Semi-acoustic guitar
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A semi-acoustic guitar, also known as a hollow-body electric guitar, is a type of
They differ from an acoustic-electric guitar, which is an acoustic guitar that has been fitted with some means of amplification to increase volume without changing the instrument's tone.
Types
Semi-acoustic guitars may have a fully hollow body, making them essentially archtop acoustics with the pickups permanently mounted into the sound board, such as the Gibson ES-175. Some models feature bodies the full width of acoustics, allowing them to be played fully acoustically, while others, such as the Epiphone Casino, have "thinline" bodies where the hollow body serves purely to alter the tone, not increase the acoustic volume.
Other semi-acoustic guitars have a solid center block running the length and depth of the body, called a semi-hollow body. Examples include models that feature sound holes, like the
Other guitars are borderline between semi-acoustic and solid body. Known as a
History
In the 1930s, guitar manufacturers aimed at increasing the sound level produced by the instrument, to compete with louder instruments such as the drums.
Gibson based them on a standard production
The ES-150 was made several years after Rickenbacker made the first solid-body electric guitar. The ES series was designed as an experiment for Gibson to test the potential success of electric guitars. Due to its financial success, the ES series is often referred to as the first successful electric guitar. The ES-150 was followed by the ES-250 a year later, in what became a long line of semi acoustics for the Gibson company.[11]
In 1949 Gibson released two new models: the ES-175 and ES-5. The ES-175 and ES-5 models were the first to come with built-in electric pickups and are widely considered the first fully electric semi-acoustic guitars.[12] Several models, including the ES-350T by Gibson, were made in the 1950s to accommodate a demand for a comfortable and modern version of the original archtop model.[10]
In 1958, Gibson first manufactured a 'semi-hollow body guitar' that featured a block of solid wood between the front and back sections of the guitars' cutaway. The guitar had a smaller resonant cavity inside, which makes less sound emit from the f holes.[10]
Rickenbacker also began making semi-acoustic guitars in 1958. German guitar crafter, Roger Rossmiesl developed the
In addition to the main model variants of the guitar, Gibson made several small changes to the guitar, including a laminated top for the
Usage
The semi-acoustic and semi-hollow body guitars were used widely by jazz musicians in the 1930s.[9] The guitar became used in pop, folk, and blues. The guitars sometimes produced feedback when played through an amplifier at a loud level so they were unpopular for bands that had to play loud enough to perform in large venues. As rock became more experimental in the late 60s and 70s, the guitar became more popular because players learned to use its feedback issues creatively.[16]
Semi-hollow guitars share some of the tonal characteristics of hollow guitars, such as their praised warmth and clean tone, but with less risk of undesirable feedback.[17] Their sound is particularly popular with jazz, blues, rockabilly and psychobilly guitarists.
Today, semi-acoustic and semi-hollow body guitars are still popular among many artists across various genres. Examples include
Gallery
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Epiphone Casino, a thinline hollow-body
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Gibson ES-335, a semi-hollow-body with sound holes
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Comparison of the design and size of a hollow body versus a solid body.
See also
References
- ^ Definition of a Semi-Acoustic Guitar, archived from the original on 2021-12-22, retrieved 2021-03-29
- ISBN 9780879308957. Retrieved 28 March 2012.
- ^ Hunter, Dave (2010). Star Guitars: 101 Guitars that Rocked the World. Voyageur press. p. 22.
- S2CID 120483766.
- ^ Day, Happy New Guitar (2020-01-15). "Remove Guitar Feedback Sound From Your Amp's Output Signal". happynewguitarday.com. Retrieved 2022-03-24.
- ^ a b Hunter, Dave (August 2012). "5 Things About Hollow, Semi-Acoustic, and Chambered Electric Guitars". Guitar Player. 46 (8): 146.
- ^ Hunter, Dave (19 October 2007) Chambering the Les Paul: A Marriage of Weight and Tone. Gibson Lifestyle
- ^ a b c Ingram, Adrian, A Concise History of the Electric Guitar, Melbay, 2001.
- ^ a b "What Is Semi Acoustic Guitar? - ProMusicianLab". 2020-06-19. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
- ^ a b c d Hunter, Dave, The Rough Guide to Guitar, Penguin Books, 2011.
- ^ Miller, A.J., The Electric Guitar: A History of an American Icon, Baltimore, MD, Smithsonian Institution, 2004.
- ^ Martin A. Darryl, Innovation and the Development of the Modern Six-String, The Galpin Society Journal (Vol. 51), 1998.
- ^ "All About… Roger Rossmeisl". 29 November 2018.
- ^ Carter, William, The Gibson Guitar Book: Seventy Years of Classic Guitar, New York, NY, Backbeatbooks, 2007.
- ^ "Gibson | London Guitar Academy". www.londonguitaracademy.com. Retrieved 2018-04-18.
- ^ "Why Guitarists Cover The Soundhole Of An Acoustic Guitar?". Rock Guitar Universe. 25 March 2020.
- ^ "Electric Guitar Bodies: The Sonic Differences Between Solid, Semi-hollow, and Hollow Bodies". inSync. 2018-08-29. Retrieved 2022-03-24.