hollowbody vs semi-hollowbody

[gitarsam312]

What are the main differences in sound, feel, etc? (aside from being lighter) Which do you choose and why?

[mr. beaumont]

Well, a full hollowbody has some acoustic tone to it...a semi hollow is really only loud enough for quiet at home unplugged practicing...it's an electric guitar.

Full hollow archtops come in different flavors...there's all laminate, routed pickup guitars that are really electric guitars too, solid topped with laminate sides and back, floating pickups, all solid wood archtops (real acoustic guitars...) It's hard to put them in one category.

As for the difference in sound, plugged in, there's some overlap. Semi hollows will definitely get more sustain. Hollowbodies always provide a little more acoustic sound for the player, which might make you play differently even if the audience can't hear that...It seems I can pretty much dial in a classic jazz tone with either...it's difficult to start discussing the differences in the sounds without getting into stupid guitar words like "woody." It's one of those things that are sometimes obvious and sometimes not...

I don't choose...I have both. For anything plugged in I really like a semi hollow, so convenient...but at home I rarely plug a guitar in anymore.

[uncletele]

I play an ES-175 now. I've had two ES-335's in the past. Both styles are great in themselves. I chose the 175 because it is a full hollow body with a laminated top with a fixed humbucker. Those features are more feedback resistant in live band situations. Also, either of these Gibbys are very versatile for different styles of music.
Evetually, I hope to get a fully carved, solid wood acoustic archtop with a floating humbucker when I grow up (I'm only 58). LOL.

[jtizzle]

It depends on what you like, what you're gonna play, ect ect...
Here's my view:
I'm more of a modern straight-ahead guy; stuff like Peter Bernstein, Jesse Van Ruller. I feel better playing that style with a full hollowbody (with a floater, not sunken pickup). I feel the body resonate with the music, and with every note I play. Strummed chords while comping sound great too, you get a great deal of percussiveness (sp?) with it. You can also play without even plugging in for practice and stuff, even for low-key gigs like duos, or during a ballad. I saw Bernstein play the other day in an organ group with Mike LeDonne, Joe Farnsworth, and Mark Gross. During the organ solo on a ballad, Bernstein comped with all the volume turned down, since he plays a full hollow with a floater, and I could still hear him. Solo and duo (2 guitars or bass+guitar duos especially) sound amazing when using full hollows, even better with floater pickups. However, you need to really study your setup if you use a floater. Most hollowbody w/ floaters tend to give massive feedback unless your amp+guitar really match up. I use a volume pedal to help out with that, turn down on the notes that give me feedback.

Semi-hollows have a more modern sound. It's more electric, although still gives out a slightly mellow tone. Sustain is longer so it's good for modern stuff. Guys like Mike Moreno use semi-hollows for their music, which sounds a bit more electric, and use more sustain. There is barely any feedback to the guitar, so it's easy to match up with an amp, but to me, they don't sound great in small gigs, although it's not bad. Since they also tend to be smaller, this including the necks, you can probably build up a bit more speed on these too. Although, these guitars tend to give a more electric and unnatural tone, which I don't like much.

A good meeting point is a full hollow with sunken in pickups. Gilad Hekselman, Lage Lund, and Jonathan Kreisberg use these kind of guitars, they match up great with gear, give little to no feedback and still has most acoustic characteristics one would like of a guitar. You can do a lot with these. They also have a lot more sustain than floater pickup hollows.

If I had the money, I'd get one of each. My preference, however goes with a floater hollow. I just love the natural acoustic tone that comes from it. In order I'd say it's floater hollow, sunken hollow, then semi-hollow.

In the end though, preference comes from your own style of playing. Go to a shop and try them out. I'm going soon to try out a Sadowsky at their shop. I've tried Gibson 175 and liked it. That's the guitar Kreisberg plays. I own a The Loar LH-350. Cheap guitar with great sound and quality. Vox makes amazing semi-hollows. My teacher owns and is sponsored by them. Also Gibson 135s and 335s are really good semi-hollows.

[Scot63]

I recently got a '62 Guild Starfire III, which has a thinline body similar to semihollow bodies, like ES 335, but is completely hollow, like ES 330. I was attracted to it because of a relatively low price and the desire for replicating something like Grant Green's singing sound (he played ES 330s for much of his career). Happy to say that, with thin picks, much midrange, very little treble, a little more bass on my mid-60s Ampeg reverberocket, it comes darn close to Green's tone. Now if I just had his talent . . . great thing about the thinline true hollowbodies is that they're a little easier to manage physically, esp. for a less-than average size person, like me. And light as can be: even with the Bigsby trem, the Starfire weighs less than eight pounds.

[ybjazz]

A good place to start is to listen to guitarists that you really like and use their sound as a model for what to buy. I went through a huge Scofield phase, so naturally I played a Semi-hollow. Then I went on ahuge Joe Pass phase where I played a hollowbody. And recently, I've been on a very acoustic, unplugged phase, where I just use a solid-top archtop.

The good news is, now that I've got these 3 axes, it gives me the flexibility to use whichever one the gig calls for!

[mr. beaumont]

Ain't that the truth, ybjazz!

I love that I can rationalize owning different guitars. Unlike my buddy with three Martin Drednaughts...

[HighSpeedSpoon]

I have no affiliation with J Hale Music, but their web site has three pages that might interest the OP. Which Archtop Guitar Is Right For Me? discusses tradeoffs in archtop construction and touches on the advantages of semi-hollows for noisy environments. Laminated vs Solid vs Carved Archtop Construction explains details of these designs. Finally, I am looking for an archtop guitar/amplifier that will give me that Wes Montgomery, (Kenny Burrell, Joe Pass, etc. etc.) tone. has a few sobering thoughts for anyone who plans to buy the same rig as player X in the hopes of sounding like player X ("chops in the box" syndrome).

By way of appropriate disclosure, I am not an experienced guitarist, so I cannot critically evaluate the J Hale Pages. I am however familiar with the "chops in a box" syndrome from experience on other instruments (more familiar than I care to admit LOL).



HighSpeed

[Synchro]

For a long time I felt that a solid wood arch with a floating pickup was the only way to go but these days I've relaxed my standards a bit. After having had a Johnny Smith and then a Heritage Eagle I ended up playing Gretsch guitars. They don't sound quite the same as the J.S. or the Heritage but for my needs they are just fine and perform well on stage. So here I am, a dyed in the wool Jazzer that plays a guitar with a Bigsby.

All that having been said, if I was playing strictly Jazz I'd almost certainly be using a Sadowsky Jim Hall model or something very similar. The 16" archtop with laminate wood and a single cut-in pickup is a very nice compromise.

[silentcityrob]

I'm using a semi now (Eastman thinline), purely for comfort reasons. Everyone's different at the end of the day, but I found my full size archtop (D'Aquisto New Yorker) became uncomfortable when playing for long sessions. I also bought a small bodied acoustic guitar because I just can't seem to get on with dreadnought style bodies, but that's just me.

Full sized archtops are always going to have more resonance and project lower frequencies better, but with a nice amp and a good EQ, you can get pretty close with a semi.

[willtheguitardude]

I play an Epiphone Sheraton II, a 335 style Semi-Hollow. I originally purchased it because I wanted a really versatile guitar, but now I have drifted to playing exclusively Jazz.

Not a problem, the Sheraton plays Jazz perfectly, I really love the sustain and warm tones I get from it, and it's resistant to feedback as well. However, I really want a Hollow body because, in my opinion, it creates a "better Jazz tone". This is my opinion, I don't know what your definition of "great Jazz tone" is.

I would have to say that a Semi sounds more bluesy, and a little thinner than a Hollow body Jazz box. Semi's will also give you more versatility, the only thing they can't play is hip-hop, techno, rap, and classical. They're also much more comfortable to a beginner than a Jazz box, like I was when I got it.

Would I get a Semi for my next guitar? No. I would save for a high quality, full Hollow archtop. It's just my opinion though, Semi's are wonderful! Super easy to access and versatile. Warm Jazz and crunchy Rock, does it all!

Hope this helps! Enjoy Jazz! Oh, and if your thinking of buying a new guitar, and end up going with the Semi-Hollow, the Epiphone Sheraton II is an amazing value. It plays like a Gibson for a fraction of the price. It retails around $900. I highly recommend it!

[kris]

Good semi like Ibanez As-200 is great but last time I play more my hollow-body.
Hollow is more woody, acoustic sound.

[Nuff Said]

Originally Posted by willtheguitardude

I would save for a high quality, full Hollow archtop.

A top quality carved Archtop guitar sounds great acoustically, but feeds back when played through an amp at higher volumes. Built in pickups on a carved Archtop deadened the acoustic sound and most of them still feedback.

I have some great carved Archtops, but I prefer a thinner body guitar on gigs.

Nuff

[Synchro]

Originally Posted by Nuff Said

A top quality carved Archtop guitar sounds great acoustically, but feeds back when played through an amp at higher volumes. Built in pickups on a carved Archtop deadened the acoustic sound and most of them still feedback.

I have some great carved Archtops, but I prefer a thinner body guitar on gigs.

Nuff

IMHO, there's nothing wrong with the sound of a good thin-line. It won't do acoustic rhythm like Freddie Green but in the real world that may not be all that important. The practice sometimes known as "tone chasing" can apply in any genre. I've heard of people that will jump through flaming hoops in order to sound like Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimi Hendrix or Eric Clapton, usually with little success. Likewise, in Jazz one can expend great effort trying to sound just like Wes or Barney or any other of the great players but in the end it really comes down to finding a voice for oneself. I love the open sound of Johnny Smith but my personal "voice" is somewhat more electric sounding, a mix of Jim Hall, Pat Metheny and Wes. The best tool for that tends to be a laminate archtop with cut in pickup(s). A thin-line can do it pretty well too.

[eddy b.]

Well lucky ol' me has a Heritage H575 carved hollow body with sunken pickups, A Gretsch Synchromatic with Floating Humbucker,A Gibson ES 137 Semi-Hollw Body, A Tele with a humbucker at the neck, A Gitane d-500, and a Rodriguez Nylon cutaway...all the flavors of jazz guitar...and I really use all of these guitars every week for gigs and recordings etc. My next purchase is a Seven String Archtop.

[Pat Clare]

I prefer fully carved with 1 routed pick up. I play with some loud organ players and drummers and don't have feed back problem, although with a floating pick up I've had major feedback. Acousticly, both my Heritage and Palen are loud enough to play without an amp in duo with an upright bass,

[cosmic gumbo]

In a street fight, a semi-hollow will do much more damage to your opponent.

[RankDT]

I love it Cosmic Gumbo

[oldane]

Originally Posted by cosmic gumbo

In a street fight, a semi-hollow will do much more damage to your opponent.

That depends on whether it's in the case or not. A Stromberg Master 400 is heavy by itself and when it's in its case it's really the heavy artillery. One blow with that and your opponent has gone to the eternal band stand.

[hallpass]

Originally Posted by gitarsam312

What are the main differences in sound, feel, etc? (aside from being lighter) Which do you choose and why?

The main differences have now been well covered by previous posts, so I won't repeat that stuff. But I really think it depends on the style/tone you're going for and what guitar feels comfortable to you.

For myself, I shoot for a Jim Hall or Joe Pass type tone. So I prefer a hollowbody for that. Since I play jazz 99.9% electrically, I use a laminate top hollowbody with set-in humbuckers to help prevent feedback. I used to have a nice Eastman solidtop with a floating humbucker that sounded great...but I barely played it because it didn't work well electrically at band volumes.

If I were doing more of a fusion or modern jazz thing with oevrdrive and such, I think I might lean towards a semi hollowbody.

But for now I have a solid body for the rock stuff I play and a hollowbody for the jazz stuff I play.

[SeedsOfMusic]

I have no choice since I only own a full hollow body

But I can say that my hollow body sounds great with a little tube distortion, but will feedback more than a semi-hollow. What's interesting is my old jazz instructor played a full hollow body but cut out foam to plug his f-holes as seen here - My One and Only Love - YouTube