“She likes to play, she loves to rock!
—“Pink Guitar” by Reba Reba McEntire
Yeah, she’s closer to the bottom but she’s headed for the top.
She’s got a dream to be a star dressed in black like Johnny Cash,
With a pink guitar.”
Who doesn’t want at least one pink guitar? I got to thinking of pink guitars when I watched Yvette Young play her beautiful music on a pink Grosh T-style guitar. Let’s face it, having a pink guitar is all about the color, because there are many shades of pink, and each has its own connotation. Some scream “shredder in the house” while other hues remind us of soft, easy days at the beach. We’ve selected 20 of the coolest—and hottest!—pink electric guitars available today, as well as a carefully chosen pink acoustic guitar and a pink bass.
Here’s Yvette with Grosh Guitars NOS VT:
Did the Pink Paisley Telecaster Start It All?
Speaking of T-style guitars, the most well known pink guitar is probably Fender’s Pink Paisley Telecaster from the late 1960s. The second thing most of us think of are metal guitars from the 80s. “Dayglo” colors were everywhere in the 1980s, including hot pink.
Fast forward to today, and pink guitars are anything but a relic of those times. Pink electric guitars are back—somehow—on everything from Fender-style guitars, to metal guitars, and even Bass guitars and acoustic guitars (yes, there are pink acoustic guitars). Browsing the inventory of major guitar retailers shows that pink guitars are a thing again. You have a lot of choices! Here are our picks for Pink Guitars you can buy today.
Our Pink Guitar Picks
1. Fender Custom Shop Vintage Custom ’68 Paisley Telecaster
Best Classic Pink Guitar
Pink Level:
Even though Fender’s ‘68 Paisley Tele was not the first pink guitar, it is the one that many players think of first when they think of pink guitars. The Paisley Tele wears a “Blue Flower” motif which includes shades of green to represent leaves, as well as deep shades of pink. I especially like the concentrated burst of pink around the neck pickup, which fades like a pink sunburst over the leaf pattern below it.
Aside from the color, the Paisley Tele carries Fender’s appealing mix of classic and updated features, including an NOS lacquer finish covering the Paisley design. The neck has a ’60-style “oval C” profile, and the fretboard is a 7.25”-9.5” compound radius with 21 medium vintage frets. The pickups are ‘67 spec to match the original (the Paisley Tele also comes in blue, but we won’t talk about that here).
2. PRS Silver Sky
Best Premium Pink Strat Style
Pink Level:
PRS’ Silver Sky in Roxy Pink will scratch your itch for that pink Stratocaster. The color is a medium pink, and a little more intense than Fender’s classic Shell Pink color.
PRS also makes the Silver Sky in an SE version. However, awesome color choices are a reason you might opt for the Core model. In addition to Roxy Pink, the Silver Sky is available in some unique colors, including Polar Blue and Tungsten. And If Roxy Pink is too much pink for you, PRS also offers the Silver Sky in Midnight Rose, which scores lower on the Pink Level, but it still recognizably pink.
Developed in conjunction with John Mayer, the Silver Sky Core is PRS’ version of a high-end Strat, with an alder body, vintage 7.25” radius dark rosewood fretboard, and specially voiced pickups that capture a classic juicy 60s Strat tone that is open, glassy, and quiet.
3. Squier Bullet Strat HSS HT
Best Budget Pink guitar
Pink Level:
This Squier Strat is our pick for Best Budget Pink guitar. This pink Strat is done up in Shell Pink. Shell pink is a soft, calming pink that sits right in the middle of the pink level, not aggressive but undoubtedly pink. It may be the name, but Shell Pink always reminds me of the beach.
The Squier Bullet Strat features an HSS configuration for beefy tone in the bridge position, a maple neck with 21 frets, and a modern 9.5″ fingerboard radius. The fretboard is Indian Laurel, which is a common rosewood substitute today, and plays much like Rosewood (for more info on Indian Laurel, see our article on Guitar Fretboard Woods). Fortunately, the Laurel wood’s color is sufficiently dark that it contrasts beautifully with the Shell Pink color. This Squier’s price makes it very easy to get into the Pink Club.
4. Ibanez Steve Vai Signature JEMJRSP
Best Classic Pink Shredder Guitar
Pink Level:
Now this is where we dial it up to obnoxious, in-your-face pink. We featured the JEMJRSP in our roundup of Best Metal Guitars. And get this: Ibanez calls the color simply “Pink”. I guess that’s how you roll when you make one of the classic shred machines of all time. This very reasonably priced Ibanez JEM guitar features everything you need to shred in 1980s dayglo style, including a Wizard III neck with vine inlay, and the handy monkey grip cutout.
5. Kramer Focus VT-211S
Most Unapologetically Hot Pink Electric Guitar
PINK LEVEL:
If you’re looking for an outrageously pink electric guitar, look no further than the Kramer Focus. It’s 80’s dayglo hue is even more flamboyant than the Ibanez JEMJR! Kramer calls the color “Hot Pink” and it is definitely that. Not calling it “Bubblegum Pink” may have been a missed opportunity on Kramer’s part, because this is a very bright and very pink guitar.
The Kramer is a hot-rodded Strat style with a slim and fast maple neck and humbucker in the bridge position. We also like the sharp looking chrome volume and tone knobs. The matching hot pink headstock is fitting touch for this attention-grabbing guitar.
6. PRS SE Custom 24
Best Maple/Mahogany Pink Guitar
Pink Level:
PRS has some of the most beautiful finishes in the business, and most of the times we see pink on a PRS, it’s a custom order. However, PRS haven’t shied away from pink entirely, and their “Bonnie Pink” color fills that need. Bonnie Pink is a rose-like Pink, and is available on a limited number of PRS instruments.
The SE line from PRS is a great bargain, and this Custom 24 is no exception. We featured the PRS SE Custom 24 in our article on Best Electric Guitars Under $1000. We especially love the decision to keep the back and sides natural, which shows off the mahogany grain, and is a complement to the color. This in combination with the maple neck with its natural maple color headstock, and rosewood fretboard, has the effect of dialing down the Bonnie Pink’s influence on the color of the instrument. The PRS SE Custom 24 is the arguably the most classy pink guitar in our list.
7. Charvel Pro-Mod San Dimas Style 1 HH
Best Shred Guitar with Pink Accents
Pink Level:
This Charvel Pro Mod in Neon Pink Ash is the pink guitar for those who want the hot shredder pink look, but don’t want to commit to a fully-pink axe. The open-grained ash “Neon Pink Ash” body has a black base finish that features hot pink that follows the grain lines. Because ash wood is open grained, the effect of the pink against the black body is striking. And, since the grain of every piece of wood is unique, you can pick a Pro Mod that looks great to you.
This San Dimas-style guitar is ready for shredding with its 12-16″ compound radius fretboard and Floyd Rose 1000 series double-locking tremolo. We fully support Charvel’s decision to spec the DiMarzio Super Distortion humbuckers in neon pink!
8. Gretsch G2215-P90 Streamliner Junior Jet Club P90
Best Traditional Pink
Pink Level:
The Gretsch G2215 shows that all Shell Pinks are not created equal. Gretsch’s take on Fender’s classic color is “pinker”, for lack of a better term. Whereas the Fender Shell Pink seems to have a trace of brown, Gretsch’s pink is a brighter and more direct pink.
The 2215 features Gretsch’s Thin “U” neck profile, which is slim feeling at the nut and very comfortable. The pickups sit between single coil and humbucker with a P90 Soap Bar in the neck and a Broad’Tron BT-2S Humbucker in the bridge. This choice of pickups make this an interesting hybrid of a guitar, and its fat P90 tones are a departure from Gretsch’s typical rockabilly vibe.
9. Jackson X Series Dinky DK3XR HSS
Runner-up for Most Unapologetically Hot Pink Electric Guitar
PINK LEVEL:
The Jackson DK3XR’s Neon Pink color sits between the Ibanez JEMJRSP and the Kramer Focus VT-211S on the Pink Scale. The X Series Dinky comes in some outrageous neon colors such as Caution Yellow and Neon Green. Compared to the Ibanez, the Neon pink of the Jackson is both redder and brighter. This is particularly noticeable compared to the pickups, which are more of a bubblegum pink in comparison with the body color.
The Jackson DK3XR offers all of the roar a hot pink guitar should, with a downsized “Dinky” body with a gloss finish, flat-radius 12-16″ compound fingerboard, Shark Fin inlays, and color-matched reverse headstock.
10. Charvel Pro-Mod San Dimas Style 1 HH
Best Barely Pink Superstrat
Pink Level:
The Charvel Pro-Mod San Dimas Style 1 is a pink guitar that can get away with not really seeming pink. This is a light, Shell Pink color with a paleness that accentuates the natural pale white of the maple neck and fingerboard. This guitar is pure superstrat Charvel, with a 12-16” compound radius graphite rod reinforced neck. The Style 1 is equipped with genuine Duncan humbuckers, 59 SH-1N in the neck and a JB in the bridge.
11. Jackson X Series Rhoads RRX24
Best Non-Traditional Shaped Pink Guitar
Pink Level:
The Jackson RRX24 is the polar opposite of a shell-pink traditional guitar. What’s more, it’s not even fully pink—the guitar is black. Nevertheless, we decided to rate it High on our Pink level because the RRX24 is trimmed in pink for maximum visual impact. The RRX24 has hot pink body bevels, pink shark fin inlay, and a pink Jackson logo on the headstock. The offset “V” shaped body’s pink bevels appear on both the front and back of the guitar. Considering all the the pink trim Jackson chose to use, one question sprang to mind when looking at the RRX24: Where are the pink tuning pegs? (or is that too much?).
Basswood neck through body construction, reverse headstock, active Duncan humbuckers, and locking tremolo means you can play a mean looking black guitar with a pink attitude.
12. ESP LTD Mirage Deluxe ’87 FR
Best Reissue Pink Modern Strat Style
Pink Level:
ESP’s Mirage Deluxe is available in a beautiful color ESP it calls “Pearl Pink”. It’s a soft pink that is set off amazingly by the Mirage’s jet black hardware and Macassar ebony fingerboard. The Mirage Deluxe design is a faithful reproduction of a guitar from its 1987 catalog, and fittingly, the Mirage has the year “1987” inlaid at the 12th fret.
The Mirage Deluxe is equipped with everything you need to sound like 1987, or 2027, for that matter: Thin U neck, extra jumbo frets, alder body, and a Floyd Rose 1000 tremolo.
13. Ibanez Standard SR300E Bass Guitar
Coolest pink Bass guitar
Pink Level:
Don’t worry, we haven’t forgotten pink bass guitars! The SR300E is a 4-string bass that comes in a pink gold metallic color that is absolutely beautiful! We don’t mind saying that Pink Gold Metallic is a feminine color that works amazingly well with the SR300E’s svelte curves.
The SR300E comes with an active onboard 3-band EQ for tone shaping, 5-Piece Maple/Walnut neck, and PowerSpan Dual Coil Humbuckers.
14. Traveler Guitar Vaibrant 88 Standard
Best Pink Travel Guitar
Pink Level:
Travel guitars should be fun, and pink is fun, so of course we have to feature the Vaibrant 88 Standard. This hot pink compact axe rocks bright pink, yellow, and green fret markers on its maple fingerboard. The body—what little there is—sports a true Hot Pink color, as does the matching headstock. Though it’s a travel guitar, the scale length is a full 25.5”.
The Viabrant 88 exudes an obvious Ibanez vibe, and if we didn’t look on the headstock we’d swear it was made by Ibanez. Grab one of these with its included Deluxe Gig bag and take your blazing fast runs anywhere.
15. EVH 5150 Series Standard
Best Pink Guitar Approved By Eddie Van Halen
PINK LEVEL:
If you were to ask why you should opt for the EVH 5150 over any of our other pink superstrat picks, I would say very simply that the 5150 headstock just looks more “Van Halen” (well, of course it does). The 5150’s Neon Pink is an aggressive, saturated hue that is similar to the Ibanez JEMJR.
The “Eddie approved” part is more than just the headstock shape. The EVH 5150 comes with a Floyd Rose with D-Tuna, a bright red kill switch, and basswood body, and two Direct Mount EVH Wolfgang Humbuckers.
16. Ernie Ball Music Man Valentine
Our Pick For Least Pink Guitar
PINK LEVEL:
The color of this Music Man’s Valentine model is officially named “Pink Champagne Sparkle”. While it is undoubtedly pink, the Valentine earns the distinction of “least pink guitar” in our list. This doesn’t mean that the Valentine doesn’t look awesome, because it’s one of the best looking guitars in our list. The roasted, figured maple neck looks incredible paired with the Champagne Sparkle, which is a darkish pink gold. As you would expect, the gold hardware matches beautifully.
The Valentine is the signature guitar of Maroon 5’s James Valentine. The Valentine is s premium offering, evidenced by the light, high quality swamp ash body, which results in a guitar in the 7.5lb range. The pickups and electronics are built for versatility, with 20dB of added gain available via a push pot on the tone knob. The Valentine also features a hardtail bridge and locking tuners.
17. ESP LTD Xtone PS-1 Semi-Hollow
Best Budget Semi-Hollow Pink Guitar
Pink Level:
If you are thinking of adding a semi-hollowbody guitar to your collection, why not do it in pink? The ESP LTD PS-1’s pink is similar to the ESP LTD Mirage Deluxe, but with a little bit more white in the mix. It’s a pleasing pearl pink that looks great with the body’s mahogany color showing through its single F-hole.
The XTone features a roasted Jatoba fingerboard with block inlays and a comfy 24.75” scale length and extra-Jumbo frets. Interestingly, though ESP chose to make the headstock black, the back of the neck is painted in Pearl Pink Pearl, and we think it looks great.
18. Schecter Machine Gun Kelly Signature PT
Most Unusual Pink Guitar
Pink Level:
Schecter’s Machine Gun Kelly Signature guitar is a study in opposites. To my eyes, the pink color is a classic medium pink. But then, it’s paired with a black neck and black ebony fingerboard with a “XX” inlaid at the 12th fret. The overall vibe is a punky single-humbucker guitar that’s ready to get loud—while at the same time being pleasantly pink!
This is a somewhat unusual guitar, and a fitting signature guitar for an unusual artist.
19. G&L Tribute Doheny Model
Best Jazzmaster Style Pink Guitar
Pink Level:
The Doheny model is G&Ls version of the Jazzmaster. There’s not a whole lot to say about its pink color, other than it features G&L’s interpretation of Shell Pink. The Doheny has a “Medium C” neck, rosewood fingerboard, and block inlays.
The highlight of the Doheny is the G&L’s Magnetic Field Design™ pickups, which have a bobbin aperture that is narrower than most P90s. G&L states that this guitar is inspired by the surf sound of Southern California, and the voiced for more “jangle than twang”. The Doneny comes with G&L’s Dual-Fulcrum tremolo, which was designed by Leo Fender himself.
20. Gretsch G5021E Rancher Penguin Parlor Acoustic-Electric
Best Pink Acoustic Guitar
Pink Level:
We’ll wrap our list up with one of the best looking pink guitars we’ve found, the Gretsch G5021E Rancher Penguin. The Penguin’s Shell Pink interpretation is a standard rendition of Fender’s classic color and nothing special. Rather, the Gretsch’s good looks come from its champagne gold appointments. The headstock sports a beautiful winged Gretsch lettering and trussrod cover. Gretsch adorns the side of the fingerboard with the same treatment, as well as the body binding. The champagne gold pickguard—embellished with a Penguin—completes the classy look.
The Rancher Penguin has a solid spruce top, which is the most important feature of any acoustic guitar. If you need to plug in, you’re covered with the Fishman Presys II pickup/preamp System, with a built in tuner. The triangular sound hole is a stylistic win.
Can’t Get Enough Pink?
Compliment your pink guitar with these choice accessories
1. Ernie Ball P06078 Braided Instrument Cable (Neon Pink)
With its quality braided exterior and great tone, and numerous color choices, the Ernie Ball Braided Cable is a great value. We reviewed this cable in our article Guitar Cables: 5 Great Choices.
2. Fender X Kyser Quick-Change Electric Guitar Capo (Shell Pink)
A perfect match for your Shell Pink guitar.