Can the Hollowbody II play metal or high gain?

Utkarsh

Ministry of guitar
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Apr 13, 2017
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The short answer is yes
Over making last week's video, I was pleasantly surprised by the tones I was getting running my core HB2 through a Friedman esque as well as a higher gain patch. There is this overall myth about needing high output pickups for tightness. Also hollowbodies of the past have a bad rap for feedback

The Hollowbody II has no feedback. And though it has PAF'y 58/15 LTs, it's all about the right hand technique to get the tightness

Ran a quick comparison with a admitted more metal ESP Eclipse 7 String with EMGs and if you are like me, you will be shocked at how good it sounds

 
I plug my SE Hollowbody into a Boogie TC-50 and it sounds pretty darn good. This normally happens at living room levels so I don't really have to worry about feedback. But, controlled properly feedback can be quite musical.
 
I believe anything can play metal or high gain. Just need enough gain or EQ. Will a very low output single coil be exposed as noisy at the level - yes.
 
Great video. To my ears the HB sounded better, more organic and still had that metal feel. It's not surprising that I would like the HB tone because to me, EMG's have always been too harsh.
 
Where you are going to notice a difference is when using a real amp and cranking it up. The body of the guitar is going to resonate different than a solid body guitar and you will get more feedback in that situation.

As for pickups, the lower output pickups are going to be more articulate. Our modern amps and pedals have plenty of gain on tap to get the right tone. The lower output pickups are going to be clearer than a high output pickup. They will also be brighter.
 
My hbII SE with 57/08s definitely feeds back a lot more than my solid bodies. My singlecut semihollow also feeds back more than my solid bodies but less than the hollowbody. Not a problem for me as feedback goes hand in hand with high gain sounds and you gotta know how to use it at loud volumes. Nothing like hearing a chord feedback to end a song/recording IMO and with a semihollow or hollowbody you can do it with even less gain.
 
Been using my HB Spruce for the heavies for a loooong time now.
Those big open chords just resonate like crazy with some gain and overdrive pushing them.
My trusty NS-2 takes care of any unwanted feedback.
 
Always appreciate your enthusiasm for the instrument. There’s a big difference in playing style between the metal you were playing and some other metal genres. A lot of palm muting or staccato riffs will incite much more feedback especially on a real amp vs a patch. I’ve found you can noise gate it, lower the gain or use it to your advantage. As long as you’re having fun just play the thing
 
Absolutely! It even has the potential to give you an even thicker, growlier midrange depending on what your preferred amp settings are.
 
The short answer is yes
Over making last week's video, I was pleasantly surprised by the tones I was getting running my core HB2 through a Friedman esque as well as a higher gain patch. There is this overall myth about needing high output pickups for tightness. Also hollowbodies of the past have a bad rap for feedback

The Hollowbody II has no feedback. And though it has PAF'y 58/15 LTs, it's all about the right hand technique to get the tightness

Ran a quick comparison with a admitted more metal ESP Eclipse 7 String with EMGs and if you are like me, you will be shocked at how good it sounds

Which once again proves my theory… when using high gain amps (or modelers) the guitar/pickups has the least impact on tone. You’re almost completely losing the inherent characteristics of the guitar.
 
Which once again proves my theory… when using high gain amps (or modelers) the guitar/pickups has the least impact on tone. You’re almost completely losing the inherent characteristics of the guitar.
There’s a Glenn Fricker video that demonstrates this well.
 
Which once again proves my theory… when using high gain amps (or modelers) the guitar/pickups has the least impact on tone. You’re almost completely losing the inherent characteristics of the guitar.
I agree with your theory. Once you crank the gain up so far, the guitar doesn't matter so much anymore. The output of the pickups feed into this but that is about it. Hotter pickups push you into the saturated zone so far that it could be any guitar with similar output pickups and you wouldn't be able to tell which guitar it is. Lower output pickups will take a little more gain to get them to that same spot but our modern amps and devices can get there easily.
 
I found the semi hollow to have less fizz and compression in tone and a lot more tight. I use my Special 22 SH for some seriously high gain work as well.
 
Maybe I’m just more in tune with my guitars and amps.
They all sound unique to me. Cu22’s, Singlecuts, Standerd Singlecut, HB Spruce, CE22, and a Mira all sound different to my ears. All with original pickups and all core models.
My gain comes from my amps and they’re not super-saturated. The only thing between the guitars and amp are a tuner and a NS-2. There’s also a MXR GT-OD used as a “clean boost” with the gain set to 0 - no additional gain from there. Just tightens up the low end.
 
Clapton didn't play with today's metal tone, but Cream had a big influence on what was to become metal.

Clapton played this epic solo on a semi-hollowbody Gibson ES335 through a couple of 100 watt Marshall stacks.

I doubt that he used any kind of boost or distortion pedal.

 
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