Which is more adaptable to various styles of music, solid or hollow/semi hollow?

[moon]

It would be an interesting experiment to put the same pickups in a bunch of different guitars and then see how easily you could identify different models in a blind test.

I think the related experiment - the same guitar with a range of different pickups - would yield a much greater variation in sound.

My idea of a versatile guitar would be one which is designed for fast pickup swapping.

[zabdart]

I know this is going to seem like a cop-out to some people but...
The magic is not in the guitar, but the person who plays it.

[guitararmy]

If I could only have one of my guitars, my most versatile would be a Tom Anderson Hollow Drop Top with a H-S-H configuration and coil taps...

Pretty much covers all of the bases for my playing.

[Pualee]

Telecaster!

[polarred21]

Great thread and answers some of my questions. Went and picked on several electrics for which I am very ignorant being somewhat drawn to the Les Paul style, salesman and I discussed the archtop design of a nice semi-hollow body model and why they called it that. Overwhelming for a beginner with all the Humbucker pick-ups and the 4 control knobs and some of them snap in and out for even more controls. Looks like to stay in the price range <$500> they will definitely be made in China.

I guess for my first electric down the road I may lean towards a tele or a strat.....just liked the looks of the Gibson and Epiphones....

[EoE]

Ibanez and right now sechecter are more versatile ( but I will admit I may like the schector because it is better looking than the Ibanez).. my whole problem with a Strat is they are not versatile and way to much money for what you are getting. but people do play good jazz on strats . tellies . even squires.... jazz players that focus on only one sound.. I like a huge variety of sound even one guitar is not enough. but the most versatile instrument would be a Ibanez or schecter with a Floyd rose...I can do any gig with this. even cover a few steel guitar parts with that Floyd. even get a decent acoustic guitar sound with my ac modulator. go play one of these.. http://www.schecterguitars.com/guita...3-11-19-detail

[Pualee]

I'm going to throw out an ignorant question here...

How different of a tone do you get with the same pickup in multiple spots... assuming all else is the same?

On the strat you have 3 pickups, all the same, the wiring changes some of the positions, and the lack of tone control changes the bridge, but really... would you get 3 different sounds if all 3 were wired the same?

Likewise with a LP style guitar (2 humbuckers)... if the tone/volume were set the same for both, how different would they really be?

That schecter lists both humbuckers as the same thing.

[Davis Webb]

I really do not see how someone can say the Strat is not flexible and even that an Ibanez, designed purely as a heavy metal shredder is superior in the range of tones?

Go figure....

[redir]

Originally Posted by moon

It would be an interesting experiment to put the same pickups in a bunch of different guitars and then see how easily you could identify different models in a blind test.

I think the related experiment - the same guitar with a range of different pickups - would yield a much greater variation in sound.

My idea of a versatile guitar would be one which is designed for fast pickup swapping.

My thoughts as well. The audience won't hear the difference. They will however see the difference. A Rockabilly audience might expect to see the Gretsch's and Gibson ES-xxx's but hear it? Nah.

[imwjl]

Originally Posted by Bob Womack

I'm going to suggest two very versatile guitars for flexibility: the ES-335 and Tele. Of the two, the ES -335 seems to handle mellow stuff and gained-up stuff best. The Tele does well too, and seems a good "everything in the middle" instrument. Of course, that is my opinion. They can occupy much of the same tonal ground, the tele because of single coil pickups and the ES-335 because of a maple center block and hollow wings. They both take borderline brown zone distortion extremely well. You wont get the semi-hollow sound from the Tele and you won't get the solid body feedback rejection from the ES.

From there it comes down to which scale, neck, and control system are comfortable to you.

I'm through trying to mimic sounds with guitars that didn't make them.

Bob

Yes, but my Collings SoCo 16 sounds more like a friend's 1958 Gibson than all the late model ES models I tried, and the ones in his shop.

I probably went as GAS-crazy as it gets buying and selling many classic models and trying newcomers. Versatility was a part of how I got to the keepers among many. Not being in a band I find jams and playing with others requires total versatility.

It just kept repeating that I didn't want to be without a Telecaster or ES semi-hollow style guitar. That doesn't mean that I dislike others.

[imwjl]

Originally Posted by moon

It would be an interesting experiment to put the same pickups in a bunch of different guitars and then see how easily you could identify different models in a blind test.

I think the related experiment - the same guitar with a range of different pickups - would yield a much greater variation in sound.

My idea of a versatile guitar would be one which is designed for fast pickup swapping.

I did swap same 3 pickup sets between two Telecasters. Each effort smelled like a hot solder iron and sounded like a Telecaster and Princeton Reverb.

There's a long running bunch of posts on TDPRI about Greg's Guitars (Gregor Hilden) youtube demos because they really let you see how much touch and the amp make for a consistent sound.

[Otterhound]

Originally Posted by Pualee

I'm going to throw out an ignorant question here...

How different of a tone do you get with the same pickup in multiple spots... assuming all else is the same?

On the strat you have 3 pickups, all the same, the wiring changes some of the positions, and the lack of tone control changes the bridge, but really... would you get 3 different sounds if all 3 were wired the same?

Likewise with a LP style guitar (2 humbuckers)... if the tone/volume were set the same for both, how different would they really be?

That schecter lists both humbuckers as the same thing.

The hard tail Strat that I built uses Fender CS69 pickups .
According to Fender , they are all 3 wound the same .
There is a pronounced tonal difference between the bridge pickup and the neck pickup . The middle pickup clearly sounds more like the neck pup than the bridge pup .
I am using a wiring setup that gives me no volume control and all tone controls .
It allows for doubling tone pots in certain positions including the bridge position .
Using the tone pots , I can dial in a sound on the bridge pup that cuts the trebles while retaining the dynamics associated with this position .
With this baseline , I see no doubt as to location having an effect on tone , at least with single coils .
As to the original question , I say Telecaster .

[6L6]

The best all around electric guitar, IMHO, is the Gibson ES-335.

[EoE]

really with todays effects and eq. not any tone difference.. If strats came with a Floyd. more constant neck action and a more reasonable price I would play one. well they need to make them look better also...right now they go for the cork sniffer... I could get the tones but it is not a totally versatile guitar. You could not do steve vai cover with it for exampel. you have to have a good bar system for that...

[Pvee]

Years ago, you played what you had for every song..

Now I play a Tele with a mini humbucker in the neck position.

We play old standards, big band tunes, Chet Atkins and Merle Travis stuff, country etc.

I have archtops and a Strat, but when in doubt, I take the Tele.