Hollowbody Tips?

[Drybonz]

I'm creating some patches specifically for use with my hollowbody guitar and, unlike my normal patches, I'm having some trouble getting a usable sound with regards to eq-ing, etc.  I'm looking for general tips relating to getting a good sound with a hollowbody guitar.  I understand that there are many factors that could affect this, so no need to explain that.  However, if anyone plays a hollowbody and has experience getting set up with HX Stomp and would like to share some general observations, I would appreciate the help.  Thanks.

[somebodyelse]

Turn the amp up.

 

A hollowbody is an acoustic guitar. They originally put pickups on, because they couldn't hear them over the rest of the band.

You need the amp loud enough that you can't hear the guitar's acoustic sound over the amp, otherwise you're just wasting your time.

 

After that, it's the same as dialling in any other electric guitar patch.

[DunedinDragon]

I've been playing a Gretsch Silver Falcon for years through my Helix and I've never had a problem getting a great sound out of it unless I try and force it to be what it's not.  It has it's own unique sound.  Embrace that sound and enhance it and you'll do just fine.  Try to force it to sound like a Strat and you're going to struggle.

 

The best thing you can do is get to know the guitar.  Plug it into the Helix with a blank preset and listen to it's natural tone as you change pickup selection, volume and tone knobs and different strumming or picking patterns.  That's the natural sound of the guitar so just build off of that.  It's also important to know what genres of music it excels at.  It can be a decent rock guitar that sits somewhere in the middle between a Les Paul and a Strat.  It's great at country that's built around a  more mellow guitar sound.  It can give modern and pop music a more full bodied feel than solid body guitars and will have a very natural warmth to the sound.

 

In my experience it needs very little EQ correction once you get the right amp model and cabinet model setup for it.

[Schmalle]

Use the looper as a first block in a patch when dialing in sounds. This way you get rid of the acoustic part of the sound and can dial in the electric / amplified part.

[brue58ski]

On 5/3/2024 at 2:28 AM, Schmalle said:

Use the looper as a first block in a patch when dialing in sounds. This way you get rid of the acoustic part of the sound and can dial in the electric / amplified part.

 

I use that trick all the time. Put a looper in right after the input and record a lick. Then loop that and start playing with amps. Start with the Fenders and Vox's I guess for what it sounds like you want to do.

[codamedia]

On 5/2/2024 at 5:12 PM, Drybonz said:

I'm creating some patches specifically for use with my hollowbody guitar and, unlike my normal patches, I'm having some trouble getting a usable sound with regards to eq-ing, etc.  I'm looking for general tips relating to getting a good sound with a hollowbody guitar.  I understand that there are many factors that could affect this, so no need to explain that.  However, if anyone plays a hollowbody and has experience getting set up with HX Stomp and would like to share some general observations, I would appreciate the help.  Thanks.

 

Not all hollow body guitars are created equal. What do you have for a guitar, and can you provide us with a song or two as an example of the sound you hear in your head? 

 

On 5/3/2024 at 4:10 AM, DunedinDragon said:

Embrace that sound and enhance it and you'll do just fine.  Try to force it to sound like a Strat and you're going to struggle.

^^^ this is key ^^^

[RickFior]

Plenty of good advice already...

 

I play a PRS SE Hollowbody 2.

 

I guess my first question would be, what kind of sounds are you looking to get?

 

 

[Drybonz]

On 5/3/2024 at 5:10 AM, DunedinDragon said:

IIn my experience it needs very little EQ correction once you get the right amp model and cabinet model setup for it.

 

On 5/3/2024 at 7:48 AM, codamedia said:

Not all hollow body guitars are created equal. What do you have for a guitar

 

On 5/3/2024 at 9:32 AM, RickFior said:

I guess my first question would be, what kind of sounds are you looking to get?

 

Thanks, guys... lots of good comments here despite having little information to go on.  I appreciate it.

 

Any suggestions on this a good amp and cabinet model?  I've tried things like JC Jazz Rivet but couldn't get a good sound... probably due to bad settings on my part.

 

It is a D'Angelico semi hollow.  Bob Weir model to be exact.

 

I am looking for a basic jazz/rock/fusion-ish sound that is modern but displays the sound of the guitar.  Problems I'm running into are not getting a nice range of sound and having a lot of that acoustic body low end boominess.  I had found that copying tracks that I use for my solid bodies and tweaking them was not working out, so I'm trying to go from the ground up.

[PaulTBaker]

try the new clarity amp... it has a great clean base with lots of headroom before breaking up.  I've been using that with a combination of stacking three od pedal (minatour, teemah, horzin drive or teemal, compulus drive, and horiz drive or prize drive, teemah, and horiz).... that gives me a great range of crunch, drive, big drive to sit on top of the clean tone.

 

then use l2 comp at the end, with it doing less the -3db comp. (that may be the wrong units, but the gist is to just barely have the compressor catching anything)

 

This works well my Yamaha 300(?) again, sorry if that model is wrong, it is the hollow body with the P90's on it.

 

Good luck and have fun!

[DunedinDragon]

That's an awesome guitar you have there.  I'd be another vote for the Clarity if you're looking to get the sweetest cleans for jazz.  Another one that might serve your needs that I use a lot is the Elmsley to get a little more punch.  Here's the designer's description:

 

"The Line 6 Elmsley is a new Line 6 original amplifier that employs a parallel distortion topology that layers distinct saturation characteristics across the lower and upper registers. The Elmsley features a smooth and present bottom end with some exceptional sparkle and definition all through the midrange and above. The result is an amplifier that is dazzling across the full spectrum, and the amplifier deals with pedals in spades.

"The other new key feature of The Elmsley's power amp section is the Negative Feedback (NFB) parameter, where the amount of feedback within the power section's response can be dialed anywhere from wild and unhinged, tight and punchy, and anything in between. As with many amplifier designs, the presence and depth controls are part of this negative feedback circuit and functions to control the brilliance and resonance of the power amp, respectively. As the NFB param is reduced, the presence and depth controls' influences are also influenced, and they become effectively deactivated when the NFB knob is at zero. These interactions allow the player to create countless tonal variations to suit their needs.”

 

[DunedinDragon]

One other quick note, a lot of the sound is going to depend on the kind of speaker you play through and that sometimes make it a challenge to get the tone you want.  What are you using to listen through as you dial in your tones?

[Drybonz]

Thanks for the amp suggestions.  I just tried the clarity and it seems pretty promising... going to mess with it more later as well as the Elmsley.

 

The amp I use when I set up my presets is a Roland JC22.  My other amp is a 90's Mesa Rocket 44.

[DunedinDragon]

On 5/3/2024 at 3:40 PM, Drybonz said:

Thanks for the amp suggestions.  I just tried the clarity and it seems pretty promising... going to mess with it more later as well as the Elmsley.

 

The amp I use when I set up my presets is a Roland JC22.  My other amp is a 90's Mesa Rocket 44.

Those amps may be affecting the tone because you are going through their tone stack.  Try using a pair of headphones and see how much the amp is flavoring your tone.

[Drybonz]

On 5/3/2024 at 3:45 PM, DunedinDragon said:

Those amps may be affecting the tone because you are going through their tone stack.  Try using a pair of headphones and see how much the amp is flavoring your tone.

 

Thanks for the advice.  Those are the amps I will be using so I want to see what the final sound will be through them.