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tjon901 « Benchmark Semi-Hollow guitar »
Published on 07/20/11 at 19:21In the late 50s Gibson was coming out with all sorts of radical designs to show everyone they were modern and up to date. Most of these designs were not popular at the time but came back later, like the Flying V and Explorer. One of their new guitars at the time however was an instant hit. The Gibson 335 was an instant hit and has been popular ever since. With the 335 Gibson was looking to make a guitar that isnt quite a solid body but isnt quite a hollow body. They wanted to combine the tone of both types of guitar into one. With a hollowbody you get the big acoustic tone that resonates well but being hollow it is prone to feedback. With a solid body you get a thick solid tone but it isnt very loud acoustically. With the 335 they had the idea of making the hollowbody body thinner and running a block of wood down the inside separating the two hollow halfs of the guitar. With this they created the semi-hollow guitar. To this day semi-hollow guitars are made in this fashion. The guitars features now are pretty similar to what they were then. The body is made out of maple with a maple center block. The neck is mahogany with a 22 fret rosewood fretboard. It has two classic 57 humbuckers with a tone and volume control for each. There is also a 3 way switch for switching.
UTILIZATION
Because of its large size the 335 is not the most comfortable guitar to play. You will probably find yourself reaching around the body. This is the only problem with the large size of the guitar. The upper fret access is not much different than that of a Les Paul. Because of of the semi-hollow design it is very difficult to change electronics so find one with a sound you like. They usually come with the 60 slim neck so it will have a nice thin feel to it as well which helps playability.
SOUNDS
335s have a very mellow sound naturally but are very versatile. The hollow portions on the body really help add resonance to the natural tone of the guitar. Since the design does not easily allow modification Gibson was very wise to put some of their best pickups in the guitar. The 57 Classics are some of the best pickups Gibson puts in their guitars now a days. They are pretty much modern PAF pickups. With the Classic 57 PAF style pickups this guitar is a blues and rock machine. The 57's have just the right amount of sag in the tone so you can really work the dynamics like you would with a set of real vintage pickups. The neck pickup is super smooth and when you throw in some tone knob you can get that sour bluesy lead tone. The bridge pickup has a little more bite and spank to it. With some gain you can get good classic rock tones from the bridge pickup. Roll off some tone on the bridge pickup and you can get great jazz tones as well.
OVERALL OPINION
The Gibson 335 is the standard when it comes to semi-hollow guitars and has been for 50 years. Combining the resonance of a hollowbody with the versatility of a solid body lets you play almost any type of music with these guitars. 57 Classic pickups seal the deal because you arent going to be able to change them easily. All this with super smooth playability means this guitar can do just about anything you can and has tone for days. If you are looking for a semi-hollow guitar why settle with anything less than the best.
UTILIZATION
Because of its large size the 335 is not the most comfortable guitar to play. You will probably find yourself reaching around the body. This is the only problem with the large size of the guitar. The upper fret access is not much different than that of a Les Paul. Because of of the semi-hollow design it is very difficult to change electronics so find one with a sound you like. They usually come with the 60 slim neck so it will have a nice thin feel to it as well which helps playability.
SOUNDS
335s have a very mellow sound naturally but are very versatile. The hollow portions on the body really help add resonance to the natural tone of the guitar. Since the design does not easily allow modification Gibson was very wise to put some of their best pickups in the guitar. The 57 Classics are some of the best pickups Gibson puts in their guitars now a days. They are pretty much modern PAF pickups. With the Classic 57 PAF style pickups this guitar is a blues and rock machine. The 57's have just the right amount of sag in the tone so you can really work the dynamics like you would with a set of real vintage pickups. The neck pickup is super smooth and when you throw in some tone knob you can get that sour bluesy lead tone. The bridge pickup has a little more bite and spank to it. With some gain you can get good classic rock tones from the bridge pickup. Roll off some tone on the bridge pickup and you can get great jazz tones as well.
OVERALL OPINION
The Gibson 335 is the standard when it comes to semi-hollow guitars and has been for 50 years. Combining the resonance of a hollowbody with the versatility of a solid body lets you play almost any type of music with these guitars. 57 Classic pickups seal the deal because you arent going to be able to change them easily. All this with super smooth playability means this guitar can do just about anything you can and has tone for days. If you are looking for a semi-hollow guitar why settle with anything less than the best.