GAS and hollow body guitars :(

Creed_ClicksCreed_Clicks Frets: 1385
edited December 2018 in Guitar

I have an Ibanez AF75T at the moment. Lovely guitar, but going to move it on to fund another purchase, but will revisit the hollow body world again soon.

Only small issue I have with it, is that while I like what the Bigsby tremelo does, I’m still not totally sold on how it makes the guitar feel overall…

On the lower price side of things, the options seem endless. I’m going to narrow it down.

Epiphone Dot. Good value used, and can be tweaked. (I’ve played them before). (Potentially add a humbucker size P90 in the neck)

Epiphone Casino. In theory, could be a cracker, but would need to play one. Would be very different sounding to my one and only HH solid body guitar at least.

Here is one I’d be very curious about and it would be something very different in the arsenal: Epiphone James Bay style guitar. I like the idea that it’s hollow and only has one pickup, and some of the demos look pretty good. They often show up used for a good price.

I know, in the low used price range, I could be looking at Ibanez, Cort, Hagstrom etc…

Or just go back to an Ibanez AF75 ! The bridges on them are ugly though.

Ibanez made a model quite similar to the Casino years ago didn’t they? Not sure why they stopped...


I have a Danelectro Convertible reissue I'll be picking up in Spain over the Christmas. Can't wait to see what that will be like. Different for sure.

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Comments

  • dazzajldazzajl Frets: 5654
    I’m a lot like you on this quest. I love the idea of a hollow but I never bond with them. I’ve had and tried and loads, right up to a Master Built Gretsch but only one has managed to find a permanent home here. 
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  • munckeemunckee Frets: 12255
    I have a harley benton 335 copy with sd vintage blues in and gibson tuners, lovely guitar, can't decide whether to put a bigsby on or save and buy a gretsch electromatic semi with bigsby.
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  • The Dot HH 335 would be fine, but I find I can do the same things on it that I would with a solid body. Which is why a Casino might be more appealing. Full hollow, P90s...

    For an Epi century players, am I right in saying that I can't use a regular set of electric guitar strings on it? There's something with the G string being wound or unwound?

    This guitar for sure would be very different and the demos sound great with a bit of overdrive.
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  • DB1DB1 Frets: 5024
    Guitars with holes in are my thing - it's mainly Gibson these days, but I have had several Korean-build Epiphones, Sheraton, Dot, Broadway, Emperor Regent and Joe Pass. Based on my experience, I'd recommend them and would have another. 
    Call me Dave.
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  • DB1 said:
    Guitars with holes in are my thing - it's mainly Gibson these days, but I have had several Korean-build Epiphones, Sheraton, Dot, Broadway, Emperor Regent and Joe Pass. Based on my experience, I'd recommend them and would have another. 
    In your experience, and it's a silly question perhaps, out of all those you mentioned, which did you prefer?
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  • DB1DB1 Frets: 5024
    DB1 said:
    Guitars with holes in are my thing - it's mainly Gibson these days, but I have had several Korean-build Epiphones, Sheraton, Dot, Broadway, Emperor Regent and Joe Pass. Based on my experience, I'd recommend them and would have another. 
    In your experience, and it's a silly question perhaps, out of all those you mentioned, which did you prefer?
    They were all different enough (in the main) for there not to be been a favourite, in all honesty. I suppose, looking at body size for comparison, the Broadway, with 2 pickups, was more versatile than the Emperor Regent, with the single floating pickup, but the single floating pickup gave it quite a distinctive feel and sound. Comparing the '335' style, I suppose that the Sheraton was more aesthetically pleasing - I had a black one and a blonde one, both lovely looking things. 

    In saying that, I picked up the cherry Dot for £200 one morning in Leeds and then ended up buying a Mamphis ES-335 in Sheffield a couple of hours later. My initial thought was that I'd sell the Dot straight away, but I didn't, because it was a good guitar - the sort that a 'collector' might not desire (which I suppose I've partly become) but one that, if I was playing at the pub, I would have been happy to take there.

    If I had the space, I'd have another Broadway, Sheraton, Emperor Regent and Joe Pass - in fact, I'm looking at a Joe Pass at the moment, as the size is comfortable, and they're inexpensive enough to play around with if you so desire. It depends, also on what type of stuff you like to play as to which one floats your boat.
    Call me Dave.
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  • Alternative rock, bluesy style, indie would be my style. Using delays, reverbs, fuzz the odd time. Big into Low. I'd have no hassle using a Dot. 
    Do Make Say Think, there's a guy using a Joe Pass in that band. Nice "breathy" sound.
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  • I loved my old Af75 ( without the T) . I’m not sure now why I sold it.  I put flatwound 12’s on it and played jazz all night long. Pickups were not that great, tho.
    Lots of those ibanez semi and hollow bodies around so easy to pick up second hand. The white ones that look like a Gretsch are cool.
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  • Any cheap Ibanez I played was always pretty good quality. It's the white one I have and am moving on for now. Would prefer one with chrome hardware.
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  • p90foolp90fool Frets: 31368
    The Loar, if you're on a budget, they have an authentic vintage character. Mine's a keeper. 

    http://i67.tinypic.com/a29q20.jpg
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  • Very nice @p90fool ;
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  • DB1DB1 Frets: 5024
    The Loar looks great. On that score, I should have mentioned the Godin 5th Avenue Kingpin. Although I'm sort of selling mine at the moment (half-heartedly) only because I have an old ES-125 and am trying to cut down on numbers, I've had it for at least two years and have always been impressed with it. 




    Call me Dave.
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  • DB1 said:
    The Loar looks great. On that score, I should have mentioned the Godin 5th Avenue Kingpin. Although I'm sort of selling mine at the moment (half-heartedly) only because I have an old ES-125 and am trying to cut down on numbers, I've had it for at least two years and have always been impressed with it. 




    Have you ever tested one of these against a Casino style guitar?
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  • DB1DB1 Frets: 5024
    Not specifically against one, but I have, and have had, a few ES-330's - there's a difference in body depth, of course. They're both light, the Godin especially so, with the tone from the Godin (to my ears) being darker and even more 'vintage' than the 330. I'd say that the Godin is a more obvious old-jazz-and-blues box, whereas the 330-style guitars are more versatile. The Godin doubles as a passable acoustic and (plugged in) can even do a bit of the Delta Blues style. 
    Call me Dave.
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  • I ended up with a Peavey Rockingham but nearly went for Washburn HB35
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  • SimonCSimonC Frets: 1391
    I ended up with a Peavey Rockingham but nearly went for Washburn HB35
    Peavey Rockingham are excellent guitars. The fact that they don’t come up for sale very often on the used market speaks volumes. Owners tend to hang on to them, same with The Loars, becoming very hard to find.
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  • DB1DB1 Frets: 5024
    I've had three Rockinghams, one which was excellent, one which was good and one which was poor, admittedly due to being messed with by a previous owner, which was also a lesson for me not to necessarily trust an eBay ad without trying the thing first.

    I would say that they're well worth a look. I certainly wouldn't rule out another one..
    Call me Dave.
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  • BigsbyBigsby Frets: 2913
    FWIW, I've been on a bit of a hollow body journey over the last few years. I bought a Hagstrom Viking Tremar for a bargain price - loved the look but didn't really bond with it. Sold it after I picked up a Gibson Midtown Standard in the 2015 fire sale. That was a really lovely guitar, but also got moved on after I bought a Reverend Spacehawk - a large hollow body, but with comfortable body contouring and no F holes. Since then that's been one of my favourites, although it's now exchanging case-time with a Reverend Manta Ray, which feels and sounds a bit more 'hollow body', perhaps because of the F hole and lack of contouring.

    Currently, the only times I'm really feeling any GAS when it coms to a hollow body. Funny, it never used to be that way, but now I'm very interested in any hollow body with P90s. 
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  • Fifty9Fifty9 Frets: 491
    Take a look at Peerless guitars. They made some of the highly rated epiphones but have since done their own thing.
    Hardtail, Revolver, Songbird, Gigmaster, Tonemaster & then some proper Jazzers in their range. Have owned 3 Peerless made guitars and all are superbly made instruments.
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  • Creed_ClicksCreed_Clicks Frets: 1385
    edited December 2018
    The Joe Pass was something I considered before too. It's more or less the same as the Ibanez AF75 from what I saw. 
    I think the P90 is swinging me towards the Epi Casino and or the Epi Century style. 
    The wound g string is a new thing to me on the Century style guitar....
    I sold my AF75T yesterday, and could feel a pang of regret as the buyer plugged it in and tested it. 
    It went to a guy who I knew to see, but hadn't seen in years who was picking up the guitar again after a while away from it, so glad it went to a good home at least.

    Any Epi Century players here? Any issues with the guitar? I watched the Andertons demo, and love the warm sound off it, even when slightly overdriven.

    The Guild T50 looks like a better option, but it's pricier obviously... at least it has a fixed bridge...

    Would the Godin or Loar be fixed bridge?
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