Best Guitars of 2022: My Top 5 models from the last year
My Top 5 new guitar release from the last 12 months
4,1 / 5,0 | 
The Best Guitars of 2022 is a list of my personal Top 5 favourite new releases from the last 12 months. Each one has something that I feel makes it worthy of this list. With a variety of models and prices, these new guitars are all ones I think you should check out.
Best Guitars of 2022
Here we are then at the end of 2022 selecting my 5 favourite guitars from the year. Ideally, it could have been my Top 20 guitars of 2022, as there were some great new releases this year! I’ve made my selection based on my personal favourites with each offering something different. It was super hard to choose only 5 guitars and so I had to go with my heart with this year’s list.
You’ll note that there are more than a few signature models on my list of the best guitars of 2022. I put this down to almost every single guitar brand releasing huge amounts of signature guitars in recent years. While I’m not especially a fan of any of the actual signature artists themselves, the specifications of these particular instruments speak for themselves.
Make sure to let me know your best guitars of 2022 in the comments section below and see if you can whittle it down to just 5 choices!
PRS SE Silver Sky
The PRS SE Silver Sky is the more affordable version of the USA-made Core signature model designed by Paul Reed Smith and John Mayer. It offers a lot of great tones and it moves the S-Style guitar into a more playable instrument, with subtle tweaks to the well-known design.
These already appeared on our Best Value S-Style list this year, but they are so good that I just had to put them on the Best of 2022 list as well.
SE Silver Sky
The PRS SE Silver Sky comes in a range of colours including Ever Green, Stone Blue, Dragon Fruit and Moon White. Each one has a set of 635JM “S” single-coil pickups, which sound very good. Plus, you have a two-point steel tremolo, paired with a synthetic bone nut and set of PRS vintage-style tuners, which are great for tuning stability.
This model has a 25.5” scale length with a 635JM neck carve with an 8.5” fretboard radius fitted with 22 frets.
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Charvel Jim Root San Dimas
I think that the new Charvel Jim Root San Dimas model is a great looking SuperStrat and it has a few lovely tweaks to the San Dimas formula, which makes it worth checking out.
Jim Root Charvel San Dimas
Available in black or white finishes, both with a mahogany body, contoured and with a scalloped lower back bout. The Satin Black model comes with a maple fretboard and the Satin White has an ebony fretboard.
I like Jim Root’s signature EMG Daemonum active humbuckers and that super simple single-volume knob layout. Plus, it has a locking Floyd Rose system and a set of locking tuners, so stringing up should be easier.
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Harley Benton MR-Modern
I got to review the new Harley Benton MR-Modern earlier this year and I found it offers a lot of value for money. But more importantly, it sounds great and is a lot of fun to play. I had the Candy Apple Red version below and the colour looks really good in real life.
MR-Modern in CAR
Quality Hardware
The Harley Benton MR-Modern features a set of locking tuners and GraphTech TUSQ nut paired with a Wilkinson VS-50 II Precision Tremolo. A set of Artec AHC-90 Soapbar Alnico-5 humbucking pickups is fitted, which can be split for faux single-coil tones as well.
I also like the stainless steel frets, glow-in-the-dark side dots and dark ebony fretboard. Harley Benton also offers a Classic version as well if you prefer a hardtail.
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Fender Kingfish Telecaster Deluxe
I have a soft spot for Fender Telecasters and this Kingfish Telecaster Deluxe model looks great in that purple sparkle Mississippi Night paint job. It also features a pair of Kingfish Telecaster Deluxe custom humbucking pickups. Fender also sells these signature pickups on their own.
Kingfish signature model and pickups
It has an alder body paired with a V-profile roasted maple neck that has a 12″ radius slab rosewood fretboard fitted with 21 frets. If you fancy something a little different and like signature models, then this is one to go check out.
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Epiphone Adam Jones
See, I told you there were a lot of signature models on this list! I put the Epiphone Adam Jones Les Paul Custom in my list of best guitars of 2022 because I adore three-piece maple necks on a Les Paul Custom; the late Norlin years Gibson models are my favourites for that very reason.
This model is based on those very guitars and has a three-piece maple neck, paired with an ebony fretboard and a mahogany body that has a maple cap.
Epiphone Adam Jones Silverburst Les Paul Custom Veil of Bees
Veil of Bees
The first batch of 800 guitars has already sold out worldwide. But, there are more coming as each Art Collection model is being released in batches of 800 over the coming year or two. The Veil of Bees by artist Mark Ryden features on the back of the first sold-out batch.
These have a Seymour Duncan Distortion bridge pickup and the neck pickup is an Epiphone ProBucker Custom that has been reverse mounted. The wiring uses CTS Potentiometers and Orange Drop capacitors. It has standard twin volume and tone controls and a three-way pickup selector switch.
I like that they come in an Epiphone Protector Series Hardshell Case as it is rock solid and looks like a modern-day Gibson Chainsaw case from the late ’70s and early ’80s. In fact, I liked this guitar so much that I went out and bought one myself!
Again, I’m not a fan of Tool and I wasn’t bothered by the Silverburst finish or the art on the rear of the guitar. What I wanted was that maple neck Les Paul Custom design as I have an original from the late ’70s and I wanted a backup that didn’t cost over 4k!
MSRP – USD 1299.00 *
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- MR-Modern in CAR: Jef Stone
- Kingfish signature model and pickups: Fender
- Epiphone Adam Jones Silverburst Les Paul Custom Veil of Bees: Epiphone
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8 responses to “Best Guitars of 2022: My Top 5 models from the last year”
How’s the overall quality of your Adam Jones sig? My JJN Epiphone is pretty bad compared to my Harley Bentons, honestly.
only if u can play whooly bully
I would have given the post 5 Fireballs- but, you’re not a fan of TOOL? Okay, fine. But, not being a fan of Adam Jones is unacceptable.
Awsome picks , Siler sky is just outstanding. the rest are great also. 👍 can’t go wrong with any of these picks . sledgehammer
Exstrordare superiority mindblowingly wow bending experience… cool
I love ELEGEE from the Philippines
how could list not include the Eastman Juliet?
They are nice but were not one of my personal favourites for the year
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