Hollowbody II Piezo: dimensions - wiring diagram

bruno.cosimo

New Member
Joined
Jan 12, 2025
Messages
6
Location
Taranto, Italy
Good morning everyone,
I am writing from Italy, my name is Cosimo. I already own an S2 10th Ann Custom 24 and an acoustic SE P20E but I would really like a Hollowbody II Piezo Core which however is very expensive for me, so I decided to build my own Hollowbody piezo guitar, very vaguely inspired by the PRS Hollowbody II Piezo because the shape of the body will be completely different, it will be more similar to an S2 Vela, perhaps... However, I would need some information regarding the dimensions of the Hollowbody II Piezo.
For example, how thick are the top, middle and back woods? How many degrees is the handle tilted? I would like the electronics and bridge to be PRS but I would need help identifying the right components and finally I would need a wiring diagram... Thank you for the precious information you are willing to share.
Greetings.
 
Welcome to the forum!

This is a bold move and a lot of work for sure. The core HBII is definitely an expensive guitar. There is a lot more work that goes into them that makes them more expensive. Getting the thickness of some of the parts of the guitar will be a bit of a challenge. There are not many places on the guitar where you can get to them to measure them. I am not sure what you mean by the angle of the handle unless you are referring to the neck angle, possibly the headstock angle? If you want to find a piezo system that is comparable to the PRS system, look at LR Baggs. That is who makes the system for PRS.
 
Welcome to the forum!

This is a bold move and a lot of work for sure. The core HBII is definitely an expensive guitar. There is a lot more work that goes into them that makes them more expensive. Getting the thickness of some of the parts of the guitar will be a bit of a challenge. There are not many places on the guitar where you can get to them to measure them. I am not sure what you mean by the angle of the handle unless you are referring to the neck angle, possibly the headstock angle? If you want to find a piezo system that is comparable to the PRS system, look at LR Baggs. That is who makes the system for PRS.
Hi, it's definitely a tough task, but I'm optimistic.
For the thickness of the woods, I just need to know the total thickness, then I'll adjust. The HBII is definitely thicker than a solid body...
For the neck angle, I'm referring to the neck angle, which according to the drawings of a PRS Mc Carty should be 1.5°, is it the same on the HBII?
Yes, I know LR Baggs but there's no sign of the piezoelectric system on the HBII...
I think I'll have to use my imagination a lot...
Thanks for the suggestions.
 
Buongiorno Bruno,
you seem experienced in building guitars. As far as I understand you mean by thickness the size/dimensions of the whole Body of the guitar, right?
I own that model but in the SE version. They might have the same size in body width and depth. If you like I can measure my guitar and send you the results.
But: wouldn‘t it be much easier (and cheaper) to buy the SE model (which I really like!)? That would safe you a lot of time and you could play more ;-)
 
Buongiorno Bruno,
you seem experienced in building guitars. As far as I understand you mean by thickness the size/dimensions of the whole Body of the guitar, right?
I own that model but in the SE version. They might have the same size in body width and depth. If you like I can measure my guitar and send you the results.
But: wouldn‘t it be much easier (and cheaper) to buy the SE model (which I really like!)? That would safe you a lot of time and you could play more ;-)
Hi Bminor,
you are right, buying a HBII SE would be more convenient, cheaper and faster, but, I like to build my guitars as a hobby, when I have time, so I am absolutely not an "expert", but I know an expert who can correct my mistakes...
As I already wrote I absolutely do not want to copy, it will be a completely different guitar that maybe will only have the electronics and the PRS bridge, maybe...
So it is not so essential to know the exact depth of the body of the HBII, I just need it as an indication, more or less.
You know, a guitar with a similar soundbox and with the same electronics and the same wood, should sound more or less the same, if everything goes well...
In conclusion, I would still be very grateful if you could tell me how deep is the body of your magnificent HBII which I know is a very good guitar.
Thank you and have a nice day.
 
Okay , here is what I could measure (almost exact, though):
The „thickness“ is round about 4,5cm (that is the outside where the binding is)
The middle of the body I could not measure. The body is assumately increasing 1cm in „thickness“or shall i say „height“?
The width of the body is ca. 35,5cm (lower bout) and 26,5cm (Upper bout outside of the cutaways)
That seems a bit wider in total than my solidbody S2 (the US modell) - makes it very good playable while seated.
I don‘t think that hollow-or semihollows all sound the same, if you only get the sizes and the Electronics and hardwares.
But Anyway, good luck and let us know when you‘re finished with your project.
 
Cool, that's what I imagined! It's definitely wider than a solid-body guitar. I calculated 1.2 cm of maple top, 3 cm of mahogany in the center and 1.2 cm of maple on the back, for a total of 5.4 cm. Of course, when I'm done, I'll show you the result.
Now I'm building the templates...
Ciao.👋
 
Back
Top