Comparing a Hollowbody and Semi-Hollow Guitar ( Gibson ES-339 and PRS Hollowbody ii )

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2 жыл бұрын

My friend dropped this PRS Hollowbody ii in for a pickup swap so I decided to take the opportunity to try it against my Gibson ES-339 to see just how different they are. Let me know in the comments below your thoughts on these kinds of guitars!
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Пікірлер: 45

@rowegardner9673 2 жыл бұрын

Great comparison. Gotta say the PRS wins this for me. So well balanced and articulate. Love that it actually stays in tune too lol.

@travishernandez2193 2 жыл бұрын

Bringing the early 2000’s shell necklaces back nice 👍

@Bliggick 2 жыл бұрын

That PRS sounded great and unique and the weight and ergonomics are appealing. But at $5000 I'll have to make do with my Epiphone Casino.

@AudiomoMusic 2 жыл бұрын

Its just crazy money. If the chinese version wasnt the price of an American Fender i would consider that.

@BrandonOutside 2 жыл бұрын

Both really beautiful guitars! And great riffs/playing as well

@AudiomoMusic 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks Brandon, they are so very different but both are outstanding indeed.

@rhykko77 Жыл бұрын

Regarding the $$$ issue ......I have considerable experience with the Gibson 339 , and I own the PRS SE Hollow......and have directly compared the two ....... Though the Gibson 339 has always been one of my favorite semi-hollows........ the considerably less expensive PRS SE stands up very well indeed to the Gibson. .....In fact .I would say it say goes head to head ......... The SE Hollowbody plays excellently, is ergonomically superior, and is note to note, one of the most even-sounding guitars I have ever played, which I consider an amazing accomplishment for a hollow-body. Tonally, both guitars are in similar camps, though I feel the SE has just a touch more upper-midrange bite than the 339 which is due to PRS's stopbar tailpiece having a bit more of a bite in general over Gibson's tuneomatic 2 piece bridge design. Tonally I could do with either, but I prefer the ergonomics (including the weight) , the note-to-note evenness and the PRICE of the SE....... In fact, and I am not running down the 339 it is a superb guitar.....I would select the PRS SE Hollow over the 339. One caveat, I have NOT played the SE Hollow in a high gain situation so I cannot comment on how it handles feedback, though a few reviewers have suggested that when it does feedback that it is very controllable

@Durmomo0 14 күн бұрын

I liked both. Just bought the SE version for my band. I will see how I like it. Im used to a more LP feel so the neck is a tiny bit different than what im used to and the pick up toggle is in another zip code lol but its very light and my back wont be wrecked from gigging I hope.

@MrMattsac232 Жыл бұрын

Felt like as the gain increased the differences kinda disappeared but the prs sounds brighter over all, maybe there are less mids on the prs. The prs is likely a better made guitar in general but that 339 sounded great.

@anthonythornhill8715 10 ай бұрын

Great video

@tonyrabone4668 Жыл бұрын

Nice. Would have liked to have heard some gain and lead just to compare versatility. But still good.

@modernastronomers2596 Жыл бұрын

I own both a HB2, very similar to yours, and an ES-335, and agree they are very different sounding guitars. In terms of higher gain, they both are pretty good at it, the HB is much brighter in all settings though, so you need to play around with the amp EQ depending on which guitar you’re playing. Both exquisite guitars though.

@AudiomoMusic Жыл бұрын

I was very interested in the HB2 recently after playing one in person - it's definitely a bit different than this HB1 and I appreciated how consistent every PRS i played that day was. You have great taste to own one yourself

@TH-gu4wj 2 жыл бұрын

PRS was the winner for me, but the difference was mostly noticeable clean. Once there was a bit of drive, the differences because blurred a bit. IMO

@revelationsoundstudio Жыл бұрын

I have a 335 and I have to admit the body is a little bigger than I would like it to be. The 339 seems a perfect size . The 335 and 339 have this woody tone which is really nice. The PRS however has a more open sound clear sound that is really nice. The notes pop more on the PRS. The rth groove you did with the 339 sounded very 70's while the PRS sounded newer in the neck position. I admit once distortion is added the differences are reduced to some level. With the thousands of dollars you save on the 339 vs thr PRS...hmm.

@riverstone5994 2 жыл бұрын

Both is the answer

@liamwagner9160 Жыл бұрын

PRS all day man. I'm biased but I played sooo many Hollowbodies before I bought mine. They are just so far superior on just about every measurable way. Obviously tone is subjective and not fully measurable. Play what inspires you. Quality is extremely important to me.

@AudiomoMusic Жыл бұрын

It's funny, I ended up with a core McCarty that I absolutely love and a hand made Japanese semi hollow that fills the space the 339 used to occupy and then some. Both are as you said, inspiring and believe it or not, the Japanese guitar I feel is actually built better than the PRS which is crazy to think about. Quality is off the charts.

@DeAlexon12 Жыл бұрын

@@AudiomoMusic Hey! What was the Japanese guitar brand?

@DavidMorales008 2 жыл бұрын

They both sounded great however I'm biased towards the Gibson, I too, for a while have felt the 339 is the "just right" and its one I aspire to have some day after trying it out at gc years ago

@thomasmoore3822 2 жыл бұрын

I like both . Gibson sounds really good and is probably 1/2 the cost. But the Prs is in way better tune. I

@AudiomoMusic 2 жыл бұрын

The Gibson just REFUSES to stay in tune for whatever reason after having the same strings on for over a month at a time... I truly don't understand it. Nut lubricant, lubricated saddles, extensive string stretching, having the strings spiral up instead of down to reduce the break angle at the headstock... it's one thing the PRS absolutely destroys it at.

@AudiomoMusic 2 жыл бұрын

If only the thing would stay in tune reliably...

@Bliggick 2 жыл бұрын

@@AudiomoMusic Gently buff the nut slots?

@AudiomoMusic 2 жыл бұрын

I did, and I even replaced the original nut and filed them to spec with my stew mac files. There is no binding in any area everything is well lubricated and the guitar just hates staying in tune.

@just_say_when3445 2 жыл бұрын

Both very cool instruments. Not sure which I prefer.

@AudiomoMusic 2 жыл бұрын

it's the Gibson Rowan, the answer is always the Gibson.

@just_say_when3445 2 жыл бұрын

@@AudiomoMusic 😆

@vittoriobassi9880 9 ай бұрын

Gibson vs PRS: - neck - 3:31 vs 3:51 - middle - 2:22 vs 2:41 - bridge - 3:00 vs 3:16

@AudiomoMusic 9 ай бұрын

Thanks!

@GuitarKilf 2 жыл бұрын

Gibson all day long looks better and sounds better to me anyway, which one do you prefer to play feel wise Jim discounting tone?

@AudiomoMusic 2 жыл бұрын

Overall the Gibson, but I'm supremely biased towards this guitar which is why I didn't want to make it a direct comparison. The PRS I will say is MUCH easier to play the further up the neck you go, where as the Gibson is not quite as ergonomic. Luckily I am not a lead guitar player so it's uncommon for me to be in that area of the neck anyways.

@518rhdavis 2 жыл бұрын

Well you want me to be honest so i

@518rhdavis 2 жыл бұрын

Reckon i will be ... The Gibson. Tone quality is great which you already know. I don't give a rats rear what it looks like. Tone will always have it for me.

@AudiomoMusic 2 жыл бұрын

There's a reason that guitar hasn't been sold Bob, when it stays in tune it's damn hard to beat.

@glennmuir5617 2 жыл бұрын

@@AudiomoMusic I couldn't keep a guitar that wouldn't stay in tune regardless of its other qualities. I'd fix it or sell it if it couldn't be fixed.

@billdevries6271 2 жыл бұрын

@@glennmuir5617 I have owned both ,but they the se and epiphone versions the prs se is my pick and is a great value at $1299.

@mikemurdock7234 2 жыл бұрын

ES 339 has way more personality, and yes it does gain and can handle hard rock really well. I've been using one to play southern rock for a few years now. PRS guitars are still as ugly as they were 20 years ago.

@AudiomoMusic 2 жыл бұрын

The 339 is a truly special instrument. I genuinely believe it is the most underrated guitar Gibson make. It can do more than a les paul but often is overlooked in favor of the 335.

@yakshrajsingh8121 2 жыл бұрын

Well i would say that these ES gibsons are very ugly too, prs looks cool to me. Es is overrated like hell, my bandmate has one and it isnt anything 'special' . I dont know whats so special in that even after regularly hearing and playing it for over 3 years

@davidkristyhaan3178 2 жыл бұрын

@@AudiomoMusic you should’ve done high gain through the hollowbody, you’d be surprised. While it’s a hollowbody, it’s not built like one, it’s built more like a violin, and the block of wood for anchoring the tailpiece also serves reduce unmusical feedback. While my Chinese hollowbody is laminated, vs carved like the core, it still can chug just as good through the high gain channel of my recto as my solidbodies do. I feel like it cops the 335 sound more than the 339 can. Missed opportunity is all I’m saying. Your one negative for hollowbodies applies more to traditional, big body hollowbodies than to PRS hollowbodies.

@AudiomoMusic 2 жыл бұрын

@@yakshrajsingh8121 how you feel about the ES is how I feel about this PRS 10 fold, it's my friends so I won't be nearly as harsh as you were... but yeah there isn't any way I'd take any Hollowbody PRS over a 335/339 in any scenario, and this was a Core model, not an import PRS.

@AudiomoMusic 2 жыл бұрын

@@davidkristyhaan3178 I actually edited that part out of the comparison because imho it was completely one sided for the Gibson and it seemed a bit unfair since they are not constructed the same. If it works for you that's awesome and I guess if you throw enough gain on things can get a bit harder to differentiate ( similar to when people heap time based effects on demos I don't see the value in that either for demonstration purposes ). For the kind of gain I typically use the mesa boogie rectoverb on the vintage channel at about 11pm on the gain is my sweet spot, I rarely go past that. I don't think either sounds like a 335 honestly, the PRS is it's own thing and the 339 is much more like a Les Paul than a 335. They are both really cool guitars in their own right for sure. Which model did you get, the piezo or the standard?

@picker63028 5 ай бұрын

I never see the need to do acoustic demo. It's a waste of time and energy. Otherwise good comparison

@AudiomoMusic 5 ай бұрын

It's weird because one person in a different video said they wanted to see it and I'd never thought of doing it before, and whenever I compare a semihollow guitar to another of a similar ilk I just kinda do it because I figure someone might ask