Carved top ES-330 style guitars?

[metis]

Have any of our esteemed members ever played or commissioned a carved-top ES-330 style guitar? I've been searching around and haven't found any examples except one guy on the Telecaster forum that built one in his garage. Gibson, Heritage, Eastman, Collings, etc., all seem to be laminates.

I'm considering asking Mr. Wu to build me one as something of an experiment - carved top, single dogear P-90, maybe 2.5" depth - and Lora (unsurprisingly) says it's possible. Heritage says they won't make them for fear of the top collapsing.

Is this a terrible idea?

[AKA]

At one end of the spectrum Eastman made a small bodied 14.5” carved top model with a thin depth. The T145. Great sounding and playing guitar. At the other, Steve Marchione makes a 15” thin bodied archtop using premium solid woods.

AKA

[RayBan]

Eastman makes a maple solid-top, double cutaway thinline in 14", 15", and 16" widths. My understanding is that there is a small block inside, to which the bridge is attached, but it's much smaller than the block in a 335 or 339. So I suppose the guitar is somewhere in between a semi-hollow and and a true hollowbody? I've never played one.

Here's a thread about it from a couple years ago:
Eastman T184/185/MX

The Eastman website. Look for models T184, T185, T186:
Electric Thinline - Eastman Guitars

PS: The T145 mentioned by AKA is a single cutaway, not a 330-type.

[jads57]

Collings makes some high priced offerings.Not sure if they offer a 330 style in non laminate form?
I do think Moffa as well as a Japanese Archtop luthier builds them.

[metis]

The Eastman T186 wasn’t on my radar, will check it out. Still would love to have a proper hollow body but I’m really just looking for a good acoustic sound - hence the Mr. Wu idea being 2.5” or deeper, maybe even 17”?

I checked with Collings and Archtop Tribute; both only make 330s in laminate.

[alpop]

O.P. - Here's a sample of my Eastman T185 MX. Carved maple top and solid mahogany back. Yes, a small block to attach the tailpiece and bridge, but more lively than a laminate semihollow.

[Oscar67]

Eastman Romeo, carved solid spruce top. Highly recommended you give it a try. Note: I mean the original Romeo, not the later LA or NY versions which are laminated.
PRS 594 Hollowbody II, carved solid maple top and back.
PRS Hollowbody II (different model from previous one): carved solid maple top and back.

[metis]

Thanks alpop, and nice playing ?

Going to try to find a 186 to play locally…

I’m aware of the PRS and various things of that ilk, but they’re too “solid” for my taste - not enough of an acoustic voice.

[alpop]

Thanks alpop, and nice playing ?

Going to try to find a 186 to play locally…

I’m aware of the PRS and various things of that ilk, but they’re too “solid” for my taste - not enough of an acoustic voice.

You're welcome! Yes that was me playing. Not sure if you're questioning whether the playing is nice or if that was me. LOL

I second the recommendation in favor of trying the carved top Romeo made by Oscar67 in post #7. It would be similar quality to my guitar in a more stylish design.

[BreckerFan]

I don't know what your budget is, but check out the Yamaoka NY-5. Small boutique builder in Japan, it's a smaller bodied fully hollow guitar with a solid spruce top and sides and laminate back. They look really stunning. Seems like it fits your bill, but they aren't cheap

Just a moment...

[Hammertone]

Mark Campellone has done a couple.

[Dean_G]

A truly great hollow carved top thinline instrument is the Hamer Newport. It came with Seymour Duncan Phat cat P90s with Bigsby but also a sunburst with HB pickups sans Bigsby. This is a photo of the one I played circa 2003.

[sgosnell]

I have a Wu, 16" bout, ~2.4" rims, and I love it. It's a single cutaway, but I have no doubt that he could do a double cutaway model. It's not really an ES330, but it has a great acoustic voice. I would recommend parallel bracing for that type. Mine has that, and I prefer it to X bracing for an archtop. I also have a 17" Wu with X bracing, and I far prefer the sound of the parallel braced one. Note that Wu is from the Eastman school, which is a clone of the Benedetto school, so you won't likely get a Gibson sound from his guitars. That's a feature, not a bug, at least to me, but some may not like the somewhat brighter Benedetto/Eastman sound. It's a matter of taste. If you want an ES330 sound, then you should get something like it, with a relatively heavy laminated body. Many people gravitate to that because of feedback issues with lighter carved solid instruments. But it's your money, your choice. I have had no feedback problems, but I'm not playing at high volume levels.