Semi Hollow vs Solid Body

[GuitarHitman]

Brush the little guy off your left shoulder, flatten the little prick with your boot and go to the store right now. We'll be expecting the HNGD pictures this evening.

 

 

I'll slip it beneath the other halfs radar tomorrow sometime It's almost 9pm here so I guess they're closed

 

 

But NGD... here I come

[jerry_picker]

I've never had the privlidge of playing a semi-hollow body So I was wondering how they compare tone wise I'm on the hunt for a PRS SE Semi Hollow Soapbar but all I can seem to find in most places is the solid body version What differences should I expect tone wise

 

Best get your hands on one. Every guitar player should be intimate with a semi now and again.

[NEWYORK]

 

In my experience (and yes, I have 3 semis) not a ton of difference between a semi and a solid. In fact I'd suggest they were way closer sonically to a solid than most of the uninitiated realize. They do resinate quite well and their sustain under high volume is one of the best kept secrets in rock'n roll. but really not that different than a solid. If you slap some flats on them they can do a pretty good imitation of a jazzbox but an actual full hollow jazzbox is a whole 'nother beast altogether.

 

Mmmmmm right, yeah !

 

And there's not much difference between a solid body guitar and an acoustic !

 

"WAXSOL " - "Guaranteed to clear excessive wax build up in ears."

 

"MANDROVES SOUND ENGINEERING COURSE " - "You'll learn how to improve your crirtical listening skills and hear subtle differences in sound."

[Ferdinandstrat]

Solids give less feedback.

[Highway_61]

 

Mmmmmm right, yeah ! And there's not much difference between a solid body guitar and an acoustic! "MANDROVES SOUND ENGINEERING COURSE " - "You'll learn how to improve your crirtical listening skills and hear subtle differences in sound."

 

 

+1

[Hoddy]

One of the most fun parts about semi-hollows is that you play the guitar with your whole body as in it's relationship to your amp...you'll find that depending on where you stand and which way you're facing you can get insane amounts of controllable feedback and sustain, and be simply just rotating your body just a bit you can control and use that feedback, it's much more interactive in that regards than a solid-body and a heck of a lot of fun.

[Cool Hand Luke]

Mmmmmm right, yeah ! And there's not much difference between a solid body guitar and an acoustic ! "WAXSOL " - "Guaranteed to clear excessive wax build up in ears." "MANDROVES SOUND ENGINEERING COURSE " - "You'll learn how to improve your crirtical listening skills and hear subtle differences in sound."

 

 

And what does solid body vs. acoustic guitars have to do with anything? Yes, there are sonic differences between solids and semi-hollows but they are not THAT far from eachother. On a semi, the bridge and end-piece is mounted in the center block which counts for much of the sonic similarities. I personally think the differences in the feel between the two types are much greater than the differences in the amplified sound. If you were talking about full hollows then I'd agree more with you...

 

And there's nothing wrong with my ear.

[Burgess]

Mmmmmm right, yeah ! And there's not much difference between a solid body guitar and an acoustic ! "WAXSOL " - "Guaranteed to clear excessive wax build up in ears." "MANDROVES SOUND ENGINEERING COURSE " - "You'll learn how to improve your crirtical listening skills and hear subtle differences in sound."

 

OK smart guy, here's one of my semis and one of my solids. Same gig, same rig, same settings, same kinda tune...

 

Have You Ever Loved a Woman

 

Red House

 

...to my untrained ears the biggest diff here is one guitar had P90's, one had buckers. Other than that, like I said not a great deal of difference. A full hollow jazzbox OTOH sounds profoundly different.

 

I wouldn't even insult your ears by asking you to pick which is which. We'll all assume with your trained ears you obviously know which is which. We're past that, right?

[GarysBlues]

 

In my experience (and yes, I have 3 semis) not a ton of difference between a semi and a solid. In fact I'd suggest they were way closer sonically to a solid than most of the uninitiated realize. They do resinate quite well and their sustain under high volume is one of the best kept secrets in rock'n roll. but really not that different than a solid. If you slap some flats on them they can do a pretty good imitation of a jazzbox but an actual full hollow jazzbox is a whole 'nother beast altogether.

 

 

This is good info, and I'll tell you a little more. Should you choose to go with a Trap Tail instead of a Stop-Tail you will lose a great deal of sustain. The Semi's are notrious for Feedback especially at stage volumes. Its easy to control and can actually be used as part of your sound once you get the hang of reacting to it and knowing what to do instead of panicking.

 

 

When ever you face the amplifier at high volumes with a Semi the feedback will immediatly start howling.

 

Fooling around at bedroom volumes will not create issues and you won't get the feedback especially on Thinline style Semi's. Like the PRS you are referring to. But regardless of what anyone tells you they ALL feedback at stage volumes.

 

Thats why BB KIng removed the F-Holes on his 355?

[Burgess]

^ Good points! Stage volume and bedroom volume is a world of difference.

[Sleepin' Deeper]

OK smart guy, here's one of my semis and one of my solids. Same gig, same rig, same settings, same kinda tune... Have You Ever Loved a Woman Red House ...to my untrained ears the biggest diff here is one guitar had P90's, one had buckers. Other than that, like I said not a great deal of difference. A full hollow jazzbox OTOH sounds profoundly different. I wouldn't even insult your ears by asking you to pick which is which. We'll all assume with your trained ears you obviously know which is which. We're past that, right?

 

My ears say woman P90's, Red House buckers! And my guess is the semmi-hollow gots the buckers? Am I right or am I right or am I wrong?

[Oldskool Texas]

 

Yes, there are sonic differences between solids and semi-hollows but they are not THAT far from each other.

 

 

No one said there are night-and-day differences, but they're different enough that I can certainly tell which one I like better.

 

And tone aside, lots of people seem to be looking for an electric guitar with a good acoustic resonance, a lightweight body, and comfortable ergonomics. ES -style semi-hollows fit the bill perfectly.

[Highway_61]

OK smart guy, here's one of my semis and one of my solids. Same gig, same rig, same settings, same kinda tune... Have You Ever Loved a Woman Red House ...to my untrained ears the biggest diff here is one guitar had P90's, one had buckers. Other than that, like I said not a great deal of difference. A full hollow jazzbox OTOH sounds profoundly different. I wouldn't even insult your ears by asking you to pick which is which. We'll all assume with your trained ears you obviously know which is which. We're past that, right?

 

I'm not certain those performances are the best test. I'd rather hear a more consummate player play a solid body when he normally plays a semi and vice versa.

Have Campilongo play a 335 (or even a thinline) and Larry Carlton play a Les Paul. Then we'd have a more accurate test.

 

Lastly, you say there's not a great deal of difference, but guitarists, pianists, violinists, et cetera search their entire lives for the very best example of the instrument that they already prefer. Why. Because they can hear a difference that a less fine tuned sense of aesthetics cannot hear.

They know that "not a great deal of difference" is all the difference.

[Burgess]

 

I'm not certain those performances are the best test. I'd rather hear a more consummate player play a solid body when he normally plays a semi and vice versa. Have Campilongo play a 335 (or even a thinline) and Larry Carlton play a Les Paul. Then we'd have a more accurate test. Lastly, you say there's not a great deal of difference, but guitarists, pianists, violinists, et cetera search their entire lives for the very best example of the instrument that they already prefer. Why. Because they can hear a difference that a less fine tuned sense of aesthetics cannot hear. They know that "not a great deal of difference" is all the difference.

 

 

I apologize for not being a good enough player for you but I play how I play and there's not much I can do about it. That's not really the point though, is it? The point is there are two clips from two guitars through the same rig with the same settings on the same night played but the same player in the same style.

 

Now we all know the chances of us getting Carlton or Campilongo to post some clips of that are slim and none. I'll be first to admit I'm not nearly the player Carlton is and though I've not heard the other guy, if you're mentioning his name in the same light as Carlton's I'll assume he's much better than myself as well. Nonetheless, there are two clips we can listen to and though the playing may not be up to everyone's standard I would still suggest they are a relevant sample of semi and solid guitars in a controlled environment.

 

I'll stick by my previous statements, there's not a ton of difference between the two and to the unitiated they are much closer than most realize.

[cavpilot]

 

I've got an SG with '57 Classics in it.

 

In the interest of "science", if someone wants to send me another set of chrome covered '57 Classics for permanent loan (), I'll put them in my semi-hollow and post some demo clips of both for comparison purposes.

[EllenGtrGrl]

No the difference isn't radical between a Semi and a solicbody. After all, the Semi was created to be a hybrid of a hollowbody,and a solidbody guitar. Nevertheless, it is there. Semi-hollowbodies IMO, are not as percussive sounding as solidbodies. I also still think they have a bit more bass response than solidbodies. One of the things that also determines how solidbodylike a Semi sounds, is how much wood is in the body. Some Semis like the Tele Thinlines, and PRSs have much more wood in the bodies than say my old Howard Roberts Fusion (which had mainly the wood center block under the pickups). The acoustic properties are different. As a result, the strings vibrate differently,and they sound different from each other. Don't let anybody kid you, acoustics do play an important role in any electric's sound. This is why even a Les Paul sounds different that an SG.

[Highway_61]

 

I'll stick by my previous statements, there's not a ton of difference between the two and to the unitiated they are much closer than most realize.

 

 

I'll stick by my statement that "not a great difference" is all the difference.

 

Here's Campilongo, by the way.

I've posted this three in the last few days, but I've made the mistake of watching it every time I posted it (and more). I'm not watching it this time, because knowing that I will never EVER be as good as this guy (or close) is depressing.

 

One of my two favorite guitarists (the other being Mark Knopfler)...

 

Jim Campilongo:

 

[YOUTUBE]EwReoawq1S4[/YOUTUBE]

[Highway_61]

Crap, I watched it.

[GAS Man]

My first thought is that they tend to sound more "woody". Kind of like that "knocking on wood" tone comes through with a semi-hollow. That's partly what makes them good for rockabilly tone.

[Oldskool Texas]

This is the only place I know of where you can read one person's endless pontification on the drastic sonic differences between a maple and a rosewood fretboard, and someone else telling you that there's no significant tonal difference between a solidbody and a semihollow.

 

HCEG: where the golden ears and the tone deaf meet to bleat.

[Highway_61]

 

This is the only place I know of where you can read one person's endless pontification on the drastic sonic differences between a maple and a rosewood fretboard, and someone else telling you that there's no significant tonal difference between a solidbody and a semihollow.

 

 

+1

[EllenGtrGrl]

This is the only place I know of where you can read one person's endless pontification on the drastic sonic differences between a maple and a rosewood fretboard, and someone else telling you that there's no significant tonal difference between a solidbody and a semihollow. HCEG: where the golden ears and the tone deaf meet to bleat.

 

+2 Yeah and Verily!!

[NEWYORK]

This is the only place I know of where you can read one person's endless pontification on the drastic sonic differences between a maple and a rosewood fretboard, and someone else telling you that there's no significant tonal difference between a solidbody and a semihollow. HCEG: where the golden ears and the tone deaf meet to bleat.

That is just brilliant !

LOL.

If someone doesn't hear much difference between a semi hollow and solid body,then what hope have they of hearing the difference between different solid bodied guitars,pickups,strings and height adjustment, ivory and plastic nuts and different woods, tail pieces, guitar leads, capacitors ad infinitum.

[youbetcha1018]

The difference is huge.Solid body has more define and thick,very manageable.Semi hollow are also nice but have some limitations.Most of them are prone to feedbacks.Well if replace good pickups you might reduce feedbacks.Both are good,every guitar style has a designated kind of music.For me,I always go for solid body.I find them more versatile.

[Faber]

It depends. I think I hear a noticable difference playing clean. Part of that difference is in the attack - ok, so i've only owned three 335 style semis to base my opinion on, but all of those have had the same dry percussive attack that i think f as "woody" compared to LPs. There's also less or at least a different midrange to a semi, to my ears.

 

I agree with burgess' point *when playing with distortion* - as the gain is turned up, I think the tonal differences between semis and solids diminish.