'solid body'. what does that mean to you?

[merciful-evans]

I'm preparing for a presentation re: 'electric guitar history'. I've concluded that I cant keep opinions out (without it being boring anyway).

So far as the description 'solidbody' goes:

My opinion runs thus: The term 'solidbody' exists only to differentiate it from any guitar with an acoustic chamber. It is really describing the absence of something. 

Am I missing something? Is that too simplistic? Is there anything inherent about a solidbody that adds something to the instrument? (other than weight).
I'd love to get the views / opinions of all you fellows.

[Murph]

When Les died, I realized I didn't own a Les Paul, even though most of my gigging years up to that point were with a '72 "Recording" Les Paul. Yes, that was also HIS chosen guitar>

So, I bought a 2008 Wine Red Studio brand new (needed to write off some gig money anyhow) and they say those are chambered.

My main gigging guitar at the time was a Custom Shop ES-339. Now THAT was a chamber, my friend.

Anyhow, after I went all acoustic I swapped off the ES-339 but I still have the Studio Les Paul. It's a killer guitar. I think I can hear the chamber, I could be nuts, but it's louder than my 91 Tele unplugged. I haven't played it in years, but if I needed to do an electric gig/ reunion or such I would probably use it 80%. I think I read somewhere that Les actually liked the chamber.

I consider it a solid body guitar.

But it's not.

 

 

Edited April 10, 2022 by Murph

[rct]

Esquire, Telecaster, Stratocaster.  For me here much nearer the end of my guitar time than the beginning, nothing else really matters.

rct

[Larsongs]

Should Chambered Bodied Guitars, even without, F holes be considered Solid Bodies? Like many Les Pauls are for example.

[sparquelito]

34 minutes ago, Larsongs said:

Should Chambered Bodied Guitars, even without, F holes be considered Solid Bodies? Like many Les Pauls are for example.

Yes. 

🙂

[Larsongs]

1 hour ago, sparquelito said:

Yes. 

🙂

Even though they’re hollowed? Is the new definition for Solid; partially hollowed Air chambers?

[Rabs]

The thing about solid body guitars is that (and oddly enough) they were created to give guitar players greater volume in clubs and stuff..  And they were created solid rather than hollow to actually avoid the nasty feedback issues caused by hollow body guitars..

And yes, chambered guitars (with no F hole) or weight relieved guitars ARE still solid body guitars because they are still not very acoustic.

Acoustics work by having very thin tops that vibrate.. Solid body guitars that work with pickups DONT do that..  Even something like a 336, while it is a semi hollow, it has the same sort of top as a LP.. More than 5mm thick. Acoustics and semi hollows like a 335 are made from laminate sides and back and top (three 0.6mm veneers glued together Maple, Spruce, Maple (or something like that). 

Edited April 10, 2022 by Rabs

[Whitefang]

All I can add is that whenever I read or hear "solid body"  I think of a guitar body formed from one solid slab of wood.  And not really all that thick.  Just enough to make room for the pick-ups(and other slight electronics).

Whitefang

[Rabs]

From the horses mouth as it were....

 

 

Edited April 10, 2022 by Rabs

[sparquelito]

55 minutes ago, Larsongs said:

Even though they’re hollowed? Is the new definition for Solid; partially hollowed Air chambers?

I suppose that I could be convinced to change my mind if the industry (and guitar players around the world) began referring to their guitars using the new expressions for not-quite-solid-body guitars. 
 

OLD Categories of electrics

Hollow body
Semi-hollow body
Solid body

 

NEW Categories of electrics

Not-quite-solid-body
Weight-relieved solid body 
Partially-hollow air chamber body
Solid body minus
Featherweight façade body
Anorexic alder body
and,
Bulimic balsa body
 

😃
 

[Sgt. Pepper]

It means not hollow.

Your welcome Rudy.

Edited April 10, 2022 by Sgt. Pepper

[Rabs]

 

[Larsongs]

2 hours ago, Rabs said:

The thing about solid body guitars is that (and oddly enough) they were created to give guitar players greater volume in clubs and stuff..  And they were created solid rather than hollow to actually avoid the nasty feedback issues caused by hollow body guitars..

And yes, chambered guitars (with no F hole) or weight relieved guitars ARE still solid body guitars because they are still not very acoustic.

Acoustics work by having very thin tops that vibrate.. Solid body guitars that work with pickups DONT do that..  Even something like a 336, while it is a semi hollow, it has the same sort of top as a LP.. More than 5mm thick. Acoustics and semi hollows like a 335 are made from laminate sides and back and top (three 0.6mm veneers glued together Maple, Spruce, Maple (or something like that). 

 Don’t many Les Pauls have a thin layer Maple Tops glued to a chambered Body?

Isn’t, Chambered Body,  just another way of saying the Body is hollowed out?

Many believe the Chambered Bodies affect the Sound. 

[Rabs]

9 minutes ago, Larsongs said:

 Don’t many Les Pauls have a thin layer Maple Tops glued to a chambered Body?

Isn’t, Chambered Body,  just another way of saying the Body is hollowed out?

Many believe the Chambered Bodies affect the Sound. 

Not as thin as an acoustic or semi hollow which is about 3mm thick around where the pickups are..

When you include the carve on a LP those tops more like 15-20mm thick...  So it doesnt vibrate like an acoustic soundboard at all.

As for if a chambered body has a different sound... Yes they can be a bit more airy or brighter even without a soundhole but nothing that cant be compensated for with amp EQs or pedals.

Edited April 10, 2022 by Rabs

[mihcmac]

I think of a hollow or semi-hollow as having a constructed body like a 335 or 330 etc. When the main body has chambers that have been machined out of a solid piece of wood and possibly has a maple cap, I tend to think of them as solid body even with F-Holes like my Blues Hawks with machined mahogany bodies and maple cap..

My swamp-ash Tele's back is also not constructed but machined out of two solid pieces of sawmp-ash with a thick swamp-ash cap. This also makes it very heavy, the heaviest guitar I own at over 12Lbs.

I believe that anything that from different woods to chambers will have an effect on the sound, machined bodies do not sound or resinate like constructed bodies.

So in my interpretation, if the body is constructed like an acoustic its hollow, if its machined out of solid wood its solid. 

And of course these are just my opinions there are exceptions to every rule.

My semi-hollow 339 has a very different sound compared to my Tele or Blues Hawks.

If you search the web for a semi-hollow most results will include any method of hollow except chambered.

Edited April 11, 2022 by mihcmac

[Larsongs]

Forget Webster… To each their own interpretation! Solid doesn’t mean Solid! It’s whatever it means to you! LOL!

[merciful-evans]

Yes its crazy

18 hours ago, sparquelito said:

I suppose that I could be convinced to change my mind if the industry (and guitar players around the world) began referring to their guitars using the new expressions for not-quite-solid-body guitars. 
 

OLD Categories of electrics

Hollow body
Semi-hollow body
Solid body

 

NEW Categories of electrics

Not-quite-solid-body
Weight-relieved solid body 
Partially-hollow air chamber body
Solid body minus
Featherweight façade body
Anorexic alder body
and,
Bulimic balsa body
 

😃
 

Yes its crazy. I think the term 'solidbody' is an unhelpful expression because:

 

1/ No guitar is fully solid (except maybe something like the gittler). There are trem cavities / control cavities etc in all of them. 

2/ The guitar doesn't know the difference between weight relief and a routed acoustic chamber. 

3/ There are examples of guitars that are not solid in the conventional sense that don't have acoustic chambers (Gittler again)

 

 

Sparky (Bulimic balsa body) : Gibson call balsa 'chromyte' when they use it in a build.  

 

[ksdaddy]

Reminds me of a conversation I had with a coworker. I spoke about how flat top guitars typically have some sort of radius to their soundboards, like 20 feet or so. He chuckled and snarked at me, “well, then it’s not a FLAT top!”

Yeah, yeah, bite me, Kenny.

My own myopic view is that if a guitar is designed as a solid body (not actually using a sound board of any kind as part of its design to produce sound) but may or may not have cavities for controls, pickups, weight relief,  or as part of thrifty construction methods (think Masonite Danelectro), then it’s a solid body. 

[Larsongs]

My Fender Telecaster, Phantom Brian Jones Teardrop, Phantom 12 String, Gibson Les Paul Special & my Gibson Les Paul Std Plus are all real Solid Body Guitars.. No Chambers.

I have other Gibsons, Gretsch & Fenders that are Chambered. They are great! But, in reality they are Chambered Body Guitars not Solid Body Guitars..