Best Semi Hollow Body Guitar (2024 Update)

At the base price, I was wondering how well made this would be but I wanted the white/ivory color so I bought it and I am glad I did. I had a guitar that cost a lot more and since I generally only keep one guitar (I am not a hoarder) I wanted to see which I liked better. Of the two, this one was easier for me to play. I like the big hollow-body feel and sound as well. The pickups would be the cheapest part but they are more than passable (though sound is personal and pickups can be changed). The guitar has a lot of heft (weight) to it in, what I consider, a good way. The neck is thicker than what I expected from Ibanez, although it is a hollow-body and not one of their metal guitars. Personally, I will change out the strings for Elixirs, the tuners for locking tuners, and put a Duesenberg tremolo (vibrato) on it (and maybe a roller bridge)(All personal preferences). But even now it is a great guitar to play. I did buy the Ibanez AS100C case for it here on MF (see comment there on the case). This is a great guitar and if anything happened to it I would buy another. It may sound expected in a commentary like this but I would say this is the best guitar I ever owned and I have owned all the brand names. That said, to each their own.BrazilBill

At this price I have no complaints. What I will say is replace the pickups with a name brand PAF style and you'll have a killer tone and a good wood.If I wanted a fancier fingerboard I'd go up a model or two but it's really not necessary. I'm also going to put locking tuners. If you get a AS93 with the Super 58 pickups you won't wanna change those after paying extra. I prefer to get Duncans or something equivalent. I don't feel bad tossing the original pickups on this model. I bought a blemish and still trying to find it!!JD

I play rhythm guitar in a small combo. Fit and finish on this guitar is excellent. The pick-ups sound very nice for my application. No neck dive. I recommend this guitar to anyone seeking a nice semi-hollow body guitar.Wayne

I am rating it based on the price point expectations I had before ordering. It is a really great guitar. You have to expect that it will come with some defects and issues. Small paint/binding issues, some glue and wood chips loose inside the guitar that I took out. The guitar wasn?t set up well on arrival. I did a string change and truss rod adjustment to get rid of some fretting out on the first fret. The components are cheap, input Jack was broken shortly after my first show with it. The guitar itself is solid! Well built, stays in tune. Neck is very thick. I would purchase another even with issues. I wasn?t expecting a perfect guitar just something that I can play hard and maybe replace some components down the road.Cory

Very nice looking guitar. Set-up pretty well out of the box with fret ends nice and smooth. Needed slight intonation. Unfortunately the shipper basically smashed the box and the three-way toggle switch was damaged and not functional. Rather than send the guitar back I pulled out the switch and was able to repair it. Finish around the switch hole (under the retaining ring) was slightly damaged/cracked and had to repair that as well. The guitar plays and sounds quite nice and other than a small kink in the binding where it joins the neck (smooth and under the finish) it is a pretty guitar. Has a minor rattle somewhere that I can't locate (not string buzz), but doesn't come through when amplified. All in all, I am happy with it and its well worth the price.Michael

This is a nice guitar. It?s well made, has a beautiful charcoal burst gloss finish, and has the wonderful mellow sound of a semi-hollowbody guitar. The blacked out hardware is a nice touch. I learned about this guitar from the guitar gear bloggers on YouTube. They ALL gave it great reviews. Some of the older reviews mentioned that the fret ends needed more polishing, and there was some nitpicking about the size and font of the Indio logo. More recent reviews indicate that these issues have been addressed. MY Indio guitar has polished fret ends and it APPEARS to me that the logo is a bit smaller. The fit and finish are EXCELLENT, so perhaps Monoprice has listened to customer complaints and has tightened up their QC. The BIG news here is the PRICE. EVERYONE, myself included, is STUNNED by how INEXPENSIVE this guitar is. The $250 list price is a STEAL! The YouTube bloggers claim that this guitar will go head-to-head with other 335 style guitars costing 3 times as much! I agree.Kevin

Overall: I live in a large city and it is still impossible to find a Gibson 335 that plays and sounds great, has no issues or questionable history and comes with a price tag lower than a new one to justify the gamble. As a result, I decided to pull the trigger on a new one and went for the figured, not so much for the flame but for the lower weight and select wood, knowing both my back would thank me and that the guitar would probably be a bit more open and resonant. Block inlays are certainly nice and that may have helped sway my decision too. The 335 arrived with an impeccable setup, right out of the box from the factory. In my 35 years of playing, I’ve never had this happen. I’ve heard of it happening but never to me. I always have to tweak the truss rod to straighten the neck a bit, adjust the bridge action, widen the nut slots and intimate the guitar. Every time. The only adjustment I’ve had to make is lower the pickups a bit for balance, that’s it! Plays like an absolute dream. Here is why you want this guitar rather than a used one—. the neck. None of that weird pencil thin 335 necks from the past or those horrible and slow baseball bat necks… this is perfect. I don’t know what Gibson is doing in Nashville now, but they are making these guitars better than they ever have. Having always been a fan of Classic ‘57 pickups, I read about these T Type pickups being bright. It is true that they are bright, however it works so well in this guitar. Roll back the tone knobs for the mellower and darker sounds, especially when in the neck position for a classic straight-ahead jazz sound, or rolled back in the bridge to fatten up rhythms…but the thing is, roll the tone up for that beautiful bite and thunk in single line solos. I have had bright guitars in the past and there is nothing you can do for them. No matter the pickups or amp, it remains bright and pingy. This is not a bright guitar and has such a beautifully balanced and mellow acoustic voice, the pickups suit it well and I will not replace them. Is it an insane amount of money? Yes. It is. In 10 years when I have blown through $4K many times over and have nothing to show for it, will I still have this 335? Yes. I will. It’s an investment and zZounds makes it possible for someone like me to have something nice. This is an absolutely breathtaking guitar. In playability, sound, and appearance—Gibson is on top of their game these days and I think the future will look back at this era as their new golden age.Michael

Upon opening the case, the case was hard to open, like it didn't fit top cover to bottom cover. The guitar smells of cheap carnauba wax (if you wax your own car you know there are great waxes that smell good) this is not the great smell of the past Gibson guitars I have purchased in the past. There was a light haze to the guitar like the wax was dried but not wiped off completely. The was not common of years pasts Gibson's. Its a very light weight guitar. Nice to hold and even sitting with it to play does not dig into the underarm like a thick acoustic does over time. The ice tea version does look great front to back. I can't tell if it's AAA but its very nice. The head stock look s like it wasn't cut symmetrically compared to the other side or sanded to much. The neck is nice and thick and wider top to bottom which I like for fitting all my fingers on the 1-5 frets for chords. Their is a lot of fret buzz on the G string throughout the range of the neck, It looks like the G string is higher than all the other strings in an attempt to reduce the buzz. I thought these were machine prepped ?? I can most likely (hopefully)make some adjustments for this. The frets feel thinner than my Les Paul's. Not sure if I like this but I can get used to it. The sound on a clean channel is great. I really like the sound. The volume knobs have no volume from 0 – almost 2, they don't change the volume a lot from 3-7, from 8-10 is almost all the volume change. I have never had this experience before. The tone knobs actually lowers the volume from 1-3 which I thought is also strange. I have no experience with a ES model so maybe this is normal. If it is, then I am not sure I would have purchased. I don't regret the purchase but I was expecting perfection for this price.Just Me

I love 335 but played several that I found meh. Preferred the Heritage H-535 I bought to most Gibbies I tried. Until I played that one at my local GC store. Was immediately captivated with the tone. Went back several times, and took the plunge despite the sticker shock. At home, in my amp it sounded even better than in the shop. Absolutely wonderful guitar, that feels and sounds as good and sometimes even better than vintage 60s 335 I tried or owned. I am in love! But what a price tag…Gibson CS is becoming unattainable fast.Stéphane

Beautiful guitar with perfect neck set up right out of the box! This guitar was advertised as a used instrument, but it is MINT! Very versatile with great tone from all three pick-ups. Lighter weight than my all-maple Art Core, (Linden wood.) Also arrived two days earlier than expected.tr4081

I have one but from a different retailer. MF did not carry this brand when I got mine. These are the real deal or real Gibson product line from the same folks in Kalamazoo who refused to relocate. The quality is fantastic. The tone is genuine. My 535 is my fave semi-hollow humbucker 23.75 inch scal guitar I have. You can tell these guitars are hand made. You're not getting a guitar assembled from the band saw body guy, or the neck blank guy, or from some fellow who just mans a saw / sander for their entier shift. Each guitar is luthier made. The older models even have an ebony pick guard. If thats an option then MF should get that instead of the plastic.David Seattle

I debated on buying the VOX S66 or other brands of semi- hollowbody guitars. I was not disappointed and I have 5 Gibson semi hollow bodied guitars this guitar with 3 Single coil PU's has it's own distinct sound and does sound good.Art P

Super light for an Electric guitar – Fantastic Tone from the Curstom Shop Nocasters – Satin neck is Lightning Fast. An EBONY Fretboard – Amazing.
Built Quality was perfect on this one. Fit and Finish.

Not sure why these Modls aren't more popular … its a 10/10.Tom Jones

Tone is better than I expected, and my hand slides over the polished neck like frictionless glass. LOVE the ebony fingerboard! And the looks are what sold me on the purchase, and I am not disappointed.mahap65

Fantastic Telecaster with classy unique style (definitely not the same old butterscotch yawn) hand wound custom shop pickups, ebony fretboard and it's so cool.Philip O.

PAS sold me an awesome guitar for a great price and delivery went of without a hitch. This is my second guitar from them. Now I want a PRS guitar once these guitars are paid off.jim-30803

Overall: First off I'd like to respond to the previous reviewer. He stated that there was zero sustain with the 594. The specs state that the pickups are LT which means Low Turn. The guitar was built for the vintage gang out there and these particular pickups are not high output but that's nothing that a boost pedal won't remedy. Had the previous reviewer researched this instrument, he would have found that the pickups excel in clarity and definately have the vintage vibe. What Paul was trying to do was make an instrument that would have followed the progression of a Les Paul. Also if the reviewer wanted a guitar for anything including hard rock and metal, he should have picked up the Custom 22 or 24. With that being said, I love this model and have had one for several years. I will also be buying another one but a single cut this time in March. If you want quality buy a PRS or Music Man. You just can't go wrong with PRS..Matt

Overall: I've had several PRS guitars, from core Custom 24s to SE's to S2's. This example is an S2 McCarty 594. It feels nice, looks nice and plays nice. That's about the extent of it. It doesn't do anything to excite the senses. I have a Prestige Heritage Standard that just begs to be played and is inspiring. These guitars, while solid, are just kind of "meh". There is one thread that I find runs through most, if not all PRS guitars I've tried; I absolutely do not like PRS pickups. The ones in this McCarty are very dull, like a blanket has been thrown over them. No clarity, they're just "there". In summary, these are good guitars, but you'd really need to spend some additional money to make them great. Whether or not you want to go down that road is, of course, up to you. But no matter what, zZounds is awesome, and they are my go-to retailer. Very easy to deal with.Keith

Was really pleased with this guitar right out of the box. Little to no set up required. Plays great but may be difficult for novices. The hollow body makes it necessary to have skills a novice may not have. The sound and electronics are great. A little heavy but otherwise solid insrument.Dave

Well built short scale bass; very cool that it has a high F on the first string, my '75 Fender Mustang only goes up to D. This bass is more of a thumper axe that plays well with fingers or pick; feels similar to a Precision bass neck. It is not much for slapping and snapping but I'm starting to find the sweet spot to do that in a pinch. I've been using the natural finish model regularly for about three months and get a lot of positive comments and questions about it. The Starcaster is a heavy bass so if weight is an issue you had better look elsewhere; if you like easy to play short scale thumpers this would be an excellent choice.jzbassguitar

The Starcaster is quite good quality although the original set-up from the factory was fair at best. The intonation had to be adjusted and set correctly. Now corrected it is a fun bass to play and has a nice warm vintage tone. I use a vintage Traynor Bassmaster (1966) Tube Amp YB1-A with a Yamaha 12" bass driver cabinet. Sure gets the old 100 year old windows a rattlin'! For the money its not only a good quality instrument but a piece of artwork, especially in the Cherry Sunburst!G the Bassmaster

Watched a review by Mike Pachelli on this guitar and thought it wouldn't hurt to check it out – then when I saw the price – well, How can I not check it out. This is a great guitar – great finish – great quality – and above all, it plays great without any further set up – would like to get the other color. The best money I have spent in a long time.NickeyD

Real pleased with my purchase. I don't think of price when I buy a guitar as they are inflated lately. In saying that, This guitar required a few things to get it playing well. Frets needed to be polished. Strings replaced with diadero 10s XL. Cleaned the nut slots, and finally made a large adjustment to the truss rod, bridge and stop tail. The number 2 position with the bridge pickup in single coil mode, works amazing for me. Impressed totally.StevanC

This is a beautiful guitar and if it were 1000$ it would be well worth it. For 2300$ though I would like to have some inlays that don't look like cheap plastic and not have fret buzz. The buzz could be fixed with a set up but for 2300$ I feel like it should come set up. On the back the slots for the cover plates are not routed so they just sit on top. Not a deal breaker but this does make it look a little incomplete. Overall it sounds great minus the fret buzz. I'd say no better than a se model and not worth the extra money unless you just want a bolt on neck. I prefer bolt on or through necks which is why I bought the ce but I plan to return it and either get an ernie ball music man or an American strat.Not satisfied with AMS quality c

I bought this because I was in the market for a US guitar and I already had a US Strat. I was thinking about a Gibson Les Paul Classic and then PRS showed up on my radar. I did some research and decided to play both. I have an Epiphone Les Paul so I thought I would prefer the Gibson. I played this guitar first and the Les Paul just didn't feel right after that. I bought this one a couple weeks later. After having it for an extended period (12 hours) I started thinking about selling my Strat and buying a Silver Sky. This guitar just felt so good I didn't want anything else. The neck feel is fantastic. The tone options are amazing The color is sooooooo much more vibrant in person than in pictures It is sitting in the rack in the other room while I type this and I wish I was playing it right now. It was totally worth every penny and I would recommend it to anyone who wants a true quality instrument.Jay P