Gretsch, Epiphone or Ibanez Semi Hollow

OilCityPickups · April 5

Dave_Mc said:

Strumit said:

I've been looking at hollow/semi-hollow offerings and reviews seem to be a minefield regarding quality control etc. Any comments appreciated. I do not play professionally, just at home for personal use. Should I just get a Harley Benson BigTone? The wrong vibrato and subsequent "bendy" bridge puts me off a bit??? I have done some tinkering on a Stratalike so am OK with that. Talk to me folks!

I'm being a bit dim here, but what do you mean by 'the wrong vibrato and subsequent "bendy" bridge'?

Okay, various different designs of guitars with various different native bridge heights necessitated several different Bigsby designs to get the string angles over the bridge correct. Unfortunately the Chinese decided to only really copy one design and make it try to fit every semi acoustic design ... in many cases that gave the guitar much to acute a string angle and made the bridge bend with the trem ...

Yorkie · April 5

Have had an Epiphone ES-339 for the last two years, and I have recently taken delivery of a Chinese Electromatic (chambered, but it does feel closer to a semi-hollow than to a solid body).

I’ve just had half an hour with the Epi after one hour with the Gretsch. I don’t think you could go wrong with either. Both are easy to play, sound great and look the part.

Dave_Mc · April 7

OilCityPickups said:

Dave_Mc said:

Strumit said:

I've been looking at hollow/semi-hollow offerings and reviews seem to be a minefield regarding quality control etc. Any comments appreciated. I do not play professionally, just at home for personal use. Should I just get a Harley Benson BigTone? The wrong vibrato and subsequent "bendy" bridge puts me off a bit??? I have done some tinkering on a Stratalike so am OK with that. Talk to me folks!

I'm being a bit dim here, but what do you mean by 'the wrong vibrato and subsequent "bendy" bridge'?

Okay, various different designs of guitars with various different native bridge heights necessitated several different Bigsby designs to get the string angles over the bridge correct. Unfortunately the Chinese decided to only really copy one design and make it try to fit every semi acoustic design ... in many cases that gave the guitar much to acute a string angle and made the bridge bend with the trem ...

Thanks

I seem to remember someone on here saying that "proper" Gretsches don't have the retaining bar with the Bigsby, and I think that affects the break angle over the bridge?

(Also making the bridge bend with the trem sounds a bit scary, can it do any damage?

In case it's not obvious from my posting, I don't have a ton of experience with Bigsbies, just the one on my Eastman Casino/330-alike.)

OilCityPickups · April 8

Dave_Mc said:

OilCityPickups said:

Dave_Mc said:

Strumit said:

I've been looking at hollow/semi-hollow offerings and reviews seem to be a minefield regarding quality control etc. Any comments appreciated. I do not play professionally, just at home for personal use. Should I just get a Harley Benson BigTone? The wrong vibrato and subsequent "bendy" bridge puts me off a bit??? I have done some tinkering on a Stratalike so am OK with that. Talk to me folks!

I'm being a bit dim here, but what do you mean by 'the wrong vibrato and subsequent "bendy" bridge'?

Okay, various different designs of guitars with various different native bridge heights necessitated several different Bigsby designs to get the string angles over the bridge correct. Unfortunately the Chinese decided to only really copy one design and make it try to fit every semi acoustic design ... in many cases that gave the guitar much to acute a string angle and made the bridge bend with the trem ...

Thanks I seem to remember someone on here saying that "proper" Gretsches don't have the retaining bar with the Bigsby, and I think that affects the break angle over the bridge?

(Also making the bridge bend with the trem sounds a bit scary, can it do any damage? In case it's not obvious from my posting, I don't have a ton of experience with Bigsbies, just the one on my Eastman Casino/330-alike.)

Indeed, any Semi usually that has a wooden based bridge that will therefore be higher (to go with strings higher above the body) wan't want a roller. You can of course take the roller off - or string over the top of the roller so that it isn't in use ... but it still speaks to me of poor attention to detail in design.

Some bridges are designed to 'rock' with a trem ... most aren't, and the one fitted to the Harley Benton Big Tone isn't designed to!
When I was looking at semi acoustics I was tempted by the Big Tone too ... but decided there were just too many upgrades I'd need to do to make it 'top notch' that I'd might as well by something closer to 'good'. I think the Gretsch Streamliner range are a lot better ... I tried the 2420T before settling on the Electromatic 5420T. Really the only pickups and pickup mountings put me off the Streamliner - and at around 500 quid they are very good value. Second hand ones can be had for around 300 ... so not much more than a Big Tone ... but with a proper trem and bridge.

You pay for the 'prettier' bound f holes, more traditional inlays, G branded knobs and of course Blacktop Filtertrons with the Electromatic.

Strumit · April 8

OilCityPickups said:

Dave_Mc said:

OilCityPickups said:

Dave_Mc said:

Strumit said:

I've been looking at hollow/semi-hollow offerings and reviews seem to be a minefield regarding quality control etc. Any comments appreciated. I do not play professionally, just at home for personal use. Should I just get a Harley Benson BigTone? The wrong vibrato and subsequent "bendy" bridge puts me off a bit??? I have done some tinkering on a Stratalike so am OK with that. Talk to me folks!

I'm being a bit dim here, but what do you mean by 'the wrong vibrato and subsequent "bendy" bridge'?

Okay, various different designs of guitars with various different native bridge heights necessitated several different Bigsby designs to get the string angles over the bridge correct. Unfortunately the Chinese decided to only really copy one design and make it try to fit every semi acoustic design ... in many cases that gave the guitar much to acute a string angle and made the bridge bend with the trem ...

Thanks I seem to remember someone on here saying that "proper" Gretsches don't have the retaining bar with the Bigsby, and I think that affects the break angle over the bridge?

(Also making the bridge bend with the trem sounds a bit scary, can it do any damage? In case it's not obvious from my posting, I don't have a ton of experience with Bigsbies, just the one on my Eastman Casino/330-alike.)

Indeed, any Semi usually that has a wooden based bridge that will therefore be higher (to go with strings higher above the body) wan't want a roller. You can of course take the roller off - or string over the top of the roller so that it isn't in use ... but it still speaks to me of poor attention to detail in design.

Some bridges are designed to 'rock' with a trem ... most aren't, and the one fitted to the Harley Benton Big Tone isn't designed to!
When I was looking at semi acoustics I was tempted by the Big Tone too ... but decided there were just too many upgrades I'd need to do to make it 'top notch' that I'd might as well by something closer to 'good'. I think the Gretsch Streamliner range are a lot better ... I tried the 2420T before settling on the Electromatic 5420T. Really the only pickups and pickup mountings put me off the Streamliner - and at around 500 quid they are very good value. Second hand ones can be had for around 300 ... so not much more than a Big Tone ... but with a proper trem and bridge.

You pay for the 'prettier' bound f holes, more traditional inlays, G branded knobs and of course Blacktop Filtertrons with the Electromatic.

Many thanks for the above. It's confirming my thoughts about having to upgrade a HB BT, which should have been done at the design/factory stage. It seems to be a bit of a "parts special"!

I do like to see the bound "F" holes etc., so may have to dig a bit deeper for a "proper" Gretsch but some of them also seem to suffer from poor reviews regarding poor QC. A well looked after, older, used example may be the way to go for me. Some that I have seen advertised have eye watering price tags from possibly over ambitious owners (aren't we all when it comes to selling our babies!!!).

Thanks for taking the time to reply. It is much appreciated.

OilCityPickups · April 8

Strumit said:

OilCityPickups said:

Dave_Mc said:

OilCityPickups said:

Dave_Mc said:

Strumit said:

I've been looking at hollow/semi-hollow offerings and reviews seem to be a minefield regarding quality control etc. Any comments appreciated. I do not play professionally, just at home for personal use. Should I just get a Harley Benson BigTone? The wrong vibrato and subsequent "bendy" bridge puts me off a bit??? I have done some tinkering on a Stratalike so am OK with that. Talk to me folks!

I'm being a bit dim here, but what do you mean by 'the wrong vibrato and subsequent "bendy" bridge'?

Okay, various different designs of guitars with various different native bridge heights necessitated several different Bigsby designs to get the string angles over the bridge correct. Unfortunately the Chinese decided to only really copy one design and make it try to fit every semi acoustic design ... in many cases that gave the guitar much to acute a string angle and made the bridge bend with the trem ...

Thanks I seem to remember someone on here saying that "proper" Gretsches don't have the retaining bar with the Bigsby, and I think that affects the break angle over the bridge?

(Also making the bridge bend with the trem sounds a bit scary, can it do any damage? In case it's not obvious from my posting, I don't have a ton of experience with Bigsbies, just the one on my Eastman Casino/330-alike.)

Indeed, any Semi usually that has a wooden based bridge that will therefore be higher (to go with strings higher above the body) wan't want a roller. You can of course take the roller off - or string over the top of the roller so that it isn't in use ... but it still speaks to me of poor attention to detail in design.

Some bridges are designed to 'rock' with a trem ... most aren't, and the one fitted to the Harley Benton Big Tone isn't designed to!
When I was looking at semi acoustics I was tempted by the Big Tone too ... but decided there were just too many upgrades I'd need to do to make it 'top notch' that I'd might as well by something closer to 'good'. I think the Gretsch Streamliner range are a lot better ... I tried the 2420T before settling on the Electromatic 5420T. Really the only pickups and pickup mountings put me off the Streamliner - and at around 500 quid they are very good value. Second hand ones can be had for around 300 ... so not much more than a Big Tone ... but with a proper trem and bridge.

You pay for the 'prettier' bound f holes, more traditional inlays, G branded knobs and of course Blacktop Filtertrons with the Electromatic.

Many thanks for the above. It's confirming my thoughts about having to upgrade a HB BT, which should have been done at the design/factory stage. It seems to be a bit of a "parts special"!

I do like to see the bound "F" holes etc., so may have to dig a bit deeper for a "proper" Gretsch but some of them also seem to suffer from poor reviews regarding poor QC. A well looked after, older, used example may be the way to go for me. Some that I have seen advertised have eye watering price tags from possibly over ambitious owners (aren't we all when it comes to selling our babies!!!).

Thanks for taking the time to reply. It is much appreciated.

It actually goes the other way ... the earlier Electromatics before 2016/17 were not as nice as the later ones ... ie. fitted with 'Dumbuckers' rather than Blacktop Filtertrons, and with no binding on the f holes and with - to my hands - a slightly less comfortable neck profile. I have never handled a Gretsch from the far east with poor quality control, and in my own search I handled quite a few. The older Gretsch I would recommend would be a 5127T with Dynasonics ... but then for me Dynasonics are the top of the pile in pickups for a Gretsch. I paid £500 second hand for my 5420T 140th anniversary Platinum edition ... and for the money there's very little better out there ... but at some point the Blacktops will go in favour of Dynasonics.

TheMarlin · April 8

The new Electromatics are way better than the old ones. Better hardware, nut, pots, wring.

A good setup (with some careful attention to the nut) is all they need, and maybe an upgrade bridge in time.

As I previously stated, aid you want a hollow body, the Rat Rod G5410 is a fabulous guitar.

Pro Jets are also great.

All the centreblock models, Pro-line or Electromatic, I wouldn’t give any of them house room.

OilCityPickups · April 8

TheMarlin said:

The new Electromatics are way better than the old ones. Better hardware, nut, pots, wring.
A good setup (with some careful attention to the nut) is all they need, and maybe an upgrade bridge in time.

As I previously stated, aid you want a hollow body, the Rat Rod G5410 is a fabulous guitar.
Pro Jets are also great.

All the centreblock models, Pro-line or Electromatic, I wouldn’t give any of them house room.

I may try to hunt down a 5410 myself ... I mean ... you can't have too many Gretschs can you? I mean if a string breaks on stage ... they are slow to change with a Bigsby ... perhaps another Gretsch in case I loose a couple of strings ... :-)

Oh and I'm with @TheMarlin ... I wouldn't touch any of the centre block models.

TheMarlin · April 8

OilCityPickups said:

TheMarlin said:

The new Electromatics are way better than the old ones. Better hardware, nut, pots, wring.
A good setup (with some careful attention to the nut) is all they need, and maybe an upgrade bridge in time.

As I previously stated, aid you want a hollow body, the Rat Rod G5410 is a fabulous guitar.
Pro Jets are also great.

All the centreblock models, Pro-line or Electromatic, I wouldn’t give any of them house room.

I may try to hunt down a 5410 myself ... I mean ... you can't have too many Gretschs can you? I mean if a string breaks on stage ... they are slow to change with a Bigsby ... perhaps another Gretsch in case I loose a couple of strings ... :-)

Oh and I'm with @TheMarlin ... I wouldn't touch any of the centre block models.

the Korean made models are way better built than the Nee Chinese models. I got a lecture about this from my luthier. He was pleased with this purchase.

I love the damn thing. Best £300 (with Gretsch hard case) I ever spent!!!

dazzajl · April 8

Yup. That 5410 definitely has a little sprinkle of magic. I wonder if they all do??

OilCityPickups · April 8

TheMarlin said:

OilCityPickups said:

TheMarlin said:

The new Electromatics are way better than the old ones. Better hardware, nut, pots, wring.
A good setup (with some careful attention to the nut) is all they need, and maybe an upgrade bridge in time.

As I previously stated, aid you want a hollow body, the Rat Rod G5410 is a fabulous guitar.
Pro Jets are also great.

All the centreblock models, Pro-line or Electromatic, I wouldn’t give any of them house room.

I may try to hunt down a 5410 myself ... I mean ... you can't have too many Gretschs can you? I mean if a string breaks on stage ... they are slow to change with a Bigsby ... perhaps another Gretsch in case I loose a couple of strings ... :-)

Oh and I'm with @TheMarlin ... I wouldn't touch any of the centre block models.

the Korean made models are way better built than the Nee Chinese models. I got a lecture about this from my luthier. He was pleased with this purchase.
I love the damn thing. Best £300 (with Gretsch hard case) I ever spent!!!

Now that's where I differ ... I had a Korean one that I really didn't bond with ... sold it and bought a Chinese one. Much nicer neck - but luckily we don't all like the same things.

mikem8634 · April 8

I'm curious @OilCityPickups and @TheMarlin , do you consider the centre block guitars to be not good, or just not Gretsch?

OilCityPickups · April 8

Well largely because they are a long way from being a Gretsch in design You can get closer to a Gretsch sound with a second hand Ibanez Artcore and a pickup swap.

BillDL · April 8

Strumit said:

I've been looking at hollow/semi-hollow offerings .... Should I just get a Harley Benton BigTone?

There's quite a difference in feel, sound and playability between a FULLY hollow electric like the Harley Benton Bigtone and SEMI-hollow (semi-acoustic) electric guitar, so it really depends what you are looking for.

A hollow body guitar like the Harley Benton Bigtone has a "floating" i.e. moveable wooden bridge that sits on top of the soundboard and has bass and treble height adjustment and intonation adjustment on the individual saddles. They usually employ a "trapeze" tailpiece that's fixed to the bottom rim of the guitar. The bridge is really just a Tune-o-Matic bridge screwed into a wooden base that's shaped to fit to the contour of the top, but the bridge isn't fixed to the top. Older hollow body electrics had wooden bridge base and saddle, and the wooden saddle was carved out in steps to help with intonation. This can present problems when buying a new guitar that isn't set up, and subsequently if you bump the bridge out of place. You have to adjust the position of it (usually angled) and then tinker with the saddles to get good intonation. The Harley Benton one with the Bigsby style trem/vibrato tailpiece is very obviously a Gretsch copy and has roller saddles on the bridge that helps tuning stability, but the bridge is still a "floating" one that isn't fixed in place to the top.

On a semi-acoustic guitar there is a block of wood running down the centre of the body and the only hollow parts are the wings either side of it. The bridge is secured directly into the wooden centre block just as with a solid bodied guitar. They can have trapeze tailpieces secured to the rim, various styles of trem/vibrato tailpiece assemblies, or traditional stop-bar ones screwed into the centre block. The bodies are normally a lot thinner than the deeper and chunkier fully hollow electrics, but are large in surface area and some people find the overall size of the body area to be unwieldy. The vast majority of semi-acoustic electrics are based in one way or another on the Gibson 335 style, and some of the slightly smaller bodied ones on the 339.

I don't want to imply that you need a specific style and design of guitar to play a specific type of music, because there are very notable players that have effortlessly crossed those boundaries successfully, however a semi-acoustic guitar tends to feel and sound more like a solid body guitar than a deeper bodied fully hollow one that tends to feel and sound a bit like the old acoustic archtop guitars they are based on. A lot of this is to do with the types of pickups specifically chosen to bring out the best of each different style of guitar's inherent qualities. You would have to listen to examples to know what I mean, and I don't want to start using adjectives like jazzy, mellow and warm, or throaty, singing and sweet.

Your decision should firstly be whether a hollowbody or semi-hollow is the type of sound and playability that you are after. Budget will then dictate makes and models.

If you eventually decide that a semi-acoustic guitar suits your needs better than a jazzy / rockabilly type hollowbody, then I can wholeheartedly recommend the Vintage VSA500 Reissued (previously mentioned by @guitarjack66) at the lower end of the price scale (if you are OK with the slight departure in body shape from all the other Gibson 335 clones), or an Ibanez Artcore AS model like the AS-73 or AS-93 higher up the price tree. Higher up in price than that are the Ibanez "AS Artstar" guitars that are truly exceptional instruments. Semi-hollow guitars are a good bit more complex to manufacture, so you generally have to pay more for one than for an equivalent quality solidbody guitar, for example a semi-acoustic that sells for £400 will generally have more cost compromises made with the hardware and electrics than a solid body one that sells for the same price, and in some cases even the build quality.

If your budget is limited, then there are a lot of Gibson 335 copies of varying quality that tend to have "35" in the model name around the £180 to £250 mark, for example the Harley Benton HB-35 and HB-35 Plus. Those guitars, especially the "own brand" ones like GuitarGuitar / Andertons East Coast G35 and similar offerings usually represent good value for money, but if you really want a slightly more "luxurious" semi-acoustic while still being budget-conscious, you should really be looking at guitars above £350.

This probably won't help your dilemma and may even have thrown in more things to consider and complicate the range of choices.

MikeP · April 8

Hollow bodies feed back pretty easy.

OilCityPickups · April 8

MikeP said:

Hollow bodies feed back pretty easy.

But then you aren't likely to be using them for playing Metallica. But then again I've gigged fully hollow bodies for rock/metal... back in my teens I gigged a Hofner President ... with DiMarzio Super Distortion pickups shoe-horned in and all fed through a Marshall 100w stack. You just had to ride the volume knob and watch where you stood on stage - yes I was influenced by Ted Nugent ... but coping with feedback and using it musically is a handy skill to learn.
Oh and Brian Setzer plays fully hollow Gretsch guitars at pretty high volumes ...

stufisher · April 8

I've got a Gretsch Electronic fitted with Brian Setzer signature set filtertrons and pro-setup. It's a really solid, well made guitar and with above mods it sounds fantastic.

I've also got a sunburst Ibanez AM93 Artcore Expressionist which is also very well made IMHO. It has upgraded gold hardware, locking tuners and Suhr pickups so it sounds as good as it looks.

I've no probs at all trying out HB guitars at all but the above are the only two hollowbodies I've owned and they are both keepers ... I don't want for anything more and I can recommend without hesitation.

I bought both second-hand and got them tweaked, which I think is better VFM.

Strumit · April 8

OilCityPickups said:

Well largely because they are a long way from being a Gretsch in design You can get closer to a Gretsch sound with a second hand Ibanez Artcore and a pickup swap.

BillDL said:

Strumit said:

I've been looking at hollow/semi-hollow offerings .... Should I just get a Harley Benton BigTone?

There's quite a difference in feel, sound and playability between a FULLY hollow electric like the Harley Benton Bigtone and SEMI-hollow (semi-acoustic) electric guitar, so it really depends what you are looking for.

A hollow body guitar like the Harley Benton Bigtone has a "floating" i.e. moveable wooden bridge that sits on top of the soundboard and has bass and treble height adjustment and intonation adjustment on the individual saddles. They usually employ a "trapeze" tailpiece that's fixed to the bottom rim of the guitar. The bridge is really just a Tune-o-Matic bridge screwed into a wooden base that's shaped to fit to the contour of the top, but the bridge isn't fixed to the top. Older hollow body electrics had wooden bridge base and saddle, and the wooden saddle was carved out in steps to help with intonation. This can present problems when buying a new guitar that isn't set up, and subsequently if you bump the bridge out of place. You have to adjust the position of it (usually angled) and then tinker with the saddles to get good intonation. The Harley Benton one with the Bigsby style trem/vibrato tailpiece is very obviously a Gretsch copy and has roller saddles on the bridge that helps tuning stability, but the bridge is still a "floating" one that isn't fixed in place to the top.

On a semi-acoustic guitar there is a block of wood running down the centre of the body and the only hollow parts are the wings either side of it. The bridge is secured directly into the wooden centre block just as with a solid bodied guitar. They can have trapeze tailpieces secured to the rim, various styles of trem/vibrato tailpiece assemblies, or traditional stop-bar ones screwed into the centre block. The bodies are normally a lot thinner than the deeper and chunkier fully hollow electrics, but are large in surface area and some people find the overall size of the body area to be unwieldy. The vast majority of semi-acoustic electrics are based in one way or another on the Gibson 335 style, and some of the slightly smaller bodied ones on the 339.

I don't want to imply that you need a specific style and design of guitar to play a specific type of music, because there are very notable players that have effortlessly crossed those boundaries successfully, however a semi-acoustic guitar tends to feel and sound more like a solid body guitar than a deeper bodied fully hollow one that tends to feel and sound a bit like the old acoustic archtop guitars they are based on. A lot of this is to do with the types of pickups specifically chosen to bring out the best of each different style of guitar's inherent qualities. You would have to listen to examples to know what I mean, and I don't want to start using adjectives like jazzy, mellow and warm, or throaty, singing and sweet.

Your decision should firstly be whether a hollowbody or semi-hollow is the type of sound and playability that you are after. Budget will then dictate makes and models.

If you eventually decide that a semi-acoustic guitar suits your needs better than a jazzy / rockabilly type hollowbody, then I can wholeheartedly recommend the Vintage VSA500 Reissued (previously mentioned by @guitarjack66) at the lower end of the price scale (if you are OK with the slight departure in body shape from all the other Gibson 335 clones), or an Ibanez Artcore AS model like the AS-73 or AS-93 higher up the price tree. Higher up in price than that are the Ibanez "AS Artstar" guitars that are truly exceptional instruments. Semi-hollow guitars are a good bit more complex to manufacture, so you generally have to pay more for one than for an equivalent quality solidbody guitar, for example a semi-acoustic that sells for £400 will generally have more cost compromises made with the hardware and electrics than a solid body one that sells for the same price, and in some cases even the build quality.

If your budget is limited, then there are a lot of Gibson 335 copies of varying quality that tend to have "35" in the model name around the £180 to £250 mark, for example the Harley Benton HB-35 and HB-35 Plus. Those guitars, especially the "own brand" ones like GuitarGuitar / Andertons East Coast G35 and similar offerings usually represent good value for money, but if you really want a slightly more "luxurious" semi-acoustic while still being budget-conscious, you should really be looking at guitars above £350.

This probably won't help your dilemma and may even have thrown in more things to consider and complicate the range of choices.

OilCityPickups said:

MikeP said:

Hollow bodies feed back pretty easy.

But then you aren't likely to be using them for playing Metallica. But then again I've gigged fully hollow bodies for rock/metal... back in my teens I gigged a Hofner President ... with DiMarzio Super Distortion pickups shoe-horned in and all fed through a Marshall 100w stack. You just had to ride the volume knob and watch where you stood on stage - yes I was influenced by Ted Nugent ... but coping with feedback and using it musically is a handy skill to learn.
Oh and Brian Setzer plays fully hollow Gretsch guitars at pretty high volumes ...

stufisher said:

I've got a Gretsch Electronic fitted with Brian Setzer signature set filtertrons and pro-setup. It's a really solid, well made guitar and with above mods it sounds fantastic.

I've also got a sunburst Ibanez AM93 Artcore Expressionist which is also very well made IMHO. It has upgraded gold hardware, locking tuners and Suhr pickups so it sounds as good as it looks.

I've no probs at all trying out HB guitars at all but the above are the only two hollowbodies I've owned and they are both keepers ... I don't want for anything more and I can recommend without hesitation.

I bought both second-hand and got them tweaked, which I think is better VFM.

All great suggestions and advice there. I've seen an Ibanez locally (AF75TGD Artcore) that looks lovely. Not sure about the pickups, so I may need to check what they are. Thanks for the time you have taken to respond. It is much appreciated, Mike

OilCityPickups · April 8

Strumit said:

OilCityPickups said:

Well largely because they are a long way from being a Gretsch in design You can get closer to a Gretsch sound with a second hand Ibanez Artcore and a pickup swap.

BillDL said:

Strumit said:

I've been looking at hollow/semi-hollow offerings .... Should I just get a Harley Benton BigTone?

There's quite a difference in feel, sound and playability between a FULLY hollow electric like the Harley Benton Bigtone and SEMI-hollow (semi-acoustic) electric guitar, so it really depends what you are looking for.

A hollow body guitar like the Harley Benton Bigtone has a "floating" i.e. moveable wooden bridge that sits on top of the soundboard and has bass and treble height adjustment and intonation adjustment on the individual saddles. They usually employ a "trapeze" tailpiece that's fixed to the bottom rim of the guitar. The bridge is really just a Tune-o-Matic bridge screwed into a wooden base that's shaped to fit to the contour of the top, but the bridge isn't fixed to the top. Older hollow body electrics had wooden bridge base and saddle, and the wooden saddle was carved out in steps to help with intonation. This can present problems when buying a new guitar that isn't set up, and subsequently if you bump the bridge out of place. You have to adjust the position of it (usually angled) and then tinker with the saddles to get good intonation. The Harley Benton one with the Bigsby style trem/vibrato tailpiece is very obviously a Gretsch copy and has roller saddles on the bridge that helps tuning stability, but the bridge is still a "floating" one that isn't fixed in place to the top.

On a semi-acoustic guitar there is a block of wood running down the centre of the body and the only hollow parts are the wings either side of it. The bridge is secured directly into the wooden centre block just as with a solid bodied guitar. They can have trapeze tailpieces secured to the rim, various styles of trem/vibrato tailpiece assemblies, or traditional stop-bar ones screwed into the centre block. The bodies are normally a lot thinner than the deeper and chunkier fully hollow electrics, but are large in surface area and some people find the overall size of the body area to be unwieldy. The vast majority of semi-acoustic electrics are based in one way or another on the Gibson 335 style, and some of the slightly smaller bodied ones on the 339.

I don't want to imply that you need a specific style and design of guitar to play a specific type of music, because there are very notable players that have effortlessly crossed those boundaries successfully, however a semi-acoustic guitar tends to feel and sound more like a solid body guitar than a deeper bodied fully hollow one that tends to feel and sound a bit like the old acoustic archtop guitars they are based on. A lot of this is to do with the types of pickups specifically chosen to bring out the best of each different style of guitar's inherent qualities. You would have to listen to examples to know what I mean, and I don't want to start using adjectives like jazzy, mellow and warm, or throaty, singing and sweet.

Your decision should firstly be whether a hollowbody or semi-hollow is the type of sound and playability that you are after. Budget will then dictate makes and models.

If you eventually decide that a semi-acoustic guitar suits your needs better than a jazzy / rockabilly type hollowbody, then I can wholeheartedly recommend the Vintage VSA500 Reissued (previously mentioned by @guitarjack66) at the lower end of the price scale (if you are OK with the slight departure in body shape from all the other Gibson 335 clones), or an Ibanez Artcore AS model like the AS-73 or AS-93 higher up the price tree. Higher up in price than that are the Ibanez "AS Artstar" guitars that are truly exceptional instruments. Semi-hollow guitars are a good bit more complex to manufacture, so you generally have to pay more for one than for an equivalent quality solidbody guitar, for example a semi-acoustic that sells for £400 will generally have more cost compromises made with the hardware and electrics than a solid body one that sells for the same price, and in some cases even the build quality.

If your budget is limited, then there are a lot of Gibson 335 copies of varying quality that tend to have "35" in the model name around the £180 to £250 mark, for example the Harley Benton HB-35 and HB-35 Plus. Those guitars, especially the "own brand" ones like GuitarGuitar / Andertons East Coast G35 and similar offerings usually represent good value for money, but if you really want a slightly more "luxurious" semi-acoustic while still being budget-conscious, you should really be looking at guitars above £350.

This probably won't help your dilemma and may even have thrown in more things to consider and complicate the range of choices.

OilCityPickups said:

MikeP said:

Hollow bodies feed back pretty easy.

But then you aren't likely to be using them for playing Metallica. But then again I've gigged fully hollow bodies for rock/metal... back in my teens I gigged a Hofner President ... with DiMarzio Super Distortion pickups shoe-horned in and all fed through a Marshall 100w stack. You just had to ride the volume knob and watch where you stood on stage - yes I was influenced by Ted Nugent ... but coping with feedback and using it musically is a handy skill to learn.
Oh and Brian Setzer plays fully hollow Gretsch guitars at pretty high volumes ...

stufisher said:

I've got a Gretsch Electronic fitted with Brian Setzer signature set filtertrons and pro-setup. It's a really solid, well made guitar and with above mods it sounds fantastic.

I've also got a sunburst Ibanez AM93 Artcore Expressionist which is also very well made IMHO. It has upgraded gold hardware, locking tuners and Suhr pickups so it sounds as good as it looks.

I've no probs at all trying out HB guitars at all but the above are the only two hollowbodies I've owned and they are both keepers ... I don't want for anything more and I can recommend without hesitation.

I bought both second-hand and got them tweaked, which I think is better VFM.

All great suggestions and advice there. I've seen an Ibanez locally (AF75TGD Artcore) that looks lovely. Not sure about the pickups, so I may need to check what they are. Thanks for the time you have taken to respond. It is much appreciated, Mike

One of my old AF75s I used to own (fitted of course with custom pickups)

mikem8634 · April 8

OilCityPickups said:

Well largely because they are a long way from being a Gretsch in design You can get closer to a Gretsch sound with a second hand Ibanez Artcore and a pickup swap.

I thought it would probably be something like that.

The reason I asked is that I love the Gretsch aesthetic but I have a hankering for something that hits a sweet spot (in my imagination) between a cabronita and a 335, tonally speaking.

I wondered if a lower end centre block Gretsch may be a good base that I could mod towards it.

So I thought I'd take advantage of the Gretsch knowledge in this thread.

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