milod Posted January 14, 2010 Share Posted January 14, 2010 Actually when I started pickin' - the summer of '63, F-hole guitars were considered almost "bad" among the folkies I was hanging with. Nobody, of course, could explain why Mother Maybelle used one. Chuck Berry, of course, already was famous, but one didn't "see" guitarists as one can today with Youtube and such. So technically... nobody really. So... Not until I started doing rock a cupla years later and played a Rick semi (not really an "F" semihollow), I liked the feel. Later on I wanted to make an electric 7 string (doubled G an octave up), so I converted a low-end Harmony with a decently straight neck. Added a string, added a pickup. Not bad... not good to play. But the body felt good playing rock and it was a different sound I liked. Later on I went solidbodies for maybe 6-8 years (not counting the E-A guitars in their cases) until I got a nice orange Gretsch semi and... then swapped it for a solidbody to play in a country band. Dumb. Anyway, about that time in the mid 1970s I saw my Ibanez "patent infringement" ES-175 copy. Played it. Hated it. Put it in the case. Ended up playing another odd piece I'd found, a Harmony top line F-hole that actually did very nicely for country rock and felt good even after a four-hour gig. Then back to the solid body and the E-A, mostly the nylon string one in secret. <grin> Fast forward 25 years, messing around with guitars that had languished in their cases for ages... Put light strings on that Ibanez and... I can't put it down. m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitarfish Posted January 16, 2010 Share Posted January 16, 2010 Right here: Someday After A While Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaolee Posted January 16, 2010 Share Posted January 16, 2010 When I was in college, my friend Mike had an early to mid '50s archtop Gibson. I remember it had a natural finish, which had aged to perfection. This was in the late '70s, so it wasn't quite as rare as it would be now, but I thought it was the most beautiful guitar I had ever seen. Ever since, I have had no interest in anything except f-hole guitars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edzio Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 Alex Lifeson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brantobrien Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 Early Scotty Moore. (Loved the early Elvis recordings with him playing before I started playing guitar) Started playing an acoustic guitar and fell in love with the instrument! Always wanted to get an ES295, L5, or something similar, but never could get the funds together. Close friend suffered a stroke and gave me his 225 and I just love it! It's not Scotty's, but it is still something special. Now if I could just learn to play like him and find an echosonic amp to go with it, lol ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Lee Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 Scotty Moore, Chet Atkins, and Freddie Green Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Lee Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 Notes' date='OK, nice story, but I think it's time for a little realty check here. You want to tell me that you think you're student model ES-330 is worth $5000. If you can sell a 330 for $5000 then your my sales agent, I 'd like you to sell a few pieces for me. I've bought and sold guitars through the BIGGEST names in "vintage" guitars in the world, but I think maybe you must know more than they do. Have a nice day, Larry[/quote'] I can se where you're comming from here, compared to the L5's and Super 400's that you and I have, an ES 330 is a relatively budget instrument. But that isn't to say that it isn't valuable. I have seen ES-330's go at that price, and some well above said price, and considering that the P-90 is in the middle of a renaissance I think the price is justified. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Notes_Norton Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 And the Casino, the budget cousin of the 330 has been used by many pro musicians and featured on many hit records. The Beatles (of course), Rolling Stones, Hollies, Beach Boys, and so on. Yes the Casino started out as a budget guitar, but so did the Telecaster. Price has nothing to do with mojo. Personally, I think the 330 is the most under-rated guitar Gibson sells. The combination of the P90 pickup with the vibrating wood adds just enough complexity to the already wonderful P90 sound to give me eargazms. Not that it is an all purpose guitar, but what it does, it does better than anything else I've tried (but I admit, I haven't the money to try as many guitars as I'd like). Insights and incites by Notes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lespaulj45 Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 2006 Gibson Les Paul Std 2005 Gibson J45 2005 Epiphone SG 2002 Epiphone Dot Epiphone Blues Custom 30 I was at a club in Bellingham,Wa around 1970 and I heard Robin Trower play a bluesy set on a old ES-335 -that did it for me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockman82 Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 What got me into them was mainly the sound. Other than that, Chuck Berry and B.B. King really inspired me to admire the Hollowbodies. Especially the 345. I want one left handed so bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevinpaul Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 George Harrison black guitar with the F holes got me hooked. I have two of them. I play second guitar in our band. The fullness of a hollow body holds it together. Kevinpaul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevinpaul Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 Actually when I started pickin' - the summer of '63' date=' F-hole guitars were considered almost "bad" among the folkies I was hanging with. Nobody, of course, could explain why Mother Maybelle used one. Chuck Berry, of course, already was famous, but one didn't "see" guitarists as one can today with Youtube and such. So technically... nobody really. So... Not until I started doing rock a cupla years later and played a Rick semi (not really an "F" semihollow), I liked the feel. Later on I wanted to make an electric 7 string (doubled G an octave up), so I converted a low-end Harmony with a decently straight neck. Added a string, added a pickup. Not bad... not good to play. But the body felt good playing rock and it was a different sound I liked. Later on I went solidbodies for maybe 6-8 years (not counting the E-A guitars in their cases) until I got a nice orange Gretsch semi and... then swapped it for a solidbody to play in a country band. Dumb. Anyway, about that time in the mid 1970s I saw my Ibanez "patent infringement" ES-175 copy. Played it. Hated it. Put it in the case. Ended up playing another odd piece I'd found, a Harmony top line F-hole that actually did very nicely for country rock and felt good even after a four-hour gig. Then back to the solid body and the E-A, mostly the nylon string one in secret. <grin> Fast forward 25 years, messing around with guitars that had languished in their cases for ages... Put light strings on that Ibanez and... I can't put it down. m [/quote'] I have an Ibanez AFS with# 9 strings and you just can't stop playing. You are so right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artmaker Posted January 24, 2010 Share Posted January 24, 2010 Wes Montgomery and Freddie King. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loneguitar Posted January 26, 2010 Share Posted January 26, 2010 For me it has to be George Harrison, and Scotty Moore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doin Montary Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 Replying to "Who" made you want to play an f-hole guitar? ok, heres the story ... its 1978... my buddy wanted to get married to this girl, needed $200 and a ride to Texas... so I bought his Gibson ES-335 for $200, i played the guitar for several years in the college jazz band, then the guitar passed back to the buddy... I didn't know one guitar from another, I just ended up with one in my hands, I put some heavy strings on it, it had a really full deep woody tone. It wasn't "who" played one, it was the "one" i played that still draws me to that semi-hollow body tone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis G Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 Mid 60's cover band and our lead player had a Gibby ES137. I was playing a Strat and he was just getting way more sound than I was, but I've never been a fan of single cut bodies. Then came The Beatles, and once I saw GH's Gretsch, I knew I had to have something like that (no way I could afford a Gent). Traded my Strat for a used cherry red Guild A4 Starfire that was perfect. To this day, I am continually kicking myself in the a$$ for having sold that guitar a couple years later when I got drafted :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blondie&OldBlue Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 BB King. Originally wanted to get a Lucille, then a 335. Finally started looking at 336/356 and liked the smaller size. Sure it doesn't sound like a 335, but it has some really neat tones and is suited to my style. And let's face there is only one BB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duane v Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 John Lennon and Roy Clark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sneakerpimp Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 Tripp Eisen i got into Static-X years ago, saw his guitar and just had to have it. also got a dot studio: the white one was a prototype made for him by Epiphone with covered f-holes, EMGs and TP-6 bridge... a very, very rare guitar but also a one trick pony. i got tired it and that band. and the Epiphone thing... i soon let them go. i recently tried to get an ES-333 but that was an utter failure. i'm always on the hunt for another Gibson f-hole or archtop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Versatile Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 Great topic and interesting posts and stories.... My first awareness of an f-hole guitar was seeing Bert Weedon in the BBC house band on TV...it is possible he was playing the renowned 'Hofner Committee' semi I was about 5 yrs old Forward 2 yrs to being given a violin and taking lessons Forward a few more years and combining a love of classical music with big band swing/jazz, pop and rock'n roll I pored over many brochures where 'cello' guitars were featured.... f-hole archtops, mostly acoustic Started playing friends' flat-tops and archtops.... Started playing in bands with SG's etc. Inspirational f-hole players... Bert Weedon, Chuck Berry, Bill Haley, Scotty Moore, Roy Orbison, Beatles, Stones, Jim Hall, Wes Montgomery, John Scofield, Grant Green, Carter Family, Larry Coryell, John McLaughlin, Larry Carlton, Eric Clapton, Freddie Green, Chet Atkins, Eddie Cochran, Duane Eddy, Brian Setzer.... V Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GotTheSilver Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 BB King, BB King, BB King, BB King, BB King, and BB King!!!! Oh, and Freddie King! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluesrob Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 one of my guitar mentors got me a great deal on an Epiphone Dot, B-stock, when I first started guitar lessons. Before that I was a "strat guy." the Dot showed me the semi-hollow world, and that changed it for me. Now I have a 339 -- and a Strat! My 339 is my number one guitar, and the strat is #2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mojorule Posted February 7, 2011 Share Posted February 7, 2011 Chuck Berry, and Marty McFly doing Chuck Berry on an ES 345 which must also have found its way into a time machine. http://vimeo.com/6436182 Eddie Cochran. BB King. John Lee Hooker. Cream-era Eric Clapton. Honourable mentions also to Mark E. Nevin of Fairground Attraction for his perfect soloing on a Gretsch My link, to Roddy Frame of Aztec Camera My link, and to Ally McErlaine of Texas My link. Oh and the Edge for the performance of Desire during Rattle and Hum . 1988 and 1989 were very good years for catching semis in videos and on film. John Lennon, George Harrison and Paul McCartney. Keith Richards and Brian Jones. Dave Davies. Pete Townshend. Lou Reed and Sterling Morrison . But most of all Chuck Berry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brundaddy Posted February 8, 2011 Author Share Posted February 8, 2011 Dot Studio i'm always on the hunt for another Gibson f-hole or archtop. Where's the dots? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sneakerpimp Posted February 8, 2011 Share Posted February 8, 2011 Where's the dots? the 'Studio' version is sans dots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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