Hollow Bodies, Jazzboxes, Rockabilly Guitars, etc.
 

I got back into the electric guitar in recent years and have gone through a bunch of models, everything from Strats to shredder guitars. They all start out ok but I eventually lose interest and sell them.

Something recently occurred to me: I have played acoustic guitar for so long that I don’t really like electric guitars anymore. The feel is just all wrong.

At some point I started picking up the big hollow guitars in shops and realized I like them a lot. They sound cool and FEEL more like an acoustic guitar.

I’ve got a milestone in life coming up in a few months and am thinking of celebrating it with a new guitar. It will probably be a hollow body. So far I’m liking some from Guild and a few other makers, but these guitars aren’t nearly as popular or ubiquitous as Strats etc.

I’m wondering if you all here play and own guitars like this. If so, what would you recommend? I may have missed a few makers. I’d like to keep it under $2k if possible.

Well that is a HUGE category...

What are you looking to do on it? I'd recommend a very different guitar to a jazz player than I would a rockabilly player.

Except for a year or so in a country band in the '70s, the only electrics I've owned have been archtops, like you, they feel more like the acoustics I'm used to. I currently have an Artist Award (out of your price range unless you stumble on an amazing deal) and a Korean Epi Howard Roberts Custom, definitely in your price ball park. I used to own an '88 Guild X170 that I sold to fund a Guild D55, but last I knew the buyer is offering it for sale at a decent price ($1800). I can vouch for the quality of this instrument, as I said I only sold it to fund a new acoustic, and seriously considered buying it back. You can see it here:https://letstalkguild.com/ltg/index....8-x170.220081/

This (and my Telecaster plus 14 fret 000 acoustic) kept me GAS-free for 11 years. I'm afraid to know what a new and used one would cost now but being satisfied for so long counts for something. Delay gratification and try lots of stuff. When you go testing try for using a same amp model. Most shops have a Princeton Reverb reissue as an example or the Tone Masters more recently.

You could certainly get the core elements from several makers. Dimensions are much like a fat neck ES-335. The Lollar low wind Imperials are available aftermarket and in other guitars. They sound more like real old Gibsons than many newer Gibsons I tried. Low wind doesn't mean they don't push an amp.

In addition to Guilds, I understand the Hagstrom semi-hollows are a good value. As far as acoustics, I think my Thinline Telecaster has some common shape with an acoustic.

In my case age and arthritis seem to be making an electric more attractive. The Spark Mini and Yamaha THR with iPad help that.

https://i.imgur.com/g1wUkOO.jpg

Here ya go. DeArmond T400...

https://i.imgur.com/tmnMK6kh.jpg

I’m not a jazz player but love jazz guitars. Many of the ones with just the neck PUP are great but the tones probably aren’t versatile enough. I’m more of a rock player and would need the bridge PUP.

Ok, that definitely helps...

So you have a lot of choices...

You have to at some point decide "Bigsby or no?" I am probably the resident Bigsby hater here, but they are a vibe...

Look into Gretsch, Ibanez, Epiphone...the Godin two pickup Kingpin is in your range...That used DeArmond is cool...and of course, there are Guilds, but their full depth hollowbodies tend to lean more jazz...

I'd avoid getting mired in semi-hollows. Fine guitars, but a totally different feel.

There is a DeArmond X155 for sale locally for $700. In good shape but I’m not crazy about the tobacco burst.

I’m not a Bigsby fan either but it’s not a deal-breaker. Semi-hollows are thinner and I like the big bodies of the full hollows. Thanks for the recommendations! Lots of the Ibanez stuff looks great but much of it is pretty cheap. I’ve been around guitars long enough to know that likely means lousy hardware and PUPs. I don’t like changing anything or customizing. I want to buy a guitar to play and enjoy from day one.

Probably need to put bias aside and try some then. Ibanez is making great guitars, and they aren't all cheap either.

Hollow Bodies, Jazzboxes, Rockabilly Guitars, etc.
 

I stepped into this world a year or so ago, with a used Ibanez AF95 which I bought from a fellow AGFer. It was more than adequate to get me started, and I’d probably still have it, except that I found the neck a little narrow for my beginning fumblings in the world of jazz guitar.

I then bought a new Eastman AR372CE. It’s pretty much a straight ES175D clone, and I love it. It’s a very high quality instrument, and plays beautifully, with a little bit of setup work to my tastes. The neck’s a hair wider (1 3/4” nut vs the 1 11/16” of the Ibanez), and it makes all the difference for me. I’m playing (or attempting) pretty much straight jazz on it (neck pickup, fingerstyle), but it makes a more than adequate noise on the middle and bridge settings, and would probably do quite nicely for rock’n’roll and rockabilly styles. And, of course, Steve Howe used an ES175D for much of his tenure with Yes if you want to go that route.

One note for you: Eastman is now advertising these as having a 1.72” nut, if that is significant for you. Also, mine was $1200 brand new from Dave’s Guitars.

Attachment 105309

I’m hoping to try some out in shops. I really like some of the colors they use too!

Hm. I used to have a Gibson that looked like that, in red. It was the single-cut model Chuck Berry used sometimes.

After playing 27 years in a successful San Francisco Bay Area Oldies R&R band, I've been through Fenders, Gretches, Gibsons, Pre CBS, Custom Shop, etc. guitars.

None of them hold a candle to my 1960 Harmony Meteor for classic TONE!

Pic:

https://i.imgur.com/2Zoajuml.jpg

I bought a DeArmond X155 jumbo sized hollow-body back during the turn of the century blow-out. I really wanted to try the big "jazz box" feel, response and sound. It gave me that.

I move through a fair number of electrics for enjoyment, but it's stayed in the mix ever since. My chord playing chops are abysmal, but it's great for my single-note "fake Jazz" playing. I use TI flats on mine.

I went with one of the MIK Gretsch hollow-bodies with a Bigsby too (AKA the "Steve DeRosa sent me" AGF signature models) I've always associated those guitars more with cranked up rock, and frankly it's taken some time to find out how to use it for that. I went through a number of string sets, but what finally brought out more of what I was looking for was adjusting the pickup heights somewhat higher.

Myself, I consider thinlines to be another kind of thing, but I dearly love my Guild Starfire 1 with three Franz-type P90ish pickups. More than other thinlines I've played it seems to have a bit of acoustic sound coming out of it, likely due to nicely microphonic details from the pickups.

Enjoy your search. It is a different kind of guitar, fun to experience.