Chamber electric guitars

[Wayne27]

Are chambered electric guitars (without f-holes) consider solid bodies?

[ehdwuld]

Re: Chamber electric guitars

Most are

My Gibson is "weight relieved"
It has several small chambers inside

Some versions of the Gibson Supreme doesnt have F holes
But has the thicker acoustic body

Two of my LP like guitars are chambered with F holes

My latest build has no F holes and is super lightweight

[Mincer]

Re: Chamber electric guitars

They are exactly what they sound like: chambered solid bodies.

[beaubrummels]

Re: Chamber electric guitars

They’re still considered solid bodies. But depending on the size of the chambers, they can sound like a hollow body with the F holes plugged.

[SirJackdeFuzz II]

Re: Chamber electric guitars

I always wondered about this very question myself.

1) Gibson & Epiphone BB King ES-335. (semi withOUT f-holes.)
Are they seen as solid, or semi hollows ?

2) Brain May's 'big red', the mas produced ones that we can buy.
They are heavily chambered, almost a semi-hollow, with a solid top.
I s'pose they are being sold as ''solid body' guitars ?

3) G&L ASAT Classic Custom & Blues Boy.
Available with ''voice chambers'' and no f-holes.

4) Gretsch Country Gentlemen with painted f-holes.
I believe this is a full hollow, ala Epi Casino, with no f-holes.

Are these regarded as semi hollows . . . or solid body guitars ?

[beaubrummels]

Chamber electric guitars

If its constructed like a hollow body acoustic, where its sides, top and back are separate sheets of wood, but no f holes, it’s still a hollowbidy. If it’s a solid body routed out to be chambered, that’s a solid body guitar.

1 and 4 are hollow bodies. 2 is a chambered solid body, though it’s construction almost borders on a semi hollow body. I don’t own a 3 so I don’t know that one.

[Erlend_G]

Re: Chamber electric guitars

My Epi Wildkat is a semi-hollow;

It's hollow with the exception of a "tone block" that sits under the bridge and tailpiece.

I ordered it unseen, thought it was a full hollow :o

But I don't think the design is a bad thing. The bridge pickup sounds more like a solid body,
and the neck pickup got that hollow "jazz box" ish sound.

-Erl

[AlexR]

Re: Chamber electric guitars

It's a broad category. Technically the thin line Tele is chambered too.....even with an f-hole.
The most controversial chambered guitars are the Les Paul's from 2006 and after. Certainly solid guitars, although the tone is a bit different on average to the weight relieved version.
Once you get to the laminate style construction of the ES les Paul you are in semihollow terrain.

[Mincer]

Re: Chamber electric guitars

335 is either semi hollow or semi solid. Depends on if you are a pessimist or an optimist. Half full/half empty. My Brian Moore and Warmoth are chambered, with either a honeycomb pattern of holes (Warmoth) or bigger chambers (Brian Moore). They sound and behave more like solidbodies than anything The biggest advantage by far, is weight reduction.

[vinta9e]

Re: Chamber electric guitars

Are chambered electric guitars (without f-holes) consider solid bodies?

"Chambered solid bodies" is one category, "semi hollow sans f-holes is another" in my view. Maybe the former should be called semi-solid so as to highlight how a swiss cheesed Les Paul is different from most ES designs. There's world of nuance in the details.

[ehdwuld]

Re: Chamber electric guitars

My Dean Shire is semi hollow
And it is by far the heaviest single cut guitar I have
At 9.6 pounds

[Securb]

Re: Chamber electric guitars

It's a guitar

[dzdandcunfsd]

Re: Chamber electric guitars

I have a chambered gretsch that is always, I think, wrongly labeled solid body.......for a "solid" sure does have some great acoustics

semi-hollow I'd call it.

I think most Gibsons/clones that are "weight relieved" would still count as solid bodied, just a lot of semantics though, but isn't that what guitar players are all about I think you'd just have to go with how it sounds.

[Snake Aces]

Re: Chamber electric guitars

It's a guitar

This pretty much sums it up without getting into semantics.

About 20 years ago, I was one of the confused ones. I always referred to a chambered guitar as a hollow. I would go around telling everybody about my hollow body guitar. One day, one of the best players I knew at the time clarified my statement for me. Today, all of my guitars are chambered except for two of them. I do not own any hollow bodies. I used to think I did though...

It turns out I am just another idiot who plays a guitar.

[GuitarStv]

Re: Chamber electric guitars

Tricky question. If clambering makes a guitar a semi-hollow . . . does a swimming pool route under a strat pick-guard count? Why, why not?