HB I vs HB II - Tone Test Difference

[ADP]

As well as the different woods, pickups and string guage, don't forget that the newer Hollowbody II will also have a much thicker top. Structurally, the guitars are pretty different despite coming from the same range.

 

[Huggy Love]

I think I'm gonna go back to stock 11s/woundG on the HB, just to compare and get a different tone, maybe.

I plan to change out the wound G string that came on my HB II this week. I don't really have any problems with whole step bends on the E and B strings, but I cannot for the life of me do a whole step bend on the wound G string (and I use middle finger and index finger to support string bends)

I've done a bit of flip flopping between 10's & 11's on my HB and this is where I ended up. With a set of 11's you get much better tone, signal to the pups, intonation, and tuning stability (don't know why but it stayed in tune better), but like you say, it's a bit strenuous. With 10's the playability is a lot better but the tone may be questionable, ?maybe just in our minds?. What I settled in on is using a set of 10's and swapping out an 11 for the top E string, a balance between playability and tone but I admit my tone especially for Jazz was better. Curious on your test II results, keep us posted.

Gotta say that charcoal is a great finish.

 

[Egads]

I went to the D'Addario 11s with an unwound G and all is well for me. I actually like the tone a little better with the unwound G.

 

[ViperDoc]

Play .011s long enough and it will feel normal in no time. Piezo tone is killer with .011s, no doubt!

 

[CVS]

I went to the D'Addario 11s with an unwound G and all is well for me. I actually like the tone a little better with the unwound G.

Glad to hear this. that is my plan as well. Just need to find time to get to the store.........

 

[CVS]

Play .011s long enough and it will feel normal in no time. Piezo tone is killer with .011s, no doubt!

Agree - I plan to stay with the 11's, just swap out wound G for an unwound G.

 

[tabl10s]

OK - I just purchased a charcoal burst 2015 HB II with 57/08 pickups (pics already posted in a previous thread). I already have a 2008 HB I with Archtop pickups. Both guitars have Rosewood fretboards. The HB II has a maple top and back while the HB I has a mahogany top and back. The HB II has 11 gauge strings while the HB I has 10 gauge strings (I know - to do the test, it would have been better if both guitars had the same string gauges). I purchased the HB II because it has a piezo and I want to eliminate the need to bring an extra guitar to gigs and band practices. My thinking was that the electric guitar sounds produced by both these guitars would be close to the same. I was also thinking that I might sell the HB I to partially fund my next PRS purchase. So I decided to run a "controlled" test. I ran 2 tests.

I used a Fender Blues Junior (tube amp) to do the testing with clean setting with reverb set to about 4

Test 1 - Neck pickup, Volume and Tone set to 10, clean
Test 2 - Bridge pickup, Volume & Tone set to 10 - Use pedal with moderate amount of distortion (gain & fat)

My conclusions -

1. The tones produced by the HB I were somewhat brighter than the tones produced by the HB II in both settings (Could this be due to string gauge difference? Wood difference? Pick up difference? Combination of all 3?)
2. The tone produced by the HB II was somewhat more more "rounded" than the HB I tone (especially noticeable when played on clean setting)

I then brought in an expert - my wife :biggrin:, who I had listen to the 2 guitars in another room so that she would not know which one was being played and she "validated" my findings.

Now I have decided that I will not sell my HB I - So time to go back to "work" to fund my next PRS (a 513)!

Comments & opinions welcome. Is there any other test that I should perform? Am I tone deaf???

C'mon Man,

You know that maple is brighter than mahogany with all things being equal...except for the string debacle:biggrin:

 

[CVS]

Will run one more test after I get a fret dressing done on the HB I and change strings. Probably in about 2 weeks time. I will continue to keep 10's on the HB I and 11's on the HB II so the test may or may not be valid. Can only tell you what my ears heard the 1st time I did the test (and I did the test 2X on different days with same result.

 

[Huggy Love]

Will run one more test after I get a fret dressing done on the HB I and change strings. Probably in about 2 weeks time. I will continue to keep 10's on the HB I and 11's on the HB II so the test may or may not be valid. Can only tell you what my ears heard the 1st time I did the test (and I did the test 2X on different days with same result.

I think the string gauge was the real factor in your first test, predicting different results when they are both "apples & apples" on the setup & strings. If you get the same results I'll be blown away.

 

[CVS]

Just got my HB I back after putting in new frets and new strings (.10's). The guitar plays like it is brand new. Ran test again vs HB II (with .11's) - same result as earlier tests reported on in this thread. I think string gauge may be impacting the results, but I don't want to change strings on either guitar right now.

With that said, the tones are different enough that I have decided I will keep both guitars. They both have great tone. I just can't bear to part with them.

 

[jeffgoobs]

Sorry for the error - The HB I does have a Spruce top (and not mahogany) as I indicated above.

As for what my ears heard,, I am with you on what they should have heard, but I can only report what I did hear.

I will run the test again after I have had new strings put on the HB I and fret dressing completed. Probably 2-4 weeks time

Appreciate your's and everybody's input.

Just to clarify: a Hollowbody (aka a "Hollowbody Spruce") has a carved mahogany body, and a spruce top. A Hollowbody I has a carved mahogany body with a maple top. A Hollowbody II has a maple back, carved mahogany sides, and a maple top. So there are three separate models: the Hollowbody, the Hollowbody I, and the Hollowbody II. Calling a Hollowbody with a Spruce top a "Hollowbody I" is misleading.

 

[CVS]

You are correct & thanks for clarifying as I did not realize there was a difference. I for sure have a Hollowbody and not a Hollowbody I.