Battle of the (semi-hollow) Bodies

You mentioned not wanting a muddy sound, the Epiphone J.C. is an excellent choice, on a similar note would be a Gibson Midtown hollowbody. (2 pickups instead of one). The Guild's and Gretsch's are nice as well. Do your homework and compare the features.

 

Also for consideration the Epiphone Allen Woody signature.

 

I had the Jack Casady and no feedback whatsoever with a meaty tone to match a P bass but kind of woody sounding.

 

gretsch is the only fully hollow, so that one. i would say epiphone allen woody is a good option as well, it's a sealed hollow body but it is still hollow and thumps.

 

Semi hollow. No f holes.

 

The DiPinto Belvedere fits the bill perfectly. It has a semi-hollow mahogany body, and several elements that add clarity and keep it out of the mud zone, like single coil pickups, 34" scale, and ebony fretboard. It definitely brings the semi-hollow thud, but stays clear. Just outstanding tone IMO, both live and recorded.

Unfortunately it's been out of production for a few years, and might be difficult to find.

 

This one must be pretty good because I haven't touched my L2000s, Thundergun or Bacchus Woodline since I bought it.


As for the Dub King, it's anything but muddy.

 

I was once in the same predicament as you are now. I narrowed my options to the epiphone jack Cassidy vs the starfire 2. The starfire is basically twice as much as the epiphone, but comes with a case.

Anyway, I went with what I thought was the better product, the starfire bass 2. My reasoning was:

- the two bisonic pickups. If you’ve never heard those, well, they are amazing. So the sound was my first consideration.
- short scale , vs the jack Cassidy long scale. Both basses are huge , yet the neck in the starfire is thin (width), and retains the same feel all the way to the body. Think of it as a rickenbacker neck, just smaller and thinner.
- the colors on the epiphone, well, never been a fan
- dot inlays on the starfire , which I prefer over the epiphones blocks
- I prefer the simetric body of the starfire , vs the assymetric body on the epiphone.

In regards of fit and finish , the starfire is second to none. The last bass that I bought new (a stingray classic) is comparable to the starfire. No fret sprout , no uneven frets , not a single defect.

Now, there’s one thing that bothers me about the epiphone: it is epi’s best selling bass (probably even Gibson’s), been in continuous production for 20 years, and was designed with jack Cassidy himself, with him deciding all important aspects, right down to the pickup location. If there was ever a “semi hollow bassist’s dream bass, perfected”, then that’s the jack Cassidy. So the thing that bothers me , is that , even though I bought the starfire , I’ll still have to buy the epiphone.

If money is tight , start with an epiphone viola bass with flats. Those can be found for cheap (200-300), and sound like you’d expect a hollow body to sound. The jack and starfire , they sound more like a regular solid body.

 

Another consideration is a Lakland Hollowbody with barts for a clear tone.

 

You gonna post some pix or do a NBD?

 

The Casady sounds nothing like a solid body. The center support between the neck block and bridge block isn’t even solid, rather it’s two slabs glued in, one on the top
And one on the bottom. it’s wide open inside between them. Feedback can be an issue, but fairly easy to control.

 

Gorgeous
I can’t think of another Hollow/Semi-Hollow bass with a P style pup. I’m sure there are others, but they must be few and far between. I’m sure @GretschWretch could shine some light on that.

So how’s it sound? How’s it play?

I feel G.A.S. building…cheese & rice I don’t need another bass…must resist…must resist…

 

You're just lusting for that 102nd bass.

 

you’re not help GW!

 

(no affiliation) I have one - it is 34"scale and fully hollow-body. This one with OHSC. (bonus) Great sounding bass w/flats.

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