As an Amazon Associate and eBay Partner, toptenpick.com earns from qualifying purchases. Prices and availability are subject to change.
Psychedelic rock tone owes as much to the guitar as to the fuzz and reverb pedals in front of the amp: offset trems that let notes wobble, single-coils that scuzz up nicely under fuzz, and hollow or semi-hollow bodies that add their own harmonic haze. These 9 real, currently available guitars cover the era’s defining shapes and a few in-production reissues of the exact instruments that started it.
| # | Product | Price | Where to buy |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fender Jazzmaster | $900-$1,900 | Amazon · eBay |
| 2 | Fender Jaguar | $900-$1,800 | Amazon · eBay |
| 3 | Fender Mustang | $600-$1,100 | Amazon · eBay |
| 4 | Rickenbacker 330 | $2,000-$2,400 | Amazon · eBay |
| 5 | Epiphone Casino | $700-$1,000 | Amazon · eBay |
| 6 | Gibson SG | $1,300-$2,200 | Amazon · eBay |
| 7 | Vox Bobcat V90 | $450-$600 | Amazon · eBay |
| 8 | Vox Teardrop Mark III Mini | $350-$500 | Amazon · eBay |
| 9 | Danelectro ’59 Divine | $400-$600 | Amazon · eBay |
The picks, in detail
Fender Jazzmaster
The offset body and warm, slightly unstable single-coil tone that defined 60s psychedelic and shoegaze players alike, paired with a floating trem for wobbly, dreamy bends.
- Offset body with dual single-coil Jazzmaster pickups
- Floating vibrato/tremolo unit
- Distinct lead/rhythm circuit switching
- Available in Player and American Vintage II series
- The floating trem gives a subtle, wavering pitch effect that’s core to a lot of psych tone
- Distinctive look and unmistakable jangly-to-scuzzy tonal range
- The floating bridge/trem needs setup care to avoid string skating
- Rhythm circuit is a niche feature most players ignore
Fender Jaguar
A shorter-scale offset cousin of the Jazzmaster with a brighter, snappier voice, giving a wider palette of edgy tones for psychedelic textures.
- 24-inch short scale
- Offset body, floating trem
- Dual single-coils with on/off strangle switch
- Distinctive control-plate switching
- Brighter and snappier than a Jazzmaster, cuts through fuzz and wah nicely
- Same trem-driven pitch wobble as the Jazzmaster
- Short scale feels different to players used to a standard 25.5in scale
- Same trem setup fussiness as the Jazzmaster
Fender Mustang
A smaller, simpler offset with a dynamic vibrato and biting single-coils, a favorite lo-fi/garage-psych tone from Kurt Cobain to modern indie players.
- Short 24-inch scale, lightweight body
- Dynamic vibrato tailpiece
- Two single-coil pickups with slide switches
- Comfortable smaller-bodied build
- Very approachable size and weight
- Distinctive vibrato feel adds character to bends and chords
- Simpler switching than Jazzmaster/Jaguar (only 3 tones)
- Less sustain than a solidbody like an SG
Rickenbacker 330
The chiming, compressed semi-hollow tone that anchored 60s jangle and psych-pop, still hand-built in the US with the same distinctive body shape.
- Semi-hollow body with R tailpiece
- Dual single-coil pickups
- 5-way Rick-O-Sound stereo wiring on some models
- Iconic slanted body cutaway
- Instantly recognizable jangly, compressed tone that layers beautifully with fuzz and reverb
- Genuine US-made build quality
- Premium price for a US-made instrument
- Neck profile and body shape take some adjustment for new players
Epiphone Casino
A fully hollow archtop with P-90 pickups, the exact model John Lennon and George Harrison used through the Beatles’ most psychedelic period.
- Fully hollow laminated maple body
- One or two P-90 single-coil pickups
- Trapeze tailpiece
- Thinline archtop design
- Warm, open, slightly wild hollow-body tone that feeds back musically at volume
- Historic association with the era’s defining psych records
- Fully hollow body is more prone to feedback at high stage volumes
- Heavier and bulkier than a solidbody
Gibson SG
The lightweight, fast-necked solidbody favored by Jerry Garcia and other psychedelic-era heavyweights, built for thick humbucker sustain under fuzz and wah.
- Mahogany solidbody with double cutaway
- Dual humbucking pickups
- Slim, fast neck profile
- Long sustain, biting midrange
- More sustain and less feedback risk than a hollowbody at loud volumes
- Fast neck suits extended improvisational soloing
- Neck-heavy balance on a strap is a common complaint
- Less airy tone than a semi-hollow or single-coil guitar
Vox Bobcat V90
Vox’s current reissue-style semi-hollow, channeling the same 60s British teardrop-era aesthetic and pickup voicing that defined Brian Jones’s sound, in a modern production run.
- Semi-hollow maple/mahogany body with weight-relieved center block
- Vox single-coil pickups
- 25-inch scale, Indonesian ebony fretboard
- Optional Bigsby-style vibrato on the S66 variant
- A currently in-production way to get a genuine 60s British psych look and tone
- Well-reviewed build quality for the price
- Less common at brick-and-mortar retailers than Fender/Gibson
- Vox’s own single-coils are voiced differently than Fender’s, worth trying before buying
Vox Teardrop Mark III Mini
A smaller-bodied reissue of the actual teardrop shape Brian Jones made iconic, for players who want the unmistakable silhouette as much as the tone.
- Teardrop-shaped body inspired by the 1960s Mark IV/Phantom
- Maple body, purpleheart fretboard
- Compact Mini scale and body size
- Vox single-coil pickups
- The single most visually iconic psychedelic-era body shape, now back in production
- Smaller size suits smaller players comfortably
- Mini scale/body won’t suit players wanting a full-size feel
- Niche shape means fewer cases/accessories fit off the shelf
Danelectro ’59 Divine
A reissue of Danelectro’s lipstick-pickup double-cutaway, sold in genuinely psychedelic finishes and giving the bright, twangy tone heard across 60s garage-psych records.
- Masonite/poplar body construction
- Dual lipstick-tube single-coil pickups
- Available in psychedelic-pattern finishes
- Lightweight, semi-hollow-feeling build
- Distinctive bright, jangly lipstick-pickup tone unlike Fender or Gibson single-coils
- Budget-friendly entry into a genuine vintage-style build
- Simpler hardware (bridge, tuners) than higher-end guitars at this price tier
- Body construction feels less substantial than solid wood
Buying tips
- An offset body with a floating trem (Jazzmaster, Jaguar, Mustang) is the fastest route to that wavering, seasick psych pitch-bend – it’s a mechanical feature you can’t fully fake with a pedal.
- Hollow and semi-hollow guitars (Casino, Rickenbacker 330, Vox Bobcat) add their own natural compression and harmonic bloom under fuzz, which is a big part of why 60s psych records sound the way they do even before pedals are considered.
- Budget doesn’t have to mean compromise here – Danelectro and the Vox Teardrop Mini both deliver period-correct tone and looks well under $600.
As an Amazon Associate and eBay Partner, toptenpick.com earns from qualifying purchases. Prices and availability are subject to change.