Semi-hollow an anomaly?

[Tom Karol]

My friend dragged me to a blues jam last week. I played my Godin Montreal Premiere - a small semi-hollow with humbuckers. I got a lot of positive comments about my sound and how distinctive it was. Seems like everyone else was playing Strats or Teles, and they all sounded pretty much the same.

And another thing: It was pretty loud. The guy leading the jam was playing a Strat with a big pedal board through a good sized tube combo. And it was mic'd! I used my Henriksen Bud alone and un-mic'd with the gain and volume @ 12 O'clock and the bright switch on (channel 2) with a Tube Screamer for solo boost, and I could be heard clearly in the mix.

Less is more!

[AllanAllen]

I would say it's a Stratocaster world, Teles are in close second, then Les Paul, or I should say, Les Paul shaped objects.

So yeah, anything with an f hole stands out.

[DawgBone]

I would say it's a Stratocaster world, Teles are in close second, then Les Paul, or I should say, Les Paul shaped objects.

So yeah, anything with an f hole stands out.

Agreed except strats are no longer as popular at the jams down here as they used to be which is a trend I've noticed the last few years. Even I sold all my strats. Les Paul's have made big gains with younger guys. I'm still the only guy with a semi hollow.

[sgosnell]

Several years ago I attended a blues jam in the east Houston area, and found the same thing. I was using my Little Jazz, and never needed to come close to maxing it out, but I could easily hear myself over the solid-bodies. I attributed it to EQ settings, mostly. Everyone else was using a highly scooped sound, with almost no mids at all. I generally set my Little Jazz flat, and cut through the others easily. At the time, IIRC, I was using a Benedetto Bambino. I don't own a semi, just fully hollow bodies. Being heard over the big Fender and similar amps is mostly a matter of having some mids. You don't have to crank them way up, just have a standard jazz sound. Hit the Little Jazz with some boost in front and it gets very loud.

[Alter]

I think also an SG works great for blues/rock. As long as you don't play with lots of distortion you don't need the Les Paul's top compression, and an SG is lighter, cheaper and more uncommon!

[John A.]

I go to open blues jams occasionally (on the order of a few times a year, sometimes more regularly if something good coalesces). At the ones I've been to I'd guess Strats are at least the plurality, and maybe the majority. Teles are the next biggest chunk. The rest is scattered among semis, Les Pauls, the odd PRS or SG, and something else (e.g., shredder guitars, Gretsch, resonator, etc.). I have a strat, but I usually bring either my D'Angelico semi or my (recently acquired) Les Paul with P90s. Since I know the other guitarist will almost always be playing a strat or tele I'd rather play something else for purposes of contrast/complement, and not have to compete in the identical frequency range.

The level of musicianship and awareness of how to sound good in a band at these jams is pretty spotty. I consistently get compliments on how I sound, and people will ask me about these guitars (which are both somewhat uncommon). But to the extent I do stand out from the other players, it's more because I know how to make my gear sound good, and not so much that my gear makes me sound good. That's true of all the people I encounter who I think sound good. "That guys sucks, but he gets a great sound" and "that guy's great, but he gets a lousy sound" are not thoughts I have very often.

[Gitterbug]

Sigh. Reading recent threads, archtops won't resurge, and semis are becoming an anomaly. To me, a 335 (one of which I've never owned) is the blues guitar. Visiting Chicago back in the 1990s, I saw a lot of those in action.

[John A.]

Sigh. Reading recent threads, archtops won't resurge, and semis are becoming an anomaly. To me, a 335 (one of which I've never owned) is the blues guitar. Visiting Chicago back in the 1990s, I saw a lot of those in action.

I don’t think semis have ever been “the” blues guitar. It has always been a mix, and in my observation more Strats than anything else. In terms of going out and seeing performers and playing this goes back to the late 70s for me. Looking at record covers, way further back. I don’t see a trend at all on this.

[mr. beaumont]

Based on only my anecdotal "blues jams I've attended and blues musicians I've seen live here in Chicago" I'd say the Strat and the Semi-hollow are the top choices. I think it's the Buddy Guy/Otis Rush influence.

[omphalopsychos]

IDK. 335 still screams blues to me.


Now this is an anomaly.

[rpjazzguitar]

BB and Freddie King(s) played semis.

Albert King played the Flying V.

Albert Collins, my personal fave, played the Telecaster -- the one with an F hole, iirc.

Walter Wolfman Washington, another fave, played the Les Paul. So did Billy Gibbons.

Buddy played Strat a lot.

I recall that Johnny Winter played the Firebird. Gatemouth Brown (an underrated player IMO), too.

T-Bone played an archtop, but choices were more limited back then.

I couldn't think of anybody known for primarily playing an SG, although a lot of players used them. I think it's a great sounding guitar, but I've heard that the long neck can have tuning problems. I don't know for certain if that's true.

[alpop]

I couldn't think of anybody known for primarily playing an SG, although a lot of players used them. I think it's a great sounding guitar, but I've heard that the long neck can have tuning problems. I don't know for certain if that's true.

Derek Trucks, although primarily slide.

[DawgBone]

I'm hitting an Austin blues jam tonight. I'll report back what kinda guitar everyone is playing and make sure it's blues police certified.

[John A.]

BB and Freddie King(s) played semis.

Freddy King played a Les Paul with P90s for a long time. Not sure when he switched, but the instrumentals (Hideaway, the Stumble, etc.) and the early vocal hits are the Les Paul.

Albert King played the Flying V.

Yup, also a custom one (the one with "Lucy" inlaid on the fingerboard) made for him by Dan Erlewine.

Albert Collins, my personal fave, played the Telecaster -- the one with an F hole, iirc.

No F holes

Buddy played Strat a lot.

Yup, though for a good chunk of the 70s and 80s he played Guilds (mainly a Starfire, which I saw him play). A fair amount of early stuff (like when he was playing with Muddy Waters) is a Les Paul.

I recall that Johnny Winter played the Firebird. Gatemouth Brown (an underrated player IMO), too.

Yup, though they played very different versions.

T-Bone played an archtop, but choices were more limited back then.

He stuck with the ES-5 even after there were many other options.

I couldn't think of anybody known for primarily playing an SG, although a lot of players used them. I think it's a great sounding guitar, but I've heard that the long neck can have tuning problems. I don't know for certain if that's true.

Matt Murphy played one quite a bit (I saw him play one with James Cotton ca. '79), Clapton in Cream (which I would call at least blues adjacent). Yours truly, 1980-89 It's not so much the long neck as it's the minimal neck heel (a 335 actually has as many frets free of the body, but the neck is way more stable). An SG neck is basically a whammy bar. For a while, at least. Then it's a baton.

Otis Rush is one of my favorites of the classic guys. He switched back and forth between strats and semis (an Epiphone Riviera for a while and a 335)

[rpjazzguitar]

Thanks for all this info.

My info on Albert Collins' f-hole Tele was from seeing him play it live. But, I checked google images and I didn't see any f-holes.

My memory is clear, but that doesn't mean it has to be accurate.

There was an F hole Tele, with HBs, at the time. That's the guitar I remember.

[John A.]

My memory is clear, but that doesn't mean it has to be accurate. .

Words to live by! That and “just because I’m paranoid doesn’t mean people aren’t to get me.”

[Tom Karol]

My memory is clear, but that doesn't mean it has to be accurate.

"The older I get, the more I remember things that never happened." - Mark Twain

[Hep To The Jive]

Thanks for all this info.

My info on Albert Collins' f-hole Tele was from seeing him play it live. But, I checked google images and I didn't see any f-holes.

My memory is clear, but that doesn't mean it has to be accurate.

There was an F hole Tele, with HBs, at the time. That's the guitar I remember.

Albert Collins is my fav also, and i've never ever seen him with a thinline. Always the blonde tele with a humbucker in the neck, which he never used (reportedly) .

My main guitar is the custom made thinline tele, does it count as semi-hollow? It has a Bigsby and TV Jones filtertrons, doesn't look nor sound like a regular tele. I don't go to blues jams anymore, but I know this guitar never failed to cut through the mix in any situation. Sometimes I wonder why you don't see thinlines used in jazz as much as regular teles.

[Stringswinger]

Albert Collins is my fav also, and i've never ever seen him with a thinline. Always the blonde tele with a humbucker in the neck, which he never used (reportedly) .

My main guitar is the custom made thinline tele, does it count as semi-hollow? It has a Bigsby and TV Jones filtertrons, doesn't look nor sound like a regular tele. I don't go to blues jams anymore, but I know this guitar never failed to cut through the mix in any situation. Sometimes I wonder why you don't see thinlines used in jazz as much as regular teles.

I just purchased a Thinline Tele from a fellow forum member and so far have used it on one jazz gig. It is a better jazz guitar than any 335 that I have ever owned. The Charlie Christian pickup in the neck position may have a lot to do with that.....

[Hep To The Jive]

I just purchased a Thinline Tele from a fellow forum member and so far have used it on one jazz gig. It is a better jazz guitar than any 335 that I have ever owned. The Charlie Christian pickup in the neck position may have a lot to do with that.....

Yea thinlines are great. It has its own vibe, the tone is mellower and better suited for jazz IMO. With CC pickups must be even better. If I could gig with single coil pickups I would try those.

[Doctor Jeff]

That Godin is a nice guitar. My ES-135 (which I'm selling) is similar, being semi hollow, but IIRC the Godin is lighter (about 6.5-7 lbs. according to the internet).

I saw an early prototype with a teaburst at Willie's in St. Paul. Very nice guitar, which took a lot of effort to resist buying.

Please post another pic of your guitar for our visual pleasure.

[Tom Karol]

Thanks Dr Jeff - my guitar is flattered!
Here she is:

I bought her 11.5 years ago. I've made a few mods:

1. Lollar Low-Wind Imperials
2. Kluson Revolution Tuners
3. A new (black) Switchcraft pickup switch
4. A Road Runner "Highway" case that's a cross between a hardshell and a gigbag

I string it with roundwound 11's with a plain 3rd. It's a 'Swiss Army Knife' of a guitar.
My only other pure electric is an Eastman AR403CE single-pickup archtop hollow body.

[Brian859]

We had everyone on aligator records play at ricks when I worked there in the 80s. And a bunch others like robert cray, johny littlejohn, duke tomato, and others. Albert used the blonde ash tele with the fender neck humbucker he was famous for the dozen times or so he played there. They all used solid bodies of one kind or another with a couple exceptions. Alvin bishop, who was actually more of a r&b act at that time, had a bunch of bb kings Lucilles. He had sold the rights to all his songs, didn't tell us, and couldn't play any of them. It was a disaster. Then there was gatemouth Brown. I know he was famous for the gibson solid body, but I can picture him in my mind that night. He was dressed up in his western gear and sat in a chair stage right, almost against the wall. That was unusual. And I think he was playing a 335 that night. But that was 34, 35 years ago.

[DawgBone]

We had everyone on aligator records play at ricks when I worked there in the 80s. And a bunch others like robert cray, johny littlejohn, duke tomato, and others. Albert used the blonde ash tele with the fender neck humbucker he was famous for the dozen times or so he played there. They all used solid bodies of one kind or another with a couple exceptions. Alvin bishop, who was actually more of a r&b act at that time, had a bunch of bb kings Lucilles. He had sold the rights to all his songs, didn't tell us, and couldn't play any of them. It was a disaster. Then there was gatemouth Brown. I know he was famous for the gibson solid body, but I can picture him in my mind that night. He was dressed up in his western gear and sat in a chair stage right, almost against the wall. That was unusual. And I think he was playing a 335 that night. But that was 34, 35 years ago.

Gatemouth used that Firebird but I think on occasion used an Ibanez semi hollow:

[Brian859]

I forgot one other one, it was a big one and he definitely played a gibson hollowbody. We were having fund raiser for some group on a tuesday, and they got three kids fron grand rapids to come over and play. It was drums, bass and keyboard, with just the one keyboard on a stand. I even remember their name, fast tracks. They played jazz. They were good, but I was thinking it was going go be a long night. There were about dozen people in there. The gal in charge of the charity walked up and commented that it didn't look like it would save the program. I agreed and said sorry. A littke while later, this guy shows up at the door with a guitar case and asks if he could come in. I said heck yes, come on in. He went up to the band, they stopped playing and talked for a bit. It was wayne bennett. Bobby bland was playing at the wharton center on campus the next night. He pulled out his gibson hollowbody and the next thing you know, it was one of the best jazz shows I ever saw. It was fantastic. And there were about 70 people in there for the last set as word got around.