I have seen lots of people who went to the market for purchasing a guitar for the first time but ended up becoming perplexed between semi-hollow and hollow-body guitars.

If you go to the market without knowing about their key differences, then it is quite common to become confused. As I have seen many people face such circumstances, I become interested in writing up about their differences. 

So, in my today's article, I am going to describe semi-hollow VS hollow body guitars. All the information will guide you to choose the best hollow body guitar for you. Let's dive into it.

Hollow Body VS Semi-Hollow Guitars

Before jumping into the main discussion, let's first know little about both of these types of guitars. 

Hollow Body Guitar

In 1930, the hollow-body guitar was first inventedto meet loud sound in orchestras and large jazz bands. It acquired great successbecause of its amazing warm tones. However, it added a bit of noisewhile playing with a loud valve amp. Similar to an electric guitar, they sound smooth. 

Semi-Hollow Guitars

Simply I can say semi-hollow guitars are the successor of hollow-body guitars, but semi-hollow guitars distinctive feature makes them different from the other type.

Rather than a completely hollow body, semi-hollow body guitar has a wooden centre. You can mount the pickups into it. As a result, it eliminates the blustery feedback of a fullhollow body guitar, and are naturally geared towards music. This makes them a very good fit with a tube amp, giving them that bluesy tone. If you happen to own a semi-hollow one and haven't tried plugging into a tube amp you can get on MusicCritic, you might want to it as it opens up a new world of tone.

Key Differences between Hollow Body and Semi-Hollow Guitars

The Look of Hollow Body Guitars

This model of guitars has nothing inside them. They are almost similar to acoustic guitars, but one exception is they don't have a soundhole. Furthermore, the sound is captured by the pickups, and they are generally larger than the solid body guitars. 

The Sound of Hollow Body Guitars

They produce more acoustic-like sound as they have more than enough space inside them. If you are looking for cleaner tones, then they are just perfect, and also they are super for jazz music. 

However, if you play with a lot of distortion, then all the spaces inside is not good because you will get lots of feedbacks since the pickups have a lot of space and air behind them. So, they are not as shielded as they are in solid body guitars.

The Look of Semi-Hollow Body Guitars

Normally, both of these models look similar. They are larger than the standard solid body, but the difference is in the inside of semi-hollow body guitars. This has some wood inside it. 

However, it has a few variations. Some guitars have only a small section of hollowed-out which is known as the F-hole. On the other hand, some have more of the body hollowed out, and there is a centre-block.

The Sound of the Semi-Hollow Body Guitars

The sound variation is dependent on how much the body is hollowed out. For more acoustic sounding tone, this is the great model, and for fewer feedback issues, this type is super as well. 

Differences in a Gist

For your convenience, I am giving a gist of differences between them in the following part.

Hollow Body Guitars

· Suitable for Jazz and Blues

· The entire body is hollow

· Tones are suited to clean

· At high gain will get feedback

Semi-Hollow Guitars

· Suitable for most genres

· Tones are suited to clean as well as mid-gain

· Some sections of the body are hollowed

· At high gain will get some feedback

FAQ

1. For what semi-hollow body guitar is best?

Answer- Where there is a lot of noise, it is the best choice as it has low pitch acoustic sound. They are also best for jazz music and in jazz music you are going to love them.

2. When should I get a hollow body guitar?

Answer- You can choose a hollow body guitar if you are into serious genres of music as well as into an open and natural tone.

3. Can I play semi-hollow body guitar acoustically?

Answer- If you are going to choose a larger-bodied semi-hollow such as- Epi broadway, Gibson ES-175 then they will play as loud as acoustic guitar.

4. Can I use hollow body guitar for rock music?

Answer- Generally, at high gain, they produce feedback, and for this reason, they are not used in the more substantial genre such as- rock music, etc.

5. Which model of guitar is the best?

Answer- The answer is simple because which one will be the best for you depends on your type of music and kind of sound you want. 

Final Words

In this writing, I have tried to provide as much information to make it clear what are the differences between those two. I believe after reading the whole writing; now, you have enough information about hollow body VS semi-hollow guitars.