Solid Body vs. Semi-Hollow Body 12 Strings

admin · Post by **admin** » Mon Sep 04, 2000 8:42 am

While it would seem to my ear that there is more sustain with respect to the Rickenbacker solid body 12 string guitars compared to the semi-hollow body, otherwise they tend to sound pretty much the same to me. Is there any technical reason why the tonality of a 600 series 12 string should sound different from a 300 series when plugged in?

Mark · Post by **Mark** » Tue Sep 05, 2000 6:19 am

I hate to use another company to illustrate this ...but I will.

Gibson makes 3 guitars that really are the same guitar except for one thing....how the body is made.
1-the ES-335
2-the SG
3-the Les Paul Standard
All 3 models have exactly the same hardware/pickups and necks yet they all sound noticeably different.

The Rickenbacker 300 series VS the 600 series is kind of the same thing.
To my ears the sound should be the same yet ,the way the tone of the guitars is definitely different.It is the response of the hollow chamber and what that resonance does to the sound of the pickups.
The 600 series guitars are harsher and more aggressive to my ears.
The 300 series has a warmth to it that is lacking in the solid body models.This was never thought about too much by me until a friend of mine from Alaska bought a pair of 12 strings.He has since ended up selling his 600 series model ,as he feels that the classic tone can not be achieved (even with new scatterwound toaster top pickups)with this guitar.He likes it ,and it plays great but .....this is a tone game.
And ....he is 46 and is after the 1960's sound.
I am not an acoustical engineer ,but I'm sure that one could tell you the exact reason as to this phenomenon.

admin · Post by **admin** » Thu Sep 07, 2000 6:14 pm

Mark: Do you suppose that the scatterwound toaster top pickup, in spite of its interesting and clever design, still produces a qualitatively different sound from the vintage(original 60's) pickup? This may explain your friend's observation. I pose this question as I find my 1966 450/12 to produce a sound that is "Classic 1960s" and very close to the 360/12 sound. Just my two cents.

admin · Post by **admin** » Thu Sep 07, 2000 6:23 pm

While I am here, I couldn't resist posting a photo of my 1966 450/12 with modifications taken this summer.

yettoblaster · Post by **yettoblaster** » Thu Sep 07, 2000 9:12 pm

Nice shot!
Cool guitar too.

Mark · Post by **Mark** » Thu Sep 07, 2000 10:33 pm

I think that if you make 3 guitars all from the same boards,one a 450-12 ,another a 650-12 and the last a 360-12 ...then with same day ,same hour scatterwound pickups and all guitars with the same hardware and coats of finish...then you would have a 360-12 that would have an airiness about it and a midrange lacking slightly in the other 2 guitars.
I think the 450-12 would come in closer to the 360-12 sound due to it's chamber of air under the pickguard.
The 620-12 would have a harsher sound .More pronounced peaks if sonically analyzed.

This is strictly an opinion and not based on any scientific fact.Just my ears.
It would be interesting to see a graph on the sound produced by these 3 instruments.

Marty · Post by **Marty** » Mon Feb 26, 2001 2:44 am

Tone is something hard to describe, but Mark did
a great job. This thread gives a good starting
point to someone who might have'nt even held a
Ric 12. Tone is personal and subjective, but that
sound you feel on a solid, will make you play
different than you will on a hollow-body. Thats
why guitar players get and trade more guitars.
The right guitar for one thing might be totally
different for another. Now if I can only convince
my old lady, that I need another Rickenbacker!