Hollowbody

[prscustom24]

Currently, everything electric that I have is solid: Strat, Tele, Jazzmaster (original '65), PRS Custom 24. So I'm thinkin' my next electric will be a hollowbody. PRS Hollowbody II maybe, but I've always had a soft spot for Gretsch after hearing Chet Atkins play one live. So I'm thinkin' maybe a G6120RHH or G6120SH.

Appreciate your insights/opinions.

[reverbbb]

Well, it sounds like you have interest in the higher end gear. The PRS has been on my radar, but I am not so sure that it hits the mark of the widely accepted "tone" of a hollow body.

I have been wanting an ES-335 for a long while. But that might not be your gig.

I have seen a lot of blues players using ES-137 lately. Much lower price point than an ES-335 (I don't get it, do you - I guess it is S&D factor).

What "sound" are you going after?

When I see folks playing archtops at guitar shows, then they are usually diving into the really smooth/dark tones of light jazz.

For me, I want a little bit of that smooth darkness like BB King, but the ability to drive over the edge like Alvin Lee or Ted Nugent.

Plus, you might consider waiting a couple of months and see if you can get a chance to demo that new Taylor T-5. It might have a lot to offer that we have not realized was available.

[kewlpack]

Don't laugh, but before throwing $1,000s of dollars at an axe... go play an Ibanez Artcore AS83VLS (~$385-425 depending on where you buy). Very similar to a Gibson ES series double cutaway hollowbody.

I will bet that it blows you away. For the money, it has superb tone and build quality. Nice features and it looks beautiful.

I love to play it and while I do not commit to any guitar lightly (as many will attest to here) - this one always makes me smile. It is probably my favorite guitar (out of the 10 or so I've had in the last few years).

At least go find one and play it - maybe you won't like it at all :cool: - but I have to suggest it, right?! There are several Artcore models - the ones right around $400-500 are outstanding... really.

Here's mine:
http://www.kewlpack.com/misc_files/other/as83pix.jpg

Here's a lead (clean and dirty) over a jam track:
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/3/kewlpackmusic.htm (BFSSWING is the one you want).

Anyway - amazing bang for buck with this guitar.

[refin]

Try the 335 reissue dot neck..........also (believe it or not) I have played a few Epiphone dots that impressed me,and I'm not that fond of Epis at all.Maybe I just played a couple of good ones.

I also agree about the Ibanez hollowbodies---very rich tonality!

[jazzrat]

I'd vote for the PRS or a thinline Heritage. I'd say you could get some nice jangly vintage tones from the Fenders. A 335 style would round out the herd nicely with some new tones.

[Crunchyriff]

There are some great suggestions here. I don't think the ArchtopII will be what you think it is. Those are great hybrid guitars, but they just don't have the body volume of anything like an ES335/345, Howard RobertsFusion, ES137, etc to really capture the 'mojo' and depth that I think you are looking for, to really stand out against & compliment your solidbody guitars.

Like other PRSi, in the PRS tradition, the ATII is a hybrid of sorts, and due to that, has it's own voice.

I think even something like an ES356 or 336 would probably get you closer; though they are both carved out of a solid mahogany back, they still probably have more internal cu in volume than say a Hamer Artist or PRS ArchtopII. I think the ArchtopII is a fabulous guitar- probably the best out of the newer PRSi; but I don't think it's going to keep your focus if you want a hollowbody, though I think it would get you closer than say, a hollow McCarty.

Then again, it might be just what you are looking for. I can tell you this, if I ever get another PRS (doubtful) it will either be a ATII or a hollow McCarty- more than likely an ATII, but those two lone knobs drive me nuts!

Man just go out there and listen to some guitars, bro! Good hunting!

[Ravindave_3600]

FWIW - I went up to GC when I was looking for a semi-hollow, and fell in love with the Gib ES333. It's about $1K, but the sound was much better (for me) than the Ibanez or Epiphones. And it's only half the cost of the 335. As expected, the other half of my decision-making team was not as impressed, and I'd rather keep her than get a new guitar, so it did not move to my house.

[Tim Kelly]

Try the Washburn HB-30. I have had one for 6 years and love it and for half the price. Check out their webpage:

http://www.washburn.com/electrics/hollow_bodies/hb30.htm

Tim

[JimmywithaJ]

I have a Samick Royale RL3 that I love. Well made, great sounding, and a looker in the $600 range! :cool:

[Teleguy]

When I think of hollowbody I think of full thick archtop "Jazz" guitars, like Gibson L-5's.
The "give" these bodies have absorbs some highs and cuts sustain some.

It's more expensive to build an archtop than a bolt-neck plank, but some of the imports are very cheap.
While the laminated versions play well and sound OK, the real deal often has a solid spruce top.

Check out an Ibanez George Benson, and an L-5 or Super 400 Gibson, then try to find that sound in a cheaper version. Unfortunately it isn't easy to get those nuances. Even very expensive guitars often miss.

I have never owned an L-5, and plenty of lesser guitars have been OK for what I do, and I've had several. I think you should experience that sound as a reference for what an archtop hollowbody is really supposed to be all about.

To my ears, there's a reason guitars of that caliber are used by guys like Kenny Burrell, et al.

[prscustom24]

Thanks to all for your insights and recommendations, you've given me a lot of excellent perspectives on this.

As I just discovered today, boiling it all down to a short list is gonna be a little tougher than I thought. Whereas the Plano, TX GC has a number of representative examples of many of the aforementioned brands, they keep the high end models at least 12 feet in the air, and all the associates were focused today on peddling $149 planks and the occasional $299 Epi to the handful of other customers. Not that those sales aren't important, but to the best of my knowledge I was the only person in the store at the time who indicated any willingness to part with $2 or $3 Large for an item of their inventory. That bit of news only succeeded in getting me ignored for the next 15 or 20 minutes. Remember the TV spot about Arnold's Rug? Felt kinda like that. Deciding I'd been invisible long enough, I headed for the door, where they actually station a person to ask, did I find everything I wanted? :dunno :banghead

Oh well. Didn't I hear there's another instrument store in the building Speir vacated over in Garland?

[Crunchyriff]

Deciding I'd been invisible long enough, I headed for the door, where they actually station a person to ask, did I find everything I wanted?

"Uhh, why YES, I have and it's called "service"...I found THAT in a store right down the street from you. Have a nice day"

[kewlpack]

Mike -

Plano GC - ask for "Papa John" and tell him Alex sent you... he's a great musician and will take good care of you.

Now, in Garland - over at Garland Road (hwy 78) and Ave B (hwy 66), you can find Larry Morgan Music and Zoo Music in the same little business strip. Larry Morgan is where Speir used to be. If I go down there, I go to Larry Morgan. Zoo is a little seedy IMHO. Nice guys, but not very professional.

You can get a map to Larry Morgan:
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=%22larry+morgan+music%22+garland,texas&ll=32.910797,-96.647540&spn=0.039612,0.059246&hl=en

Hope that helps... BTW, be sure to play an Ibanez AS83VLS - you'll forget all about those Gibbies... LOL :innocent

webmaster edit: had to reduce the size of the link so the page will scroll better

[reverbbb]

Oh well. Didn't I hear there's another instrument store in the building Speir vacated over in Garland?

John can be a little difficult to get his attension sometimes. But when you get it, he is all yours and he knows a great deal more than most of the employees. He is the manager or assistant manager. He also has the supreme authority to negotiate the prices (but will he? Alex knows for sure).

Larry Morgan's is a great place to shop as long as you don't let their bedside manners upset you. They act as if they know everything and are there to teach you what you want to buy :roll: . Larry Morgan of Arnold & Morgan, has been doing the music equipment business for 40 years. He got "his" old location back after Bob Speir;s store went under. LM sells Fenders, Gibsons and Taylors as his main guitar brands.

Zoo Music is a PRS dealer. However, they are the most difficult store in the DFW area to negotiate prices. Everything is marked with the List Price and then they only discount marginally. I know Dave Anderson real well and we go way back 25 years ago when he started his 1st Zoo Music Store. But he never cuts me a deal any better than the highest prices that I found elsewhere. I'm not sure how he keeps a good cutomer base, but he does it some how. I think he has perhaps two PRS Hollowbody guitars in his store virtually next door to Larry Morgan.

[prscustom24]

Alex,

iref: Plano GC -- Thanks, but that's now the second time I've walked out of that particular location disliking the vibe and overall 'tude of the place. Can't see what my motivation is to ever walk in there again. Unless it'd be to show 'em the sale they blew, after I conclude it, but that's not me.

I did a pretty good business with Speir -- the PRS, the Tele, an amp or 2 and some DJ gear for my son came from there -- so I can prolly still find my way over, Old Timer's Disease hasn't got me yet :lol:

Ibanez is on my list, and I definitely want to audition the gb10 / gb200 in addition to your model.

[Brad]

Wow! Excellent advice and suggestions everyone! As a life long lover of semi-hollow body guitars, I can tell you with all honesty that once you own one, you'll never want to be without one.

My current semis include a 1967 Gibsone ES-335, a 1966 Kent 823 and a "chambered" homebrew tele. I also have a few hollow bodies. A Dempsy, which is a copy of the Epiphone Sorento and an old 50's Supro archtop. I've owned several Guild Starfires in the past along with an Ibanez AS-200 and an Ibanez AM-205.

The suggestion of the Artcore is spot on. They are quality guitars. Drop a set of Seths or Antiquities in there and you have a low cost tone machine. Don't rule out a thin-line tele either. I just played a G&L Tribute thin-line and it was all I could do to not take it home! Great guitar for not a lot of $$. Even some of the Jay Turser 335 copies are very nice. THe quality of the improt gutiars has really improved over the years. It amazes me that you can get a quality gutiar fro so little. Oh yeah..one more to consider is Yamaha. Not sure of the model, but it looks kinda like a gretsch with two P-90's. A local store had one used for $219.00. I'm still kciking myself for passing it up. It was a bolt on, but who cares! Peavey has some nice 335 style ones out for cheap also. Good luck!

[reverbbb]

prscustom24:

I was at Zoo yseterday. They only have one PRS hollowbody guitar. It is a black McCarty. I did not plug it in. But it was SO MUCH lighter in weight than the ES-335 that I had played over at Larry Morgan's a few minutes earlier.

[prscustom24]

Hi, reverbbb,

Truth be told, the sound I've been carrying around in my head came out of a Gretsch 6120 w/ TV Jones TV Classic pups I played yesterday.

I'm pretty sure that's gonna be it.

[Crunchyriff]

But it was SO MUCH lighter in weight than the ES-335 that I had played over at Larry Morgan's a few minutes earlier.

And physically smaller too...but the sound is a whole different 'thing'.

[Gino]

Hi,

if you should decide not to spend BIG BUCK on a semi-acoustic, here's what I did some time ago.
I was definitely after something like a 335 that has a block (that used to be called 'sustain-block' long before folks found out that you have a hard time with a hollowbody guitar and a high gain amp. And there's a good reason for calling the inner plank sustain-block!)

Having worked in a music store, I've played quite a number of ultra nice semis - even had a chance to do extensive workouts on an all original 1958 Gibby ES 335 owned by my boss.

I did get a nice Epiphone Dot - natural 1998 model made by Samick in Korea. The wood is nice and nicely worked, everything that's hardware is crap - IMHO.
So I changed about all the hardware: Duncan pups (SH-1 front, SH-5 bridge - had those lying around since 1985), Sperzel tuners, CTS pots, Switchcraft toggle switch, an old mid-eighties ESP brass tunomatic bridge with matching brass stoptail. I even put on a smaller ES-type scratchplate.
Then I had a bonenut put in instead of the cheap plastic nut.
Guess what - sound and playability is up to any Gibson ES 335 I a/b-ed my Epi with!
So, for the money - great value!
Buckwise, for about 700-800 dollars you'd be there probably even if you have all the work done by a qualified repair person (working the electronics on an ES-type guitar can be quite a drag...)
The downside: You don't get the gratification of playing a GREAT name.

My 0.1 EUROcent worth of input

Blessings
Gino

[Micter]

Try the 335 reissue dot neck..........also (believe it or not) I have played a few Epiphone dots that impressed me,and I'm not that fond of Epis at all.Maybe I just played a couple of good ones.

I also agree about the Ibanez hollowbodies---very rich tonality!

I was looking at ES 335's like crazy. I couldn't find one I liked! I picked up an Epiphone DOT by mistake and ended up buying it, changing the pups, complete wiring harness, and put a bone nut on it. I'll stack that thing up against any ES 335 I've ever played and way less than half the price. Now with that said the stock Epi isn't going to be reliable due to the inferior electronics.

[Crunchyriff]

Now with that said the stock Epi isn't going to be reliable due to the inferior electronics.

True, true!