The Hollowbody Electric Guitar (holowbody) is also known as the “semi-acoustic guitar,” which was originally developed by Gibson in the late 1950’s. As a compromise between the fully hollow, arch topped electric guitars and the new solid bodied electrics created by Les Paul, the Semi-Acoustic is an archtop design with a much shallower depth than a standard archtop. Additionally, there is a solid sustain block of wood in the center under the top, in which the pickups, bridge, and tailpiece hardware are mounted.

The end result is a very versatile instrument that can evoke the warmth of a full archtop and then shriek with the cutting power of a solid body guitar with a flick of a switch and tweaking of the Volume and Tone knobs. The semi-acoustic has long been the preferred instrument of many blues, jazz and rock players. In addition to Gibson, models from Epiphone, Yamaha, Ibanez, PRS and others are available for guitarists to choose according to taste.