Hollow body basses

[Mu-1]

Hey everyone. Unfortunately i have never had the opportunity to play a hollow body electric bass and would like to hear some opinions, what difference does it make to the sound? what kinda music does it suit best? I have played hollow body eletric guitars before and really like the sound and i imagine it would sound good on bass, deep and resonant but i don't know.

Any thoughts...

[eriatarka]

I really like the look of hollowbody basses,but they always seemed to big to play comfortably.Ive never played one,but im assuming the sound would be really heavy and bassy.

[sixner]

i didint like the one i played. it was an ibanez artcore i think?... it was very uncomfortable for me...

-sixner

[Purple Alien]

I have tried an artcore hollow body from Ibanez it rocked my socks...sexy tone in my opinion I am tempted to get one...low tone and you can play it acousticly (sorta) most of the ones I've seen are passive pick ups ofcourse...

[Led_Zeppelin678]

Hollowbody basses give you a bright tone and more sustain.

[Purple Alien]

Hollowbody basses give you a bright tone and more sustain.
I didnt get much of a bright tone from that Ibanez it was deep...

Also Semi hollow bodies are great,look and i am imagining sound great, for like a slow rock band. Probally wouldn't see one in a heavy metal band...

[lobsterjohnson]

i love my artcore can have a very bassy sound great sustain even slaps well plus its gorgeous

[lobsterjohnson]

oh and i play metal can get a lot of punch out of it
it can growl too

[DaromahBassPlayer]

The guy from Nightwish, Marco Hietala, uses a Warwick Infinity which is a semi hollowbody bass for a metal band. And it flat out rocks has a very bitey distortion sound with it.

[Sade]

Hollowbody basses give you a bright tone and more sustain.

I have no idea where you got that from...


Hollow body basses, like any other instrument-add an acoustic chamber. Thus, giving your tone a slight boost in the "beefyness" of the sound. Much like an acoustic bass would.

[Mu-1]

Hey, thanks everyone for all the replys so far. Lol gettin some very mixed messages though, some say deep an bassy some say bright. I'm guessing it varys between each. I wish I could try one out though...

[nisakss]

Listen to the Cure Trilogyu DVD, Simmon gullup plays mostly with a black hollow body bass....that should give you a good indication of its tone.

i'm guessing that those basses must produce tons of feedback.

[Sade]

Hey, thanks everyone for all the replys so far. Lol gettin some very mixed messages though, some say deep an bassy some say bright. I'm guessing it varys between each. I wish I could try one out though...

Trust me, the tone is NO brighter because it's a hollowbody.

[godzillarator]

The tone i get from mine is bright and it is very good with sustain and its mids and highs are clear but it is not gonna be liek a heavy low moster its more of a jazz than a p

[Munky_Jam]

Hollowbody basses give you a bright tone and more sustain.
have you ever played one.
They have less sustain - due to less wood fool, but they will still have enough sustain usually. They sound beefier and sometimes hollowish - as one would expect.
Try and buy an artcore very cool personally i prefer the single cutaway as opposed to the double cutaway - completely aesthetic opinion there. also i like the sunburst over the natural finish

[Akira]

I LOVE the look of retro-style semi-hollowbodys.

[Machines]

I played one of these last week.. but it sounded like a Stingray.

I think the F-Chamber was mostly cosmestic.

Schecter Baron-H
http://www.schecterguitars.com/imgs/baronh_yel.jpg

[Sade]

Yes, for the most part-the chamber isn't going to DRASTICALLY alter sound quality.

But, for the record-it doesn't have anything to do with the "brightness" of the tone. and it CERTAINLY doesn't add sustain. I honestly don't know where you people are getting this from.

[Machines]

I honestly don't know where you people are getting this from.

Yeah but no, but yeah right cos someone like in a shop told me yeah right but he was a guitarist so he dont no nuffink. SO SHUT UP !

http://images.quizfarm.com/1105226894vickypollard.jpg

[irishslappop]

I honestly don't know where you people are getting this from.
they are mixing up the terms sustain and resonance.

[Sade]

Yeah but no, but yeah right cos someone like in a shop told me yeah right but he was a guitarist so he dont no nuffink. SO SHUT UP !

http://images.quizfarm.com/1105226894vickypollard.jpg

...*sigh*

[Machines]

...*sigh*

I think that was lost on non-UK'ers. My apologies.

[the101er]

It was lost on me too, and I AM from the UK. :upset:



I really hate that show now :angry:

[Hale_of_Gunfire]

I havent ever really had the urge to try out a hollow body.

[Mu-1]

I played one of these last week.. but it sounded like a Stingray.

I think the F-Chamber was mostly cosmestic.

Schecter Baron-H
http://www.schecterguitars.com/imgs/baronh_yel.jpg
^ wow that bass is very pretty, reminds alot of telecaster. I think it looks even more immense in the cherry red though.

[nisakss]

I played one of these last week.. but it sounded like a Stingray.

I think the F-Chamber was mostly cosmestic.

Schecter Baron-H
http://www.schecterguitars.com/imgs/baronh_yel.jpg

If that's the bass he uses in the Trilogy DVD, it sounds awesome...now I'm GASing madly for one..:amaze:

[Machines]

It sounds awesome in person too.

I'm hoping to get one for Christmas, although it isn't a certainty.

[Mitchell Royce]

http://thecure.sk/sound/pict/epiphone1.jpg

I want one of those so bad. There's one hanging in a store near me that I play constantly. As was said, a big hollowbody bass is gonna take a bit of getting used to but otherwise playability isn't affected. Just don't expect it to feel like an Ibanez Soundgear. The Artcore line is also very nice, by the way, I loved the single cut, though I prefer the double cutaway aesthetically. Pretty agressive sounding compared to the Jack(which itself can be fairly agressive in the right setting) due to the pickup.