Best headless electric guitars

Top pick: Strandberg Essential 6 — the cheapest way into a real Strandberg. Roasted maple neck, 24 frets, 25.5" scale, and the EndurNeck-style ergonomics that made headless guitars popular. If you want one headless guitar to live with, start here.

Who the others suit:

• Strandberg Boden Standard N2.6T Tremolo — you want a tremolo and multiscale fanning in one guitar.
• Strandberg N2 Boden Standard — fixed-bridge purists who want the curved-top Standard body.
• Strandberg Boden N2 Original — the premium build, if budget is secondary.
• Ibanez QX527B — 7-string players; stainless frets and a thin Wizard neck.
• Donner Hush-OG / HUSH X PRO — silent-practice and travel use, small and light.
• Grote and LEATIC — first headless on a tight budget; expect basic hardware.

Skip the limited-run Cosmic and the $8,499 Syn custom unless you're collecting.