The Issue With Inexpensive Hollow-Body Guitars

Thanks Phil, I'm an old fart but I always learn something from you

Phil, you imply hollow body guitars don’t much sound different than solid body, but then you say they need specific pick ups. What gives?

Go Gretsch! Streamliner pickups are better than most gear snobs give them credit for.

How about the Super 58 pickups on my Ibanez AE93FM? It says to have AlNiCo magnets.

Record store? What's that

One of the most instructive channels on YT for guitar specs, sounds, and reviews

Great work!
Thanks, keep it up :)

One example that breaks the pattern in regard to cheaper HB guitars using trash humbuckers are the Guild hollow bodies with the really nice Dynasonic Pickups installed, the furthest thing from cheap, generic humbuckers.

Thanks for the lefty shout 🎉

Philip, you said that the "hollowness" of an archtop doesn't really affect much. That is incorrect.
I'm a guitar maker, and have made several Jazzmaster-ish style guitars (along with many Tele style guitars)
I've made some solid bodies in my quest for a more versatile instrument, so I don't have to bring both solid bodies and archtops on stage all the time.
I've made a couple of Thinlines, and a couple of fully hollow ones with spruce tops, all with same body shapes and thicknesses
While the hardware on all these JM styles is identical, and all electronics are identical, there is a VAST tonal difference between the Thinlines & Solids (which are actually tonally pretty close), and the fully hollow ones.
I also used an ash top on one and spruce on a couple, and again, tone and response is quite noticably different.
If you're anywhere near Port Townsend WA, you should come by and try them!
I've been playing/performing professionally for 57+ years, using solid, semi, and lots of (hand carved) archtops, and building guitars for around 30 years, so you know I'm not just blowing smoke!

Bought a Grote single pu p90 non cutaway thinline used. Put on 13 flatwounds. Great sound.... mostly use it on jazz standards. Records great. Also just got a Ibanez As 53.... Ceramic pups are a bit brittle, but very clear....roll off the tone snd you can get an acceptable jazz tone with 10 round wounds . Bought it used at gc under 200.

I suggest you try Dylantalkstone. I use his DAFS in my Ibanez AS 73. They sound clear and articulate. Dylan McKerchie. You owe it to yourself to check yhem out.

Hi Jef with one 'f' - have you considered replacing the existing pickups with Seymour Duncan Seth Lover pickups? I suspect that you'll LOVE the result if you do...

hey, I am so offended as a lefty......my therapist will be calling you about my bill............

Good news is that great pups are not that pricey and easy to replace.
Great vid!!

Always so helpful

Tom Scholz of Boston used/uses DiMarzio super distortion humbuckers in his goldtop les paul. Awesome sound that compliments his Rockman Sound.

i had a semi-hollow Epiphone "Alleykat" made around 2003 that was a wonderful guitar! my first electric, purchased from my teacher who had set it up for me and gave me a great deal on it. unfortunately years later I was hooked on dope and while crawling out of my skin from WD decided to hawk it to a friend who actually gave me a good deal on it because he knew I needed money bad for dope. ahhh the joys of youth. once i cleaned up i bought an SG Faded which blows my away every time I play it. I think the nitro finish is just the cherry on the cake. i love the feel and the wear and tear over time.

And it's a pain in the ass to try to change electronics and pickups on a hollow body. If you're thinking of buying one with the intention of swapping pickups----good luck with that.

Phillip knows all!

Anyone know if the AF 73 models have the same pickups as the AF 55s? I bought a new 73 a couple of years ago and am wondering if they need to be switched out to something better. I like how the guitar feels and plays, but thinking it can be an even better guitar with improved pups.

This is an excellent discussion.
The standard Artcore pups are not bad, but it depends on what you prefer. When I first bought my AM-73 (small body maple semihollow), the stock pickups had an attractive jazz tone. I swapped them for a Seth Lover JB/Jazz (no covers) pairing. It's a great sounding guitar, but the jazz tone is gone.

My Artcore AK-85 (hollow laminated spruce/maple with a wood bridge) sounded good with the stock pups, but I swapped in a pair of SD Seth Lover pickups, and it has remained my favorite guitar for a very long time; great jazz and classic rock tones. I tend to prefer clean, low output tones.

Many people may prefer more complex humbucker tones, often described as 'swirley'. I'm not a huge fan, but these obviously have an appeal. The Ibanez Super 58s in my solid Jet King 2 have a bit of swirley complexity and it is a great guitar, but not very jazzy.

There are a lot a great Ibanez guitars out there, highly recommended.

100% correct on the right p-up type for hollow body axes and the stock Ibanez ceramic magnet p-ups (minor correction on the FF--those 335 style guitars that Grohl plays are semi-hollow). Anyway, I made this comment on another YT vid about the AF-55 (in my case, the AF-55 L, left-hand): Initially, I kept the stock pups, but eventually a Gibson Burstbucker 2 found it's way into the bridge position, and a chrome covered stock Gibson humbucker from the late 70's/early 80's in the neck. Exactly as PM says here...less output, sweeter, and very responsive w/ tube amps. One other minor point: yes, if you're just dealing with the pure signal (like out of the guitar into a DAW, etc.), then the hollow body isn't much of a factor (if at all). Plugged into an amp however is a whole other ballgame! The loudspeaker is revealing more frequencies (and in some cases artifacts--bad & good), as well as how volume can make the guitar resonate even more, resulting in a wonderful, sonorous sustain--as long as it's managed before feedback bursts out all over the place! ;)

All that really matters is what would Ted Nugent do?

If cheap pickups are hot then can you just roll back the volume to make it play less hot?

the glue is crap, the soldering sloppy,and no quality control with regard to the wood's consistency /imperfections

this explains why Gretsch Electromatic hollow and semi-hollows are so good for the price. the "Blacktop" in-house Trons they put in them are not bad. they are good, NOT GREAT, but good.
most of the artist models from the Electromatic range tend to sport the high-end Trons, not BTs. two examples would be the Chris Rocha Broadkaster Junior and the John Gorly Broadkaster. the former has high-output Filtertrons and the latter has "Fulltrons". both excellent high-end Gretsch pick-ups.

I play a left handed, hollow body, 5 string bass. I couldn’t find one to try anywhere. My friend is a luthier and made it for me. Try some round wound strings for a concert piano b and e string sound. Amazing.

The pickups are fine on an AF55. Just drop them down and because they have ceramic magnets they are not muddy. I play jazz on my 55 but even Jimmy Page used ceramic.

One of the classic hollowbody guitar sounds is that of Charlie Christian. The pickup in his guitar would've had DC resistance of about 3.2K.

Thanks for busting the myth that all ceramic pups are shit...my USA Fender Jeff Beck Sig, model cost $1400 new and has ceramic pups...at my local jam sesions, EVERYONE sez' how good it sounds :) :)

Yes, Jazz or Classical isn't happening in the u.s. but what do you expect from a society that's not educated, FACT!!!! Jazz and Classical are THE best music in the world, rock, pop, country, rap, hip hop are all cute and they do have creativity, but you are children or should I say orderlies compared to Dr's, FACT!! Rock and loud music is dying just like all the rest, but in Europe, Russia, China, and the world, are still educated enough to appreciate great musicians and music compared to the u.s., FACT!! The u.s. is collapsing and so has its music, rock is old now and I listen to everything, but I have no illusions the great guitarist aren't in the rock world, FACT! Time to bring back the study of Classical and Jazz greats and music to our educational system so our children get a chance to hear something other than the crap that's on the radio, they may like it better!

Duesenberg P90 are great on Hollow.

Uncle Ted plays a Birdland. Feedback monster. I wanna be Uncle Ted without paying for a Birdland.

The Blacktop Filtertron pickups on my Gretsch 5422 and Rat Rod (they're actually red Blacktops on that one, 😄) are lower output than the TV Jones Filtertrons on my Vintage Select '59 Duo Jet or Billy-Bo, but I don't want to change them as they have such a lovely, sweet tone, and make them sound different to the latter two. It's not always about power.

Seth Lovers are great for that guitar.

Agree. Just changed Pickups in one of my Hollobody Guitars, a Wolf, that is a great guitar but pretty boring to hot humbuckers. I soldered in Irongears Alchemist P90, Bridge 7,6 and Neck 5,3 Ohm. Relly happy with the guitar now and used it for recording my latest song.

Wow, that guy can’t put a sentence together. Dumb af.

I have the AF55, bought it brand new about 6 years ago. It's my go to. It looks plays and feels amazing. The only thing I found with the pickups, is that they are not BAD by any stretch, they just seem to be an odd choice. If these were in an inexpensive Les Paul they'd be kickass pickups.
I use this guitar all the time, gets a real good grungy, dirty blues rock sound through a 60watt orange with a couple slight enhancements from 2 or 3 pedals

Filter'Trons are awesome in a hollowbody.

i really don't understand why they don't put piezos in hollowbodies, they are so easy to implement into the circuit, just get a 3 way switch and put the piezo where the middle pickup would go, they don't even need resistors. i played a hollow body the last time i was at thomann, and it was a wonderful guitar, but i don't see a point in buying one if there isn't a piezo in there. waxed pickups just don't pick up any resonance from the hollow body.

I have a chambered tele like the one hanging behind you from Donner and the pickups are crap what do you think I should put in it?

Great analogy on looking at record store shelf space for types of guitar… Non-boutique Jazz guitars also tend to suffer a bit more in the community being more “conservative” in their views of design and sound. Semi-hollow tends to get a little more flexibility, but still has all the challenges of a fully hollowbody when it comes to the build process (and typically for the after-market upgrade work).

Pickups-wise, I have had really good luck with the Lace Alumitones lines, especially the Fusion 251 neck and a standard (works a bit better for the hollowbodies) or Deathbucker bridge for semi-hollow, chambered and solid body guitars. Another set of pickup choices that works rather well for semi-hollow bodies are RailHammers, various Wide Range pickups (these are not a simple remove (the old pickups) and replace work).

For the standard 6-string market, IYV’s IJZ-500 (hollowbody) and IJZ-300 (semi-hollowbody: just an unfinished block below the bridge, vs being fully hollow body wings) are very impressive for the price and their low power “Destiny CNC” pickups are particularly tasty. The other thing is that of all the inexpensive hollowbody and semi-hollowbody guitars out there, the tuning machines (Marvel L3) are particularly impressive.
Hope this helps a smidge.

I had an ibanez artcore af 55. Swapped neck pickup for a seymore duncan humbucker. Total change! Sound like a decent jazzbox!

D'Angelico Excel DC XT. Try one.

A magnet swap can do wonders for just a few dollars. I had an Ibanez AS-83, but the pickups were shrill. Put a rough cast A3 in the neck, and A4 smooth in the bridge. Amazing difference, they are magic for blues!

I put the EJ custom pickups in my old full hollow ibanez af85. Like a whole new guitar and it sounds insane.

Years ago I read someone who swapped magnets on the Artcores pickups from ceramic to Alnico ll. Said it warmed up and sounded better 😉👍✨

Have to disagree about the Eric Johnson pickups for hollow bodies. I had a Gibson ES137 and I put those pickups in. Not good at all. No body to the sound at all. The better pickups are Seymour Duncan Antiquities.