Are semi-hollow guitars brighter than solid body guitars?

[Hammertone]

I dunno if they are brighter - the solid-bodies I have met have been pretty dense. Then again, the semi-hollows have what I can only describe as a lot of air between their ears. I think they are both pretty stupid at the end of the day, especially when compared to the carved archtops, which are really smart. Real Einsteins, they are.

Hey, I'm here all week. Enjoy the veal.

[Thumpalumpacus]

So, I think it depends substantially on the individual instrument.

... as well as pickups, setup, amp and amp settings, and strings.

I never thought about it, but given that you'd have to have exact body shapes and sizes to compare with there are few that qualify to make a direct comparison.

The Les Paul / LP Florentine, or maybe the LP-ES (but the ES is mostly hollow), some Strats, and Telecasters come to mind.

Or an older solid Les Paul vs a modern weight-relieved model carrying the same pickups into the same rig.

[rpguitar]

...given the same pickups, same scale lenght and everything, the more resonant the wood of the guitar, the more harmonic content and more attack and less sustain.

I think that Gustavo does a nice job of summarizing the phenomenon here. Muy bien hecho, señor.

[DRS]

I have a Godin Montreal Premiere. It is a semi-hollow that is very light and has a very light chambered centre block. The stock cheap Asian pickups were bright and uninspiring. I changed them to a Gibson 57/57+ set. Now the guitar is deep and rich. Sounds much better.

[jim777]

I've got about a dozen guitars and nothing (I've got) can get as bright as a maple boarded Tele or Strat.

[Tal_175]

I've got about a dozen guitars and nothing (I've got) can get as bright as a maple boarded Tele or Strat.

That's probably because of the pickups, not due to the solid body construction so much.

[jim777]

That's probably because of the pickups, not due to the solid body construction so much.

True, but "in general" the pickups are part of the guitar, and the question was, "Are semi-hollows brighter than solids in general?". And the overwhelming majority of Fenders have singles. I would also think an overwhelming majority of semis have humbuckers.

[mr. beaumont]

I would add that the brightest tele I ever owned was a semi-hollow.

[Tal_175]

True, but "in general" the pickups are part of the guitar, and the question was, "Are semi-hollows brighter than solids in general?". And the overwhelming majority of Fenders have singles. I would also think an overwhelming majority of semis have humbuckers.

I doesn't make sense to pose the question of tone as it relates to body construction without eliminating the pickup factor (also amp, tone controls, pedals used etc.).
Come to think of it, I should have made that more clear in the original post. I thought it goes without saying I guess. Myself and several others made that clear along the thread however.
Just to further clarify, the question is meant to explore the electric amplified tonal nature of semi-hollow construction. Also with slight generalization, the effect degree of hollowness has on the perceived brightness. It would be impossible to draw conclusions if the guitars compared have pickups with very different brightness levels.

[Tal_175]

I would add that the brightest tele I ever owned was a semi-hollow.

That is my experience as well. My semi-hollow/chambered strat (with an f hole) is very noticeably brighter than my stock strat.
This is the reason I started the thread because I ordered the chambered body thinking it'd give me warmer tone (silly me). First I thought it was bright because of the stainless steel frets. I swapped the necks and all electronics with the stock strat and confirmed that it is the chambered body that is the cause of the bright output.

[Tal_175]

I might add, I put a set of 12 gauge D'addario chromes on that hollow strat yesterday and I'm very happy with the tone now. Flats strings perfectly balance the bright construction. I might get a lil'59 in the neck position as well then I'll have a 6 pounds of jazz goodness (chambered body is super light).

[Greentone]

Which is brightest: solid, chambered, or weight-relieved Les Paul?

[Tal_175]

Which is brightest: solid, chambered, or weight-relieved Les Paul?

There is also the ES Les Paul. We might as well add that to the question as well. ES model would be the most "hollowed" version of the bunch I believe.

[Stringswinger]

Which is brightest: solid, chambered, or weight-relieved Les Paul?

Chambered

[Greentone]

Thanks. I ask because I've only played/owned solid Les Pauls.

[Stringswinger]

Thanks. I ask because I've only played/owned solid Les Pauls.

My current Lester is weight relieved (at 61 it is quite welcome!) and sounds as warm as all of my solids did. I have played a friends chambered Lester, and it was brighter, much more like a 335.

[ruger9]

True, but "in general" the pickups are part of the guitar, and the question was, "Are semi-hollows brighter than solids in general?". And the overwhelming majority of Fenders have singles. I would also think an overwhelming majority of semis have humbuckers.

Well, my Gretsch Hot Rod's Filtertron bridge is brighter than my solidbody maple neck tele's slightly overwound bridge single coil, so, as with all this stuff, "it all depends".

[ruger9]

That is my experience as well. My semi-hollow/chambered strat (with an f hole) is very noticeably brighter than my stock strat.
This is the reason I started the thread because I ordered the chambered body thinking it'd give me warmer tone (silly me). First I thought it was bright because of the stainless steel frets. I swapped the necks and all electronics with the stock strat and confirmed that it is the chambered body that is the cause of the bright output.

OK so, talking 3 of the SAME bodies: as in 3 tele bodies: it has been my experience that the heavier the body, the more bass response, and generally the less bright. My 72RI thinline with WRHBs (featherweight) was brighter than my Cabronita Thinline with T-90s (medium weight), was brighter than my AM. Std. Solidbody tele with single coils (heavy, for a tele). And when I say brighter, I mean specifically the treble registers were more pronounced. Despite the 72RI thinline having real WRHBs in it.

Just my personal experience over many years: the heavier the guitar, the more bass response you'll get out of it. Including my strat and other solidbodies I've owned. And that bass response also affects the higher (treble) registers, because it affects everything.

[Marty Grass]

I love to read the responses to questions like which pickup is the best and what strings have the richest tone.

I'll add my two cents to a lengthening thread that will never resolve the question about semi-hollow and solid body brightness. It's theoretically interesting but not of practical importance. My amps have equalizers. They are the final word on brightness.

[Tal_175]

It's theoretically interesting but not of practical importance. My amps have equalizers. They are the final word on brightness.

Not true in general. Amps can cut brightness, they can't add what's not there. If the acoustic construction of the guitar limits exposing overtones to the pickups, you can't get them back by turning a knob. Some guitars will have more clarity naturally, some will have more inherent warmth. An ES 175 is not gonna have the trebles of a Strat regardless of the EQ even if you install single coils to it. I don't think so.

[ruger9]

Not true in general. Amps can cut brightness, they can't add what's not there. If the acoustic construction of the guitar limits exposing overtones to the pickups, you can't get them back by turning a knob. Some guitars will have more clarity naturally, some will have more inherent warmth. An ES 175 is not gonna have the trebles of a Strat regardless of the EQ even if you install single coils to it. I don't think so.

I agree (which is interesting, given my previous post about my Hot Rod with Filtertrons). However, given the choice, I'd rather have a warm guitar and turn the mids/treble up on the amp a little than the opposite; I find I run treble controls quite low on all the amps I've ever owned; it's just a personal preference.

I've really only had Fender and Vox type amps tho; both are quite bright already. (I did have Marshalls back in the day of glorious hard rock, but I couldn't tell you what my settings were, that was 30 years ago LOL)

I hate this stuff. I just want a good guitar + a good amp (good together), then I don't even have to think about this crap anymore! LOL

[Greentone]

Tal_175,

ES175 guitars are fairly bright instruments. I would make a slight exception for the examples built since the 1990s, but if you take a direct signal into the board from a 175, it's quite snappy.

[Tal_175]

Tal_175,

ES175 guitars are fairly bright instruments. I would make a slight exception for the examples built since the 1990s, but if you take a direct signal into the board from a 175, it's quite snappy.

That's true Greentone. In fact, that's consistent with what I mainly wanted to discuss in this thread. Hollowness seems to result in perceived brightness in the amplified tone. Regarding the comparison of ES 175 and Strat, I shouldn't have implied that Strat is brighter. What I meant is that there is the ringing chime to a strat that isn't in more hollow guitars. My chambered strat sounds brighter than the solid strat, yet the solid one has this sustaining, bright ring to the high notes, that doesn't exist in the chambered one (nor in ES 175). Solid one has more bass but also more chimey ring on the opposite end interestingly.

[Greentone]

This being said, the ES175 is one gorgeous sounding guitar. It has always been in my top three.

[Marty Grass]

This started out as a semi-hollow vs. solid discussion. The distinction is easily blurred. It can be argued that they all are semi-hollow.




Can an equalizer add brightness if none exists? That's a trick question since some always exists. The presence of the brightness can be amplified relative to other frequencies.

It is my impression that a traditional solid body (old Gibson LP or non-chambered Heritage H-150) is brighter acoustically than a 335, but I could be wrong. But neither type of guitar is meant to be performed with sans amplifier. I would argue that the major difference between the two styles of instruments is their feel, appearance and balance.

There are recordings of Clapton on a LP, a 335, and a Strat. The most striking thing is that they are all unmistakable Clapton!