Five Guitar Face-Off (Semi-Hollows)

[lighteningboy]

What a great video, I loved it!

[AfonsoGuitar]

Hi Roger, I guess the PRS McCarty have wood tone more pronunciated and a little smoothest attack comparing to others guitars.

The PRS hollowbody is great to play finger style. See my video:

All guitars are wonderfull.

Regards,

Afonso Mesquita

[rpguitar]

@AfonsoGuitar - Yes, I agree. The PRS and vintage ES-335 are the "woodiest" among these semi-hollows. The thinline Tele is also right up there with them.

[CScout671]

Nice comparison...to my ears the 359 sounded the brightest and the PRS the smoothest with the tele a nice mix of bright and smooth. Just MHO...

[xxxMrAwesomexxx]

Wow. Depeche mode jazz? Huh. Anyway... they did sound very similar. You should sell all but one and then get some guitars with some variety from one another, or not. Haha.

[rpguitar]

@xxxMrAwesomexxx - Yes, haha. I have about 30 guitars of all shapes, sizes, and degrees of electric- and acoustic-ness.

[xxxMrAwesomexxx]

@rpguitar Very nice. Congrats. I'm getting my 359 in Pelham Blue next week or so. I'm extremely excited.

[vileguile4]

Oh, you fretted the tele? Great playing and if i could give you 10 thumbs up i would. Great demonstration!!!! Im so glad i found this channel :D

[rhykko77]

Thanks for the demo.....which of the 5 guitars do you feel has the best sustain ? and is the sustain of the headless Forshage less than the others ? Thanks.

[rpguitar]

@rhykko77 - Toss up between the ES-359 and the Warmoth Tele. And no, I would not characterize the Forshage as having less sustain than the others as a general rule.

[mk941987]

I have a theory , the Gibson ES-359 comes with stock 57 Gibson pickups right? I wonder if it wouldn't get more of a woodier tone with say some Seymour Duncan Antiquities.

[rpguitar]

@mk941987 - In my experience, "woodiness" is associated with light construction, not pickups. The PRS HB is very light and much woodier than the 359, which is fairly dense. So is the Forshage (very light), and even the vintage 335 - despite being larger - is lighter than the 359 (and woodier).

[sharkroy]

I'd like to hear a shootout like this with a red dunlop pick. Seriously. Nice job though and thanks for posting this kind of guitar geak awesomeness. I'd rather you use archtops and some of your more esoteric acoustics. in a red pick shootout.

[rpguitar]

@sharkroy - The magical pointy red Dunlop, eh? I can almost guarantee that it would make no difference with these particular guitars. But I understand the obsession, believe me. :) It's a good idea to have one of these videos with the acoustics - maybe I'll do that! Thank.

[sharkroy]

@rpguitar Thank you for posting all your vids. I am trying to find the perfect guitar to perform with that doesn't get washed out like most acoustics do live. You know how you see a band and the lead singer is playing an acoustic and you can't hear it. I was thinking that an archtop like the 805 eastman would fill the space better live than a straight acoustic ala martin dc15 like I play. I really dig the vid you did of the Eastman 805.

[romanelizondo]

If you have to choose between the 335 and the 359, which one is the best if you can only have ONE semi-hollow?

[rpguitar]

@romanelizondo - 359 is a bit smoother and is a very high quality axe, but my '67 (birth year) 335 trumps it in terms of "air" and mojo. Vote goes to the 335.

[romanelizondo]

@rpguitar I make this question because I live in Mexico and I don't have a lot of access to try good guitars in local stores, so I'm planning to buy online a normal 335 or a 359, the 335 is the Dot Figured with Gloss Finish...and the 359 is the same that you have.....between this 2 ones (not a '67 year, just a normal new 335), you think the correct choice could be the 335?

Thank you

[YourADrag]

nice playing, subed.

i want that thinline :)



[soup2nuts1]

nice vid - good sounds, no distortion!, quick comparisons -

[AndiiTheStratophonic]

i like the ES 339 best..if you look at hollowbody..you should affort one! :) because you're an amazing player!

[kyzrvlhlm1995]

have you chaneged the neck pickup of the forsage sice you got it cause i swear it use to be red/orange!!!!

[rpguitar]

@kyzrvlhlm1995 Good eye! The pickup is the same, but now it has the standard metal cover on it. I wanted to raise it a little closer to the strings, and the wood cover was just thick enough to prevent that.

[kyzrvlhlm1995]

@rpguitar anyway sweet guitars and sweet playing

[theaxemansmithe]

the 335 sounded like it should. ALL of the others sounded similar to each other BUT the 335 had a "BELL" like tone. (nice work)

[Vermillion2176]

I agree with the player being the big factor. And, great playing it is too. However, I want to THANK YOU for not turning on the ever present You Tube distortion box which is usually required equipment on any You Tube guitar comparison. God Bless you for good tones and not blasting buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Ron

[rpguitar]

Thanks man. I play clean about 90% of the time and totally agree with you. A guitar's essence is its clean tone. Anything on top of that, if one's style demands it, is gravy.  Put gravy on good food and it tastes good. Gross food? Not so much!

[cwhanna]

The real lesson here is that a player of rogers caliber gets his tone and plays beautifully on any guitar he's holding. but its a sweet comparison format for listeners and guitarists. great playing as always.

[rpguitar]

Thank you, I probably don't deserve the compliment, but the principle certainly holds true. Most players who have a sound of their own manage to get it on nearly any reasonably suitable instrument. The nuances of each instrument are obvious to the player, but not the listener. And on the internet, this is largely ignored with most audio-based "shoot out" type reviews.

[MarkBrim]

good point!

[Vaibhav8584]

Hi

Nice collection and smooth playing!

Right, they all sound similiar but only player can tell the difference in the playability and feel of instrument. So, which one do you think felt the best.

To me 335 is legendary!

Best

Vaibhav Mittal

India

[rpguitar]

Thanks Vaibhav - I am constantly torn since I have too many great guitars, but if I was leaving my burning house, I'd grab the Forshage and '67 335. I probably prefer the 359 to the 335 but it's replaceable. The others, not so much.

[TheGuitarist365]

I could barely tell a difference. But the tele sounded the best.

[sjmnar]

very nice playing. do all your guitars have 24.75" scales?

[rpguitar]

Thanks for your comment. In this batch, the Gibsons are 24.75", the PRS and Forshage are 25", and the Warmoth is 25.5". I have other scale lengths in my acoustics as well. It's all good!

[plko88]

as others have said, you make them all sound great. fantastic playing as usual. i was already lusting after a warmoth thinline and this sealed the deal. the Forshage was my second favorite and sounded the most balanced out of all of them (to my ears at least).

[lifternate]

Nice playing -- you've got a great guitar collection. Which one is your favorite?

[oasysco]

I like whatever you play, Roger, so it all sounds good to me :)-

GregD/oasysco RRMGJ

[placidothecat]

The two Gibsons sounded best to me for the style you are playing and the tone you are going for.

[LaraSixtyEight]

Well, they all sound great with YOU playing! I think I ditto the Tele comments... Stands out. I like it.

[Kapteinar]

I hear a difference between all of them.

But that being said, you can hear differences between two identical guitars.

[mocircle]

You need to listen with your eyes closed. Then you'll hear more distinct differences between them. Would you hear that difference in a concert hall? I wouldn't.

[rpguitar]

The player hears many differences. But a listener is not equipped to relate the auditory cues with the tactile ones that the player gets. The particular instrument matters far more to the player than to the listener.

[mocircle]

I'm sure that is true. I first listened while watching and didn't hear that much of a difference - probably too much thinking about each brand of instrument. Closing my eyes knocked all of that out and allowed me to just hear the tones.

[frankypuente]

The guitars sound so sweet, but it must be your smooth playing, man you're good!

[wallofdiffusion]

Well, they are all the same concept, so they should sound alike a bit. But I find them it to be very different. Personally, I'm still the biggest fan of the 359 ! Nice work by the way, thanks for showing us.

[rpguitar]

I think if I played them without backing music, and also with a mic near the guitar, the sonic differences would be much more obvious. But... that's another evening to be frittered away at a future date. ;) Thanks for listening.

[IPlayGtr]

which in my mind proves that it's all in the hands.

[rpguitar]

Interesting, eh? The guitars FEEL very different, and that matters a lot. But the sound - after recording and mangling by YouTube - is quite consistent. I agree that the Tele is the most unique sounding of this bunch, followed by the Forshage.

[palynchuk93]

i love your playing, but honestly i thought that every guitar sounded the same, with exception to the tele that had the biting tight sound that they are known for.

AMAZING PLAYING

keep up the good work!

[oakmcgowan]

@palynchuk93

I think that they sound the same is exactly the point. But like another responder, I found the 335 to have an airy quality that I associate with those pickups. And the Tele does have its usual metalic clank of an attack.