Are Solid Body Guitars a must have???

[Marv666]

Hello everyone, got a bit of a weird question.
Is a solid body guitar even needed in a guitar collection??
Let me explain....
I'm constantly reaching for my hollowbody gretsch guitars, they do everything i want them to.
From playing acoustic (my acoustic guitar is barely used) up to super intense high gain Sounds.
In fact i even gigged my 5420 in a Hardcore Band in the Past with my mesa Dual rectifier.
I know that lots of hollowbodys struggle with distortion, but not the gretsch hollowbodys... they take it like a Champion.
So that kinda raises the question for me, is a solid body guitar even necessary if i can get all the tones i need from a gretsch hollowbody?

I've got an electromatic double jet which Sounds great but i barely Grab it, feels a bit too small due to the double cutaway... i'm thinking about selling it.
Then i have an epiphone wildkat which i essentially never play and the rest of my guitars is just gretsch hollowbodys and one barely played acoustic.

Let me know your thoughts, is a solid body guitar a must have??

 

[stiv]

Solid bodies have a lot more sustain than hollow bodies, and generally (depending on the model and construction... that's the reason why a Tele twangs and a Les Paul screams ) on solid bodies some frequencies are more ehnanced (to my ear, of course) and tightened, being just a microphone picking up strings vibration and transmitting them to a single piece of wood without hollow space between his parts.
Said that, it's always a matter of taste. I'm not a fan of sustain per se (as opposite, I love the decading note of an hollow body) and generally not a fan of tight, big electric sounds. I love my SG Special but I've spent years to get accustomed to it and I usually need time to readjust even in these days when I switch from my Gretsch to it...
My advice is: go to a shop, try some classic stuff (Tele, Strat, Les Paul, SG) and discover if it feels good for you.

 

[KelvinS1965]

IHMO it's not compulsory to have lots of different guitars; I often wonder how much better I'd be as a guitarist if I'd stuck to just owning one or two instead of getting drawn down the GAS rabbithole. If the one(s) you have now give you all you need, then I'd say it isn't a must have for you.

 

[Rob_Brindley]

Essential? No. Nice to have? Absolutely! I like having various tones available to me that different guitars can provide. With the Rockabilly stuff I'm playing live now, I'd happily (and usually do) use a 6120 all night. But I could also do the same with the Jets, Round Ups and Penguins. Would I go out and use a 6120 for playing Guns N Roses lead parts? Probably not... A jet might just do it - Particularly the 6228s.

I do have far more guitars than I will ever actually need, but it's nice to own them and play them for different things every so often.

The other thing is, different guitars inspire me to play in different ways. Maybe that's not essential, but it definitely helps get me out of a rut every now and then.

 

[Bertotti]

Hey the way I see it is if you can get what you want from what you have then nothing else is essential! If you just want one that’s different but obviously not essential for you.

i only have four electric guitars and could easily live with one. It is nice to have one with full size HB pups the Minarick Lotus studio, great guitar.

T Strats one with first Gen hot noiseless and one with Tex max pups aka Jimmie Vaugh, both sound great but most can’t even tell the difference in tone while it seems glaringly obvious to me.

And my Broadway Jade Penguin. I could easily whittle down to either a Penguin or Strat. I have the four because one I won and the Strats were under a grand and the Penguin I wanted.

So no in your case another obviously isn’t needed but if you want one go for it!

I vote for a nice Strat! So comfortable and the pickup choices are limitless as well. I have been thinking I would like one to put some TVHT pups in. A simple maybe I want it.

 

[Stefan87]

Its all up to you at the end of the day, if the hollowbodies are working for you then thats 100% fine, i like solid bodies and for certain things so they have a place for me but i could live with just a 6118 if i wanted to.

Obviously the higher frets are easier on a jet or tele compared to a 16' gretsch, even the Falcon is easier too.

So if it works for you man then just rock the hollows.

 

[LesB3]

I do have far more guitars than I will ever actually need, but it's nice to own them and play them for different things every so often.

The other thing is, different guitars inspire me to play in different ways. Maybe that's not essential, but it definitely helps get me out of a rut every now and then.

This right here!

Happened to me yesterday... I love my Gretsch's too, but picked up the SG yesterday instead. Instead of reverb and delay, it was all about the high gain. Practiced my scales in full shred.

VARIETY is the spice of LIFE

 

[Baba Joe]

My solid bodies rarely get touched. Nothing against them and they have their advantages, but they basically are just not my priorities. More often than not, I play without an amp and prefer my hollow bodies. A solid body won’t be my cold dead hands guitar. They’re not a necessity for me, but simply nice for a little variety. I suggest keeping one for this purpose.

 

[afire]

Not for me. And I don't consider Jets to be solidbodies. Fenders, are pretty much the only solidbodies that interest me at all, and I occasionally will have one, but more often than not, I don't.

 

[TSims1]

Nothing is necessary except air, water, food, and making out.

 

[englishman]

Are hollowbodies a must have?

I say no.

 

[Pine Apple Slim]

As much as I love my Falcon and the fact that it can cover just about anything, it's a big ol girl.
Sometimes I just want something more compact, so I go for a Tele or SG.

 

[Ricochet]

Not if you have found the one hollow body I suppose... I love my (semi) hollows but they function as the proverbial spice of life for me much like my small armada of amps, pedals, and acoustic stringed instruments. A solid body is the main attraction for me. YMMV.

 

[cielski]

Lots of variables here. Some go for the flexibility in having many different guitars.
Others, one guitar is all they need. How many "made their sound" with just one guitar?
YMMV.

 

[Gregor]

One of the reasons I like a solid body is I can play it through the amp with headphones and it's pretty much silent. Heck, I my even be able to take it with me when I'm in the nursing home!!!

 

[Shadowy_Man]

I prefer archtops for sure. But sometimes if you want a specific sound (like a Tele sound) your only option is a solid body.

 

[freddyfingers]

I beleive they are easier to swing when attacked, they take up less air resistance , and can swing faster in a pinch

Theres a video of keith richards hitting a fan with guitar. Had it been a larger hollow body he may have gotten hurt.

 

[mister rain]

no. i don’t own a solid body.

 

[hcsterg]

Hi @Marv666 : buying a a little G5220 wouldn't hurt, by the way...

I'd say that she is the G5420 challenger but in the Solid Body dept.

A+!

 

[Chet Harrison]

I think if you are chuffed to bits with your hollows you don't need a solid. Especially if you don't gig and/or don't have any issues with feedback. I don't think there is any type of guitar that you "need" to own.