Deep body vs thin body guitars

[Robertkoa]

You should also keep in mind string thickness and what type of speaker or cabinet you will be playing through. The other night, I saw Pat Martino play his Benedetto, roughly the thickness of a Les Paul, through a Messa Boogie cabinet 4x12 along with Lee Ritenour who was playing a big Gibson jazz box through a couple Fender Twins and Martino's sound was much warmer and bigger than Lee's while playing side by side.

This is the Benedetto Luthiery I think shining through - that little Bambino they make(for example ) seems to have a slightly fatter than Benson tone and it's really small - and naturally a bit dark so not much tone roll off needed ...not sure about sustain and bloom for throwing in some long notes - and the darn things are expensive now.

A 4-12 or 2-12 is a good idea for Jazz though for extra bottom end ...easier on the ears ,though Martino can be really dark .

I noticed Ritenour seems to dial in or have his soundman dial in those big Jazz boxes closer to a 335 than they actually are .


Marchione's seem to sound great but are very expensive... $12,500. I think.

However we may be able to get a 335 type with a 2.5 " depth and parallel bracing with just a small block to be like a true 175 /335 Hybrid ...

Anyone interested in that ?

[Pacordes]

I thought for years that the 335 style would be the end-all be-all swiss army knife of guitars for me.
It seems so logical, so flexible, so able. I know it's a great style and I figured it would do everything I could ever want.

So I shopped and shopped, trying out so many . . . a couple of guitars came pretty close to the sound and feel I wanted. There was one I might have taken home if I had the money. There was a decent 335 at a pawn shop, but the shop owner was a dick and I couldn't stand the idea of buying from him so I had to walk away! But also I was surprised at how disappointed I was by so many "nice" guitars I tried as my search went on.

Then I got an ES 175 last year.

My search for the right semi-hollow is over. ES 175 is the end of story for me.

I was on that boat too... so many times I dreamt about the 335, and of course some people can jazz with one, but mine is voiced as a rocknroll machine!
The 335 body size is so comfortable, that the answer for me is simple: es330 with p90.
It is a hollow body, the p90 offer a more vintage and somewhat woody sound, less sustain than the 335, but I truly like it. Doesn’t compete with a 175, but adds another flavour!

[Greentone]

Longways,

I was a semiacoustic guy until I got a 175. The 175 is a more interesting guitar for most of the music I play.

[jzucker]

i own and love both. They each have their attributes. They are not interchangeable in tone but I enjoy both.

[tonyb300]

I have an Ibanez PM20 and a couple of PRS hollowbody but due to spine/disc issues the larger PM20 sits in the closet. they don't look the part but I play standards and Jobim with them. It's purely an ergo thing and I try to make up on the tone issue with EQ & gain.

[whiskey02]

Thinnest I've ever seen.

[JaxJaxon]

Has anyone who played on a deeper bodied guitar been happy with thinline models after the fact, or did you find the tone a bit lacking? (Or vice versa). Was it hard to adjust ergonomically?

I will address acoustics not electrics You can get a Deeper richer sound from a thin acoustic but the lower bout will be quite large like 17 or 18" as compared to a 16" thicker body. I have played all types of acoustics in my life and each will have its own sound but you can cant tell till you try a lot of them to what they might sound like. The materials its made from. type of nut and Bridge. and strings. all that said . My favorite Acoudtic was a 2" thin 18" bout concert size S1O1 The companie no longer exist My second most favorite was a pre War Bavarian 3" wide 16" bout Arch top. Both where stolen from me after I had them for 5 or more yeas.

[CTG]

Hi,

I have a Gibson Super 400CES, an Ibanez Johnny Smith, and a Comins GHS1-ES going from big to small.
I still love playing them all. I find the tone on the Comins to be excellent and full but each of the guitars forces me to think and hear the music differently because of their feel, tone, and sustain. Which is great fun. I know I'm not telling you anything new. I just got the Comins because there are times when I wanted a smaller lighter guitar. I also found it started to get me interested in using different types of pedals which is a blast and the difference in the neck radius and fret scale opened up some other harmonic things I am playing with now. All I can say is enjoy them both!