The Best Hollow Body Guitar Under $1000 in 2024

There’s nothing quite like the sound of a perfect hollow body or semi-hollow guitar.

Some of the greatest musicians in history have played these styles of instruments, and for a good reason. They offer a unique tone that can’t be found in other kinds of electric guitars.

Check out the six models listed below if you’re looking for the best hollow body guitars or semi-hollow guitars and don’t want to break the bank. These guitars are under $1000, and they all have the features that serious players need to get the most out of their instruments.

I’ve selected these guitars based on my 25+ years of guitar playing experience, countless trips to my local guitar shop, and endless hours of online research. My favorite is the Gretsch G5655T Electromatic Jr. based on versatility, construction, and price.

However, all the options are quality instruments that should fit most use cases.

I hope this article helps you on your journey to finding the best hollow body guitars under $1000.

Let’s begin!

What are the best hollow bodies under $1000 in 2024?

• Editor’s Choice: 
  Gretsch G5655T Electromatic Jr.
  
• Best Vintage-Inspired Hollow Body: 
  Epiphone Casino
  
• Best 12-String Hollow-Body: 
  Gretsch G5422G-12
  
• Best for Jazz & Rockabilly: 
  Epiphone Emperor Swingster Hollow Body
  
• Best for Rock & Blues: 
  Epiphone ES-335
  
• Best for Modern Players: 
  Paul Reed Smith SE Custom 22 Semi-Hollow Body

TL;DR: Top 3 Picks

The guitars on this list are all between $500-$1000. Please click here if you want to discover the best budget hollow body guitar list under $500 here.

Have you ever wished you could have the perfect semi-hollow body guitar for rock, country, and jazz? Well, your wish has come true.

The Gretsch G5655T Electromatic Jr. is the perfect guitar for any player who wants to explore a variety of genres. This guitar offers a fantastic tone and versatility, making it ideal for any player. With its ability to produce both bright and crisp tones and deep and rich sounds, this guitar can do it all. 

Equipped with two Black Top Broad’Tron Humbucking pickups, this guitar can produce a variety of desirable tones. Most notably, those jangly and crystally clean tones, as well a throaty, midrange grit that is perfect for rock and blues.

What makes the G5655T even more flexible with its tones is the independent volume knobs for each pickup and a master tone control and master volume control. As a player, you’ll appreciate the great flexibility this guitar provides. It works great with all types of amplifiers and pedals.

The G5655T is a short-scale guitar at 24.6” inches. This makes the guitar feel more intimate in your hands than other full-size semi-hollow guitars, but it also gives the strings a more “slinky” feel. This makes the guitar play much more effortless and less painful on your fingers.

The guitar is surprisingly lightweight, even with the chambered spruce block running through the center of the guitar to help provide more support and feedback resistance. Also, the G5655T looks extremely beautiful and looks much like a much more expensive guitar than its price point suggests.

There are a few negatives about this guitar that are worth mentioning. First, this guitar doesn’t come with a gig bag. Also, some users have said that they have run into problems with the wiring and controls. This makes the user have to invest in some costly repairs.

However, suppose you’re looking for a fantastic guitar to do it all. In that case, the Gretsch G5655T Electromatic Jr. is a perfect choice. This elegant guitar offers a versatile tone that will please any player. Its sleek design makes it the ideal choice for any occasion. So if you’re looking to explore a variety of genres with one fantastic instrument, be sure to check out the Gretsch G5655T Electromatic Jr. today!

Best Vintage-Inspired Hollow Body Guitar: Epiphone Casino

There’s something about the Epiphone Casino that just oozes cool. Maybe it’s the stylish retro looks or that legendary musicians like John Lennon and George Harrison of the Beatles used this guitar.

Whatever the reason, the Casino has earned its place as one of the most iconic hollow-body guitars. 

The Epiphone Casino is an actual hollow body guitar, meaning that there is no block in the center. This makes the guitar surprisingly lightweight. However, the hollow body of this guitar makes it prone to feedback, especially if you play with higher gain.

The Epiphone Casino has a thin body and SlimTaper “D” mahogany neck, making the guitar feel very comfortable and intimate for a hollow body guitar.

The Casino has two dog-ear P-90 pickups known for their gritty, midrange sound. There’s a slight roll-off in the high-end, which gives it that vintage, midrange warmth. One strength of this guitar is that it sounds great through a fuzz pedal. The notes stay articulate and clear.

The only downside to the Casino is that it’s not very versatile. The P-90 pickups are great for rock and blues, but they don’t offer a lot of versatility. The Casino might not be the best choice if you’re looking for a guitar that can do it all.

However, suppose you’re looking for one of the best hollowbody electric guitars with vintage looks and sound. In that case, the Epiphone Casino should be at the top of your list.

Just like an excellent 12-string acoustic guitar can add a layer of richness to your sound, a 12-string hollow-body electric guitar can do the same for your plugged-in tone.

If you’re looking for the best 12-string hollow guitars under $1000, then Gretsch’s G5422G-12 should be at the top of your list.

With its strong midrange and articulate, jangly highs, this guitar is perfect for adding depth and dimension to your playing. Plus, its elegant double-cutaway design and gold hardware will turn heads wherever you play it.

The G5422G-12 comes equipped with Gretsch’s legendary Filter’Tron Humbucking pickups. Filter’Tron’s have an outstanding balance of woody and warm tone in the low-end that hits you in the chest, while the high-end stays clear and crystally.

However, as you run this guitar at a higher gain, you get a grainy texture that invokes that late 60s and 70s rock n’ roll tone.

This 12-string Gretsch is built with a laminated maple top, back, and sides, which helps with keeping the articulation between the notes clear and separated.

The short-scale nature of the Gretsch G5422G-12 makes this an extremely comfortable guitar to hold. The wider nut width gives enough space between the strings to help easily play individual notes. Still, it could be too chunky and oversized for players with smaller hands.

The hardware and bridge do an excellent job keeping this guitar in tune, and the volume and tone controls feel sturdy and sleek in your hands.

Suppose you’re in the market for a 12-string guitar that can handle various playing styles and musical genres (and looks incredible). In that case, the Gretsch’s G5422G-12 hollow-bodied guitar should be at the top of your list!

Looking for a guitar that defies genres? The Epiphone Emperor Swingster Hollow Body Guitar might be the perfect fit for you.

This axe is excellent for everything from jazz to rockabilly, and its classic design is sure to turn heads when you’re onstage.

The tonal versatility makes the Epiphone Emperor Swingster stand out against the other hollow bodies on this list.

The Swingster comes with its own original pickup designed by Epiphone called Swingbuckers. These pickups are unique because they can be played as a single-coil or a humbucker. This is done by pulling up on the tone knobs.

Your tonal options are vast when you play with the tone knobs, pickup selector switch, and the choice between the two pickup options.

The single-coil option gives you a clean chimney and rich, clean tones. This is only amplified by the fully hollow body design that is great for jazz players and acoustic players looking for tones that a pickup even in the best acoustic guitar can’t touch.

However, when you engage the humbucking pickups, you can get a great gritty sound that will satisfy any modern alternative players.

The wire Bigsby vibrato is also an excellent feature of the Swingster. One of the gripes I have with the handle Bigsby Vibrato system is that the bar gets in the way of the tone and volume knobs. However, this wired vibrato bar is elegant, fits into your hand very comfortably, and doesn’t get in the way.

However, staying true to the vintage inspiration, The Swingster has only 20 frets. This can limit lead guitar players who wish to play up the neck.

If you are looking for a guitar that can give you a clean tone and some rocking grit, then the Epiphone Swingster is the perfect option.

So, why not check it out today?

A roundup list of hollow body and semi-hollow body guitars wouldn’t be right without an ES-335.

Initially created by Epiphone’s parent company Gibson in 1958, the ES-335 became the guitar of choice for artists such as B.B. King, Chuck Berry, and Dave Grohl. It’s also the guitar you see in Marty McFly playing at the end of Back to the Future.

There’s a reason why the ES-335 is one of the most popular guitars among musicians today.

This semi-hollow guitar has a Thinline body style and a comfortable rounded “C” shape Mahogany neck. The guitar is very comfortable in your arms. It feels great for playing both rhythm and lead playing, mainly if you’re used to the feel of acoustic guitars. However, the guitar is a little heavy at 8 lbs, so it could get uncomfortable on your shoulders if you play with the wrong type of strap.

Also, the body style is large, so if you are a player with a more petite frame, you might find a better match in one of the smaller-bodied semi-hollow guitars on this list.

What I love about the Epiphone ES-335 is that this is a no-frill guitar. Sure it looks stunning with the double-cutaway and flamed maple top. However, there isn’t a tremolo system, special pickups, or overly fancy hardware.

This semi-hollow guitar is all about the tone.

The guitar is equipped with two Alnico Classic Humbuckers. These pickups have a nice bite, and the clean sound is articulate while slightly gritty. When pushed into overdrive, the tone gets creamy and growly. An excellent guitar for those blues players and rock n’ roll players.

So if you’re looking for an affordable version of the Gibson classic, check out the Epiphone ES-335. With its classic design and iconic sound, this guitar is perfect for any musician looking to master the blues or rock n’ roll.

Don’t miss out on this incredible instrument – check it out today!

Suppose you’re looking for a versatile guitar to handle any style of music. In that case, the Paul Reed Smith SE Custom 22 Semi-Hollow Body is a perfect choice.

With a mahogany body and maple top, this guitar has a rich, full sound perfect for everything from rock to blues to jazz. And thanks to its semi-hollow body design, this guitar has extra resonance and warmth that you don’t get with other solid-body models.

Also, the sustain on this guitar is insane.

This electric guitar is unlike other hollow bodies on this list because it’s a high-performance guitar. It isn’t a “jazz box,” and it doesn’t have the typical semi-hollow guitar sound.

The Custom 22 is meant for the stage and studio and can handle high gain without the feedback issues that plague the other guitars on this list.

The 3-piece maple neck is very comfortable and one of the best playing guitars to play on this list.

The Custom 22 comes equipped with zebra-striped PRS 85/15 Humbuckers and can be switched to a single-coil design when you pull up the tone knob. This gives the guitar an extremely versatile tonal range. This PRS could easily be the only guitar you own, and you could cover all of your musical bases.

Another thing to love is this guitar comes with a gig bag, unlike the other options on this list!

The hardware is custom PRS designs, from the bridge and tremolo system to the tuners. PRS is one of the best electric guitar brands out there, and this guitar is no slouch in construction.

The major downside of the Custom 22 Semi-Hollow Body is that it isn’t a “true” hollow body guitar. It’s a solid-body guitar that is chambered for extra resonance. Still, you aren’t getting the rich, bold guitar like the Epiphone’s or Gretschs’.

However, If you’re looking for a versatile guitar with great sustain, tones, and playability, the Paul Reed Smith SE Custom 22 Semi-Hollow Body should be at the top of your list.

FAQ

To Recap

Whether you’re a beginner or a pro, there’s a guitar on this list that will fit your needs. These guitars offer the perfect blend of tone and affordability.

Suppose you’re looking for the most authentic, versatile, and easy-to-play instruments on this list. In that case, the Gretsch G5655T Electromatic Jr. will be sure to give you years of playing enjoyment.

Thanks for reading!