Among the most beautiful electric guitars money can buy, the best semi-hollow guitars ooze character and scream ‘vintage’ in everything from looks to tones. A semi-hollow is the meeting place between your run-of-the-mill, solid-bodied guitar and fully hollow electrics, taking characteristics from both.
Semi-hollow guitars are defined by the inner cavity of the guitar being largely hollow on each of the guitar’s wings, with a solid, central block of wood to which the pickups are mounted. The purpose of this block of wood is to negate the horrible feedback issues that hollow-body guitars are plagued with, making it challenging to achieve extreme volumes. This is far less of a problem with semi-hollows, which is why you’ll see them as the weapon of choice for countless rock stars throughout the years, from Chuck Berry to Dave Grohl.
As with their solid-bodied brothers, there is a huge variation in the price of semi-hollow guitars, including some impressive options at attractive price points, so any player can add one to their collection. To help you find the best options available for your needs, we've included models at every point.
If this is your introduction to semi-hollow guitars, we’d recommend taking a look at our FAQs section at the bottom of this article; otherwise, keep scrolling to see our top picks.
Best semi-hollow guitars: Our top picks
Our top pick has to be the Gibson ES-335. This stunning guitar has inspired some of the greatest guitar icons of all time and continues to inspire millions of guitarists today. The Gibson ES-335 is versatile, gorgeous to look at, and insanely playable.
The Ibanez Artcore series has long been a popular alternative to brands such as Epiphone, and the AS53 model is one of the most affordable options out there for those seeking a slightly smaller body that doesn’t compromise on tone.
We love the full-fat, Music Man, solid bodied version of the Valentine, but the semi-hollow offering from their more affordable range, Sterling, is unique to their model lineup and really impressive.
Best overall
The most famed semi-hollow of them all deserves special treatment, and it gets it here. The AAA-figured maple finish offers stunning depth, and this model’s maple center block and Adirondack spruce bracing make it acoustically louder, which transfers to a more open plugged-in experience.
The premium treatment extends to a lightweight aluminum ABR-1 bridge and stopbar tailpiece that are anchored with steel thumb-wheels and studs.
Instead of ’57s, it comes with medium-output-calibrated T-Type humbucking pickups, but they provide a perfect showcase for an ES-335 and reveal the expression on tap here: warm without a hint of muddiness, but touch-sensitive with bite when overdriven.
Best on a budget
The Ibanez Artcore series has long been a popular alternative to brands such as Epiphone, and the AS53 model is one of the most affordable options out there for those seeking a slightly smaller body that doesn’t compromise on tone.
Featuring an exotic blend of Sapele and Nyatoh, this guitar is most definitely striking to look at, and the tasteful sunburst finish beautifully highlights the elegance of the body shape. Equipped with a set of the Infinity R Ceramic Humbuckers, this guitar sounds just as good as it looks, delivering the warm creamy tone you’d expect from a semi-hollow guitar.
So if you are longing for the tone only a hollow body guitar can provide - but you don’t want to break the bank - then the Ibanez AS53 Artcore should most certainly be on your list of guitars to try.
Best with P90 pickups
In terms of accessible price points, Gretsch offers one of the most impressive electric guitar ranges out there – and this new addition to its value-packed Streamliner collection widens that further.
A convincing school of thought suggests that P-90s are the ultimate pickup, and Gretsch’s FideliSonic spin on the single-coil offers clarity and treble bite without overpowering the mid thump in the bridge. While the format feels great for rock, the neck pickup will handle a jazz set and will love some raucous fuzz even more.
Which is handy because the chambered spruce block that runs through the centre of the Gretsch G2655-P90 from bridge to neck should keep unwelcome feedback at bay in high-gain scenarios.
Best T-Type
Here’s a modded take on Leo Fender’s final single-cut bolt-on electric guitar design. The G&L ASAT Classic Bluesboy Semi-Hollow offers great value for money, with a swamp ash body and a versatile tonal palette that comes courtesy of a G&L alnico humbucker and Leo’s Fullerton-made high-output single-coil MFD (Magnetic Field Design) bridge pickup.
The emphasis of low end over high-end twang and snap works to the humbucker’s advantage, while the single-coil delivers significant poke in the mid-range.
Elsewhere, six individual brass saddles deliver precise intonation, while 18:1-ratio tuners offer impeccable stability.
Best for versatility
A signature semi-hollow guitar from the guitarist from Maroon Five may not seem like an obvious choice for one of the best semi-hollows on the market, but the Valentine Chambered Semi-Hollow has been a standout guitar for some time. We love the full-fat, Music Man, solid bodied version of the Valentine, but the semi-hollow offering from their more affordable range, Sterling, is unique to their model lineup and really impressive.
While Sterling may be the more affordable range from Music Man, you wouldn’t know it from the looks of the Valentine. It features premium wood construction, with a White Ash body in a natural finish, a roasted maple neck and fingerboard, with shiny locking tuners and a hardtail bridge completing the look. Sprinkle in active electronics in the form of a 12dB onboard boost, and this guitar looks, feels, and sounds like anything but budget. It’s simply stunning.
Sterling’s single coil bridge pickup offers great definition and bite, with the humbucker in the neck providing warm and rounded tones. If you want to give it a sprinkling on vintage styling, a version with a Bigsby is available too, but as prices have crept up on all Sterling Valentine guitars in recent years, we’d suggest saving money by opting for the non-Bigsby model.
Best mid-priced
A firm Sheraton fan, Emily Wolfe had clear ideas of the kind of guitar she wanted her name on (her signature is embossed on the back of the headstock in a suitably stealth-like manner that’s visible only at certain angles), and it’s resulted in a superb semi-hollow.
While the Sheraton is long-established in the Epiphone line, Wolfe’s model features some diversions to the design. The diamond holes doff their cap to the Gibson Trini Lopez model that Dave Grohl loves, while the thinner Black Aged Gloss finish (a first for the brand) lands somewhere between satin and a gloss guitar that’s been played for years. It looks great, and the pairing with gold hardware adds a classy contrast.
At 9lbs, the model we tried is comparable to a Les Paul, but it’s a comfortable, balanced experience on the strap, and the ’60s thin taper neck with low action on our test model felt a breeze for lead runs and bends. Much like Wolfe’s songs, the Epiphone Alnico Pro humbuckers confidently bridge the worlds of blues and fuzzier modern rock, with the neck showcasing the singing sustain on offer. A great guitar for those who want something with a different aesthetic that feels premium for its price.
Best with trem
The Starfire V’s style is undoubtedly Guild, but its classic vibes could well be aimed at tempting players away from the ES-335s out there. How could anyone resist those generous cutaways and the wooden, tune-o-matic bridge? The guitar’s Gibson-style four-knob control layout is augmented by a Gretsch-style master volume control on the treble horn, giving the player an additional choice for on-the-fly tweaks.
The LB-1 pickups replicate Guild’s early-’60s Anti-Hum models, offering low-end articulation and a bright bridge pickup with impressive sustain – it’ll shine when playing indie, mod or Americana. The Guild vibrato tailpiece allows for chord expression as well as the usual pitch fun for lead lines.
The full-length maple center block means the Starfire V is in the upper end of the weight scale for a semi, but this is an impressive guitar for those with a penchant for vintage aesthetics.
Best acoustic tones
With a different take on the semi-hollow guitar format, the Fender American Acoustasonic Stratocaster offers a truly unique tonal palette. It’s a bold take on the classic Strat format, but seamlessly blends the brilliance of the original by adding in elements of an acoustic.
Unplugged it’s got a lovely resonance to it thanks to the combo of Mahogany body with a solid Sitka spruce top. It’s got an almost resonator-like quality to it, with punchy note definition aplenty. The real fun begins when you plug it in though. Thanks to the three-pickup combination you get a vast array of tones to play with covering the spectrum from acoustic to full-on electric.
Playability wise it feels exactly like a Strat with heavy gauge strings on. The neck is slightly thicker than what you’d get on a typical electric, but it feels super slinky and familiar nonetheless. It’s an unusual one but don’t let that put you off a truly fantastic semi-hollow guitar.
Read the full Fender American Acoustasonic Stratocaster review
Best small body
Introduced in 2007, the Gibson ES-339 is a smaller version of the ES-335, intended for those who are more comfortable wielding a guitar with Les Paul-esque dimensions.
Smaller certainly doesn’t mean inferior, though, and the ES-339’s maple center block and quarter-sawn spruce bracing make it a genuine downsized take on its bigger, older brother.
If the ES-339 feels like an ES-335 / Les Paul mix, then the ’57 Classic / Classic Plus humbuckers suit the platform with thick bridge position tones, open-neck character and an added twang to the mid position that enables more scope for chord jangle than you’d find on an LP. It’s a very inviting halfway house.
Best premium
The first thing that catches your eye when picking up this guitar is its distinctive three-pickup configuration – a PRS Narrowfield single-coil being sandwiched by a pair of PRS 58/15 LT humbuckers. These come with independent taps to provide a total of 12 pickup combinations.
There’s a huge array of tones at your disposal, enabling you to perform anything from Texas blues to jazzy cleans with articulate distinction. Having the expressive and nuanced PRS Gen III patented tremolo on board only adds to the wonderful playability.
As for how it looks and feels, the guitar’s lightweight build and fuller, pattern-neck profile make it a pleasure to wield. The latter – an update of PRS’s wide fat design – is based on the guitars Paul Reed Smith built for Carlos Santana and Peter Frampton. If it’s good enough for them...
FAQs
What is a semi-hollow guitar?
The term 'semi-hollow' refers to the construction of the guitar. Unlike the fully hollow option, these guitars feature a wooden center block to which the pickups are mounted. This drastically changes the tone by increasing sustain, as well as limiting feedback at loud volumes.
Though they all share a similar aesthetic – boasting at least one F-hole – semi-hollow guitars vary greatly in terms of pickups, bridge and shape. Fender uses the word ‘Thinline’ as a name for its own semi-hollow models, but the term predates that in the guitar world. It refers to the slimmer body that semi-hollow guitar design introduced, making these electric guitars easier to gig with than the semi-acoustics that jazz musicians had been using. Semi-hollow electric guitar bodies remain generally thinner than their hollow-body counterparts to this day.
While it’s understandable to assume that a hollow body area would equate to a lighter weight, many semi-hollows are larger in body width than their solid counterparts, and can still weigh around 8 or 9lbs. However, in the case of Telecasters, thinline models can weigh up to 1.5lbs less than their solid siblings. PRS Hollowbody models offer a similar weight reduction compared to the solid models with the same double-cut body shape.
How does a semi-hollow guitar sound?
Humbuckers, P-90s and traditional single-coil pickups can all be found on semi-hollow guitars, and as a result, it's virtually impossible to define a semi-hollow sound. But it's fair to say that the hollowed area of the body instils more tonal warmth over the brightness that some solid-body electrics can offer.
These guitars are often described as rich and bell-like. They offer a more complex harmonic spectrum, just not found in their solid counterparts. It's no surprise then, that these are usually the six-string of choice for blues and jazz players looking for a guitar that simply offers more than the standard solid-body instrument.
How to choose the right semi-hollow for you
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With so many options available, it can get overwhelming. Still, just like choosing a solid guitar, it's essential to think about the tone you are looking to get out of your new axe.
For those seeking a quintessential semi-hollow tone, it's worth looking at an ES-335. Now, whether that's a Gibson, Epiphone, or even some other brand, this large-bodied guitar delivers a simply iconic tone and is what most of us think of when we think of a semi-hollow guitar.
That said, there are many models on the market that break the 335 mold. So, if traditional isn't for you, the Fender Thinline, G&L Bluesboy or PRS might be a more viable option. These guitars offer the warmth of the ES, but with entirely different pickup configurations, tonewoods and features.
How we choose products
At Guitar Player, our expert team of guitarists is fully immersed in the world of guitars. With our deep appreciation for the unique tone and versatility of the instrument, we have extensively tested and played numerous guitars to identify the best semi-hollow guitars available.
To compile our list of top semi-hollow guitars, we combine our hands-on experience, meticulous research, and in-depth discussions with our editorial team. We carefully consider factors such as craftsmanship, playability, tonal range, and overall value to ensure we showcase the finest products on the market.
As dedicated musicians ourselves, we understand the importance of finding the perfect instrument that suits your playing style and musical preferences. Whether you're exploring jazz, blues, rock, or any genre that benefits from the warm, resonant tones of a semi-hollow guitar, our goal is to provide reliable and informed recommendations to help you discover the ideal instrument for your musical journey. With the best semi-hollow guitars in your hands, you'll have the tools to express your creativity and elevate your sound to new heights.
Read more on how we test gear and service at Guitar Player.
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