What are the advantages of semi hollow electric instruments?
- Thread starter cipuks34
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jfb
Plank Owner
Paging Tag to the service phone.
solacematt
New Member
I'm sorry, anyone can sit here and argue all they want and say that there no no tonal differences but there totally are. There totally are. I found this out especially yesterday afternoon. Indulge me a few with this story.
I'm in the middle of doing some tweaking to my amp for the recording of my bands upcoming next disc and I had this idea that, made a ton of sense to me. Though my McCarty Hollowbody is my main guitar there are two songs I feel lend themselves a little better using the Custom 24. Keep in mind I tune down a full step and tune down both of the E strings an additional full step (CGCFAC - triple drop C...thank Days of the new and Ian Thornley for that tuning) and play modern rock. A few songs as I said sound a lot better on the CU24 over the hollowbody, well thanks to this tuning the same goes for the Hollowbody as well. So I started EQ'ing a channel in my amp yesterday for the sole intent of making those certain songs that sounded better on the hollowbody sound at least decent on the CU24. When I was finally happy, or at least more content with how they sounded on the CU24 I switched guitars to the Hollowbody to see how they sounded- night and day difference. Certain melodies within certain chords really breathed much better and stood out tons more now on the Hollowbody thanks to that EQ change I made using the CU24 as the guinea pig.
By the way, I initially started thinking about using a Hollowbody back in 2007 after I did an interview with Shimon Moore, the guitarist of the band Sick Puppies. They also tune down to Drop C. I asked the bands vocalist why he used a hollowbody and he said that they had more clarity when tuning down.
I'm in the middle of doing some tweaking to my amp for the recording of my bands upcoming next disc and I had this idea that, made a ton of sense to me. Though my McCarty Hollowbody is my main guitar there are two songs I feel lend themselves a little better using the Custom 24. Keep in mind I tune down a full step and tune down both of the E strings an additional full step (CGCFAC - triple drop C...thank Days of the new and Ian Thornley for that tuning) and play modern rock. A few songs as I said sound a lot better on the CU24 over the hollowbody, well thanks to this tuning the same goes for the Hollowbody as well. So I started EQ'ing a channel in my amp yesterday for the sole intent of making those certain songs that sounded better on the hollowbody sound at least decent on the CU24. When I was finally happy, or at least more content with how they sounded on the CU24 I switched guitars to the Hollowbody to see how they sounded- night and day difference. Certain melodies within certain chords really breathed much better and stood out tons more now on the Hollowbody thanks to that EQ change I made using the CU24 as the guinea pig.
By the way, I initially started thinking about using a Hollowbody back in 2007 after I did an interview with Shimon Moore, the guitarist of the band Sick Puppies. They also tune down to Drop C. I asked the bands vocalist why he used a hollowbody and he said that they had more clarity when tuning down.
Thanks guys! 
IMO, except for EXTREME volumes or gain, semi hollow guitars are tonally superior to their solid counterparts in every way. I know that Ed Roman (RIP) was not a very popular guy around here, but take this example. He knew PRS guitars very well, and being a dealer at one point, he had played a LOT of them. I was looking for an Artist 3 about 10 years ago, and these are not easy to find. Well, Ed had not one, but two of them in what he called brand new condition. I had heard horror stories about dealing with this guy, so I was very nervous about dealing with him. The two he had were a teal black with a trem, and a blond with a stop tail. Both were beautiful, but the blond was to die for. I called and talked to him, and got an in hands description of both. He said the blond sounded and looked fantastic, but the teal black was one of the best sounding, and most resonate PRSs he had ever played. It had a wide thin neck which I did not want, but he kept telling me "trust me, the teal black is the ONE". This made me even more nervous, because i thought he was trying get rid of it for some reason. Both were the same price. He told me I had a 24 hour approval, and if I did not think the teal black was a magical guitar, send it back and take the blond one. SOOO, while he was a bit pushy, he did not seem like the complete jerk I had read about. I went for it and wanted it overnight shipped to me. "No problem, but by the way, I do not have the certificate for this one." UGGHH! I asked why not? He said it was a collector who traded it in, the guy had lost it. Wellll....I went for it anyway, I can always check authenticity by calling PRS. The next day, the fed X truck arrives, and I am REALLY excited. I had wanted an Artist 3 for a long time. I open the box, and first thing that hits me...wrong case.
Totally normal PRS case, not the artist leather. Now I am thinking I am going to open it, and find a beat up or POS guitar inside...everythingt i heard about him was true. Well, I open the case..... and almost passed out. Just as he had told me, the guitar did not look mint, it looked brand new, in unplayed condition, and the top had nice thick flames on that killer Teal black finish. I carefull picked it up and looked over it. Perfect in every way. As is always the case, for some reason, the very first thing I play on a guitar to hear it is an A minor 9 chord. 
EXACTLY as Ed had described. The entire guitar shook in my hand, and this HUGE clean tone comes out of the neck pup. I had several other CU 22 APs at the time to compare it with, and it was a no brainer. I call Ed and tell him about the guitar and how good it sounded, and he said "Yea, I know. I told you that didnt I?" 
Then I told him about the case, and he said the guys in the back just grabbed the wrong one by mistake. he will send the right one out that day, and I can keep the one it came in as a spare. :rock: So it ends up I call PRS JUST to make sure everything is as it should be. "Whats the serial #??" "Oh, thats a rare Artist 3 in teal black, semi hollow with trem in Teal black" I ask are you sure its semi hollow? "Yes. Look at the body thickness compared to a standard Artist 3 or CU 22, and you will see its a thicker body, and tap around on it and you will hear the hollowness." Thats what Ib did, and thats what it was. Ed did not realize it, not having the certificate, and I did not recognize it either, having it right next to my stock CU22s. I sold all my solids, and the only havd semi hollow or chambered guitars now. I have bought a few R9s, various Modern Eagles, and a few other solid guitars, and in no time they are back up for sale. Semi hollows are superior sounding guitars. They are resonate chambers, and the more a guitar resonates, the better they sound IMO. Seems me and Ed agree on that. And PRSs semi hollow designs sound HUGE. I LOVE them, can you tell? :adore:
(I did not proof read any of this, so forgive the mistakes)
IMO, except for EXTREME volumes or gain, semi hollow guitars are tonally superior to their solid counterparts in every way. I know that Ed Roman (RIP) was not a very popular guy around here, but take this example. He knew PRS guitars very well, and being a dealer at one point, he had played a LOT of them. I was looking for an Artist 3 about 10 years ago, and these are not easy to find. Well, Ed had not one, but two of them in what he called brand new condition. I had heard horror stories about dealing with this guy, so I was very nervous about dealing with him. The two he had were a teal black with a trem, and a blond with a stop tail. Both were beautiful, but the blond was to die for. I called and talked to him, and got an in hands description of both. He said the blond sounded and looked fantastic, but the teal black was one of the best sounding, and most resonate PRSs he had ever played. It had a wide thin neck which I did not want, but he kept telling me "trust me, the teal black is the ONE". This made me even more nervous, because i thought he was trying get rid of it for some reason. Both were the same price. He told me I had a 24 hour approval, and if I did not think the teal black was a magical guitar, send it back and take the blond one. SOOO, while he was a bit pushy, he did not seem like the complete jerk I had read about. I went for it and wanted it overnight shipped to me. "No problem, but by the way, I do not have the certificate for this one." UGGHH! I asked why not? He said it was a collector who traded it in, the guy had lost it. Wellll....I went for it anyway, I can always check authenticity by calling PRS. The next day, the fed X truck arrives, and I am REALLY excited. I had wanted an Artist 3 for a long time. I open the box, and first thing that hits me...wrong case.
Totally normal PRS case, not the artist leather. Now I am thinking I am going to open it, and find a beat up or POS guitar inside...everythingt i heard about him was true. Well, I open the case..... and almost passed out. Just as he had told me, the guitar did not look mint, it looked brand new, in unplayed condition, and the top had nice thick flames on that killer Teal black finish. I carefull picked it up and looked over it. Perfect in every way. As is always the case, for some reason, the very first thing I play on a guitar to hear it is an A minor 9 chord. EXACTLY as Ed had described. The entire guitar shook in my hand, and this HUGE clean tone comes out of the neck pup. I had several other CU 22 APs at the time to compare it with, and it was a no brainer. I call Ed and tell him about the guitar and how good it sounded, and he said "Yea, I know. I told you that didnt I?" Then I told him about the case, and he said the guys in the back just grabbed the wrong one by mistake. he will send the right one out that day, and I can keep the one it came in as a spare. :rock: So it ends up I call PRS JUST to make sure everything is as it should be. "Whats the serial #??" "Oh, thats a rare Artist 3 in teal black, semi hollow with trem in Teal black" I ask are you sure its semi hollow? "Yes. Look at the body thickness compared to a standard Artist 3 or CU 22, and you will see its a thicker body, and tap around on it and you will hear the hollowness." Thats what Ib did, and thats what it was. Ed did not realize it, not having the certificate, and I did not recognize it either, having it right next to my stock CU22s. I sold all my solids, and the only havd semi hollow or chambered guitars now. I have bought a few R9s, various Modern Eagles, and a few other solid guitars, and in no time they are back up for sale. Semi hollows are superior sounding guitars. They are resonate chambers, and the more a guitar resonates, the better they sound IMO. Seems me and Ed agree on that. And PRSs semi hollow designs sound HUGE. I LOVE them, can you tell? :adore: (I did not proof read any of this, so forgive the mistakes)
solacematt
New Member
Great story Tag. I too had read the horror stories about Ed Roman but it is true, the guy does know his stuff. Gotta say though, I'm intrigued by this magical fiddle you purchased, any chace you can post a picture or have you already posted elsewhere on the forums? You are right, it does resonate like no other. You can't compare an R9 or any semi-hollow or hollow that Gibson makes to a PRS.
Here it is. And it made me search out one with a WF neck, and I finally found one of those! Its the sunburst below.
Yup. They're more dynamic, with more complexity to the tone. Kinda like a very fine red wine, there's just more going on. I still like solid bodies for that special punch, but more recently all of my guitar acquisitions have had holes of some sort in them.
What is warm to one person's ears is muddy to another's. I play acoustic, hollow body and solid body. Every guitar has its own sound as does every muso. With the exception of Larry Carlton and cream era Eric Clapton most of the electric guitar music I like was done on solid body.
arose59
New Member
I just grabbed an 03 Custom 22 Semi hollow Artist. The tone is awesome, but the guitar feels a little stiff. I Lowered the action and pulled some relief out of the neck and its a lot better. It still feels a little awkward, but maybe I'm just being OCD and the fact the chambered body is resonating differently. The tone has a good throaty kind of growl to it, sustains differently than a solid body. Its almost a buoyant kid of feel. Im wondering if I should put some extra light gauge strings on it to make it feel less stiffer? Any suggestions, or should i quit obsessing over this and accept thats how semi hollow guitars are?
Thats not how semi hollows feel. They should be no stiffer, or less stiff than its solid counterpart. I have had plenty of both, trust me!
It may be the trem is set up differently? Maybe the springs are pulled tighter from the claw, or there are more springs attached? I have had 2 CU 22 SH LTS, and they play like butter! So does my CU 22 semi hollow walnut. I keep a totally straight neck (pretty much no relief) and use 10 gauge strings.
Texas_minor_blues
Rosewood or Bust
TAG, Not to derail the OP but what are your thoughts on the S2 Semi hollowbodies (the singlecut to be precise)
sergiodeblanc
New Member
- Joined
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Yes. Somebody send Tag a S2 CU22 Semi for a comparison video quick!
Hey guys,
I have never even seen one, let alone try one, but boy would I love to!!
arose59
New Member
Thanks for the info Tag, Its actually a stoptail on this one. Looks like it was a special order from the bird tag. The frets appear to have been shaved down a little also. I stretched the strings a little by hand and it feels less stiff. Are pinch harmonics harder to hit on a semi hollow? I have to dig a little harder to get them also. This thing kind of feels like a bubble or something.
shinksma
What? I get a title?
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arose59, I have a CU24 and a spruce HB, and they feel very similar, allowing for the different necks (wide thin vs wide fat) and different string gauges (009s vs 011s). try different strings if you want, it may play better for you with a lighter gauge. I know the HBs like 010s, or 011s on the piezo version, but I think the semihollow would be fine with 009s.
Maybe the guitar is somehow different in some other way that you didn't expect, like the neck profile or something. :shrug:
Maybe the guitar is somehow different in some other way that you didn't expect, like the neck profile or something. :shrug:
Egads
One, Two, THIRTEEN!
Are you comparing the new Artist Stoptail to something with a trem? That is going to make a huge difference in feel. The trem is going to give when you bend strings, where the hardtail won't. It's definitely a different feel there.
OK, its not the model I had or was thinking about, sorry! All stop tails feel a bit stiff to me because I am so use to trems now. If the frets are smaller, that would make it feel "stiffer" for sure. Just like a tele or strat with vintage frets feels far stiffer than the ones with the larger frets they use on the USA and many custom shop models now. However, even with that, some guitars just always feel stiffer than others of the same kind for reasons I cant understand. I had a tele that was so hard to bend on, you would think it had 13s or even 15s for the high E string, and no matter what i tried, it would not loosen up. :dontknow: My fingers would hurt in no time, and I am use to playing jazz guitars with very heavy strings! Also, I have stated this in the past, but with Artist 3s at least, I do not dig the semi hollows with stop tails NEARLY as much as with the trems. BUT, I played a PS CU 22 semi hollow with the wrap around stop tail i usualy really hate, (I call them tone suckers) and it sounded AMAZING, so there are no blanket statements on my end when it comes to these things. Just when you think you have it all figured out, something like that comes along and messes up your brain all over again! I would not go crazy with it. If a few weeks go by and you are not LOVING it, sell it. I can say with 99% certainty that its not the semi hollow part of the guitar that is causing your concerns. Semi hollow and hollow guitars can do pinch harmonics just as well as solid guitars. The pickups will effect that for sure however, as well as pick up location, scale length, and other things. Are those all equal on the semi hollow with what you are comparing it to? Strats with maple and Rosewwood fingerboards even sound a bit different when going for that. The maple necks always seem easier to me. I hope that helps a little bit!
arose59
New Member
Tag, you just confirmed my suspicions to me haha. I tweaked the neck a little, the strings needed to stretch also, and its playing wonderful now. I lowered the action, adjusted the neck and polished the frets. I can bend strings much better, hit the pinch harmonics and its sustains really well. It needed some TLC, and now it plays like a totally different guitar. I think the neck needed a day or so to adjust along with the truss rod. Its almost been playing better every time i pick it up. I will admit from not ever owning a semi hollow, i was caught off guard from the sound, but now I'm preferring it to solid body guitars. I was spooked, but now I'm delighted. Thanks again for the info.
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