Hollowbody, Semi-Hollowbody & Chambered Guitars: What's the Difference?

Between fully hollowbodies and today's more-common solidbody guitar, there's lots of space for variation. But what difference does the amount of hollowness really play in their tone and function? Luckily, Andy Martin's here to explain.
Read more on Reverb : bit.ly/2DDBB0A
Shop hollowbodies: bit.ly/30wYzQi
Shop semi-hollowbodies: bit.ly/33vCdk6
Shop chambered electrics: bit.ly/31kHbgO
Instruments used:
Guitars: D'Angelico EXL-1 Throwback, Reverend Club King 290, Gray Guitars Grayling
Amp: Hamstead Artist 60 R+T
Pedals: DryBell The Engine
Recording Gear: Universal Audio Apollo 8 QUAD, OX Amp Top Box, Royer R-121
Cables: Sinasoid Sable
Strings: Stringjoy Signature 10-46

[@joeyjo-joshabadu9636]

Andy been polishing his Jazz chops/Wes Montgomery licks during quarantine!

[@wrayven]

Andy is more emulating Joe Pass who used all of his fingers of his right hand. Wes rested his other four fingers on the pickguard and just used his thumb. As a result Wes's tone is really full. Fingertips usually sound more bright than a thumb. Wes was so adept with his right thumb that he could alternate pick with it for faster sections. Here is a clip of Wes playing one his classic tunes Four On Six that has some great closeups of his right & left hand techniques: kzbin.info/www/bejne/sKm3dWSOhrmWr80

[@joeyjo-joshabadu9636]

@@wrayven He is literally playing Wes Montgomery's "southwest blues" in this video though.

[@wrayven]

@@joeyjo-joshabadu9636 Except it sounds like Joe Pass playing a Wes Montgomery piece with little swing to it. Those fingertips just sound wrong for Wes's tone. What's Southwest Blues? I am more well versed with Jim Hall as I am not really that much into guitar for jazz. Don't you mean West Coast Blues? I know that piece, and now recognize it except Andy needs to get that 6/4 swing going better which is one reason I didn't recognize it at first. kzbin.info/www/bejne/jYqnmo2Zdq-MapY

[@joeyjo-joshabadu9636]

@@wrayven yeah West Coast Blues. Andy's always played that way with his fingers, and he's primarily a rock guy(at least on Reverb), so it's really(probably) just a coincedence that he would sound like Joe Pass when he plays Jazz.

[@mr.deafeningguitar1547]

Couldn't agree more, the guitar suits him as well!

[@austinledley]

Shoutout for playing Country Sad Ballad Man at 6:05. One of my favorite Blur songs.

[@c.g.curtis9480]

Thank you so much for answering and showing the differences between the types of guitars. It was exactly the kinds of things that I wanted to know. Very clear and to the point. Thank you again from someone who is NOT a musician.

[@zacharykarras6027]

I would love to see Andy give a tutorial on his tremendous finger style skill. I would bet that many of us would love to know how he achieves that “pick-like” sound without one so effortlessly...

[@sirstashalot7441]

Absolutely

[@lt-yx1hx]

He has one on his personal channel "AndyDemos."

[@justink8156]

I saw him mention in a comment that the link in his instagram bio elaborates on his pick-less style. I assume it goes to his own website? Been meaning to check it out.

[@AndyDemos]

Thanks, I made a video about my fingerpicking on my channel 👍🏻

[@iiWNMii]

I knew the difference but clicked anyway to hear them sweet Andy riffs.

[@stevepethel6843]

Informative just what I needed. Thank you and may God continue to bless you... Loved that technique and playing on that first chambered guitar.I have heard 1000s of great musicians and your style is unique. That is something I don't usually say but the way you played rhythm and bent the lead at the same time was unique. I enjoyed it and your educational production was perfect.

[@DeadWhiteButterflies]

"Semi Hollows are good for playing Blues and Rock". And then there's me, playing down tuned Doom and Hardcore Riffs on my Epiphone Dot 😂🤣

[@NoUploadJustComment]

Josh Homme too.

[@louderthangod]

Oliver Cant I’ve tried that with my 137 (Witchcraft also use them) but with a full stack it’s just too hard to have any control over the feedback. My f-holes felt like fans. I even tried foam plugs but it was too much. I still do doom metal with it but just through my Ox or my Kemper at home.

[@TybudX]

I use a Hagstrom Viking I bought years ago. It's a baritone, so It's great. The stock pickups are so silky smooth. It sounds amazing with a bunch of fuzz and distortion, but it holds it's own playing faster, more technical stuff as well. People look at me like I'm crazy, but it's like, Chris Cornell always had semi-hollows. So many metal players are sleeping on them. The tone is real.

[@zwidawurzn9423]

I often use a Gretsch Electromatic G5620T for heavy riffs, thinking i'm somewhat special until i saw Cult of Luna live footage where they use Gibson ES-Series and Gretsch Jet.

[@DeadWhiteButterflies]

@@TybudX let's still funny when I brought my guitar into a workshop to have a setup done, and the guy was like, "Yeah, I love these for playing Blues", Then I said, "Well actually I play in a two piece Punk band", And he looked so perplexed, like it wasn't supposed to be possible to play anything heavier than Blues on a Semi Hollow 😆😂

[@thirdwavefinance8154]

thanks for the tip on the reverend club king. love the sound of spruce tops on electrics, but don’t see it very often. would like to see & hear more

[@jacobgutierrez864]

I know they are constructed and sound different, but all of these guitars are equally gorgeous . Also Country Sad Ballad Man! Andy’s taste in Blur songs is fantastic as always :)

[@chriswareham]

I play an archtop with floating pickup, but rather than using it for jazz I play punk and new wave stuff. Never had an issue with feedback, but finding a suitable pedal to add dirt was a challenge. I now use a Fuzzrite clone which works really well with the single pickup, and at extreme settings I can get a controllable feedback if I want it.

[@AndrePrista]

Thanks for the class teacher Andy :)! Excellent video!!

[@user-eb8mi3xi5f]

Intro is so good, love the West coast blues and guitar!

[@JimmyJammy97]

Fantastic Chops as always Andy!

[@xXDarcatronXx]

Love that Country Sad Ballad Man cover Andy!

[@rubickon]

Andy, I have been googeling this one for a while. Want to order g&l s500 custom. Trying to decide semi or solid. And here it is, your video. Thanks man.

[@JohnnyReading]

Reverends are just the coolest guitars right now.

[@rickc2102]

I do love mine

[@LukaszVT40k]

That T-type Gray is sooo beautiful!

[@sassycat]

Love those Club King 290 sounds! 👍

[@larrybstreetfish5852]

Revs are sooo good!!

[@TheTaulusPaulus]

Digging those Blur riffs Andy!

[@mr.deafeningguitar1547]

Man Andy plays so smoothly...

[@manuelgomez1768]

Very interesting photos, thanks

[@UserUli]

I play my Malcolm Young Style Gretsch Electromatic for more 20 years now and I never knew it was chambered let alone what that meant. Thanks for enlighting me.

[@glenbason1892]

Great video!

[@odstProductionsLV]

Damn, Andy!!! do it all!

[@simontemplar3359]

I think we need to also mention the Reese's Cup of combinations: semi-hollow body with P90s. I mean it's like friggin cream in your coffee. Unreal. Fantastic playing, and thanks for sharing the knowledge!

[@PatrickPretorius]

Reverend Club King 290 at the 4:52 mark

[@wilburwokeii8298]

GREAT VIDEO LOVE REVERB

[@stuartmccrea]

A hardtail Club 290 is my dream guitar

[@cmore138]

I clicked with the hope of hearing how a chambered guitar (ideally a Gretch “solid”) sounds unplugged. No such luck but still found it to be a good and useful video.

[@SuperWave86]

Love my semi hollow Epiphone Casino! ❤️ after yrs of a Fender Strat!

[@PendelSteven]

Semi Hollow. I own one and would love to have a Tele Thinline, but haven't found one I liked enough in a nice price. Do love the Britt Daniele one, but I want one about 1/3rd of the money. Since there's also a fair chance I would put a Seymour Duncan Little '59 in the bridge...

[@thomascrosson8541]

Gretsch Falcon, all the way. When I was a kid, I had no idea what Billy Duffy was playing in the Cult, I just knew it was what I wanted to play one day.

[@chriswareham]

Same here - it was Billy Duffy's Gretsch and Killing Joke's Geordie Walker with his trademark Gibson that made me want a hollow body guitar.

[@sim0n17]

That green Tele sounds awesome!

[@blues61]

Nice work Andy! I own an Epiphone Sheraton Pro II myself. Hey, what pickups are in that custom beauty from Gray guitars?

[@FC-cz6zd]

Well done✌

[@a-mb9373]

You have a great voice for voiceovers and radio!

[@andrewbeattieRAB]

EXCELLENT VIDEO

[@fotoajojo]

Duesenberg Caribou. Amazing tone, PRS-like playability and the best tremolo system BY FAR!

[@maxmatson1578]

When I think of Hollow Bodies, I think of Gordie Walker of "Killing Joke". The "Lions Roar "tone he gets out of that thing, and feedback is incredible! nobody but him can make it.🎸🎧💫😵👌😎👍

[@rypatmackrock]

Regarding chambered electric guitars from a construction perspective; don’t the chambers have connecting holes to pick up or electronic chambers so they can breathe in different climates to reduce the difference in air pressure between the chambers and the environment where the guitar will be played?

[@okimotdm]

Andy plays Wes. Excellent

[@pickinthatbanjo]

As an owner of a Gretsch hollowbody I can say they do indeed feedback, never really was an issue until I got into higher gain music.

[@mikejolls2560]

Hi Andy .. just a question about how you're playing (right hand). I noticed you're playing with your fingers (not a pick) in some segments. You get good volume at those points. Any time I play with just my fingers I can't pull the strings hard enough .. due to the tension of the strings ... to get good volume. Do you overcome this by 1) playing with artificial nails to give you "picks" .. or 2) just turning up the volume to compensate? I love fingerstyle playing but haven't found a way (other than turning up the volume) to get and adequate sound/volume when not playing with a pick or fingerpicks. Just wondering how you're doing it. Thanks.

[@fuzzface-983]

Lovely Andy

[@nigef334]

Great info, especially for beginners or the less experienced guitarist

[@taokichavez9319]

great video, thanks for sharing, what is the brand of that chambered green guitar? it sounds amazing!

[@carlosmpizzi]

Great San Tropez by Pink Floyd rendition at 2:24

[@AndyDemos]

Thanks, good catch!

[@mrfrontranger7911]

great info here

[@chadt5584]

I'll probably take a beating for saying this, but plugged in, I'd say the pickups are still the biggest factor in the overall tone, even with these style guitars.

[@subrag321]

While I agree, I would say that it has a larger impact than the type of wood used.

[@fonchy6098]

tbh try not to overthink about it

[@georgefromgreece4119]

I have been thinking/ believing this for years and years but during the last couple of years I laid my hands on a bunch of very different guitars plus made some serious and in depth a to b experiments like same pickups on different guitars, vice versa, recorded, played live, whatever etc that ultimately convinced me for the complete opposite: construction totally translates into the final tone, electronics aside. All friends having participated agree. Cheers.

[@Anjohl]

I feel the same way. Like, what realistically is the difference between a Les Paul and a Es-335, if the pickups, bridge, and pots are the same?

[@AjCohn]

@@Anjohl call me crazy but i prefer my 335 for loud noisy shit. hollowbody makes it way easier to feed back

[@Jokerman518]

Loved my Gretsch 5420 but got gnarly feedback when pushing a amp and I wasn't about to pack it with foam or cover the f holes so I gave it up.

[@DarrenMalone253]

very helpful Gracias!!

[@guitar8617]

Loving hearing the Wes Montgomery

[@xdoctorblindx]

If you ever decide to sell that Gray Guitars tele, let me know!

[@daniellang3782]

Seriously, omitting Dan Smith’s Fender Robben Ford/Esprit was anathema. I have two, and the Greg Fessler built Fender Custom Shop Ultra is the best guitar I have. It’s so good I have no problem stealing Nigel Tufnel’s line and tell people not to touch or even look at it. 😎

[@thebreakfastmenu]

The Fender Starcaster and Coronado have to take the prize for me in the world of semi hollow

[@davidburne9477]

Yep, I have the red 2 knob Starcaster with the ‘wide-range’ humbuckers. Lovely neck, so much so that my 92 Tele has been benched for the last 8 months. The Starcaster has become my #1 for daily playing. I also have a ‘65 Ibanez hollow body with f-holes and a 73 Ibanez Les Paul Recording copy which is chambered.

[@zetaminor77]

All are favorites! :)

[@palm444]

Andy rules!

[@vw9659]

Re: "if you listen to it when you tap it (the top), it's definitely projecting some sound so that means ... just like my finger is tapping that sound, the strings are going to amplify it as well. and that's definitely going to translate into the pickups and to the overall tone of this guitar" Let's be careful that we don't suggest breaking the laws of physics here. ;) Yes, string vibrations can excite less rigid bridge mounting designs to transfer small amounts of string vibration energy to the top. So then there is LESS vibration energy in the strings to be seen by the pickups. But "the strings are going to amplify it as well" doesn't apply. Pickups are not microphones. Direct measurements of semi- and fully-hollow body electrics show the small string vibration losses at particular frequencies to the body, and also the consequent reduction in string vibrations, evident for example in reduced sustain at those frequencies (see ch7 of Zollner's Physics of the Electric Guitar"). So such guitars are indeed tonally different, for well-understood physics reasons.

[@ontheroad97]

Was that a bit of Tom Petty’s “Swinging” at the end? Great song!

[@brunoguevara1158]

hey ty for the analysis, also... what are you playing 6:00 ? sounds so cool

[@GaveMeGrace1]

Thank you

[@godfreydaniel6278]

When a video like this addresses the differences in resonance of different guitar bodies, and how those differences affect the tone of the instrument, it always make me think of the online "tone wood" wars where some folks claim the undeniable differences in resonance of woods used to make solid bodied guitars have NO effect on the tone of the instrument. Go figure...

[@jkf9167]

@Toxic Potato the issue to me is the fact that there doesn't seem to be any relationship between the fanciness of the wood and the fanciness of the tone. They do sound different. I first played a Pawlonia guitar when I was trying out a bottom-of-the line $100 Dean guitar in the 90s. It felt light and insubstantial, but sounded amazing. Now it's considered "fancy." Some companies call it "Empress." I have old plywood guitars that sound great. The various tone woods do make a difference, but not in the most predictable way.

[@eddievhfan1984]

I usually look at it like this: when using clean/lightly-distorted tones, the nuances of a hollow/semi-hollow instrument come through better. If you're gonna crank it up, you'd ultimately be better off with a straight solid body. That said, whatever floats the boat.

[@joermnyc]

Internet: argue about tone woods and how exotics are better.... Real world: always plays with the fuzz box cranked.🤪🤪

[@godfreydaniel6278]

@Toxic Potato - I'm not charging you for anything. And different woods don't have to be "fancy" or "exotic" too sound different from one another...

[@godfreydaniel6278]

@@eddievhfan1984 -Solid maple - solid swamp ash - solid plexiglass -solid mahogany - or?

[@BarryPennock]

Fascinating.

[@Prodbycell]

Wes Montgomery my dad’s favorite guitarist

[@Alienkiwi730]

2:24 San Tropez by Pink Floyd??

[@chopperking007]

Great channel Andy...you dont babble on its all imformation...

[@gabrielledebourg2487]

Favorite non-solid body? Well, my Cabronita Telecaster Thinline of course - a semi hollow Tele with Filtertrons that I run into an AC30 style amp (Victory “The Copper”); HELLO JANGLE!

[@AndyDemos]

Oh, that sounds nice!

[@larrybstreetfish5852]

Love Teles...Love Gretsches...and Cabs are the perfect offspring of the two..👍👍

[@PeterDad60]

My Hollowbody Epiphone Casino is my go to guitar. I can play her unplugged and enjoy acoustic resonance just like my full bodied 6 string acoustic guitar, except not as loud. Because I play for myself that's fine with me. In fact I play my Casino in bed during the night and my wife enjoys the music and yet she is not disturbed by the volume. So the thin bodied Casino is very nice to have around. More comfortable than a full bodied 6 string or Jazz Hollowbody, and because it has those great P-90's she can be amplified and really wail. It does it all. -Peter age 71

[@billx8245]

I love watching Andy's video's, but I think it's a shame during a pandemic Reverb started taking more from us on their website. I buy and sell all the time on there, and when we need every dollar more then ever they raise their rates.

[@mrfrontranger7911]

Agree 100%

[@TopaT0pa]

I came here because I can't afford a Collings 470 - now I know I can't afford a lot of hollow bodys, but as a jazz guitarists this is what I need. But with 1.000-4.000 bucks budget I'm not able to find what I look for. Any tips for something in that price range? Awesome video - thanks =)

[@jamiehicks7312]

Take a look at Godin 5th Avenue!

[@TopaT0pa]

@@jamiehicks7312 thanks for the tip - I'll take a look at the guitar. For now I'm quite broke because I got myself a Taylor T5z and a Fender 65 amp for projection

[@edadpops1709]

Soo cool

[@miguelpanta]

whats a gretsch 5420t?

[@kyledavis828]

West Coast Blues!!!! The bes' by Wes

[@maxencelefebvrehauguel1425]

Next video: what about bass hollow semihollow ?

[@pjm8779]

Wes Montgomery! Nice!

[@thephoenixcycle8854]

Gordie Walkers tone is badass

[@Tsudkyk]

I have only owned solid body guitars, but I’d really like to own a semi hollow PRS C 24.

[@Harold710]

I looked this one up but it said it was a solid body??

[@pb25193]

@@Harold710 CE24

[@SLEEPYDEADBRAIN]

Hollow bodies have the longest history and are tied for most versatile along with semi hollow guitars and solid bodies are tied for least versatile along with chambered solid (chambered) guitars

[@RockOfGreece]

Andy are you gonna buy me this semi hollow reverend for my birthday? It's in May 24th

[@VladimirCheTV]

Thanks for blur

[@manyeset60]

Blur 🤘🏻

[@rickc2102]

"Electric Spanish" guitars are the ES series and are mostly semi-hollows, with just a couple full hollow bodies.

[@grugotube]

I’ve never heard a good-sounding D’Angelico. Must be the pickups.

[@micahchambers5096]

Natural hh tele thinking for sure!

[@patrickcarroll1754]

Just when you thought Andy couldn't be more useful...

[@paredair]

Wes!!

[@MatthewJBell]

Wes!

[@1972piledriver]

Wow! Learned so much from this video, thank you, But when I hear" F Hole" I start to giggle, sorry I need to grow up lol Thanks again from sunny Wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿😁

[@kylegiangrande9611]

no mention of casino. come on guy.

[@AndyDemos]

There are a lot that I didn’t mention. The Epiphone Casino is a Hollowbody that looks like a semi-hollow, so didn’t really want to add confusion in this brief overview. Thanks!

[@Guitarwoerke]

Coz I’m a country saaaaaaad ballad maaan My Gretsch Country Gentleman is my number one, with its silly painted on F holes.

[@bionysos41]

ES 335

[@acidwizzardbastard]

The whole idea of semi-hollow/hollow being only for blues and jazz should be disposed of. If it's good enough for Dave Grohl, Tom DeLonge, Ted Nugent and Brent Hinds can use 'em in distorted rock/metal then anyone can.

[@vIBEDoUT-Channel]

1:69

[@leonmccann5633]

Country SAAAD I’m a ballad man

[@BazNard]

Blur!

[@vIBEDoUT-Channel]

1:69 n

[@ymelfilm]

OMG, 06:57 - U wanna say, that English maker used the cheap and ugly Chinese after market phone jack bell??? It stands out of the body and looks silly. I do not understand, why nobody uses the original tele bell and just drill 2 holes for 2 screws in its side. And Tele's notorious jack access is solved.

[@bgjr2304]

he said F-hole

[@user-yf2lk5gi7q]

Probably about 1.5% more expensive, totaling a 5% seller fee

[@roncooke8723]

Why do all these people telling you about something to do with guitars, force us to hear them play them, instead of getting to the point of the video?

[@mrfrontranger7911]

Huh 🙀

[@deathmetalstickfigure]

didn't know James May played guitar

[@jazzmoon77]

Lol but I think James May does play. I think it was on one of his other series outside Top Gear.

[@eljoel89]

Look up a video on KZbin where James May takes apart a Strat and reassembles it. Forty minutes long, but it is Captain Slow.

[@jazzmoon77]

@@eljoel89 thanks I had a look and realized I'd seen not just that episode but watched the whole series on TV a while ago. Saving it to rewatch on the weekend.

[@zwidawurzn9423]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/jmSTlZ6HrbmqY8k