP LTD EC-256 | $599 | Best stock feel and tone under $700 |
How to Choose a Metal Guitar Under $700
Forget tonewood debates for a moment. At this budget, three things decide whether a guitar serves metal well.
Pickups set the ceiling. Sub-$300 guitars ship with ceramic humbuckers that are hot but often flubby in the low end under high gain. They work — plenty of records were tracked on cheaper. But if palm-muted chugs sound loose rather than tight, that’s the pickup, not you. Budget for a pickup swap down the road on the cheapest picks; the $599 guitars here don’t need one.
The bridge decides your tuning stability. A fixed Tune-o-matic or hardtail stays in tune through aggressive playing and makes down-tuning painless. A floating tremolo — especially a budget Floyd Rose — looks great and dive-bombs, but re-tuning and restringing become a project. For most players buying their first metal guitar, fixed is the smarter call.
Scale length and neck shape matter more than looks. Drop tunings feel tighter on a 25.5” scale than on a 24.75”, and thin, flat “speed” necks reward the fast fretting-hand position metal demands. The Jacksons and Ibanez here lean fast and flat; the LTD’s set-thru neck feels more substantial in the hand.
One more: if you tune to drop C or lower, or you want that extra low string without retuning, a 7-string solves the problem a 6-string can’t.
The 6 Best Metal Guitars Under $700
Jackson JS11 Dinky — $209
The cheapest way into real metal that doesn’t feel like a toy. The Dinky body is light, the neck is fast, and the high-output humbuckers have enough grind for Drop D riffing on day one.
Best for: the complete beginner who already knows they want to play heavy and doesn’t want to waste money on a Strat first.
Not ideal for: the player chasing tight, articulate low-end for modern djent — the stock pickups get loose below Drop C.
Specs:
- Poplar Body / Fast C-Profile Neck / Dual High-Output Humbuckers
- Amaranth Fingerboard / Fixed Bridge / 24 Frets
The JS11 rewards aggressive playing and shrugs off sloppy technique while you build it. Its ceiling is real — a pickup swap in a year transforms it — but as a first electric that actually inspires metal practice, nothing at $209 beats it.
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Ibanez Gio GRX70QA — $229
The one budget metal guitar that isn’t locked into metal. Its HSH layout and five-way switch mean you get single-coil cleans and quacky in-between tones alongside the humbucker crunch.
Best for: the beginner who plays metal but also wants blues, funk, or clean tones from the same guitar.
Not ideal for: the purist who only plays high-gain and wants the tightest possible humbucker response — the versatility comes with slightly thinner metal tones.
Specs:
- Poplar Body / Quilted Maple Art Grain Top / Maple Neck
- Infinity HSH Pickups / 5-Way Switching / T106 Tremolo
The thin Ibanez neck is the fastest in this price bracket, and the quilt-top finishes look far above $229. The tremolo is a simple synchronized unit — fine for light use, though heavy dive-bombing will eventually pull it out of tune.
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Jackson JS22-7 Dinky 7-String — $269
Seven strings for the price of a decent pedal. The added low B opens drop tunings and extended-range riffing without retuning a 6-string into oblivion.
Best for: the curious player who wants to try extended range without spending four figures to find out if they like it.
Not ideal for: the beginner still learning basic chords — the wider neck and extra string add a learning curve you don’t need yet.
Specs:
- Poplar Body / Arched Top / Amaranth Compound-Radius Fingerboard
- Dual High-Output Humbuckers / Fixed Bridge / 7 Strings
The compound-radius board is the surprise here — it rounds toward the nut for chording and flattens up high for low, fast leads. The fixed bridge keeps that low B stable, which matters far more on a 7-string than a 6. It’s the most guitar-per-dollar way to answer “do I want a 7-string?”
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Jackson JS22 Dinky — $249
The JS11’s slightly more grown-up sibling — an arched top, a more refined finish, and the same fast neck that makes the Dinky line a rite of passage for young metal players.
Best for: the beginner-to-intermediate player who wants one clean, capable 6-string for Drop D and standard-tuning metal.
Not ideal for: the player already gigging who wants set-neck sustain and higher-grade pickups — that’s a step up in budget.
Specs:
- Poplar Body / Arched Top / Fast C-Profile Neck
- Dual Humbuckers / Tune-o-matic Bridge / 24 Frets
Bolt-on brightness and a genuinely quick neck make the JS22 a workhorse for rhythm players. It holds tune through heavy strumming and takes a high-gain amp well. Like its cheaper sibling, the pickups are its ceiling — but you’ll outgrow your technique before you outgrow the guitar.
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Schecter Omen Extreme-6 — $599
Where budget ends and “real” begins. The mahogany body adds low-end weight the cheaper picks can’t touch, and the push-pull coil split turns a metal machine into something that can do clean verses.
Best for: the gigging or recording player who needs one guitar that covers crushing rhythm and usable cleans.
Not ideal for: the tightest-budget beginner — you’re paying for build quality a first-timer won’t fully use yet.
Specs:
- Mahogany Body / Quilted Maple Top / C-Profile Maple Neck
- Diamond Plus Humbuckers (Push-Pull Coil Split) / 24 Extra-Jumbo Frets
The Omen Extreme is the value pick for players who’ve moved past their first guitar. Mahogany gives palm mutes a thickness poplar can’t, and the coil split earns its keep the moment a song needs a clean bridge tone. The stock pickups are genuinely gig-ready.
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ESP LTD EC-256 — $599
The best-feeling guitar under $700, full stop. Set-thru construction, a mahogany body, and a maple top give it sustain and a substantial neck joint that budget bolt-ons can’t replicate.
Best for: the intermediate player who wants a single-cutaway that plays and sustains like an instrument twice its price.
Not ideal for: the shredder who wants the thinnest, fastest neck possible — the EC’s neck is comfortable but fuller than a Jackson or Ibanez.
Specs:
- Mahogany Body / Arched Maple Top / Set-Thru Maple Neck
- ESP LH-150 Humbuckers / 22 Extra-Jumbo Frets / Tune-o-matic Bridge
The set-thru neck is the story — notes bloom and sustain in a way you feel through the body. The LH-150 pickups handle high gain cleanly and take a clean amp surprisingly well. For a decade-long metal guitar bought once, this is the pick.
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Close Calls: Which One Wins
| If you’re deciding between… | Buy this | Because |
|---|---|---|
| JS11 vs GRX70QA | GRX70QA | Same beginner budget, but the HSS layout means you won’t need a second guitar for cleans |
| JS22 vs JS22-7 | JS22-7 | For $20 more you find out whether extended range is your thing — a 6-string can’t answer that |
| EC-256 vs Omen Extreme-6 | EC-256 | The set-thru neck and sustain make it feel like the bigger jump; the Omen wins only if you specifically need the coil split |
No hedging on the top of the range: the ESP LTD EC-256 is the one to own if your budget reaches $599. It’s the only guitar here whose stock pickups and construction you won’t feel an urge to change.
Before You Buy
“Will I have to upgrade the pickups?” On the sub-$300 picks, probably — but not immediately. Play the guitar for six months first. If tight, modern low-end becomes your priority, a $150–200 pickup swap turns a JS22 into a giant-killer. The $599 guitars ship gig-ready.
“Is a Floyd Rose worth it?” Not for your first metal guitar. Fixed bridges and simple tremolos keep you playing instead of re-tuning. Chase a Floyd once locking-nut maintenance sounds like fun rather than a chore.
“Do budget guitars need a setup?” Assume yes. Ten to fifty dollars at a local shop for a proper setup does more for playability than any spec on the page — lower action, correct intonation, and clean fretwork. Budget for it.
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The Bottom Line
If you’re starting out, the Ibanez Gio GRX70QA is the smart buy — it plays metal now and won’t box you in later.
If your budget reaches $599, the ESP LTD EC-256 is the one to own. Buy it and stop shopping, because you’re set for years.
Still torn between six-string and seven, or between fixed and floating? Our guides on drop-tuning guitars and 7-string guitars go deeper, single-coil vs humbucker breaks down what you’re actually hearing, or take the quiz — five questions and we’ll point you at the right one.