How different is hollow body sound from solid in soloways

[frquent flyer]

I have a solid body swan {27} which I love.I am wondering how different are the semi-hollow or hollow body models like Gosling . In what ways are the tones different? Sorry ,this post refers to Soloway guitars.

 

[Jim Soloway]

You actually have a semi-hollow with no sound hole. We only made a total of five solid bodies and three of them ended up getting scrapped because I didn't like the sound. In general the semi has a bit more focus and mid-range warmth while the hollow body has a bit more acoustic detail in the high end. Here's a look at the interior construction of your guitar.

 

[Pietro]

That "acoustic detail in the high end" is especially sweet on the rhythm pickup, btw... holy MAN! Through the bassman model in the HD 500 it's TO DIE FOR! (Just programmed a couple patches just for this guitar.

 

[Lambone]

I love my hollow Gosling. And single 15" for that matter.

I can't believe Soloways are going for so cheap in the emporium, best deal on the market imho.

 

[frquent flyer]

There are some really good prices on Soloways on Craigs list...see ALL City listing.

 

[frquent flyer]

Jim thanks for the explanation. Question :What are your personal favorites of your guitars when I standard good amp is being used?

 

[Jim Soloway]

Jim thanks for the explanation. Question :What are your personal favorites of your guitars when I standard good amp is being used?

Considering both tone and playability, a Single 15 with a 25.5" scale length, finger style spacing and s swamp ash back with spruce top is be far my favorite. The larger, mostly hollow body sounds richer and fuller and the roomier spacing is just an absolute pleasure.

 

[frquent flyer]

Would that single 15 be as good for picking as with finger picking?

 

[Lambone]

it is!

 

[Jim Soloway]

Would that single 15 be as good for picking as with finger picking?

I think so and that's how it's being used by abut half the people who own the guitars with the wider spacing. It's 1/8 wider all the way from the nut to the bridge, so it has in effect in every position along the string. With the bit of extra space between strings, it certainly makes it easier to both pick and finger notes more cleanly, on the other hand, it does make the instrument a bit more demanding on your technique.

What I've found most interesting about the wider spaced guitars is that in my opinion, they have without exception, sounded better than their standard spaced counterparts. That's a bit harder for me to explain. It could be as simple as the extra width of the neck, possibly the extra surface contact area in the neck joint, or perhaps there is something about the strings being wider apart that causes them to not interfere as much with adjacent strings, but whatever the cause there is clearly a difference in the tonal response from the instruments.

 

[mwhy]

Kevin Eubanks, who plays Abe Rivera guitars with WIDE fretboards, claims that "the wider, the better" the tone. I've heard other luthiers/players say that as well, so Jim's comments aren't surprising.