Electric Guitar (Hollow Body) — Lutherie Encyclopedia

Electric Guitar (Hollow Body)Type: instrumentA fully hollow electric guitar with magnetic pickups, offering the warmest amplified guitar tone and a classic jazz aesthetic.## History Hollow-body electric guitars originated in the 1930s when manufacturers began adding pickups to archtop acoustic guitars. Gibson's ES-150, introduced in 1936, was among the first commercially successful electric guitars, famously played by Charlie Christian who pioneered jazz guitar soloing. Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, hollow-body electrics were the primary instruments for jazz, blues, and early rock and roll. Players like Wes Montgomery, Barney Kessel, and later B.B. King made the hollow-body electric central to American music. While solid-body guitars eventually dominated rock music, hollow-body electrics have remained essential for jazz and certain blues styles. ## Construction Fully hollow electric guitars feature a body with no center block, constructed from laminated or carved maple with f-holes. Bodies are typically 2.5 to 3.5 inches deep and 16 to 18 inches wide. Construction follows archtop guitar principles but with the addition of magnetic pickups (usually humbuckers), volume and tone controls, and electric output hardware. The neck is set into the body with a glued joint. A floating or fixed bridge transfers string vibration to the carved or pressed top. Some models feature a floating pickup mounted at the end of the fingerboard, while others have pickups routed into the top. ## Tonal Characteristics Hollow-body electrics produce the warmest, roundest tone of any electric guitar type. The fully resonant body contributes significant acoustic overton…