A hollow body guitar, as the name implies, is completely hollow inside. The earliest electric guitars were hollowbody guitars and were in many ways the closest to acoustic guitars. They usually have F-holes like semi-hollow guitars, but they lack the center block.

Hollow body guitars deliver rich fullness and deep resonance. Characterizing the "big-body sound," this build type is marked by huge tones that retain great clarity and acoustic nuance.

Semi-hollowbody guitars have the two bouts of the electric guitar hollowed out, often with F-holes or other types of soundholes to allow airflow, and a solid center block running through the center of the body. Perhaps the most famous example of this is the Gibson ES-335.

Semi-hollowbody guitars are tonally similar to solidbody guitars, but with a bit less sustain and a slightly less focused low end. Any guitar with large cavities in it will be more susceptible to feedback, but the center block in semi-hollow guitars does a pretty good job of taming the feedback compared to a hollowbody.

With a focused attack and quick response, solid body guitars enable maximum power and excellent control. Most Gretsch solid body guitars feature body chambering that adds resonance and greatly increase fullness and punch while maintaining the signature Gretsch definition and articulation.

Sonically, solidbody guitars tend to have the most sustain of the three body types, since the density of the wood contributes to the sustain. The denser wood also makes solidbody guitars more resistant to feedback from the pickups and results in a tighter, or more focused, low end.

The acoustic guitar is an instrument with a long and storied past, being a fixture in Western music for more than a century. It’s played an integral part in the most innovative and influential albums ever released and it’s yet to be replaced by any other instrument.

The skillful combination of wood and strings requires nothing short of mastery to produce the natural and nuanced voices that have inspired generations of singers and songwriters alike. Gretsch acoustic guitars are built with select materials and quality craftsmanship that produce a voice that is inspired by tradition yet undeniably Gretsch.