semi hollow - what to consider

darcym

I'm considering having a semi hollow made, maybe inspired by the @ddlooping diaz ghost, it saddens me a lot that this has had such a stalled time and my desire for P90's.

I want one f-hole, when planning it out for initial discussion with a builder what should I consider, structure wise and sound wise, I'd like to put thought into this before engaging with anyone to discussing possibly building it.

thanks.

WezV

Are you thinking thin line chambered electric with an f-hole like a tele, or fully hollow like a hofner verithin/casino

Or one of the many multitude of options in between like the Rickenbacker clamshell, 335 centre block or gretsch struts.

Carved top or flat top. Solid or laminate.....

Basically comes down to if its an electric with extreme weight reduction, or an amplified acoustic with feedback control

darcym

thinking 335/339 type size - not %100 sure on flat or carved top (interesting to hear thoughts on it).

in my head I'm thinking solid guitar with say top half hollowed and laminate over the top - 335 centre block style

WezV

I would first say a strict 335 style is out of many luthiers comfort zone. Pressed laminated plates are a specific skill to make, although they can sometimes be purchased. I would say, unless you have someone in mind who does it, you are more likely to find a luthier willing to do a carved top than pressed ply... But obviously that comes with a larger cost.

So flat top will be cheaper and easier to do, but also sound closer to a normal solid body, but with less weight and a more open tone.

darcym

thats interesting and very useful feedback, thank you

darcym

ok - I have two options of what I want now, Semi Hollow is off the table, it's not what I want or what I need for this little idea, thank you for moving my mind on, I was hooked on the Diaz Ghost design I liked and it was clouding my judgement

WezV

I didn't mean to talk you out of it.

darcym

WezV said:

I didn't mean to talk you out of it.

no no, you didn't at all, you gave me a realistic response to some questions which when I revisited what I wanted to better respond I realised I was making it harder, more expensive and perhaps more risky / effort than what it needed to be. When I revisited based on some of your feedback, what I need is much simpler, however the diaz ghost I always liked in my head was clouding my real needs, so thank you 

DrBob

Whatever happened to Denis (@ddlooping ) ?
A quick check of the usernames list tells me he made it over but now think of it I don't see him around !
It's a shame that the Ghost project floundered after all the time & effort he expended on it

darcym

he's posted a few times, and he certainly still logs in and reads, he put a huge amount of effort into the Diaz Ghost, and I've always said I'd be happy to be his first customer, as I really like it. Nothing but respect for the effort he put into that project

stickyfiddle

He's still on Facebook occasionally. A great shame as the yellow Ghost I played was a great little guitar.

As for semi hollows, I'm a big fan but wonder what exactly are you looking for that isn't available in say a Gibson CS336, Ricky 360, Thinline Tele or PRS hollow body?

darcym

stickyfiddle said:

He's still on Facebook occasionally. A great shame as the yellow Ghost I played was a great little guitar.

As for semi hollows, I'm a big fan but wonder what exactly are you looking for that isn't available in say a Gibson CS336, Ricky 360, Thinline Tele or PRS hollow body?

wise wise words, 336 - no p90's and I want a certain colour/finish

Rick 360 - again p90 and certain finish.

Tele - looked at doing something via guitar build / warmoth with/without semi hollow that works just fine, it's a very serious option that I'm looking at.

stickyfiddle

Have you seen the Gibson ES390? It's a full-hollow with minimums iirc but could presumably have p90s fitted easily.

Otherwise Teles always make a good platform for custom stuff

darcym

the tele was the first thing I looked at when I was trying to work out what I wanted, and Warmoths tools allow you to play around with ideas a little and the tele works, I also contacted guitar build about a little bit of a tweak on one of their bodies, been waiting to hear back for a week or two on that, I must chase, the only thing that's stopping me do the tele thing straight away is I've got 2 great tele's and was just trying to do something a bit different to broaden the stock.