10 Best Hollowbody Electric Guitars (roundup)

In keeping with our buying guide format, guitars make the list based on the following criteria:

• Price (affordability)
• Features
• Construction Quality (parts)
• Community Consensus (reputation)

Keep in mind, this is not a ranked list. It would be possible to rank a smaller number of guitars, but once you gather a larger number of them together, things get a little too muddy and subjective for a true ranking.

We will be providing a review for each of the above nineteen guitars. In keeping with the purpose of our buying guides, we’ll provide a snapshot of each guitar so you can narrow down your options and make an informed decision about what guitar could work best for you. These listings embody the following:

1. Our personal recommendation
2. A contextual product snapshot
3. A brief review

Nothing more and nothing less. Take your time browsing and make sure to check the Amazon and Guitar Center links for Used options, if and when you decide to buy. Before jumping into the list, let’s look at some quality indicators.

Quality Indicators of Hollowbody Electric Guitars

Hollowbody electric guitars (semi or otherwise) will have significant differences from solid body guitars in terms of tone and stylistic leanings. However, the quality indicators are, more or less, the same. They would include (but are not limited to) the following:

• Tonewood
• Pickup Types (stock, brand, etc.)
• Brand Standards (PRS, Gibson, etc.)
• Hardware

Almost all quality indicators are shared by both types of guitar. What you might want to do first is create a quick checklist of your “priority” features. It’ll help you concentrate your efforts on guitars that fit your particular needs. Once that happens, you can narrow down your purchase.

What about the super-expensive options?

In a majority of our guitar buying guides, we avoid guitars that are priced on the higher-end. On this list however, I’ve left a lot of them in, since some people are looking for the nicer, high-priced guitars. Now, that doesn’t mean I believe that a high-price tag automatically equals a high-value.

Value is a combination of what you can get with what you can afford. So yes, the $4000 guitar is nicer than the $400 guitar, but the $400 might have more value to you because of your budget and what you get in return for the amount of money you spend. In this post, we’re simply making some room for bigger budgets. Ready to jump in?

It's also an exceptionally beautiful instrument, with a body design that's difficult to distinguish from the Core PRS guitars at first glance. However, the quilting or body carving are typically not as intricate on the SE models. Still, the SE Hollowbody II Piezo is one of my top picks overall, nevermind among hollowbody electrics alone.

An ideal scenario would be to couple this guitar with P90scovered humbuckers from Seymour Duncan, perhaps the Pearly Gates set. But, even if you don’t go that route, you’re still getting a lot of guitar for the money.

The body is laminate (layers of wood instead of a solid piece) and entirely maple.

In most cases, you’ve got to get past the $500 mark before you start seeing non-laminate construction. Thus, if an economy option is on your radar we like the ES-339, even if you keep the stock Epiphone humbuckers.

The pearloid pickguard and HH pickup design makes for an aesthetically rewarding instrument. The pickups are stock, but still capture a fair amount of the twangy Telecaster vibe.

It’s “budget-friendly,” for sure.

And please don’t get sucked into the idea that Squier guitars are competitive with Fenders in terms of quality. They’re not. This guitar is less than $500 for a reason and can’t hold a candle to the American Telecasters.

Does that mean they’re terrible guitars?

Of course not.

Just don’t say they’re the same as the nicer models. It’s simply not true.

The tone is distinctly jazz and thick, with plenty of weight on the lower notes and a little bit of growl, particularly with heavy picking.

It’s a classy sound, capable of bleeding into the edgier tones of blues and rock as well.

Per the product homepage, the M-75 uses a disappointingly large amount of laminate, covering the top and sides of the guitar. The back is solid mahogany, though for a guitar that eclipses four figures, you’d hope to see more solid wood. 

If you like the style and feel of the guitar, don’t let the laminate scare you away.

Just note that there are better deals out there.

A few things that help sweeten the deal include dual volume/tone knobs, a hardshell case, and Grover tuners.

So, I’d give high marks for pickups, tone, and hardware while docking points for tonewood and what I might call a slightly high price tag.

Like the M-75 you’ve got a laminate top and solid center block, two volume/tone controls and a hardshell case.

Keep in mind that some discrepancies in price can simply be due to one company using a different pricing model than another. Every guitar manufacturer pays for material to make guitars and then marks them up for profit.

Guild is a larger, more popular company, which often means they’ll be able to charge less.

So, it’s not necessarily an issue of quality.

From a tone perspective, I find the DC to be far more rich satisfying, which might simply be due to the maple tonewood and the profile of the humbuckers. It’s a little brighter and more defined than the M-75, doing a better job taking advantage of the hollowbody design.

Outside of comparison talk, the DC is a beautiful instrument that sounds the part and, thus far, has been one of my favorites on this list.

The ES-339, the Dot, and the Wildkat are all good examples of this as they share many basic features. Laminate construction, Maple or Mahogany tonewood and the “a little better than stock” pickups, like the P90 replicas, are all used in these guitars.

• One thing I really like about this model is the fact that it comes with a real Bigsby tremolo system, the B70 to be precise.

Bigsby systems are a fairly typical feature for custom hollowbody electric guitars, since they’re designed for the thinner construction, where tremolo solutions like the Floyd Rose system are too impractical to implement.

Bigsy tremolos are more commonly seen on pricier models, which makes sense considering the B70 itself costs around $120.

It’s rare to see them on guitars this low in price.

A lot of people don’t care about a tremolo system on their guitar, so if this feature doesn’t get you excited, there isn’t a lot more I can point out about the Wildkat that will.

Grover tuning heads, a maple top, and a master volume knob along with two volumes for each pickup and a master tone pot are all moderately attractive (though not unusual) features.

Once again, it comes down to an issue of preference and what features you’d like to prioritize.

As Dave Matthews once said, “I dunno…you decide.”

At the same time, I find it hard to argue with such a good track record of customer reviews.

Today’s version is distinctively twangy, almost like an expensive Telecaster.

Then you have the added sustain and resonance of the hollowbody design, making for a unique, yet muddled result.

It’s honestly hard for me to say how I feel about the tone you get out of this guitar. In some instances, it just sounds cheap and messy. In others, the extra twang and growl is a welcome additive.

Overall, the tone is a little more grungy and less pristine than what you’d expect from a Gretsch, so I’d strongly advise checking out some of the demo videos before pulling the trigger.

Other notable features include the Bigsby tremolo system, maple tonewood (laminate), and a master volume knob covering two individual volume knobs for each pickup.

The G5420T is meant to be a more affordable version of the more expensive Gretsch models.

It’s kind of like the PRS SE line.

In other words, it looks the part while cutting enough corners to get the price in three-figure territory.

However, this particular model gives you enough quality and features to make it a valuable purchase.

In some instances, folks are saying that Gibson is cutting costs here, per the Gibson forum. So, I’m assuming that the ’57 Classic (without the “Super”) is a step down from the Super ’57 Classic, while both are a bit of a cost-cutting effort from Gibson to begin with.

For example, they’re probably not as nice as the Burstbucker pickups, which retail around $200.

Now, be aware that the “Studio Memphis” version of the ES-335 is different than the just “Memphis” version of the ES-335, as evidenced by the nicer pickups listed on the product’s home page. The ES-335 Memphis is big money, so be careful not to get the specs of the two mixed up.

As for the ’57 pickups, they’re not a bad deal at all. One thing that I found uniquely disappointing was the combination of a chambered body and laminate construction.

It’s easier to have solid wood with a chambered or “semi-hollow” body guitar than an entirely hollowbody. Then again, we need to consider that part of the appeal you get out of the Gibson Studio models is that they give you the Gibson name without the high price tag.

Gibson has intentionally cut some corners with this version of the ES-335 in order to make it more affordable, but it’s far from “economy.”

What’s more, you won’t be worrying about much else once you hear the tone produced by the ES-335.

It’s incredibly crisp and bright without being too shrill or piercing, especially pleasing with the pickup selector in the middle position.

If you want to check it out, I’d recommend this demo video by Dawson’s Music.

Other cost-cutting measures seem to be basic downgrades in hardware, namely with the pickups and stoptail bridge.

When you compare the tone of this guitar to the S2 and the more expensive PRS models, you can really start to hear the drop in quality.

The rich definition and sharpness of the more expensive guitars just doesn’t show up in the SE models, as you’ll be dealing with a more flat tone and softened response. Now, if you compare the tone of the PRS SE models to other guitars that are priced similarly, the SEs do quite well. In fact, they’re one of my preferred economy guitar lines.

For buyers in this price range, it’s an excellent option either as a starter guitar or a permanent fixture.

Because getting quality doesn’t necessarily mean you’re getting value if you end up paying for something you don’t want or need. This is especially true when it comes to something as personal and artistic as a guitar.

So you’ve got to look at the quality indicators and features listed, then decide what you want to pay for.

Choose your budget ahead of time and then use this guide to figure out where your money is going and how it can best be spent.