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Hollow Body Strat/Tele


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I am either doing a Telecaster project or a Strat project sometime in the near future. I was looking at bodies at Warmoth and saw that they had hollow bodies for strats and telecasters. What are the main differences between the two bodies soundwise? I want that vintage strat/telecaster sound, would I still get that out of a hollow body? The same applies for hollow telecaster bodies. Do they sound completely different?

I think I will be getting the strat with some lace sensor pickups, but I'm not sure about the telecaster. Maybe some Seymour Duncans... Sorry if this is an ignorant question, but I wanted to know for future reference. Thanks.

Edited by zerowley
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Unfortunately I can only answer a few of your questions.

No a vintage solid body Strat is not going to sound like a hollow body Strat or vice versa on the Tele.

Yes the two guitars sound completely different. Hollow or not they will sound different.

If you want vintage sound stay with the solid body. Strats sound more quack like in tone and Tele's sound twangy.

I hope this doesn't sound sarcastic. I'm just stating the facts. :D

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I'm not really sure. I imagine the tone would be a little more mellow in the hollow body.

Pickup choice will make a big difference too. Here is another place to look for bodies and necks. I'm partial to this company due to great service and top quality parts.Here

What type of music do you play?

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I can still get the same pickups if its a hollowbody right? If not then I will probably go with a solid body. The type of music I play is kind of versatile, I will have a Godin LG Signature for most of the stuff I will be playing which may be upgraded to a Les Paul if I feel like there is a huge difference and have some extra cash. I want a Strat/Tele to get a nice bluesy tone such as SRV's, which I am not looking to duplicate. That would be almost impossible. I want a vintage strat sound, and I have heard you won't get that with a hollowbodied strat. As far as Teles go, I've heard that thinline Teles won't even give you the general idea of the tonal qualities of a hollowbodied strat.

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"Hollow body = less sustain"

-Les Paul's Law

Okay, I've played both semi-hollow Strats and Teles, and no, they don't sound like a solid one. There isn't as much sustain, but the notes do seem to have a more bell-tone like quality. Having said that, it's kind of pointless to discuss tone in print on the internet. If you actually bought one, there are so many different pickup, amp, and effect combinations that it's impossible to know how you'll feel about the sound until you try it.

What I would suggest is looking at exactly what you want out of the guitar. If it's an SRV sound, you can look at the specs of the SRV signature strat on Fender's website and just dupe that out, buy a Matchless combo, and chug about a fifth of Jack and you'll be about 10% there.

But if you want something unique and not quite as shrill or sharp, go semi-hollow. Think of the sound BB King gets out of Lucille, then think of the sound Peter Frampton or Jimmy Page gets out of a Les Paul. BB's going to be a little mellow, Page is going to have a razor's edge.

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When looking for that SRV sound on one of my solid body strats, I played Lace Sensors (blue, gold & red), Fender Texas Specials, Bill Lawrence (the real ones not the knock-offs) Fender Vintage Noiseless & Wolfetones.

I liked the Bill Lawrences, Wolftones & the Vintage Noiseless.

I went with the Vintage Noiseless since they were easily available off the shelf from my local music store ( and I got a great deal). I may switch them out for the Lawrence's though. I haven't played Rio Grande pick-ups myself but have read good reviews about them.

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