Top 10 Best Jazz Guitars of 2022

A Telecaster may not appear to be an obvious choice for jazz, but the renowned solid body is far from the hollow frame you can get.

However, as Ed Bickert and Mike Stern have demonstrated, a decent Tele can generate some wonderful jazz tones.

With a Tele, you can build it up and add extra gains to the sound without concerning the guitar feedback. The Fender American Performer Telecaster Hum is an excellent choice for people looking for a versatile guitar.

The humbucker within the neck adds a lot of richness and character to the sound. It does, however, have a push-pull tonal adjuster that converts it over to a single-coil without a volume loss.

The bridge pickup has a typical Tele tang that is great for solo playing, and the two pickups produce a lovely, smooth tone.

The Greasebucket tone arrangement helps remove unwanted high frequencies without muddying your original tone or generating more bottom frequencies.

PRS SE Hollowbody could be one of the ideal guitars for seasoned performers transitioning to the jazz scene.

Many people will be familiar with the PRS body shape.

The Wide Fat neck profile gives a fretting hand a late-50s Gibson-esque feel.

The all-mahogany body structure and 58/15 ‘S’ pickups produce an excellent jazz tone.

The pickups are beautiful and clear and are influenced by those all-important PAFs so that they can also take blues and rock.

The body provides superb resonance and color without sounding overly bright.

It has a single volume and tonal knob and a three-way pickup selector; while some may find this to be limiting, others will appreciate the simplicity.

While jazz fans often criticize Chet Atkins for being ‘to country,’ country fans complain of being ‘to jazz,’ there’s no doubting that the signature Gretsch versions are among the best jazz guitars available.

It has a beautiful tone, a comfortable feel, and an attractively polished aesthetic. The hollowed body produces great resonance, warmth, and richness.

The TV Jones Classics pickups are utterly transparent and expressive.

For a strong picking attack for single-note leads, that’s no problem on the bridge pickup, but the neck pickup can do so ideally if you want to mellow it out. 

While you don’t have a tone knob, you get a three-way tone switch that can help you reshape the sound.

The build grade is excellent, and let’s not forget how classy the guitar looks!

While country and swing players love it, the Gretsch Chet Atkins 6120T-59 is also an excellent guitar for jazz.

These guitars are well-made in Canada, and they feel and look fantastic.

In the design of two P90 single coils, the Godin archtop hollow body offers an ideal alternative to humbucking pickups.
These are fantastic for gypsy jazz, but they’re also sharp enough at low midrange for more standard jazz.
The tone might be a little softer than with humbuckers, although that can be useful in some situations.
The neck pickup with the tone reverberated back is lovely – not too dark but remarkable for rhythm. The pickups are very lovely and dynamic, responsive to the subtle aspects of playing.

Some guitarists try to cover as broad as possible with a single instrument, performing a mostly jazz set with some rock or metal elements.

The Suhr Modern Plus is ideal for guitarists who need to handle the entire spectrum.

It has three pickups: a high output humbucker within the bridge, a 60s-inspired Strat-style single-coil in the center, and a vintage-voiced humbucker with the enhanced clarity in the neck.

Chord shifts and lead melodies ring out loud and clear in all places, but the neck pickup has a lovely vintage character, and the bridge is ideal for cutting through a mix.

The Suhr Modern Plus is a high-quality, high-performance guitar; However, it may not suit traditionalists.

It is ideal for jazz performers who require tonal alternatives to cover fusion and other styles.

Gibson’s ES-335 is one of the most popular guitars in blues, and rock is one of the best for jazz.

The semi-hollow body provides a lot of resonance, but you won’t get as much feedback if you play loud or with amplification.

The bridge pickup has a solid bite to it that’s useful for breaking through mixing when playing leads – roll off a touch on the tone knob, and you can instantly tame it.

Gibson is producing a few of the best guitars it has ever produced.

When playing a high-quality instrument with excellent handling and clarity across the neck, there’s no mistake.

The medium C isn’t a thin profile, but it’s not as thick as some of Gibson’s late-fifties-style profiles.

Gibson’s ES-335 body form is among the most iconic guitar models.

It’s large enough to resonate nicely but small enough to be comfortable for most players; it’s still one of the best jazz guitars available today.

Ibanez’s first high-profile endorsee was the outstanding George Benson, and the two parties have had a pleasant and profitable marriage for almost 40 years.

The LGB30, sometimes known as the ‘Little George Benson,’ is one of the more inexpensive chart star’s hallmark models, and it’s an ideal first professional jazz guitar.

The LGB30 can also perform well in blues and rock ‘n’ roll tones, but with a decent set of flat wounds, it resonates as the classic jazz guitar.

It may bear George Benson’s initials, but it is a signature model that allows you to imprint your individuality on it.

It will include music from all periods of jazz. The neck pickup sounds powerful, rounded, warm, and musical through a modest Fender tube combination.

However, you can conjure some brilliant chimes to help you find your spot in the mix at the bridge and with the treble brought up. It appears and feels more expensive than it is.

This inexpensive and versatile Epiphone offering is among the best jazz guitars available at this price bracket.

It has a fully hollow body, a set of SwingBucker pickups, and drive volume controls with series/parallel switching.

This guitar provides a wide tonal pallet to work with.

It has the typical hollow body tone; it’s smooth, rounded, and rich, with enough sharpness in the bridge pickup.

Over a neutral guitar amp, the neck pickup produces a lovely, smooth jazz tone, while the middle position produces a fantastic, slightly punchy tone ideal for solo playing.

Each pickup has its volume and tone control to shape the sound.

The neck has Epiphone’s Slim Taper design, ideal for individuals who like a thinner neck.

There’s also a Bigsby-licensed tailpiece and wire handle for providing gentle vibrato while maintaining a professional appearance.

The original design by John D’Angelico effectively reflects the flavor of old-school New York jazz.

It has a single pickup, a Seymour Duncan Johnny Smith Floating Mini Humbucker, that helps distribute the full-bodied warmth generated by the 17″ vast and 3″ deep entirely hollow body.

The pickup is clean, distinct, and well-balanced across the whole frequency range. The neck profile is slim and comfortable to play with vast stretches and quick licks.

A scroll-style headstock designed by John D’Angelico in the 1930s, a magnificent three-piece maple neck, a stepped floated tailpiece, an ebony bridge, and binding F-holes to round out the build.

The previously stated EX-SS is more modern and, possibly, more versatile. But it doesn’t get any better than the Excel EXL-1 to play jazz and jazz only, replicating historical styles and giving them a modern spin.

The Ibanez AF2000, equipped with a pair of vintage-voiced Super 58 humbuckers, produces soft, smooth, and balanced tones great for jazz.

By playing prolonged chords, you can hear each note resonate out nicely, letting you deliver music with maximum emotion.

Each pickup has a level and tone knob, allowing you to adjust your tone to the sound you require at any given time.

The build quality is excellent, and you can see the attention to detail, particularly with the tailstock, headstock inlay, and Gotoh 510 tuning pegs.

The neck shape feels fantastic in hand and plays beautifully across the neck.

While the Ibanez AF2000 has a traditional design, it has modern versatility and reliability.