Guitar World Gear Editor Paul Riario chooses his top five new electric guitars of 2012.

Related Content

• Guitar World Staff Picks: Paul Riario’s Top 5 Acoustic Guitars of 2012
• Guitar World Staff Picks: Paul Riario’s Top Five Effect Pedals of 2012
• Agent 0012: Musicvox MI-5 12-String Electric Guitar
• Video and Photos: Behind the Scenes at Guitar World's 2013 Review Guide Photo Shoot
• Munky Business: Majik Box USA Krush Distortion
• Ask Paul: Improve Your Setup on a Budget and Reduce Feedback from a Hollowbody Electric

01. Epiphone Ultra 339

Epiphone consistently impresses with the quality of workmanship in its guitars while remaining surprisingly affordable, and the Epiphone Ultra 339 ($1,332.00) easily falls into this category.

The Ultra 339 uses the compact body shape of a Les Paul but with the double cutaway and semi-hollow design of the ES-335, which is the perfect combination for guitarists who play jazz and blues. But the real secret weapons of the guitar are the inclusions of a pickup-ring-mounted tuner, NanoMag pickup for acoustic sounds and USB output for direct computer recording capability — all built-in to the Ultra 339.

So while the Ultra 339 handles rock and mellow tones with ease into a guitar amplifier, it also can be routed into an acoustic amplifier via the multiple input jacks (Mono, Stereo, USB) so both amplifiers can be used together or one at a time. By simply pushing in the upper tone knob, you can quickly access the NanoMag’s acoustic piezo sounds, the ProBucker pickups or a blend of both simultaneously. The Ultra 339 feels expensive and sounds silky smooth, and that’s a combination that’s hard to ignore.

More info: epiphone.com

I try very hard to remain under the radar despite being on camera as gear editor, but in this age of social media it was only a matter of time before it had to come to this. So with that, I will make my blog painless and a quick and easy read so you can get on to more important things like practicing guitar and sweep picking, or if you’re like me, obsessing how to race the Tour De France and trying to be Kristen Stewart’s next mistake. I will use this blog to inform you of things I find cool; like new gear I’m playing through and what I’m watching, reading or listening to at any given moment. So feel free to ask me anything that’s gear related — or if you have a problem with your girlfriend, you know, life lesson stuff, I’m pretty good at that too — and I’ll do my best to answer or address it here.

Related