A semi-acoustic guitar , also known as a hollow-body electric guitar , is a type of electric guitar designed to be played with a guitar amplifier featuring a fully or partly hollow body and at least one electromagnetic pickup . First created in the 1930s, they became popular in jazz and blues , where they remain widely used, and the early period of rock & roll , though they were later largely supplanted by solid-body electric guitars in rock.
30-516: The Epiphone Dot is a semi-hollow archtop electric guitar manufactured by Epiphone , a subsidiary of Gibson . It was introduced in 1997 as a more affordable version of the Gibson ES-335 , at the high end of entry-level pricing. Reviews describe it as a robustly-constructed, versatile guitar with a smooth, powerful sound, suitable for jazz , blues and some rock styles, but lacking the high output required for heavy metal . The Dot has
60-483: A semi-hollow body . Examples include models that feature sound holes, like the Gibson ES-335 , and ones with no sound holes but hollow interior chambers, like the Gretsch Duo-Jet . In these, the bridge is fixed to a solid block of wood rather than to a sound board , and the belly vibration is minimized much as in a solid body instrument. The addition of the central block helps to manage feedback and allows
90-451: A demand for a comfortable and modern version of the original archtop model. In 1958, Gibson first manufactured a 'semi-hollow body guitar' that featured a block of solid wood between the front and back sections of the guitars' cutaway . The guitar had a smaller resonant cavity inside, which makes less sound emit from the f holes. Rickenbacker also began making semi-acoustic guitars in 1958. German guitar crafter, Roger Rossmiesl developed
120-475: A semi-hollow body made of laminated maple. Two hollow "wings" with f-holes sit on either side of a solid block of mahogany or maple on which the pickups, bridge and tailpiece are mounted, which makes it less prone to feedback than a fully hollow-bodied guitar. It has a glued-in neck of mahogany (before 2008, maple) and a rosewood fingerboard. The name "Dot" is in reference to its fretboard markers, which are simple dots, unlike other Epiphone archtop guitars such as
150-580: A series of Traveling Wilburys commemorative guitars, which bore little resemblance to prior Gretsch models. In 1989, Gretsch restarted large-scale production of new guitars based on classic Gretsch models. In late 2002, Gretsch and the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation reached an agreement giving Fender control over marketing, production, and distribution of guitars, with the Gretsch family retaining ownership of
180-631: A total debt of over $ 9 billion. In 1984, former Baldwin CEO Richard Harrison bought the Baldwin music divisions and brought back former Gretsch employee, Duke Kramer, to run the Gretsch division. In 1985, the Gretsch company once again came under the leadership of the Gretsch family when Fred W. Gretsch, great-grandson of Friedrich and nephew of Fred Gretsch Jr, assumed presidency of the company. The first Gretsch guitars after Fred W Gretsch became president were released in 1988. They were
210-561: A year later, in what became a long line of semi acoustics for the Gibson company. In 1949 Gibson released two new models: the ES-175 and ES-5 . The ES-175 and ES-5 models were the first to come with built-in electric pickups and are widely considered the first fully electric semi-acoustic guitars. Several models, including the ES-350T by Gibson, were made in the 1950s to accommodate
240-632: Is the Dot Studio , described as a "stripped down" version of the Dot, with a body made of laminated mahogany, one volume and one tone control, uncovered pickups, no pickguard, and no fretboard markers. Models formerly available include the Dot Deluxe , with a flame maple laminate top and gold-plated hardware; the Dot Super VS , with a flame maple top and mother of pearl block inlays (2006); and
270-447: The 300 series for Rickenbacker. The series was a wide semi-acoustic that used a sleeker dash hole on one side of the guitar, with a pick guard on the other side, rather than a traditional F-hole. In addition to the main model variants of the guitar, Gibson made several small changes to the guitar, including a laminated top for the ES-175 model and mounted top pickups for general use on all their models. While Gibson provided many of
300-675: The Casino or the Sheraton , which have more elaborate block inlays . It has two alnico humbucker pickups, each with its own volume and tone control, a three-way selector switch allowing the player to choose one or both pickups, a Tune-o-matic bridge and a stop-bar tailpiece. Formerly made in Korea , since 2002 the Dot has been made in Epiphone's factory in Qingdao , China. Also available
330-489: The Dot Royale , with gold-plated hardware and a pearl white finish. Semi-acoustic guitar They differ from an acoustic-electric guitar , which is an acoustic guitar that has been fitted with some means of amplification to increase volume without changing the instrument's tone. Semi-acoustic guitars may have a fully hollow body, making them essentially archtop acoustics with the pickups permanently mounted into
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#1732790297018360-538: The sound board , such as the Gibson ES-175 . Some models feature bodies the full width of acoustics, allowing them to be played fully acoustically, while others, such as the Epiphone Casino , have "thinline" bodies where the hollow body serves purely to alter the tone, not increase the acoustic volume. Other semi-acoustic guitars have a solid center block running the length and depth of the body, called
390-429: The 1930s. The guitar became used in pop, folk, and blues. The guitars sometimes produced feedback when played through an amplifier at a loud level so they were unpopular for bands that had to play loud enough to perform in large venues. As rock became more experimental in the late 60s and 70s, the guitar became more popular because players learned to use its feedback issues creatively. Semi-hollow guitars share some of
420-537: The Beatles , and B.B. King , and rock musician Ted Nugent . Semi-acoustic guitars have also been valued as practice guitars because, when played "unplugged," they are quieter than full acoustic guitars, but more audible than solid-body electric guitars because of their open cavity. They are also popular because the cavities reduce the weight of the guitar. Gretsch Gretsch is an American company that manufactures and markets musical instruments . The company
450-486: The Country Gentleman. Electric guitars before 1957 used single coil pickups that have significant hum problems as an inherent part of their design. Frustration with the hum of these pickups prompted Atkins to collaborate with American inventor and engineer Ray Butts on the development of a new "humbucking" pickup by connecting two single-coil pickups serially and out of phase. This resulted in what may have been
480-601: The Gretsch Sparkle Jet. He was also inspired by the American cars of the era in introducing new finishes to their guitars. During this time, Chet Atkins became an endorser of Gretsch and they sold guitars with Atkins' name on the pickguard. After The Beatles first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show , Gretsch sales soared overnight, due to George Harrison playing a Gretsch Country Gentleman for
510-518: The band's early years. Gretsch was founded in 1883 by Friedrich Gretsch, a young German immigrant who opened his own musical instrument shop on 128 Middleton Street in Brooklyn, New York that year. His shop was designed for the manufacture of tambourines and drums . The operation moved to South 4th Street in 1894. In 1895, Gretsch died at the age of 39 and the company was taken over by his wife and fifteen-year-old son Fred. Fred Gretsch expanded
540-492: The business, adding Gretsch Building #1 at 109 South 5th Street in 1903, Gretsch Building #2 at 104-114 South 4th Street in 1910, and a new ten-story Gretsch Building #4 at 60 Broadway in 1916. The company ultimately owned or operated six properties in the immediate area, including a warehouse on Dunham Place. Gretsch Building #4 was owned by the Gretsch family until 1999. Guitar production by the Gretsch Company began in
570-562: The company was again run by Fred Jr. By the mid-1950s the company introduced several models, including the 6120 "Nashville," and the 6128 Duo Jet chambered "solid body", which was played by Bo Diddley . Two other models were introduced - the Country Club, and the White Falcon . In 1954, guitarist and Gretsch employee, Jimmie Webster suggested adding the sparkle finishes from Gretsch drums onto their guitars, resulting in
600-454: The early 1930s, and Gretsch guitars became highly sought after, most notably in the 1950s and 1960s. Fred Gretsch Sr. handed over the family business to his son, Fred Gretsch Jr., after retiring in 1942. Soon after taking over, Fred Jr. left to serve in WWII as a Navy commander, leaving the business in the hands of his younger brother, William Walter "Bill" Gretsch. Bill Gretsch died in 1948 and
630-408: The face of the guitar's soundbox . This model resembled traditional jazz guitars that were popular at the time. The soundbox on the guitar let limited sound emit from the hollow body of the guitar. The ES-150s could be electrically amplified via a Charlie Christian pickup , a magnetic single-coil pickup that converted the energy of the vibrating strings into an electrical signal. The clear sound of
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#1732790297018660-523: The first humbucker pickup (a claim lost to Gibson Guitars because Gibson was able to file a patent for their humbucker design first). Butts' design became the Gretsch Filter'Tron and was used on Gretsch guitars beginning in 1957, and is highly regarded for its unique sound properties. The popularity of Gretsch guitars soared in the mid-1960s because of its association with Beatles guitarist George Harrison , who played Gretsch guitars beginning in
690-479: The guitar to be played normally at higher gain and higher volume. Other guitars are borderline between semi-acoustic and solid body. Known as a chambered body guitar , they start from a solid body blank that has been routed out to include a sound hole in an otherwise solid body. Examples include the Fender Telecaster Thinline . In the 1930s, guitar manufacturers aimed at increasing
720-560: The innovations in semi-acoustic guitars from the 1930s to the 1950s, there were also various makes by other companies including a hollow archtop by Gretsch. The 6120 model by Gretsch became very popular as a rockabilly model despite having almost no technical differences from Gibson models. Rickenbacker was also a prominent maker of the semi-hollow body guitar. Gibson, Gretsch, Rickenbacker, and other companies still make semi-acoustic and semi-hollow body guitars. The semi-acoustic and semi-hollow body guitars were used widely by jazz musicians in
750-528: The performance. Fred Gretsch never found a suitable successor, and in 1967 Gretsch was sold to Baldwin Pianos , becoming a subsidiary of that firm. Mid-1969, Baldwin moved Gretsch instrument manufacturing operations from Brooklyn to a plant in DeQueen, Arkansas. In 1983, Baldwin's holding company and several of its subsidiaries were forced into bankruptcy. At the time it was the largest bankruptcy ever, with
780-509: The pickups made the ES series popular with jazz musicians. The ES-150 was made several years after Rickenbacker made the first solid-body electric guitar. The ES series was designed as an experiment for Gibson to test the potential success of electric guitars. Due to its financial success, the ES series is often referred to as the first successful electric guitar. The ES-150 was followed by the ES-250
810-455: The sound level produced by the instrument, to compete with louder instruments such as the drums. Companies such as Gibson , Rickenbacker , and Gretsch focused on amplifying a guitar through a loudspeaker. In 1936, Gibson introduced their first manufactured semi-acoustic guitar, the ES-150s (Electric Spanish Series). Gibson based them on a standard production archtop , with F-holes on
840-562: The tonal characteristics of hollow guitars, such as their praised warmth and clean tone, but with less risk of undesirable feedback. Their sound is particularly popular with jazz , blues , rockabilly and psychobilly guitarists. Today, semi-acoustic and semi-hollow body guitars are still popular among many artists across various genres. Examples include Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys , renowned jazz guitarist George Benson , John Scofield , multi-instrumentalist Paul McCartney , former Guns N' Roses member Izzy Stradlin , John Lennon of
870-513: The years, Gretsch has manufactured a wide range of instruments, though they currently focus on electric , acoustic and resonator guitars, basses , ukuleles , and drums. Gretsch instruments enjoyed market prominence by the 1950s. In 1954, Gretsch began a collaboration with guitarist Chet Atkins to manufacture a line of electric guitars with Atkins' endorsement, resulting in the Gretsch 6120 hollowbody guitar and other later models such as
900-530: Was founded in 1883 in Brooklyn , New York by Friedrich Gretsch, a 27-year-old German immigrant, shortly after his arrival to the United States. Friedrich Gretsch manufactured banjos , tambourines , and drums until his death in 1895. In 1916, his son, Fred Gretsch Sr. moved operations to a larger facility where Gretsch went on to become a prominent manufacturer of American musical instruments. Through
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