AllMusic's Richard Ginell views "This Guitar" as an "attractive" sequel to "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and includes it among Harrison's best compositions from his solo career. Andrew Grant Jackson features the track in his book "Still the Greatest: The Essential Solo Beatles Songs". He recognises Harrison's bitterness towards his detractors as a common trait among the former Beatles, and "desperation" in his revisiting a revered Beatles song to air his grievances. Jackson nevertheless admires "the group's synergy" on the recording, as well as Forster's string arrangement, saying: "['This Guitar'] could have been one of the most depressing ex-Beatles tunes ever, but its strange groove compels repeated listening." Robert Rodriguez considers it to be a "fine track" containing one of Harrison's "finest vocal performances", yet he also identifies an unwelcome "air of defensiveness, bordering on arrogance" in the lyrics.