Semi-hollow Bodies

[verhoevenc]

Hey, I was just wondering why no one has listed a tutorial with step by step picture type thing of how to build yourself a semi-hollow? Like Myka has done a pimpin' job chronicalling the processes of his dragonflys, and that's pretty close. But it's still not a tutorial. I'm about to build a semi-hollow body and put a Parker Nitefly or PRS neck onto it. But I've still got a bunch of question about the semi-hollow body? Could anyone make a tutorial?

Chris

[verhoevenc]

My Main questions are...

1) Where do I need to leave/add wood in order to ensure the structural integritty of the top?

2) If I wanted to put a T-O-M style bridge with those metal parts that go pretty deep into the body how would I go about that because they'd probably go deeper than the thickness of the top? (Leave extra wood undernieth where they'd be?)

3) What are the best woods to use? I'm looking at making an aggressive semi-hollow body for rock, not jazz.

4) How thick should I make this semi?

Chris

[unclej]

My Main questions are...

1) Where do I need to leave/add wood in order to ensure the structural integritty of the top?

2) If I wanted to put a T-O-M style bridge with those metal parts that go pretty deep into the body how would I go about that because they'd probably go deeper than the thickness of the top? (Leave extra wood undernieth where they'd be?)

3) What are the best woods to use? I'm looking at making an aggressive semi-hollow body for rock, not jazz.

4) How thick should I make this semi?

Chris

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[Mickguard]

I have a Samick Royale, I like it a lot. Here's how they do it:

I think feedback will be an issue with a hollowbody for aggressive rock --the Samick design pretty much eliminates that (I have to turn things up pretty loud to get mine to feed back).

But you can adjust the frame-design to suit your wishes --take away more of the wood from the center core, for example.

You don't say if you want to make an archtop or just a thinline-type. Obviously, the thinline is a lot easier to build!

I was working on my Convertible --it's actually pretty nearly completed...I strung it up once without the pickup and it sounded kind of interesting....sort of like a cross between a banjo and a resonator...I ought to get around to finishing it one day...just need to find the time...

[verhoevenc]

Ok, when I played with Avril her guitarist used gretsch hollows and had NO problem with feedback, and that's about what I'm gunna be using it for, pop-punk style stuff.

Chris

[jnewman]

Most of the Gretsch guitars are classic archtop hollowbodies. Robert Benedetto has what I understand to be a very, very good book on constructing archtop guitars. They're a LOT of work - they're built kind of like an acoustic, although you carve an arch into the top (both inside and outside) and often mount a block under the bridge.

[verhoevenc]

Yeah, I know, but my point was, if he didn't have a problem with a full archtop hollow body feeding back, then I probably could make a SEMI not feedback too.

Chris

[jay5]

Ok, when I played with Avril her guitarist used gretsch hollows and had NO problem with feedback, and that's about what I'm gunna be using it for, pop-punk style stuff.

[verhoevenc]

Yeah, my old band was one of her opening acts not too long back.

And yeah... maybe he was stuffing lol.

Thanks,

Chris

[crafty]

Hmmm...I thought Avril had starved herself to death by now. Guess not. Anyway, dude, you can make anything work. Just look at Ted Nugent or even the new Tom DeLonge signature Gibson. Semis usually won't feedback as much simply because there's more solid material to keep everything from rattling--but any guitar will feedback under high volumes. It's simply less potentially damaging to solidbodies.

The problem everyone is having with trying to answer your question is that we don't know what you want. There are many types of semi-hollow designs out there right now. Do you want a guitar that has the traditional Gibson ES-335/355 (BB King) archtop design, or do you want something like the Telecaster thinline, like what The Edge and that guy from Coldplay are playing right now? Sounds to me like you want a Gibson-style design if you're asking about the T-O-M bridge.

My first advice is to read, read, read before you buy any tools or wood. Most of the principles of solid-body construction CAN be applied to semis. To answer your question, you can use a T-O-M bridge on a semi because there is a block of wood in the center of the guitar that runs from the neck joint to the end of the guitar. The top of the guitar doesn't support the studs for the bridge and tailpiece at all. It sounds to me like you should do a lot more reading and research first so that you know the differences in construction between a hollow and a semi hollow guitar.

Once you've figured out all that, buy the Benedetto book or videos. It'll give you just about all the info you need on building an archtop guitar, too.

[verhoevenc]

yup, just bought the bennedetto book and DVD, it's on it's way

and to answer your question, I'm looking to make something like a myka dragonfly style semi.

Chris

[crafty]

Excellent. Well, for starters, I'd PM Myka as he's a regular poster here and he can let you know what kinds of wood he uses for his guitars and the kind of sound you can get. For agressive rock, may I suggest maybe a maple neck and top and mahogany for the back and center block/sides piece. That combination will give you a nice snappy tone and a resonant body. Think Zakk Wylde with a little more acoustic sound. If you want a darker Les Paul-type tone, try mahogany for the neck.

Thickness is a matter of personal preference. I sold my semi-hollow a while back, so I'm not sure how thick it was, but for agressive rock you're going to want it as thin as possible, especially so the center block won't have to be as thick. Less thickness on that center block means less weight on your shoulders.

[thegarehanman]

I am building an archtop semi hollow right now. as i understand it, you can expect substantially less feedback if you used wax or epoxy potted pickups. I'm using kent armstrong potted PAF's and an X-bridge by lrbaggs. i know the bridge block(or tone block, whatever) is normally a seperate piece of wood. I integrated the block into the top as i was carving, i simply didn't carve the section underneath the bridge. It's a neck-thru so this uncarved "block" will get glued to the neck. there is also a very tiny block in the back of the guitar to avoid any damage to the back. The ribs(which are also typically glued on) are also integrated. I'm confident this will give enough resonance for a good semi hollow sound and still enough sturdiness to avoid excessive feedback.