The-Ox Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 (edited) What are your favourite hollowbodies and why? I was potentially looking at a Gretsch. Anybody have any preferences between the likes of Gretsch, Gibson, Guild, Hagstrom etc? Edited January 7, 2016 by The-Ox Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RhysP Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 What sort of sound are you looking for exactly? You posted earlier about Alembic pickups - nothing will sound less like an Alembic than a Gretsch hollowbody bass! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 Do you mean hollow-body guitars? Not basses. Some are only semi-hollow and have a centre block, such as the Gibson 335 My preferred fully hollow is the Epiphone Casino. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The-Ox Posted January 7, 2016 Author Share Posted January 7, 2016 [quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1452166563' post='2947136'] What sort of sound are you looking for exactly? You posted earlier about Alembic pickups - nothing will sound less like an Alembic than a Gretsch hollowbody bass! [/quote] I know, they're two unrelated separate topics Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The-Ox Posted January 7, 2016 Author Share Posted January 7, 2016 [quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1452167593' post='2947143'] Do you mean hollow-body guitars? Not basses. Some are only semi-hollow and have a centre block, such as the Gibson 335 My preferred fully hollow is the Epiphone Casino. [/quote] never said bass ok thanks, will have a look. Any particular reason why you like it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RhysP Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 [quote name='The-Ox' timestamp='1452169207' post='2947168'] never said bass ok thanks, will have a look. Any particular reason why you like it? [/quote] Sorry, didn't realise this was in the guitars section! I love Gretsch guitars, I've owned a few over the years & my current main guitar is a Gretsch Anniversary model. They're not for everybody but they are perfect for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The-Ox Posted January 7, 2016 Author Share Posted January 7, 2016 [quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1452176647' post='2947284'] Sorry, didn't realise this was in the guitars section! I love Gretsch guitars, I've owned a few over the years & my current main guitar is a Gretsch Anniversary model. They're not for everybody but they are perfect for me. [/quote] Haha no worries Nice one! Mind if i ask how they played? How are they perfect for you? Does it fit your style of music etc? I was looking at the G5420t Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RhysP Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 Difficult to put into words really, I just love how they feel, the necks are superb (a lot more playable than many people would think). I first played one back in the 80s - the father of a girl I was seeing at the time had an old Gretsch double anniversary & I couldn't believe how nice it was to play, it just felt like it was made for me. I play guitar with a very clean sound, with lots of reverb & tremolo & Gretsch guitars do the sort of sound I want perfectly, especially with the Bigsby to give the notes a nice wobble. You can get a great rock guitar sound of them them too (most of the guitar on "Who's Next" is a Gretsch 6120 as I'm sure you're aware). They are very versatile guitars, unless you're playing really high gain metal stuff where the hollow body would be a problem. The Korean models, like the G5420t that you've been looking at, are very good quality guitars. I used to have a Korean made Duojet & that was a superb guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RhysP Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 This is my Gretsch Anniversary, It's a limited edition of only 12 Anniversary models made with this all over gold finish. I just have to show it off. [URL=http://s86.photobucket.com/user/RhysP/media/IMG_0078_zps98gzmide.jpg.html][IMG]http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k120/RhysP/IMG_0078_zps98gzmide.jpg[/IMG][/URL] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 One reason for me liking the Casino is I've actually played one quite often. My son has had one for ten years and until recently it was his main guitar (then a hollow bodied Fender Jaguar Thinline took over). It's very light. The single coil P90 dogears can produce a wide range of sounds but they don't do that overdriven humbucker sound which I am not interested in. It's well made enough to cope with very heavy gauge flatwound strings - 13-56 Pyramid Golds - and of course the originals of these kind of guitars came with flats. Which makes it excellent for rhythm skanking but you can still play melodic lines. With those strings it isn't built for bending. It has a fixed bridge and not floating and so easier intonation setup. Quite loud acoustically for private practice. Like Rhys says, it's difficult to put into words. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The-Ox Posted January 7, 2016 Author Share Posted January 7, 2016 [quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1452179852' post='2947324'] Difficult to put into words really, I just love how they feel, the necks are superb (a lot more playable than many people would think). I first played one back in the 80s - the father of a girl I was seeing at the time had an old Gretsch double anniversary & I couldn't believe how nice it was to play, it just felt like it was made for me. I play guitar with a very clean sound, with lots of reverb & tremolo & Gretsch guitars do the sort of sound I want perfectly, especially with the Bigsby to give the notes a nice wobble. You can get a great rock guitar sound of them them too (most of the guitar on "Who's Next" is a Gretsch 6120 as I'm sure you're aware). They are very versatile guitars, unless you're playing really high gain metal stuff where the hollow body would be a problem. The Korean models, like the G5420t that you've been looking at, are very good quality guitars. I used to have a Korean made Duojet & that was a superb guitar. [/quote] Haha i had a feeling you'd mention Who's Next. Great stuff! I agree with you on the tremolo, its good to hear such positive feedback on Gretsch! A good neck is a must for me aswell! And thats a bloody nice guitar too! How much was it if you don't mind me asking? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The-Ox Posted January 7, 2016 Author Share Posted January 7, 2016 [quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1452180220' post='2947332'] One reason for me liking the Casino is I've actually played one quite often. My son has had one for ten years and until recently it was his main guitar (then a hollow bodied Fender Jaguar Thinline took over). It's very light. The single coil P90 dogears can produce a wide range of sounds but they don't do that overdriven humbucker sound which I am not interested in. It's well made enough to cope with very heavy gauge flatwound strings - 13-56 Pyramid Golds - and of course the originals of these kind of guitars came with flats. Which makes it excellent for rhythm skanking but you can still play melodic lines. With those strings it isn't built for bending. It has a fixed bridge and not floating and so easier intonation setup. Quite loud acoustically for private practice. Like Rhys says, it's difficult to put into words. [/quote] Thats food for thought! I'll have to youtube it to see how it sounds. Would like to hear single coil too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The-Ox Posted January 7, 2016 Author Share Posted January 7, 2016 Any of you know much about Framus Missouri 5 60s btw? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RhysP Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 [quote name='The-Ox' timestamp='1452181811' post='2947365'] Any of you know much about Framus Missouri 5 60s btw? [/quote] Apart from the old Jan Akkerman (which was a great guitar) model I've got no experience of Framus guitars, sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The-Ox Posted January 7, 2016 Author Share Posted January 7, 2016 ok thanks! Check yer PM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogload Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 I own a Gretsch G5124 and a Casino, and for versatility and playability would choose the Casino every time. I like the Gretsch which has DeArmond pickups in it as opposed to the regular Gretsch types and sounds brighter and punchier than the G5120s I'd tried, but the Casino just does everything so much better (for me at least). I've put a Bigsby and roller bridge on the Casino, so again, it wins over the Gretsch! It's also more comfortable! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 (edited) A high quality variant on the Epiphone Casino is the Peerless Songbird which is a copy of the Casino by the company who used to make the Casino for Epiphone in Korea. [url="http://www.peerlessguitars.eu/#/songbird/4557055055"]http://www.peerlessg...bird/4557055055[/url] Peerless made the Epiphone Casinos up until 2007, I believe, when production moved to China. Edited January 22, 2016 by EssentialTension Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowlandtrees Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 I have the Gretsch 6129. I love it. Has a very distinctive twang and cuts through any mix. The neck is perfection it feels great especially for someone like me who is mainly an acoustic player but it does not hold its tuning well. Think it is related to the Bigsby. Was thinking about trying locking tuners, It is quite an expensive instrument and I am not sure how the other models hold up in comparison. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 By the way, the Gibson version of the Epiphone Casino is the Gibson ES330. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RhysP Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 [quote name='lowlandtrees' timestamp='1453451965' post='2959562'] I have the Gretsch 6129. I love it. Has a very distinctive twang and cuts through any mix. The neck is perfection it feels great especially for someone like me who is mainly an acoustic player but it does not hold its tuning well. Think it is related to the Bigsby. Was thinking about trying locking tuners, It is quite an expensive instrument and I am not sure how the other models hold up in comparison. [/quote] Don't bother with locking tuners. Get yourself some kind of lubricant (I use Big Bends Nut Sauce) and use it on the nut slots & the saddles on the bridge. Also make sure you haven't got much break angle on the string behind the nut. What gauge string are you using? Bigsby's don't tend to like light strings. I use 10.5-50 gauge on my Anni & I have no tuning issues with the Bigsby. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leftybassman392 Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 As an alternative to the Gretsches and Epiphones, I had a Heritage H575 (made by former Gibson artisans on the original ES175 jigs in Kalamazoo when the company moved it's main operation to Nashville) that I used for my jazz gigs. A lovely guitar with a superb action. Tuning wasn't quite as stable as I'd have liked (although some graphite powder in the nut grooves would no doubt have helped), but with flatwound 11's the sound and feel was perfect for what I wanted from it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blank20 Posted May 18, 2016 Share Posted May 18, 2016 I love jazz guitars, especially from Ibanez, but my favourite is this one http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/StarfireIII VGS is also intresting brand. I never noticed this guitars since i found this model https://gb.muzyczny.pl/159099_VGS-VSH120-Raven-Black-Mustang-Semi-Hollow-electric-guitar-paint-flaw.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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