Electric Guitar Weight: The Definitive Guide [2022]

Whether you’re looking for an electric guitar that fits within a certain weight parameter or needing to know what the average electric guitar weight is in general, I can help you out.

How Much Does an Electric Guitar Weigh? The average weight of a regular size electric guitar is about 8 pounds (3.6 Kg). It can vary from 6 Pounds to more than 10 pounds depending on the shape-n-size of the body, accessories, and type of tonewood used.

Average Electric Guitar Weight Examples

Here I listed the average weight of an electric guitar from the popular brands by looking at the kind of tonewood they are using and their body style.

Electric Guitar ModelAverage Weight in Ibs (Kg)
Gibson Les Paul Weight10 Ibs (4.5 kg)
PRS Custom 24 Weight9 lbs (4 kg)
Traveler Guitar Weight4 lbs (1.8 kg)
Double Neck Gibson EDS Weight13 lbs (6 kg)
Epiphone Dot Weight8 lbs (3.6 kg)
Fender Stratocaster Weight7.5 lbs (3.4 kg)
Strandberg Boden Weight5 lbs (2.3 kg)
Gibson SG Weight6 lbs (2.7 kg)
Fender Telecaster Weight8 lbs (3.6 kg)
Ibanez JEM/RG Weight7.5 lbs (3.4 kg)

Let’s:

Gibson Les Paul

On average, A typical Gibson Les Paul electric guitar weighs around 10 pounds. It’s heavy due to its 2.5 Inches wide thick Mahogany body and a single-cutaway body design.

Some modern Les Paul models come with a chambered body that acts as a weight relief and brings down its weight to around 8.5 pounds.

Double Neck Gibson

A typical Gibson EDS-1275 guitar model weighs around 13 Ibs (6 kg). EDS-1275 model is a very heavy guitar due to its extra neck and large body design.

Fender Telecaster

On average, the Fender telecaster guitar weighs around 8 pounds (3.6 Kg). It comes with an Alder wood body with a heavy Maple neck, providing it a pretty balanced weight profile.

Epiphone Dot

As a whole, Epiphone Dot electric guitar weighs exactly 8 pounds (3.6 Kg). It is a classic-style guitar with a semi-hollow chambered body design.

Fender Stratocaster

A typical Fender Stratocaster electric guitar weighs exactly 7.5 pounds (3.4 Kg). It is a pretty lightweight model due to its contoured shape body with a double-cutaway design. Its weight can be vary depending upon which tonewood is used for body construction.

Gibson SG

On average, Gibson SG electric guitar weighs around 6 pounds (2.7 Kg). Although it is made from Mahogany but due to the thinner body and shorter scale length, it is one of the lightest electric guitars.

Ibanez RG

A typical Ibanez RG electric guitar weighs around 7.5 pounds (3.4 Kg). With a lightweight basswood body combined with a Maple slim-neck, Ibanez RG is fairly light in weight.

Electric Guitar Weight Chart

guitar weight chart

What Factors Impact an Electric Guitar Weight the Most?

There are many things that have an impact on the weight of any electric guitar. Here I listed some points that impact the guitar weigh most and you need to consider them while choosing an electric guitar for yourself.

1. Material Used in Guitar

If you compare to identical guitars and by any chance, if you find out the difference in their weight, then most probably it is due to the type of material used while building them.

We know, the main component of the guitar body is wood and that impacts the weight too. Different types of woods have different densities and thus results in different weights.

For Example, If you ever pick up a Balsa wood, you know how light it is in weight.

The Common Guitar Body Materials and their Weights

Wood TypeWeight
Alder400 – 700 kg/m3
Swamp Ash450 – 550 kg/m3
Basswood300 – 600 kg/m3
Mahogany450 – 640 kg/m3
Walnut650 – 700 kg/m3
Maple550 – 700 kg/m3

Generally, Alder is considered the lightest wood material, and Mahogany is considered heavy. But as you can see in the above table, Alder might be heavy than mahogany in some cases, because the material is not the only factor.

2. Type of an Electric Guitar

Let’s directly get to the point.

Take a look at both guitars in the above picture. What do you think, which guitar will weigh more?

Even though the left guitar is a little bigger in size than the right guitar, but it is lighter in weight. This is because the right guitar has a hollow body and the left one is a solid body electric guitar.

Thus make sure you decide whether you want to go for a hollow body, Semi-hollow (i.e Chambering) body, or solid body guitars.

Choose the one that suits you the most:

Solid BodySemi-Hollow BodyHollow Body
Offers slightly Longer SustainOffers Extremely Warm ToneA lower level of Sustain
Able to Amplified a lot LouderHandle Amplification Quit WellAssociated with Classic Guitar Tones
Little More Responsive to EffectsProvides a Good Resonance in SoundVery Warm & Offers Plenty of Basses
Rely Largely on the AmplificationRely on both Chambers and AmplificationRely Largely on the Hollow Chambers
Can be Build in Any Shape & DesignLighter than Solid Body GuitarsMost Susceptible to Wild Feedback
Suited for hard rock, metal, and punkFavored by jazz, blues, and blues-rock playersGives a More Acoustic kind of Vibes

3. Shape and Size of the Guitar

If I just go to the extreme and talk about the relation between the weight of the guitar and its shape & size then: Everyone can say, Double-neck guitars are heavy whereas Strandberg (Headless guitar) is pretty much light-weight.

Along with these extreme examples, even in normal electric guitar, weight differs according to the shape and size.

electric guitars weigh according shape and size

For Example, Ibanez weighs so light (due to its slim and centered body) as compared to the thick and bulky Les Paul guitars.

FAQs on Electric Guitar Weight


What is the Heaviest Electric Guitar?

The Gibson Les Paul is the Heaviest Electric Guitar that weighs around 10 pounds (4.5 Kg). It’s heavy due to the thick and 2.5 Inches wide Mahogany body with a single-cutaway body design.

Do Heavier Electric Guitars Sound Better?

As a general rule, Heavier electric guitars provide more resonance and have better sustain than lighter guitar models. Also, Heavy guitars provide a better sounding tone in terms of loudness and warmness.

What is the Lightest Electric Guitar?

The Fender Squire Mini Strat is the Lightest Electric Guitar that weighs only 2.2 pounds (1 Kg). It comes with a Basswood body combined with a Rosewood neck profile, which makes it fairly light in weight.

Do Lighter Electric Guitars Better?

As a general rule, Lighter electric guitars are more comfortable in terms of feel and playability than heavy guitar models. But they didn’t provide any benefit to the tone of the guitar.

How to Weigh an Electric Guitar?

As a general rule, Hold your electric guitar in your hands and measure the weight on a bathroom scale. Then simply subtract your weight from the reading to get the weight of your guitar model. You can use this method to measure the weight of your guitar case, or even packaged guitar model.

Let’s understand this with an example:

  • You know your Weight is 150 Pounds.
  • You Hold the Guitar and Weight yourself, You get 158 Pounds.
  • That means, your guitar weight is 8 Pounds.

Does the Weight of an Electric Guitar Really Matter?

We all have this idea of the lightest guitars are comfortable on top of our heads. But along with this idea, there are several rumors that are free-flowing.

Does Weight of Guitar Affects on Tone?

As I already told you earlier, the weight of any guitar changes significantly depending on the type of wood used in it.

So, If you see this question is basically: Does wood used in guitar can affects the tone? Well, this is a very interesting question and countless guitarists are arguing about that.

I go through many youtube comparison videos, many forum pages like Reddit and Quora, but I am unable to find the answer.

According to my, you should stay completely away from this thinking. Even though light guitars and heavy guitars tend to sound differently but do not concern yourself with the relation between tone and weight of the guitar.

Also Read: Best Free Guitar VST Plugin that Sound Ultra-Realistic

Guitar Weight vs Comfort?

Hey, I know you are great and know that the more heavy the guitar less comfortable it is.

If you go to your local guitar shop and pick up any guitar. If the first thought came to your mind: “How heavy it is?” then be clear about that. your shoulders need to bear that weight every time you play.

Many peoples (Including me!) prefer their comfort and thus go with relatively lightweight electric guitars.

Now, maybe you’re thinking then why do people buy heavy guitars too? this is due to the sustain. let’s discuss:

Guitar Weight vs Sustain?

If you strum the open strings on a bunch of electric guitars and notice how long they ring, you surely find the difference in the sustain of sound.

Why this is so?

The sustain of sound you hear also depends on the weight of the guitar. that means the heavier the guitar, the more resonating sound it is going to make and that also lasts longer.

How to Make Heavy Electric Guitar Comfortable?

There are various types of wide shoulder straps available in the market that can help you to make your heavier electric guitar more comfortable to play. A wide strap distributes the guitar weight evenly across the width and makes your session more comfortable.

While you play guitar standing up, All the weight of the guitar falls on your shoulder through the strap. Along with holding the guitar, this strap also distributes the weight evenly across the width. This is where the solution lies!

A typical guitar strap is about 2 inches (5 cm) in width. But there are also wider guitar straps available online like this. (Link to Amazon) that can solve your issue easily.

Final Thoughts on an Electric Guitar Weight

That is it from my side guys!

I hope I am able to convey my thoughts on the weight of an electric guitar. Both heavy and light guitars have their own pros and cons. We can’t just simply says one is superior to others.

It is just a point of perspective. If someone likes the tone and sound of Gibson’s guitar, the weight of it doesn’t matter to him. On the other side, For some peoples, prefers comfortability over sound & tone.

Let me know, what you like most, Do you prefer light-weight guitars or Heavyweight guitars and Why?

I’m waiting for your healthy comments…

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