As the ES Hollow body does not come with a back control plate, all electronics wiring must be completed via the F-holes on the top face of the guitar. Assembly and Finishing TipsĪssembly is much the same as other electric guitar kits with one important distinction. The pickups will typically be generic covered humbuckers, with two volume and two tone pots, along with a three-way pickup selector. The set neck is typically maple or mahogany depending on the vendor you purchase from, with rosewood fretboard and either dot or trapezoid mother of pearl inlays. The bridge is typically a Tune-O-Matic style bridge, although you will at times also see a trapeze style bridge utilized. In most cases when purchasing a 335 hollow body guitar kit, the top, bottom and sides of the guitar will be constructed from marine ply (as per the original Gibson 335) with a center block consisting of either maple or Mahogany running through the center of the body with binding running along the top of the guitar and in some cases the back and neck.
Recommended: Iconic Electric Guitars & How to Build Them Construction In fact, the only style of music they aren’t ideally suited to is metal, as most hollow-body guitars have issues with feedback when played at high volume.
Known for their versatility, ES style hollow-body guitars have been used in a range of music styles from jazz and blues through to rock. At the time Gibson ® used this prefix to differentiate between their ES and EH models (Electric Hawaiian - lap steel guitars).Ĭhuck Berry, pictured here with his ES335įirst introduced in 1958 the Gibson ® 335 has been the guitar of choice for a wide range of respected guitarists from Chuck Berry and BB King through to modern players such as Dave Grohl who plays a variation with diamond sound hole based on the Gibson ® Trini-Lopez, itself a variation of the ES 335, which is also available. In case you were wondering, the ES in the name stands for ‘Electric Spanish’. Behind only the Fender Stratocaster ® and Gibson ® Les Paul ®, the 335 is arguably one of the most heavily copied electric guitar body shapes of all time. The ES Hollow body is based on the Gibson® ES-335. Having sold hollow body kit guitars and assembling a number of my own over the years I’ll also provide some useful tips and tricks regarding finishing and assembly, as wiring a hollow body electric guitar is a different proposition to that of an ST or TE style kits for example.Ĭheck out semi-hollow and hollow body guitar kits at great prices 1. In the following article, we’re going to a look at three of the most popular hollow and semi-hollow kit guitar shapes currently available based on overall sales volume over the past four years here at GuitarKitWorld.
Solid-body electric guitar kits in comparison are shaped, solid pieces of timber and require far less time to produce. Semi-hollow body electric guitar kits such as the LP semi-hollow body or TE Thinline, are less involved, however, and are essentially a routed solid timber body with a maple cap then placed on the top face of the guitar.
For all intents and purposes, these guitars are more similar in construction to an acoustic guitar. The bodies also require bracing or struts for additional support. The timber itself often requires soaking in warm water first to ensure maximum pliability and is then set in a mold. Hollow body guitar kits typically represent very good value for money considering the workmanship required to produce them is quite a bit more involved than for a standard electric guitar.įor example, the sides of the guitar's bodies are laminated, then planed (thicknessed) and shaped using a bending iron. If you have always wanted to own your archtop jazz or 335 style hollow body electric guitar but found the price a little on the high side you may be interested in taking a closer look at the range of DIY hollow body guitar kits currently available.