Semi-hollow
A body built with hollow chambers but with a solid centre block running through it, joining the neck to the tailpiece and supporting the pickups.
The block is what makes the design usable at high volume: it restores sustain, anchors the bridge and stops the top from feeding back, while the chambers on either side keep some of the warmth and the sense of a box around the sound. The audible result sits between a solid body and a full hollowbody, generally a little rounder and woodier than solid, without the tendency to resonate out of control. Thickness and the size of the chambers vary a great deal between designs.
Example: a thin semi-hollow with humbuckers can play a loud blues or rock gig without the feedback problems of an archtop.
See also
Related
- PageHollow body
- PageChambered body
- PageAction
- PageArchtop
- PageB-Bender
- PageAaron Dessner
- PageAce Frehley
- PageAd-Rock