Blues guitar conundrum…

[waltchwarzkopf]

Hi guys,

 

I’m toying with the idea of buying a hollow-body guitar for bluesin’ around the house. I play at home directly to a combo amp, no pedals; I do it for my own pleasure and to practice and get better. Therefore, I’m looking for a guitar that looks nice, plays good and that can inspire me to keep on playing. Here are the candidates:

 

Epiphone Casino Coupe

http://www.epiphone.com/Products/Ele...ino-Coupe.aspx

Fender Modern Player Telecaster Thinline Deluxe (whoa! that’s a long name)

http://shop.fender.com/en-CH/electri...ectric-guitars

 

Obvious similarities:

 

• P90-P90 configuration
  
• 2 volumes + 2 tones
  
• 3-way switch
  
• 22 frets
  

Not-so obvious differences

 

• Fender? Vs Epiphone pickups
  
• ~42mm nut
  
• 9-42 (Fender) vs 10-46 (Epi) strings
  
• 25.5” (Fender) vs 24.75” (Epi) scale length
  
• 1-piece maple “C” Shape nech 9.5” radius (Fender) vs 60’s SlimTaper Mahogany neck with Rosewood finderboard 12” radius (Epi)
  
• 6-saddle vintage-style strat strings-through-body hardtail bridge (Fender) vs LockTone Tune-o-matic bridge + Coupe Trapeze stoptail (Epi)
  
• Both made in China?
  

Here in Switzerland they both sell for about $500, any other suggestions would be welcome. I’ve never had a guitar with P90 so this would be a new sound, also I’ve never had a hollow body electric, but I’ve owned plenty of acoustics. Like I said, I play only at home through a small amp, and sometimes unplugged or through my iPhone with headphones. Advise and comments on both guitars are needed!

 

Cheers,

 

Walter

 

P.S. If you live in Zürich and want to get together and jam, send me a PM.

 

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[badpenguin]

You missed an important one there my friend. the Epi is hollow, the Squier, semi hollow.

 

I have one of the casinos, and love it. Very nice sounding pickups, great playability, and feels nice and sturdy when holding it.

I have NOT played the Squier. But that being said, I don't hear the "hollow" when playing a semi hollow tele copy. yeah, it's a bit different, but not as pronounced as you may think.

 

Semi and fully hollows don't sound quite the same. So you really need to try both besides deciding.

And, staying true to form, look at Ibanez Artcore series. Hollow, semi hollow, they have it all in every possible price point. My AS73 is still one of my fav guitars ever.

[Etienne Rambert]

Neither.

 

I'd look at the lower-priced Gibson Les Pauls in the Gibson USA series.

Plenty of sustain and warmth for Blues leads and Bluezy sliding chords.

I just bought one. Good tone and great action out of the box.

 

But if you are limited to the two you mention - get the Tele.

[Freeman Keller]

Exactly what Penguin said - they are two completely different body constructions. The Casino says its an ES-339 clone, the would be a "semi hollow body" - a big block of wood in the center to hold the bridge and pickups and a big air space surrounding it vented out thru the f-holes. While it isn't designed to have a true acoustic sound, the air volume does contribute to the overall sound. The top and back are laminated but still fairly thin and are designed to vibrate at least to some degree. ES-339 style guitars were played by lots of blues guys - Clapton, BB, many other examples. (Interestingly BB's Luciles don't have f-holes in an attempt to reduce feedback)

 

The Thinline is kind of an oddball tele - it is partially chambered which in theory should change the sound slightly (like BP I don't have any experience). Chambering does lighten the guitar and the chambered Les Paul that I built does have a slightly more complex sound than my solid one, but I still think that this is going to sound more like a solid body.

 

No experience with either of those P-90's, assuming they are similar that will be a big contributor to the sound. You will notice a big difference in the feel of the necks - scale length, f/b radius and shape of the back of neck are very different. If you are going to play slide you might prefer the slightly flatter f/b on the Epi.

 

I'll also go along with Etienne and say if I had to chose I would lean towards a Lester - with either standard humbuckers or P-90s. Here is my LP (with buckers) and the 335 clone that I built for a friend, I prefer the LP for blues and the 335 more for jazz

 

[gardo]

I had a hollowbody for bluesin' around the house. One thing that I actually enjoyed was controlled feedback. I got some very tasty tones right on the edge of a squeal . No pedals needed. You won't get this with a Tele.

[Emory]

I have one of those teles, and enjoy it lots... has a certain nasty brashness when you want it, but dial back and get some lovely tones too. I think Phil here does an expert review of Casino coup. I've considered getting one, but already have too many guitars and not enough space. Also agree about Ibanez hollow bodies. I've got older AF95 that I put some stewmac golden age humbuckers into that and it is killer. One thing to consider with P90s is they are single coil and the buzz might bother you a bit, or a lot.....

[Axisplayer]

I have a completely different suggestion. Possibly THE best guitar I ever owned was a Guild Blues90. This is not the current Bluesbird with P90s that they sell. It is an entirely different guitar. Almost completely hollow body, but is a semi technically. Hot P90s, so you might want more traditional but I loved them. They were made in Westerly NJ, and stopped around 2000 I believe but you do find them. They are pre-Fender also. I have owned a real 1960 ES-335 (PAFS), Epi Dot, four Les Pauls with full size and mini HBs, more Telecasters than I can count, and the list goes on. Selling my P90 years ago is my biggest guitar sale regret. I still miss it. They go used for around $1000-1200 and are worth EVERY single penny. This picture isn't mine, but it looked just like this one.

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[Grant Harding]

Wow - so Lucille has an access hatch in the back?

[strayGoat]

Just to throw a random possibility in there, I've owned an Epi ES-339 Pro (semi-hollow) for a few years now, and I've really come to appreciate this guitar greatly. It is extremely versatile. Comes equipped with 'buckers, but the pups are coil tapped so you can switch to a single coil tone. I really like P90s (and single coils in general), but the versatility of the ES-339's pup setup is nice to have. The fit and finish of the guitar are excellent, and it's a joy to play.

 

Overall, I'd have to say I tend to prefer Fender necks - that's really just a personal preference. Gibson and Epi models almost invariably have gloss necks (nitro on Gibson, poly on Epi [i think]), and that's not my preference, but it is an individual thing and not a deal breaker for me.

 

I watched the linked vid a few times before I bought the git back in, I think, 2014.

 

 

[t_e_l_e]

like freeman said those are completely two different animals

 

a (semi) hollow body guitar has a thin top an bottom glued on the sides, just like an acoustic guitar.

how top and bottom made, materials, having a block in between or not etc. defines the charactiistics of the guitar

 

the thinline series is made out of a full block of wood (or two), the area below the f-hole is routed out, to construct a chamber into the solid block of wood. maybe the blocks where two halfs before the routing, and glued together as one body afterwards.

is far is a know the chamger exists only where the f-hole is and not on the other.

 

so it is not much room for resonating air inside a thinline, more than that as it is not top back sides glued together , but a full block of wood carved out the resonating characteristivs are completely different

 

i only had a thinline in my hand, i was not able to play it or plug it in. so i don't know what the chamber does soundwise, but i know it will definitely have not the sound of a (semi) hollow guitar

[crustoleum]

Try an Epiphone ES 335 Pro, or ES-339 Pro, which is slightly smaller than the 335 model, more like a Les Paul in certain ways , if you are able. In my opinion, if you play the blues, you may quite enjoy those 2 particular guitars. I like Epiphone guitars for a few simple reasons. The price is right and they are just plain cool and the action, fit playability and tone just suit my hands and ears...The Casino is...well, a fine guitar...not much else to say...for now. They are built with a :"center block" inside the body, to reduce feedback, somewhat .Above video is right on.

[Mikeo]

Hi guys,

 

I’m toying with the idea of buying a hollow-body guitar for bluesin’ around the house. I play at home directly to a combo amp, no pedals; I do it for my own pleasure and to practice and get better. Therefore, I’m looking for a guitar that looks nice, plays good and that can inspire me to keep on playing. Here are the candidates:

 

Epiphone Casino Coupe

http://www.epiphone.com/Products/Ele...ino-Coupe.aspx

Fender Modern Player Telecaster Thinline Deluxe (whoa! that’s a long name)

http://shop.fender.com/en-CH/electri...ectric-guitars

 

Obvious similarities:

• P90-P90 configuration
  
• 2 volumes + 2 tones
  
• 3-way switch
  
• 22 frets
  

Not-so obvious differences

• Fender? Vs Epiphone pickups
  
• ~42mm nut
  
• 9-42 (Fender) vs 10-46 (Epi) strings
  
• 25.5” (Fender) vs 24.75” (Epi) scale length
  
• 1-piece maple “C” Shape nech 9.5” radius (Fender) vs 60’s SlimTaper Mahogany neck with Rosewood finderboard 12” radius (Epi)
  
• 6-saddle vintage-style strat strings-through-body hardtail bridge (Fender) vs LockTone Tune-o-matic bridge + Coupe Trapeze stoptail (Epi)
  
• Both made in China?
  

Here in Switzerland they both sell for about $500, any other suggestions would be welcome. I’ve never had a guitar with P90 so this would be a new sound, also I’ve never had a hollow body electric, but I’ve owned plenty of acoustics. Like I said, I play only at home through a small amp, and sometimes unplugged or through my iPhone with headphones. Advise and comments on both guitars are needed!

 

Cheers,

 

Walter

 

P.S. If you live in Zürich and want to get together and jam, send me a PM.

 

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I love Semi Hollow body and Hollow body guitars, and own many.

I ordered a Casino once and sent it back, I think to get a Casino you'll want to get the Elite.

 

The Korean made Casino was not very good, nor well made.

 

Smaller amps are the bomb.

 

You might like the Epiphone Wild-Kat too. It's one of the Epiphones that only Epiphone makes and is not a Gibson knock off.

 

P90's should be dark and gritty.

The necks are a touch chunky. You can up grade the electronics down the road.

 

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