Any thoughts on semi-hollow bodies ?

izodiak · Post by **izodiak** » Mon Jul 22, 2019 9:46 pm

Im saving some money, hoping to get a nice semi-hollow body (finger picking some good ol' strumming)..
Spring reverb & delay, nothing too od'd

Ive always hoped about a nice hollow guitar, but I got an Epiphone Casino and those P90's didnt sound nice (live and in rehearsals), got muddy

And my dream for some time has been kind of Gretsch sound.
Always have been scared of semi hollows with humbuckers because they
are so 'full', got scared that theyd be even muddier in an rehearsal etc.. And singlecoils seem too clean. (Sorry, if I sound a bit stupid)

While playing some Gretsch guitars, found out that the filtertrons had this special nice sound, got scared of the 'special', for not to mke the same mistake
with choosing the P90s, its hard to be flexible when playing with 'that kind of sound'.
And now looking at some semi-hollows I wanted to ask about Your views on
the difference of 'BroadTron humbuckers'(they say are not real filtertrons) and those 'Black topfiltertrons' or just simply get an cheap (Ibanez V73) guitar, or maybe some ideas.

I know this aint no rockabilly forum, but just maybe some advice, thoughts.
And Im buying over the net and here in Latvia its pretty hard to get in a nice shop with
all sorts of guitars. Its only been, like 2 years I can find a Gretsch to play here.
Been thinking to get the Anniversary green Gretsch for a few years, played in while going to see Radiohead in UK, sounded nice,bit expensive to go gigin',rehersin :'(

sunshiner · Post by **sunshiner** » Tue Jul 23, 2019 3:33 am

You could trade your Casino for a Gretsch of the similar value. I'm not a big fan of semi hollows, the ones I've tried I didn't like for different reasons. I'd sell/trade the Casino and would buy this from Thomann if I wanted Filtertrones

lank

izodiak · Post by **izodiak** » Tue Jul 23, 2019 5:55 am

They look pretty nicely made, aint 200euro little too low,their made in Indonesia, sounds more interesting than china
I have a strat body lying around my house,
but have been afraid to get a neck (when putting it all together it seems cheaper time/money to buy a factory made guitar) :--D

Fakir Mustache · Post by **Fakir Mustache** » Tue Jul 23, 2019 8:53 am

The Casino is not semi-hollow, it's fully hollow, thus more bassy.

I have a couple of those Ibanez AS73s, they have a centre block. They have regular humbuckers and I can use heavy distortion and they don't feed back, but that doesn't seem to be your goal. They still put out a little more bass than a solid body.

I don't think you'd be happy with Broadtrons either if you complain about muddiness, other people complain about that too. The Blacktops are a bit hotter than regular Filtertrons as well, so you might not like those either.

You might be into low output Filtertrons, perhaps also lipstick humbuckers or Hilotrons. The Anniversary is too expensive for something you may consider too muddy because of the big body. If you played it in a shop you may change your mind when you take it home.

By the way, do you play for your ears or ankles? By which I mean, how do you have your amp's speaker pointed? If on the ground, you are not going to hear most of the highs and need to put it on a chair or table.

izodiak · Post by **izodiak** » Tue Jul 23, 2019 11:32 am

Im a big guy, thats why I always thought about hollow bodies, so they didnt look so small while playing

I put my amp on the floor at home, and in rehersal room my big Fender Reverb amp is on a box/chair.

I just thought that while fingerpicking the semi-hollows would give a nicer sound, but then again Im just a songwriter in front of
a band, so I do some strumming and it gets muddy and.. Now I have a strat, that I bought like 13years ago.

I wanted something that Im not afraid to take on the bus, to a gig and that would be nice to play, stay in tune.
Gave my strat to a "Music Genie" when I was a teenager and I think he 'overturned' the neck, it has
never sounded straight and big fret buzz after trying to fix it up just like on youtube.

Thats why the HarleyBenton choice looks pretty nice.

Maybe a chambered body, for more fuller sound and still something like cheap filtertrons !

Like this

Nick · Post by **Nick** » Tue Jul 23, 2019 4:02 pm

Get TV Jones Classic filtertrons. I put some in my Ovation Tornado and it sounds so good.

Cheap Gretsch pickups are hot or miss. Had a Gretsch CVT with Mega'Tron pickups that also sounded really good, if not a bit hotter than the tv jones.

izodiak · Post by **izodiak** » Tue Jul 23, 2019 10:11 pm

Yes, Im now thinking of about those pickups (had forgotten about those TV Jones)

After work went to a guitar shop and tried out the Ibanez and the sound seems very sterilized.
Tried out the gretsch semihollow G2622 and seemed too fat.
Thank I saw a this Gretsch g5220
Seemed pretty bright but the chords and everything sounded very nice. It looks like Im going for something like that, change the pups later.
Has a real wood body and no laminated "wood" tops. Maybe the fretboard needs some waxing. :--)

And the difference between the G5421 and g5220 is the pickups, and the laminated top ?

Fakir Mustache · Post by **Fakir Mustache** » Wed Jul 24, 2019 6:24 am

izodiak wrote:And the difference between the G5421 and g5220 is the pickups, and the laminated top ?

They're completely different. Besides cosmetic stuff like the finish, inlays and tailpiece, the Jet Club has a bolt-on neck and simplified controls. They both have curved tops.

izodiak · Post by **izodiak** » Wed Jul 24, 2019 11:32 am

Looked the picture and saw that it has a bolt on.

Didn't think they could do something like that on
this 'one-piece' guitar.

Now You all will hate me because I should have gotten a
mustang :'|
(Still thinking about that Harley Benton Tele)

That Ovation guitar Nick promoted seems pretty rare !

kingkiller · Post by **kingkiller** » Wed Jul 24, 2019 3:51 pm

Squier will have a semi-hollow body out soon but not sure when theyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢d be available overseas or how much they might cost from a European dealer

BearBoy · Post by **BearBoy** » Wed Jul 24, 2019 4:38 pm

The Starcasters?

Andertons are quoting Ã‚Â£389 for the CV, Ã‚Â£399 for the Contemporary Active and Ã‚Â£279 for the Affinity models in the UK.

Don't seem to have expected delivery dates as yet.

Thomann are quoting Ã¢â€šÂ¬428, Ã¢â€šÂ¬388 and Ã¢â€šÂ¬278 respectively.

Not sure why Andertons have the CVs up for less than the Active ones and Thomann are the other way around?

kingkiller · Post by **kingkiller** » Wed Jul 24, 2019 5:11 pm

BearBoy wrote:The Starcasters?

Andertons are quoting Ã‚Â£389 for the CV, Ã‚Â£399 for the Contemporary Active and Ã‚Â£279 for the Affinity models in the UK.

Don't seem to have expected delivery dates as yet.

Thomann are quoting Ã¢â€šÂ¬428, Ã¢â€šÂ¬388 and Ã¢â€šÂ¬278 respectively.

Not sure why Andertons have the CVs up for less than the Active ones and Thomann are the other way around?

Could just be an error in pricing, but if itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s not, I guess IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ll have to shop around for the lowest priced active one

sunshiner · Post by **sunshiner** » Wed Jul 24, 2019 5:25 pm

If I'm not mistaken initial peordering prices on CV Mustangs were notably higher at Thomann and now they are the same as US prices maybe even a tad cheaper. The same could be with Starcasters

Nick · Post by **Nick** » Wed Jul 24, 2019 6:38 pm

izodiak wrote:
That Ovation guitar Nick promoted seems pretty rare !

They are rare but not super expensive for what they are if you can find one. I was more promoting the TV Jones pickups I put in it. They sound great, very rich and clear but not muddy at all. I don't usually like the pickups in the "budget" gretsches but the CVT I had was pretty good.

Another thing I might suggest is a Guild Starfire IV if you can get one at a good price, a friend of mine just picked up a nice one used at guitar center for $550. A lot of guitar for that money though they're a lot more new.

izodiak · Post by **izodiak** » Fri Jul 26, 2019 5:45 am

In an pixies post there is mentioned a Epiphone Riviera.
Vought my eye as a very nice guitar. On checking the reviews couldn't get an answer is it really hollow,semi ?
And I understand the P93 are something cool.
thomann site
And the price is nice

dezb1 · Post by **dezb1** » Fri Jul 26, 2019 12:12 pm

izodiak wrote:In an pixies post there is mentioned a Epiphone Riviera.
Vought my eye as a very nice guitar. On checking the reviews couldn't get an answer is it really hollow,semi ?
And I understand the P93 are something cool.
thomann site
And the price is nice

The one I posted about is a 1994 model with humbuckers it's semi hollow and a great guitar (one I'll never sell).

izodiak · Post by **izodiak** » Fri Jul 26, 2019 3:17 pm

Think Epiphone still make them sturdy as in the good ol' days of 1994 ?

If I hate it,then changing the pup's for TV Jones (dogear-humbucker adapter) dosnt seem imposible. (Need to watch more YouTube videos with super distortion pedal metal played with them, as all YouTube reviewers like to do, bit afraid of my p90 experience,hmm)

Found on the net that there are guys who have changed
a lot of casinos but never sell their Riviera.

ekwatts · Post by **ekwatts** » Mon Jul 29, 2019 12:07 pm

I love my Rivera.

Although I did stick a PAF-style minihum in the bridge position because the P90s were like icepicks.

plopswagon · Post by **plopswagon** » Mon Jul 29, 2019 3:56 pm

my old guitarist played a couple of Epiphone Sheratons with an added Bigsby and a Seymour Duncan "Pearly Gates" pup in the bridge position. They took a lot of abuse and served him well.

[youtube][/youtube]

sunshiner · Post by **sunshiner** » Tue Jul 30, 2019 5:40 am

Them Sheratons had maple necks that are a bit sturdier than your average mahogany ES style neck, but anyway they are no match for Fender necks.

Is it you on the bass?