semi-hollow vs. hollow

spacenuke · #1 01-12-2003, 12:06 PM

i thought this one would have been debated to death, but I can't find anything beyond the feedback issues in the forum.

so, besides the feedback issues, what are the differences between a semi-hollow and a hollow-bodied guitar?

thanx folks!

spacenuke · #2 01-12-2003, 12:09 PM

oops... i think i posted this in the wrong section.

please move it to the correct section, i guess Other 6-strings Guitars. apologies...

**jemsite** · #3 01-12-2003, 12:15 PM

good question. Aside from the obvious fact that sem-hollows have a solid wood mass/center, i think the largest issue is typically full "hollow body" guitars (ie. jazz boxes) also have a much larger body, whereas "semi-hollow body" guitars are smaller (length/width) and thinner (depth). This has an obvious effect on tone and playability.

It's just a matter of choosing the tool you want to use to do the job

...glen

Jimi D · #4 01-12-2003, 07:48 PM

If you want sustain and use gain then you're pretty much saddled with a semi whether you like it or not... Brian Setzer and George Thoroughgood take hollowbody guitars about as far into the rock world as anybody possibly can, and Alvin Lee used a Gibson semi (ES355?) for blues-influenced shred for most of his career...