All that maple on the Hollowbody ll

P90s

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Since there is very little mahogany to balance the bright sound of maple, does the HB ll lack warmth and lower register tones?
 
No. Think of it subtractively -- maple doesn't subtract the lower frequencies, it just tightens them up.
 
Since there is very little mahogany to balance the bright sound of maple, does the HB ll lack warmth and lower register tones?

A hollow guitar works differently, anyway, because of the inherent resonances.
 
Nope. Was just playing my HB II this am and it doesn't lack any frequency response. It's got a bit more "air" to it, which I know is a cliche for describing guitars with space inside them, but I absolutely find it to be true. It's not as "warm" as my 594 even though it has the same pickups, but to me that's more about the scale length and solid body construction than it is materials. And at the end of the day, it's harder to put clarity and brightness into a guitar that doesn't have it than to pull it out of a guitar that does.
 
Definitely not. The HBII I had was actually erring on "dark" sounding, but all pieces of wood are different. Great guitars though, can do so much with them.
 
Since there is very little mahogany to balance the bright sound of maple, does the HB ll lack warmth and lower register tones?

I was seeking warm tones to play some mellow jazz. The HBII does that! Think George Benson tones as an example. That guitar and my HB12 are my favorites. Would love to get another with the 58 15 LT pickups. Mercy!
 
I am crazy about my HBII. I had a Benedetto Bambino that was all maple, and it wasn't bright either. I really like the old school archtop pickups in mine too. There isn't anything this guitar can't do tonally - realistically my skill is the only thing holding the guitar back.

For what it's worth, after getting the HBII, I sold my Benedetto because I felt that my HBII sounded as good if not better for jazz. Plus it does everything else.

Did I mention I love my HBII??
 
Let me add some love for my Hollowbody Spruce! Also has great jazz tones, and can definitely rock out, too! And one thing I would add is that the spruce top on this guitar really sounds nice unplugged.
 
Unholy carp, I know what a Benedetto is, that's saying a lot.

And Jimi D -- thanks for sharing, loving that whole channel. All them clean tones...
 
Unholy carp, I know what a Benedetto is, that's saying a lot.

And Jimi D -- thanks for sharing, loving that whole channel. All them clean tones...

Don't get me wrong, the Benedetto was a fantastic guitar - really fantastic. I would say that the quality of that guitar was just a hair above anything else I've ever owned. BUT, the HBII does more, and the jazz tones are impeccable. And it does everything else great as well.

I'd echo Walrus too, the spruce topped/mahogany b/s and neck are special guitars. I will have one of those eventually too.
 
I already have a spruce topped Singlecut Archtop, I'm not sure I'd be able to tell the difference (between that and a spruce-topped Hollowbody).
 
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