How are hollowbodies constructed?

[Fatty]

How are the sides of hollowbody guitars, such as the Gibson ES-335 made.. are they bent strips of wood, or created from a hollowed piece of solid wood? (or is there another method? )

 

[MDS]

They are bent pieces of wood just like the sides of acoustic guitars.

Mike

 

[Bludave]

First off a 335 is not a hollow body it has a solid block running through the center. The sides are bent using a mold to maintain the shape and the top and back are then glued on. A true hollow body/ archtop, such as a Gibson L5 or super 400 is made very differntly. The top and backs are carved using chisels, and a lot of time "tapping" the top to get the right thickness so the top and back will move properly. This is essentially the way a violin is made. This is why arctops are so much more money than a solid body or a semi hollow body (335). Some builders use "laminated "backs and sides, which makes the building process go faster, but laminated guitars will not sound as good acousticly, yet they are easier to minimize feedback problems.