Madness Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 Hello, im thinking of getting a hollowbody. Is it true that these have the ability to produce musical feedback easily? The sound i love is when you hold a note and just let it break up into singing feedback. Is this easier with hollowbodies, and is i achievable at bedroom volumes if the gain on a tube amp is set high enough? Sorry for the mess, i like hollows for other reasons to (apperance, and the fact that i love to play unplugged on electrics), but this is a big reason. For example, here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbxfe7DMxVo at around 10-13 seconds when the note breaks up into feedback, love that, i know its achievable with solid bodies, but probably only at very high volumes right? and not as easy probably. Please help:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brundaddy Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 Full hollowbodies, like the es 175, achieve resonant feedback (which is what you're talking about) easily at bedroom volumes -- but it also depends on room size, room acoustics, and the guitar's position relative to the amp's speaker. They can be screechy & seem wildly uncontrollable with feedback at high volumes, but with small-room practice achieving feedback you'll learn how to finesse the feedback effect/"soothe the savage beast." Large rooms generally eliminate the unwanted-feedback-at-high-volume issue, in my experience. It does take a little "touch" that you pick up over time... Tony Iommi knew just how to draw that sound from his rig at that moment in the video, and of course you know he was playing through an ungodly massive, loud rig with his solidbody SG. Semi-hollowbodies, like the es 335, typically need louder-than-bedroom volumes to make resonant feedback but sometimes you can get it going... it's tricky to get it going at bedroom volume. Hollowbodies are awesome, you should play as many as you can get your hands on to help you make your decision! And you don't have to get a Gibson to get a good one... Ibanez & Gretsch come to mind, they have some sweet hollowbody guitars for wayyyyyy less than a Gibson, and they often come with Bigsby tailpieces... but play lots of Gibsons too! Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madness Posted March 5, 2009 Author Share Posted March 5, 2009 I will this weekend! Never played a hollowbody since ive mainly been a metal player, but lately ive been much more interested in classic rock, blues, and pretty much only really old school metal, with low levels of distortion. The music i like doesnt have to have much distortion, its the composition that interests me more, although i still love high distortion, but more the warm fuzzy sludgy kind, anyhow, the point is, if they can be tamed so that you can get that sweet feedback ringing as you want it, then im really up for trying since i love that sound and would like to make it a part of my tone. But is it true that the "resonant" feedback can be musical, and make notes break up into feedback like on the clip? The kind of feedback i want isnt really the type that just make everyone cover their ears. However, i dont mind practicing to control the feedback, i love a challenge! So a full hollowbody it is, how can i identify the difference between semi and hollow? Just look through the f-holes and see if theres that wood nbetween, or is that hard to see? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Californiaman Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 This a probably one of the best examples of controled feedback you will ever see. The amazing thing is it's done with a solid state amplifier. I Put A Spell On You Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madness Posted March 5, 2009 Author Share Posted March 5, 2009 Says its not available in my country (the vid)... sigh, ohwell, what guitar is he using? anyhow, im looking at getting feedback EASY, not having to wave it infront of the amp at extreme scooped volumes etc.. Also, shops etc seem to be very unclear if they are semi or full hollow, can full hollows have bigsbys? Ive looked at Ibanez AF75TDG, AFS95T, AFS75T, AS73T, these all have bigsby style trems, which id like to have if they exist on full hollows (if these are), then Gretsch 512(5),6,7,8,9's and Epiphones ES-295, and WildKat, which are fully hollow? Can i just look into the F-hole and see the center block? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 I play an ES-339 in front of that Boogie Blue Angel 1;12 sitting on a flight case <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< which puts it exactly where I need it. With the Boogie dropped down to the 2:6V6 (15 watts class A) and cranked real good in a bar I can work magic with that semi hollow. It IS NOT bedroom level, but it's as sweet as it gets. Best of luck. Murph. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Californiaman Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 Delicious! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brundaddy Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 Yes, you can often see the center block in a semi-hollow, but the F-holes on some older Gretsches are painted on. There's Bigsbys on some Les Pauls so a Bigsby doesn't necessarily tell you that the guitar is a full-hollowbody. It's a fun little game! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madness Posted March 6, 2009 Author Share Posted March 6, 2009 Ok, so tomorrow im trying a bunch, probably most the cheaper ones, but maybe some more expensive like gibsons, and well see. Im looking for a bigsby and have written a list, and the shop seems to carry most of these which is good. Maybe i could get a gibson second hand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swmcv2007 Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 This a probably one of the best examples of controled feedback you will ever see. The amazing thing is it's done with a solid state amplifier. I Put A Spell On You Great video. Delicious. I love John Fogerty's guitar playing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madness Posted March 7, 2009 Author Share Posted March 7, 2009 Hm, i only managed to try two guitars today, none gibson, the first shop had NONE fully hollow. Then i tried a Gretsch G5122 at the next store, i think its fully hollow, but it looked like it had a thin wood block glued to the top in the center, but didnt reach far down, so not like a block that separates each acoustic room, does this make it fully hollow still? I didnt think it was to prone to feedback until i cranked it a little more than i dared play at the shop, so maybe its not as prone to feedback as i want? But damn, great guitar, feelt good, setup was nice and it had nice tone! Its was the Electromatic G5122, double cutaway, was SLIGHTLY thinner than a usual non cutaway, so maybe that reduces feedback? But the cutaway feelt nice for reaching higher frets and looks good too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brundaddy Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 i tried a Gretsch G5122 at the next store' date=' i think its fully hollow, but it looked like it had a thin wood block glued to the top in the center, but didnt reach far down, so not like a block that separates each acoustic room, does this make it fully hollow still?Its was the Electromatic G5122, double cutaway, was SLIGHTLY thinner than a usual non cutaway, so maybe that reduces feedback? But the cutaway feelt nice for reaching higher frets and looks good too.[/quote'] I'm not as familiar with Gretsches but I think they use a minimal amount of wood internally in order to "pin" the bridge, which is what you noticed. I think the line between full & semi-hollow is when there is a solid center block, so I'd say the Gretsch you played is a full-hollow. You got the right idea, the larger the open sound chamber, the easier the feedback comes -- but it should be easy enough to get feedback even on a thinline model, just as long as it's fully hollow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madness Posted March 7, 2009 Author Share Posted March 7, 2009 yeah i guess, but at the real bedroom volumes i had to wave it infront of the amp, but loved the sound, and it feelt like gibson quality, even being an china or something made and less than half the price, so im really considering it, perhaps upgrade with locking tuners, and such. Although, i think my amp has a bit more distortion than the store one and i guess it depends from amp to amp:) I liked that guitar though! The second i tried was some unknown brand Peerless or something, feelt like ****, looked like crap and well, was only slightly cheaper, problems reaching upper frets. No thanks to that one, but ill try to get my hands on some more, perhaps buy second hand. Havent even sold the guitar that i need the money from yet, so no hurry. Do you guys have the same opinion that high frets are hard to reach on single cutaway hollows? Twas this one that i liked anyhow, in my opinion a beauty! EDIT: Also, im not sure if i actually want a bigsby anymore, but i now want the double-cutaway preferrably. Didnt find use for the bigsby, i prefer using my fingers do to vibratos. So i guess that puts me with the epi casino? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Californiaman Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 Find a Yamaha Dealer. Ask them if they have a SA (Semi-Acoustic) 503 TVL. The SA-503TVL is great! TVL stands for Troy Van Leeuwen I can get you one for $850.00 plus shipping. Look it up on the www. Yamaha SA-503TVL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Californiaman Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 Here SA 503 TVL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madness Posted March 7, 2009 Author Share Posted March 7, 2009 Not bad, but im not sure if i want a bigsby anymore, seems to be more trouble than its worth (to me) since i dont find a use for trems, im not going to use the guitar for rockabilly, but quite some distortion to achieve feedback. But it does look nice with P90s and all. Thanks for the tip, sadly i dont live in the US:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brundaddy Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 I'd look at it like this: a Bigsby won't get in the way of your playing & over the years your tastes/styles may broaden to where you may one day wish you had the Bigsby. I know, I think rockabilly is cheesy & not very creative but Bigsbys are great to have for noise/feedback, ambient/atmospheric, surf, country, jazz, blues... If you prefer playing past the 14th fret, a double cutaway will get you there easier, and Gretsch's DC models are better looking than Gibson's & the new ones generally play just as well so you got the right idea. The pickups sound totally different tho, & it's all about what YOUR ear likes. Try Ibanez's hollowbodies, they play f'n great, well-made, & cheap as hell. The only issue is that I don't believe the pickups are wax-potted like on a Gibson, but I could be wrong. This means you'll get screechy microphonic (as opposed to resonant) feedback, and you don't want that kind of noise, at least most people don't. I like noise guitar though, so microphonic feedback does have its place. Find some Ibanezzes to play! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 Any guitar will give feedback if'n you want. Most can have feedback lessened. That's one reason I'm happy with an "accoustic" amp for a 175. The amp is built to cut where you're most likely to hit feedback with a given instrument/song. Personally I think the two best "electric" guitar concepts in the world are the 175 and the 335. Others are nice, comfortable for some... but with those two you can do anything from Vivaldi and Bach to some pretty heavy rock - and in packages that are balanced physically. On the other hand... I've been very, very comfortable with a single cutaway Gretch for a lotta fingerstyle stuff - and stupidly traded it away for a "board" for a country gig. But that's just how I opine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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