Skip to main content
Music Radar MusicRadar The No.1 website for musicians
  • Guitars
  • Amps
  • Pedals
  • Drums
  • Synths
  • Software
  • Pianos
  • Controllers
  • Recording
  • Buyer’s guides
  • Live
  • DJ
  • Advice
  • Acoustic
  • Bass
  • About us
  • More
    • Reviews
Magazines
  • Computer Music
  • Electronic Musician
  • Future Music
  • Keyboard Magazine
  • Guitarist
  • Guitar Techniques
  • Total Guitar
  • Bass Player
More
  • How to make an AI cover song
  • 84000+ free music samples
  • Foo Fighters' new drummer
  • Ken Scott on recording The Beatles
  • First EVH Jump synth recording

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

  1. Home
  2. News
  3. Total Guitar

Review round-up: semi-hollow and hollowbody guitars

By Amit Sharma
( Total Guitar )
published 24 May 2017

Four top electrics under £500

Which hollowbody will reign supreme?

Which hollowbody will reign supreme?

Regardless of what style of music they are used for, there’s something that oozes pure class about semi-hollow guitars. 

It was Les Paul who approached Gibson with the idea of introducing a new line of instruments carrying all the tone and natural resonance of a hollowbody, without being prone to the feedback that often plundered those dialing in more volume - and by proxy back then, gain. The guitar brand rejected his proposal, opting to focus on the game-changing carved-top solid bodies that built their names instead - until the formal introduction of the ES-335 in 1958, that is. 

Don't Miss

(Image credit: Future)

What are the best budget electric guitars under £500/$650?

With the likes of Chuck Berry and BB King swearing by these new axes from the off, relishing the opportunity to use an instrument offering the best in both worlds - history was made. 

Today, these guitars may still carry more than a whiff of that blues-rock nostalgia, but in application, they can be seen and heard absolutely everywhere: from the guitar racks of Dave Grohl, Alex Lifeson and Chris Cornell through to Noel Gallagher and a sizeable amount of his indie-rock fellowship. Here, we’re looking at four different f-hole models bringing the past very much into the present...

Page 1 of 7
Page 1 of 7
Ibanez Artcore Vintage ASV10A-TCL
£449

Ibanez Artcore Vintage ASV10A-TCL

Well, that’s quite the finish we have there... 

Isn’t it just? Forget about being inspired by the guitars of the 50s, this thing looks like it was actually made back then, having toured around the sweatiest Memphis blues clubs, being passed from owner to owner. It’s practically a steal to get a pre-relic’d axe with such tastefully striking features for this kind of money... 

But does it sound as good as it looks? 

It most certainly does. In fact, there’s very little it can’t do - and while it’ll never match the glassiness of a Strat, you’d be surprised by how much ground can be covered. Roll off the neck tone knob for a classic jazz warmth, or flick onto the bridge to scream through higher-gain blues and beyond with seemingly no feedback. 

So what’s the down side? 

There’s nothing this guitar does badly at all - it’s an instrument that could have easily been priced higher without batting any eyelids. Though it’s larger than some of the semi-hollows out there, staying close to the original 335s in weight and size, the sustain and resonance makes it an almost unbeatable instrument.

At a glance

Key Features: Distressed maple body, Artcore mahogany set-in neck, bound rosewood fretboard w/aged white block inlay, antique chrome hardware, 2x Classic Elite H pickups 

Finish: Vintage Antique only

Page 2 of 7
Page 2 of 7
Gretsch Streamliner G2622
£389

Gretsch Streamliner G2622

A Gretsch for under £400?! That can’t be right... 

The Streamliner brings all the historic features you’d want into the budget market. Despite all its cost-cutting, Gretsch has managed to produce a guitar that lacks little in spirit or sound when compared with the guitars they’ve been producing since the early 50s. 

It sure looks slick... 

Wait ’til you hear it plugged in. With a bit more high-end spank than most other hollowbodies, you can hear why it’s these guitars have become so revered in the rockabilly and country scenes. But the fun doesn’t end there - the pickups are fiery enough for your spiciest leads and then some. Like the Artcore, there’s seemingly no end to the amount of distortion you can throw at it. 

Does it play like a ‘proper’ Gretsch? 

With low action and a straight neck out of the box, it’s built to make you sound like you’re on your A-game every time. Separated from the other controls, the treble pickup volume may take a little time to adjust to, but it’s a standard feature of Gretsch design - moving it would have angered more than it pleased. 

At a glance

Key features: Laminated maple body, nato neck, rosewood fretboard, 2x Gretsch Broad’Tron pickups, Gretsch V stoptail 

Finish: Walnut Stain, Black (as reviewed)

Page 3 of 7
Page 3 of 7
Epiphone Ltd Ed Casino Coupe
£339

Epiphone Ltd Ed Casino Coupe

Looks a bit smaller than your average Casino... 

That’s because it is - this Coupe is closer to an ES-339 in size - but carries all the trademarks of Epiphone’s most famous original. With a trapeze tailpiece and P-90-style pickups, this faithful reinvention offers a lightweight and wallet-friendly alternative to the original. 

Does the size of the guitar affect the tone at all? 

Well, actually the Casino Coupe is by far the loudest instrument, acoustically, in this round-up, so if you’re going for those massive, stadium-bothering chords Dave Grohl and co are renowned for, this will do just the trick. The only downside is there is a limit to how much distortion you can throw at it before the acoustic feedback takes over. 

What music does it work best for? 

It’s still pretty damn versatile - a reliable workhorse for all your favourite Rolling Stones licks. The P-90s give it a more woolly flavour that simply begs for unleashing your inner Joe Pass. The natural resonance shines through, too, delivering an almost hybrid electric/acoustic tone on cleaner settings.

At a glance

Key features: 5-layer laminated maple body, mahogany neck, rosewood fingerboard, Epiphone P-90 pickups, Coupe Trapeze tailpiece

Finish: Inverness Green, Ebony (as reviewed)

Page 4 of 7
Page 4 of 7
Hofner Verythin Deluxe
£449

Hofner Verythin Deluxe

This looks like one of the lightest semi-hollows around... 

You’re not wrong there. Smaller and thinner than all of the guitars in this round-up, this Chinese-made instrument is designed with comfort in mind. With its smaller headstock and narrow chambers, the Verythin Deluxe is actually lighter than most Strats - welcome news for those playing one-hour-plus sets night after night. 

So it probably has less acoustic resonance? 

As we learned with the Casino Coupe, size isn’t always everything - but in this case, there is a drop in volume when strumming acoustically compared with most semis. There is actually a plus side to that - with smaller chambers, there’s little chance of acoustic feedback ringing out and stealing your thunder. 

What features make it stand out? 

The Hofner Script & Lily artwork sits proud on the headstock, in between two sets of pearl-button tuners. The black and silver knobs work well against the transparent red finish, and the Hofner Full Size pickups are surprisingly powerful for a guitar that looks so lavishly innocuous, much like the tone machines of yesteryear.

At a glance

Key features: Spruce body (reduced size), flame maple neck, rosewood fingerboard, 2x Hofner Full Size humbucker nickel pickups, black potentiometer knobs, pearl tuner buttons 

Finish: Matt Black, Transparent Red (as reviewed)

Page 5 of 7
Page 5 of 7
Head to head

Head to head

On first glance, these are all attractive guitars - the kind of instruments you’d expect to find in a 60s memorabilia museum, surrounded by pictures of early rock ’n’ roll legends strumming them criminally high above the waist. 

The relic’d Artcore goes one step further, however, with its degraded aesthetics finished convincingly without even the slightest whiff of kitsch - a common danger in budget boutique. 

The compact models by Epiphone and Hofner aren’t necessarily easier to play
 because of their smaller bodies. They might initially feel less bulky than the Ibanez and Gretsch, but after a few minutes of adjusting, size makes little actual difference in playability. Perhaps the only downside to the Streamliner is its access to the very upper frets - the bottom cutaway is a little restrictive for any ambitious lead playing beyond the 17th. In every other regard, from sound to appearance to versatility, it’s an axe that goes above and beyond. 

The Verythin Deluxe suffers from the same issue, while the double-cut Ibanez has no problematic area on its fretboard whatsoever. It’s an attention to detail carried across every aspect of the instrument from top to bottom - typical of the brilliant Japanese craftsmanship that infuriated the American brands as far back as the 60s. 

And even though it’s the heaviest of these four guitars, there’s something about that very fact which helps it capture the essence of the vintage prototypes. And despite being less versatile because of its natural acoustics, what the Epiphone does, it does incredibly well. 

The softer P-90s facilitate an emphasis on warmer sounds, and even before it’s plugged in, you’ll inevitably enjoy the thrill of playing it acoustically for hours on end. It offers great access to all frets and weighs about the same as the thin-cut Hofner, without any sacrifice on natural vibration - if anything, that’s its forte. 

Page 6 of 7
Page 6 of 7
Final verdict

Final verdict

You might have already guessed from our head to head that of the four guitars we have on test today, the Ibanez and Gretsch models come out on top without breaking much of a sweat. It’s hard to find a guitar that truly feels expensive under the £500 mark, but in all fairness, these two semi-hollows do great justice to their long-established brands. 

The Streamliner benefits from a wider tonal scoop into the higher mids, while the Ibanez has more to offer lead guitarists in terms of playability at the dusty end of the fretboard. Both instruments make you feel like you’ve got something old in your hands - which, let’s be honest, is an important aspect when you’re buying a guitar of this nature. 

For smaller, younger or less experienced players - the Verythin Deluxe and Casino Coupe will be easy to pick up and get going from the off, but do lose a bit of tone and versatility along the way. They certainly present a happy medium between solidbodies and more traditional semi-hollow guitars, but isn’t the point of owning a guitar like this to have something closer to a jazz box? 

Don't Miss

(Image credit: Future)

What are the best budget electric guitars under £500/$650?

For those that are looking to add something truly different and unique to their collection, the two compact models may be too much of a compromise on what semi-hollows are celebrated for: ringing chords and bags of natural sustain. 

Best all-rounder: Ibanez Artcore Vintage ASV10A-TCL

5 out of 5

Best value: Gretsch Streamliner G2622

5 out of 5

Best for acoustic resonance: Epiphone LTD Ed Casino Coupe

4 out of 5

Best for your back: Hofner Verythin Deluxe

4 out of 5

Page 7 of 7
Page 7 of 7
Amit Sharma
Amit Sharma
Social Links Navigation

Amit has been writing for titles like Total Guitar, MusicRadar and Guitar World for over a decade and counts Richie Kotzen, Guthrie Govan and Jeff Beck among his primary influences. He's interviewed everyone from Ozzy Osbourne and Lemmy to Slash and Jimmy Page, and once even traded solos with a member of Slayer on a track released internationally. As a session guitarist, he's played alongside members of Judas Priest and Uriah Heep in London ensemble Metalworks, as well as handling lead guitars for legends like Glen Matlock (Sex Pistols, The Faces) and Stu Hamm (Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, G3).

Stay up to date with the latest gear and tuition. image
Stay up to date with the latest gear and tuition.
Subscribe and save today!
More Info
More about guitars
Foo Fighters: A colorised image of a Foo Fighters press pic reveals the finish of Grohl's new Epiphone

Is Dave Grohl’s new Epiphone DG-335… Gold?

EarthQuaker Devices Disaster Transport Legacy Reissue

EarthQuaker Devices resurrects the OG Disaster Transport, with the cult classic ‘Delay Modulation Machine’ newly improved with expanded features

Latest
Noel Gallagher

Watch Noel Gallagher use a Fender Strat for High Flying Birds’ “blasphemous” cover of Joy Division’s Love Will Tear Us Apart

See more latest ►
Most Popular
Learn 7 of the greatest blues guitar licks of all time

By Leigh Fuge2 June 2023

Orange Amps enters the Bluetooth speaker market with the Orange Box

By Jonathan Horsley2 June 2023

A Jazzmaster 12-string?! Squier steals the limelight from Fender with its new Paranormal Series guitars

By Rob Laing1 June 2023

Arturia’s FX Collection 4 lands with an all-new Leslie speaker plugin and emulations of Korg and Lexicon classics

By Ben Rogerson1 June 2023

Propellerhead’s ReBirth is reborn as a hands-on hardware synth, and it’s all thanks to Look Mum No Computer

By Ben Rogerson1 June 2023

Attica Blues: "This album opened doors for other people. We played our part so the Little Simz of the world could come through"

By Roy Spencer1 June 2023

Issue 397 of Future Music is out now

By Future Music1 June 2023

Karma Police: the story behind the Radiohead classic that started life as a tour bus catchphrase

By Michael Leonard31 May 2023

SSL’s UF1 promises to “set a new standard for single fader DAW controllers”

By Ben Rogerson31 May 2023

Pedalboard tour: how Petter Carlsen from the Norwegian duo Pil & Bue gets his juggernaut guitar tones

By Rob Laing31 May 2023

Akai issues a red alert as it launches the MPC One+, but it might not have all the upgrades you were hoping for

By Ben Rogerson31 May 2023

  1. Nirvana In Utero cover
    1
    Steve Albini recalls the secrecy around the Nirvana In Utero sessions: "I had to do everything I could to keep it under wraps to make sure that we didn’t get overrun by fans and the added nonsense"
  2. 2
    Jon Hopkins spent 4 months perfecting the synth riff for Open Eye Signal on a 1979 Korg MS-20: “So much effort into trying to make something sound effortless”
  3. 3
    Former 10cc keyboard player Duncan Mackay showing his Yamaha and Roland synths to comedian Mike Reid could be the strangest video you'll watch all week
  4. 4
    Is Dave Grohl’s new Epiphone DG-335… Gold?
  5. 5
    Watch Noel Gallagher use a Fender Strat for High Flying Birds’ “blasphemous” cover of Joy Division’s Love Will Tear Us Apart
  1. Orange Box: The iconic British amp brand enters the Bluetooth speaker market
    1
    Orange Amps enters the Bluetooth speaker market with the Orange Box
  2. 2
    Jon Hopkins spent 4 months perfecting the synth riff for Open Eye Signal on a 1979 Korg MS-20: “So much effort into trying to make something sound effortless”
  3. 3
    Former 10cc keyboard player Duncan Mackay showing his Yamaha and Roland synths to comedian Mike Reid could be the strangest video you'll watch all week
  4. 4
    Is Dave Grohl’s new Epiphone DG-335… Gold?
  5. 5
    Watch Noel Gallagher use a Fender Strat for High Flying Birds’ “blasphemous” cover of Joy Division’s Love Will Tear Us Apart

MusicRadar is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.