Thin Hollow Body Guitars

[Gilpy]

I agree...thinlines are good!

[Gilpy]

This was a good one too.....(sold it last year)

[sgosnell]

I have a couple of 2.5" Benedettos, and a 1.75" deep Eastman. I love all three, but I've been playing the Eastman more lately. It's light, thin, and with the solid carved spruce top, it sounds very good. I have bigger full-depth archtops, but those have been living in the dark in cases in the closet for awhile. I still have my Epi ES175 out, but it doesn't get played much, and when I do play it, I find it somewhat uncomfortable because it's so thick. It sounds as good, and plays as well, as the thinlines, but it's too darn big. If I absolutely had to pare down to just one guitar, the Eastman might be the one. Thanks to the goddess I don't have to, at least for now.

[neatomic]

don't overlook a nice epi casino..true hollowbody with p-90's...the elitists and inspired by lennon casinos are/were especially nice

cheers

[Robert1950]

I have an affection for thinline hollowbodies. I prefer that they have a cutaway (or two) and are not too wide/big. I have a Casino Coupe that fits me so well. The pickups are rebuilt too - big improvement to sound.



The Epiphone E is long gone from the pick guard

[Marty Grass]

Here's a thinline that's fat with pickups. It actually all works together.

[rabbit]

You bastigez 'r killin me!

I love these guitars.

Right now, I have only one, an ES-125T.

Nice to meet you, smmllr!

[neatomic]

birdland..er, byrdland...(think gibson marketing didn't like the idea of billy byrd/hank garland, byrdland name?!! hah)


the great hank g- (a fave of benson 'n bruno)



cheers

ps- also notice he's plugged into original bob crooks standel amp!!...grail stuff!!!

[JCat]

Just comparing the amplified sound, everything else equal, same type of strings, PU and bridge.; -Is there really any discernible difference?

Reminds me of the endless discussions over at TGP, about wood in solid bodies and if it affects the amplified tone...

-Wherein lies the secret to a classic amplified archtop tone? -Can you tell a hand carved top from a pressed top, just comparing the recorded amplified tone? Spruce or maple ply? -How about body width?

Still, we know a hollowbody when we hear it, right?

A guitar is the sum of its parts, but when everything is said and done, we're left with the string to body anchor point -the tail piece. Nothing in the world of electric guitars (apart from amp and PU) appears to have a greater influence in tone (and feel). Best example is a 335 with stop tail vs Trapez. Two entirely different guitars.

[cosmic gumbo]

Curious to know who else has found thin-line hollow bodies are great workhorse gigging axes. Years ago I benched my ES-175D for my ES-125TDC because it's lighter, more comfortable to hold, and I can cut back a lot of (though not all) bass-note boom and feedback without compromising much chord-comping tone, which is mostly what I play. I do prefer the wider 175 neck, but not enough to make up for all the other tradeoffs.

Interesting picture, as ES-125tdc all had dot necks with no binding. I wonder what the story is with the guitar in your picture with the binding/block inlays?

[smmllr]

Interesting picture, as ES-125tdc all had dot necks with no binding. I wonder what the story is with the guitar in your picture with the binding/block inlays?

Other than the tailpiece, all the cosmetic hardware is modified. I bought it online and the fingerboard from the 12th fret up had been poorly replaced, giving me license to personalize the entire axe. Fortunately, I have amazing local luthiers who gave it a new bound fingerboard with block inlay, and they even had a Gibson factory-issued headstock inlay, so that replaced the painted logo. I've always hated black plastic on cherry or natural finishes, so I put on cream pickup covers, and the luthiers made a maple bridge pickup ring matching the faded sunburst perfectly. Gretsch-style aluminum bridge, amber speed knobs, nickel-buttoned Kluson-style tuners. Removed the pick guard 'cause I hate pick guards. Definitely a signature piece.

[stevus]

Attachment 54642

I bought a thinline Seventy Seven Hawk Jazz earlier this year and love it. I also have an Eastman AR810 CE. A great guitar too, but so much less comfortable to play as it is big and deep. Playing the Eastman also caused me numb fingers after a while, which disappeared for the most part since I have this thinline. Getting older, comfort has become my first priority.

[RonD]

I love them.
Old age set in and it became more difficult to wield a big fat guitar.
My "go to" guitar is full hollow, 2 1/8" at the rim.

[wmachine]

Just to add to the assortment:

A Guild Newark St. Starfire III

[cosmic gumbo]

I love the playing comfort and light weight of a thin hollow so much, that my tele has gotten limited use since getting an Epiphone Sorrento 1962 reissue a year and a half ago. It's been a great honeymoon.

It's nothing fancy, just a Kalamazoo design cousin of an ES-125TDC. The versatile Gibson mini humbuckers are very focused and guarantee no mud.

[TH]

I love my thin line Johnny. SO comfy!
David

[339 in june]

This :

ES 125 T '59
What a neck !
Light as half a leather.
Nice acoustic voice for the weight/depth
Nice electric voice with the P90

[tonyp145]

I had a wonderful ES-125TDC, it was my main axe for almost 10 years, I’ll never forgive myself for selling it. But my dad gave me his old “beater” 66 Starfire III, so I console myself with this:

[powerwagonjohn]

A thinline Gibson JS, that is a new on on me. I get by with my 1959 ES-225T but I have been thinking of putting a SD alnico V pick up in the 225. Any one know if a alnico staple will fit into a P-90 rout?
Thanks John

[va3ux]

1996 Sorrento

[Jimmy Mack]

Hey Robert1950, I like the Coupes too, though I haven't had a chance to find or play one! I'd have to buy one to try it out, and then keep it or return it. But what kind of pickups did you end up with? to play what kind of music? From what I've read over the years, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't go for the nickel covers, folks believe that the tone is better with the plastic covers. My '61 RI Casino has the black covers on Gibson P90's - and I think it is superb sounding. I also like the look of black p/ups.

[Archie]

I usually find slimlines have tighter bass and are naturaly more comfortable to play. Once plugged in, the lack of acoustic depth seems to make little odds, although I would say the sound over all is usually thinner. A thinner sound usually cuts through the mix better and makes them well suited to almost anything above a trio. George Benson has always appreciated this type of sound and you can easily replicate his amplified tone, especially going back to earlier recordings, on a Guild SF2 or something similar.

imo

[Grez]

Here's a little one I made some time back. 15" lower bout, 2" depth at the rim. I need to build another one for demo/stock and am thinking 1 7/8 thickness this time.

[Pierrot]

Jaen Jamaica and Eastman EROe.

[Gitfiddler]

I honestly never thought of this full hollow Johnny A. Signature as a 'Thinline', but I guess it is.
It is lightweight and comfortable to play, standing or seated.