Why you can't go wrong with a Semihollow Bass 

Well… my wife saw this video and surprised me with an Ibanez Artcore Semi-hollow. With La Bellas. Wow. Loving it. Great channel. Thanks for all the inspirations and insights.

I predicted a while ago that the next big thing after short scales is going to be semi-hollows. I've been watching prices for Jack Cassady's or a Starcaster or a Guild. Very cool basses.

The Epiphone Jack Casady basses are really great, and they're often on sale for $500-600. The VariTone control lets you adjust the pickup impedence. It makes a huge impact on your tone. There's one setting that's super big and round. I absolutely love it.

The attack on those tapewounds somehow has both a snap and a thud that I find really satisfying... like the first bite of your favorite candy bar that you haven't had in a long time.

I fell in love with the Reverend Dub King: semihollow, short scale, propietary pickups, 5-piece neck, and a MONSTER tone!

Ooh, my favourite topic so far. Semi-hollows are the best and I recently got Epiphone Jack Casady Signature and didnt even think to add tapewounds on it. Love the idea, will try it when have bit more spare time. What I really like about your videos is the way you speak to us like we are friends visiting you as it is not over-presented and I feel really casual and good. Thank you for these uploads and I recommend your channel as often as I can to my friends.

Worth noting that even without the modifications, the Allen Woody Rumblekat is a pretty great bass. For the price, I couldn’t be happier with mine.

I bought an Ibanez AGB-200 about a year ago, and it has been a joy to play. I use the neck pickup alone about 90% of the time.

I truly appreciate your deep insight into this type of stringed instrument🎸 thank you!!

Love your work. Simple and complex at the same time. Lot of meaning, technics and feelings. Perfect balance. And your tones... Thank you.

“Kind of like getting a hug from a Wookie”. Love it! I have the epiphone viola bass and I love its sound just a little tougher to play with the tight string spacing and short scale when moving from a full scale P.

Loving the bass course so far! I’ve never progressed this fast on an instrument

Great video, great editing, cool topic. What a sweet bass/drum track, too!

Thanks for the great video! ❤

I have a 67 epiphone Rivoli two pickup model one of my favorites! Parallel to gibbons EB 2 one pickup I also own. Also phenomenal! Thanks for sharing!

I love the look and sound of that Allen Woody! I use a Hofner CT (with the block) - its pretty great- but I'd love to try a semi-hollow with a 32" scale (like the Warwick). I happen to like the tape wraps a lot, but both sounds you were getting were great.

I played a Rickenbacker 4005 today, it's the sickest bass I've played. It had roundwounds and I normally go for flats but loved it despite that.

I recently got a Hagstrom Viking bass; short scale, and it sounds glorious (although it has serious neck dive). Takes distortion really well, too.

The Tapewound and the Flatwound both sound great... I think the only option is to get a second semi-hollow to have both available!

The nice thing about the Hofner German manufactured basses is that they're light as a feather. Having played in bar bands going back into the 1960's, a Fender solid body bass could really put a hurting on your shoulder midway through the 4th set on a 5-set gig. Their contemporary series have the center block and the German pups and are still pretty light. I used a couple of US made Epiphone Rivolis in the late 1960's-early 1970's. One pickup that sounded a little muddy at times, and a bass/baritone switch that did almost nothing. I now have an Epiphone Allen Woody bass and really like the midrange tones that are available. The short scale basses are much easier to play when you also have to sing. I started playing before roundwounds were even available. Every bass in the 1960's - other than Danelectro -were shipped with flats. I went through a couple of Longhorn basses; again, very lightweight and fun to play, but finding short scale flats was sometimes a challenge, and Dano tuners were not terribly reliable. McCartney and Jamerson played flats, and that's a good enough recommendation for me. Also, if you can find a DeArmond Starfire bass, they're remarkably close to the Guild, and far less expensive. They show up on eBay every now and then. I had a couple of them about 15-16 years ago and really liked them.

Great GREAT grit on the tone in the intro music! I didn't even notice it the first time around. It just sounded very good, which is the whole point

Thanks for this, Philip. My first bass (still have it) is a red DeArmond Starfire II made in Korea 1999 - definitely my poor-man's Guild Starfire! I alternate between D'Addario flats and tapewounds - the tapes have a very upright vibe and feel while the flats are more stiff with a warmer sound to my ear. On your demo, the tapes are a bit more clear to me. My preference leans toward the warmth of the flats, but it all depends on the sound you need. Sometimes clarity wins out over the warm, pillowy sound.

I have one of the Guild Starfire Newark Series built in Korea, which I got as a refurb from Sweetwater. I use it with tapewounds and I love it. Another killer semi-hollow is the Reverend Dub-King.

I do like the smoothness of the flats, but I think I actually prefer the subtle grind and slight EQ shift of the tapes for that bass. Sounds great!

Totally agree with making something if you can’t afford your dream bass. My go to is a P from a Fretwire kit that I took the time to make my own. Last recording engineer I worked with asked my what year my Fender was which was an awesome feeling! I’ve been interested in Eastwood Semi-hollow. Similar to that Guild we all want in style but more affordable

Thank you Phillip

A semi is essential for any serious bass player. Mine is a blond 1974 MIJ Yamaha SA-75, 30.5 inch scale strung with TI jazz flats. Jazz, blues ,rock and acoustic sessions. Amazing bass.

Man I falled in love with Epiphone Jack Casady signature… incredible bass for the price!

One of my favorite bassists, Peter Hook, used a sweet Eccleshall ES-335 style bass with yamaha p pickups... one of my favorites!

Thanks for your video great bass you got there. I’ve been looking into one of these little gems in left handed a RBG Revelation Bass made in the UK

Good video. The semi-hollow bass that always comes to mind for me is the Epiphone Jack Casady bass, but I am an old geezer and a big Hot Tuna fan. Also, I love tape wound bass strings, I have them on both my Ibanez acoustic and my Rouge "Beatle bass". If I use a foam mute and EQ in favor of the lower frequencies, they get me close to the upright bass sound.

I was on Reverb last week and impulse bought a cheap used 32” scale semi hollow with flats on it. Those are all new things for me (except the cheap and used parts). It’s taking a minute to get used to but I think I love it. Been having trouble putting it down!

A little late, but I recently picked up an Ibanez Artcore AFB200 bass from 2007 and I love it. Such an old school thumpy sound. It has flat wounds on it, but thinking about putting some tape wounds on!

That thing sounds amazing! Flatwounds for sure!

Great video as always, Phil!! I've been diggin the semi-hollow vibe for a little while, and I´m completely sold on the Fender Starcaster. Maybe I'll get one someday in the near future, who knows... Personally, I think the flatwounds are the way to go for your bass (or maybe is that I'm too used to hear you playing Flats) Anyway, keep up with the good work. Cheers from the other end of the globe, dude.

Good, informative video - many thanks. The Epiphone Jack Cassidy Bass has a really nice sound - although it's quite a large body. It has the advantage of having a 34" scale length. On Philip's bass, the black tapewound strings have some extra warmth which I really like.

so cool, someone needs to build those

After 30 plus years of playing I was seriously considering purchasing one when all of sudden one fell on my lap via a guitar student’s parent. It’s a red sparkle ‘66 Gibson EB2 that was just collecting dust. Absolutely adore it. Love the neck and feel. More versatile than people give it credit for...great for old school vibes but also nasty with a touch of OD or all out fuzz. Great vid.

I think the Hagstrom Viking Bass looks pretty cool for a good range of hollow tones in videos, but I haven't tried one yet. I played one of the Hagstrom small body ES six string electric guitars (the Alvar) and it was a great guitar. I find the D'Addario Chrome Strings are a great compromise between round wounds and flats. They sound good and punchy with some brilliance, and feel real smooth on your fingertips. I have a set of those Chromes on a 2012 Squier Vintage Modified Jazz Bass V (the five string version of the 1975 Fender Jazz Bass with a natural gloss body and the black rectangular acrylic inlays on blond maple neck), and played it out on some long gigs and thoroughly enjoyed it..

Very interesting video, thank you. I'd love a Guild Starfire II, too. :) And my favorite sound at the end was with flatwounds.

Great video! Semi hollow lover here. I like those tape wounds - the sound is just a little different and I will have to try some out. My two favourite semi hollows at the moment are the Epi Rivoli (bass cut button makes it reallllly warm) and the Duesenberg Star Bass. Both are short scale and both are great fun to play (though not always appropriate tonally).

My semi-hollow is a $100 Davidson that I got second hand. It had some issues and I spent most of a day sorting it out. I junked the no-name pickups and installed an old set of Ibanez that I had laying around, Now it's a tone machine when played through my 66 Ampeg B15- perfect for surf rock or anything 1950/60's.

I really like the Ibanez Artcore basses, both the full hollow body floating bridge AFB200 and the semi hollow AGB200. Both short(-ish) scale, which I love. Really love the look - and price!! - of the Harley Benton HB-60 as well. Regarding the flats vs tapewounds: not a lot in it to my ears, but I think I prefer the flats. I think.

My favorite bass guitar was the Gibson EB2db. A semi-hollow with 2 pickups. It had that big sidewinder pickup at the neck and a mini humbucker at the bridge. It had a baritone switch. It also had a built-in mute pad. It had more tonal variation than any other bass guitar I ever played. I started with flatwound strings but for quite some time played with Rotosound full wound strings. With certain settings it had piano type sounds. When I eventually returned to flat wounds my favorite were Rotosound Trubass strings which I believed were wrapped in black nylon. A great bass sound. BTW, the Epiphone Jack Casady bass is not exactly semi-hollow. There is a center block running from the bridge to the bottom of the instrument. From the bridge to the neck there is no center block. So it is a hybrid of sorts.

I have a 1967 Gibson EB2 335 style bass. LOVE IT!

Great channel

Love the finish on your bass - have you done a video about the refinish?flatwounds sounded best

I had a Candy Apple Red Coronado in the early 70's. It would feedback like crazy, and into a Bassman 50 2x15 it was hard to get any volume or bottom with a full band. That Woody is sweet!

My favorite is the Ibanez ASB140. They aren’t real common, and there was an imbalance in the impedance of the tone circuit, but after addressing that, it is outstanding. It is a 34 inch scale, and with LaBella white tapes, it is pretty fabulous.

My guild starfire 2bass has been my go-to for the past 2 years, plugged in and unplugged as it is loud acoustically obviously, so easy to just pick up and play. And mine has tge split pickup so can dial in a bit more variation. Took me a while to get tge right strings, new rounds, even Nickle sounded too bright and rattled too much, black roto trubasses didn't do much and were too fat, as were roto 77 flats, medium gauge flats were nearly there, but roto half rounds did okay for a few months untill I bought an old squier p bass to fix up, with really old roto steels on and I thought hmm, I shoukd try these strings on my guild...WOW!! It is now awesome , big boomy 60s hollowbody tone but can crank up the tone knob for more high end without any fret rattle or nasty noises as I play hard.👍👍

I use washburn ab90 semihollow. I love it

I’ve got a Gretsch Broadkaster that I love so much. Not perfect for everything but always a treat when it finds the right song. Love the tapewounds on your bass. Keeps the smooth warmth but adds a touch of clarity that I think will punch through the mix quite nicely. Really enjoying your videos, Phillip!

Slight preference for the flats. Your bass sounds great! I have a Hofner Cavern bass and love it.

Danelectro Longhorn bass! Love that design, never played one though.

Ground roundwounds for your strings, best of both worlds

Great video Phillip. Where is that saturation coming from in your tone in the beginning of the video? It’s so delightfully wooly without being aggressive.

Just bought myself a Hofner Club Bass Contemporary Series, as a recent injury had me needing a bass that was easier to manage. I love it. Same pickups as the German Hofner Violin Bass, same control panel (different value pots and knobs), but it has a solid centre block (these are the mid level Hofners). It did need some setting up as the original owner used it straight out of the box, but I am quite impressed with the result.

I bought a Schector Corsair semi-hollow close to a year ago & think it's one of the best, 1 1/2 jazz width graph tech nut, 34 scale thin C profile with 2 carbon reinforcement rods, maple neck & ebony fretboard plus block inlays, pair of EMG TBHZ pickups with active 2 band EQ that include a balance knob for pickups rather then on/off/both, really well made, very cool good looking bass !

Jack Casady signature bass is amazing

I have a Guild Newark Street Starfire reissue I keep strung with flatwounds. Great playing bass with a big fat pillowy tone thats great for most of the rootsy stuff I play. I also have a P/J I keep flatwounds on for stuff requiring a little more punch. But I want another Jazz or a Ric to to run rounds on. I havnt owned that kinda bass in probably 20 years. I played on a demo recently with a borrowed Jazz, roundwounds, and a pick. I really need that sound back in my arsenal.

I have examples of all three types. My Bass vi is solid, my ‘67 EB-2c is semi and my two Hofner Clubs are full hollow. One Hofner has pyramid flats and the other has black tape wounds. All listed basses have flats currently. The difference, to my ears on the Hofner strings is less about sound but feel. I like both.

I’ve enjoyed tapes and off, ever since I first ran into them on an old Burns semi-hollow. La Bella’s sit somewhere between rounds and flats.

You can get a semi-hollow 500/1 if you look into the Hofner contemporary series. They added a tone block and, for my money, they're the best sounding Hofners you can get.

The Allen Woody Rumblekat is fairly dope. I like mine...

I got a Starfire Reissue bass that I love, it came with rounds but sounds way better with flats, I love it for my prog rock kinda stuff. Gretsch makes cool semi hollows too.

My first bass was a Framus Star bass, which I seem to remember was fully hollow. I would often use black tapewounds (I think they were Burns). Looking back, it was awful. Years later I borrowed a Gibson EB2 whilst my own bass--by now a Fender Precision-was being refurbished. Totally different feel to the Fender but I loved it and would have bought it if I could have afforded it! These days I still have a Precision but I have also got a Hofner Ignition Violin bass which is fully hollow like the German version, and is great value at about a quarter of the price.

Eppi EB 232 Kalamazoo made 66 or earlier, taped softer sound, thx for helping some bass players also I think you made good choice

I actually wanted to make the same pickup mod to Allen Woody bass. But place the wooden cover closer to the neck and align DS with the "central" pickup side.

Try Hofner Ignition Club bass. My son's making a copy of one. There's not much to choose between the strings, but Rotosound tapes have the initial 'click' which sharpens things up.

Got here because I recently got aware of the great sound and style of Gov't Mule's Allen Woody. Heard your sound and I got really curious what bass you were playing. What a surprise, it actually is a modified Allen Woody. To be honest, it really sounds better than all clips I heard of the Guuld Starbass or the original Rumble Cat. Surprisinly the tapewounds have more highs than the flats. But both sound absolutely wonderful on your bass. I really think about getting a Rumble Cat and replacing the neck PU with a Darkstar, like you did. Sounds like a perfect match imo. Thanks for the inspiration!

I think I prefer the flats on that bass, but tapewound strings are an absolute TREAT! I've got a set of La Bella tapes on my cheap, Frankenbass fretless J-Bass, and I love 'em! If you haven't already, the Ernie Ball Slinky Flats (their cobalt flatwounds) are a great string to try - the character of roundwounds with the feel and warmth of flatwounds!

Tapewound sounded like it cut through more but lacked bottom end. I liked the tapewound more but both sounded good

If you’re in the market for a semi hollow body bass, but don’t have the $1200 for a Guild Starfire bass, there is an inexpensive alternative. I spotted a Harley Benton HB 60 semi hollow bass on RU-vid. It’s distributed by Thomann in Germany,although it’s made in China. It’s a beautiful instrument that caught my eye, so I watched every video on RU-vid about this axe, and after about a year of deliberation, I ordered one. It took about two weeks to arrive at my house, without a case, but packed very securely. I did some adjustments to fit my personal taste, and tried it out on a gig and was quite surprised at how well it worked! I brought along my Fender Jazz in case I needed to switch. I used the HB60 the whole night! The price?? I purchased mine, shipping and all for less than $325! That was almost a year ago, so it might be a little more. I’ve seen pros and cons about the bass, but I took a chance and it worked out well!

the Rivioli, the bass answer to Riviera, is absolutely to die for

60’s Japanese Conrad semi hollow with tape wounds is my go to.

It's very nice

Damnit, Philip... I'm getting over covid and that wookie line laughed me into a coughing fit. ;-) I owned a semi-hollow bass when I was in college. I still kick myself for getting rid of it (the worst part is I can't remember what I did with it...). I picked it up used in Athens and it played amazing well. A semi-hollow will likely be the next bass I buy now that I have a StingRay. I'm considering either the Ibanez Artcore (to match my artcore guitar) or one of the Harley Benton HB-60s. On the strings, I really like the deep resonant tone that tape wounds give that bass. I'd stick with those on it.

I love an EBO with green flatrounds.

The Hofner 500/1 HCT (Contemporary) it’s Semi Hollow, the other models of 500/1 are hollow, and since I got the HCT it’s amazing and very beautiful bass sound

I own a Danelectro Bass, it's a semihollow bass and it's strung with Fender flats and foam mute. Has a pretty unique tone somewhere between a pbass and Rickenbacker but with it's own character.

My work horse a Washburn AB-90 sound amazing with flatwounds.

The Gibson EB-6, both the ES style semi hollow shape and the solid body SG style one. They're both Gibson's take on a Bass Six, but with PAF humbuckers. Super cool and weird

Epiphone Jack Casady sig... its based of a Gibson LP bass from the early 70's... I have mine strung up w/ Rotosound Jazz 77 Monel flats... sounds like thunder!

I have Hollows and Solids. The biggest problem I have with my hollow body basses is that I am limited as to the type of bridge I can use. I’m very OCD on intonation, and floating bridges can be hard to set up, especially the single bar saddle versions. I have replaced all three that I have, and it was very expensive and hard to match radius and fit. I do love how my hollows can give me cool feedback when I want and they have very cool overtones.

I like the Epiphone Jack Casady bass, though I don't own it. And 'yes' to tapewound strings.

I have a Revelation RBG, which is basically a copy of a Rivoli/EB-2 which totally nails that Jack Bruce tone!

Hey Philip, great video! I have a Yamaha solid P-J bass and a Hofner 500. I think the same design Hofner but with a semi hollow body is the Contemporary model. I have flats on my Hofner and it's similar sounding to your franken-bass. I recently put flats on my Yamaha but now may try tape wounds. On your bass the flats have nice a warm sound and the tapes definitely have that punch you reference. Which is better? As you noted earlier, it would depend upon the song!. Thanks!!

My Hagstrom Viking bass is awesome!

Check out the British built Chowny CHB-2. Great semi hollow similar to the Guild and more affordable

Ibanez Artcore AGB200 and Gretsch Electromatic LSB. I own both and they are both amazing.

The tapewounds sounded a lot brighter and punchier than I expected too, maybe just because they’re new? In this comparison I think preferred the flatwounds since they lean more into that warm wookie hug sound, but maybe the tapewounds will lose some top end after a couple weeks. Definitely check out Tab Martin of The Peddlers if you want to hear some sweet semi-hollow playing. Also if anyone’s looking for that vintage semi-hollow bass vibe without breaking the bank, look at the old Danelectro/Silvertone/Harmony instruments from the 50s and 60s

Great vid. I got back into bass over the pandemic (helped sanity) having taken a break from it for a few years and have been eying an Epiphone Jack Casady. Have you played it? Yay/nay?

The tapes jump out in the mix a little more, which is not generally a sound I associate with semi-hollows. That's a cool option!

On the backstage live finale, did you ever figure out what was causing the feedback with the snorlax bass? It fit the song really well 👍

I have an Ibanez AGB200 with flatwounds. It's a short-scale at 30.3". It's not only beautiful (Violin Burst w/gold hardware) but it sounds great as well, with a variety of tones available. My only critizism is it's a bit on the heavy side.

The Hofner CT / Contemporary series has the center block.

This instrument always reminds me of John Schofield’s record which is called ‘A Gogo’ 😃

Firstly, I wish you'd have played a longer sound sample (like the one on the front of the video), exploring the lower register of the bass. That said, I think the 'tapes' offer a slightly thinner sound than the 'flats', but with some 'spit' on the higher frequencies. I do love that big fat mudbucker. I've been looking at acquiring a short-scale semi-hollow so thanks, your video has inspired me to consider picking up pawn shop bargain and doing some work on it. Hopefully, it'll turn out to have the vibe that yours does.

i have a gretsch short scale i love i also like a semi-hollow bass i like the hoffner to.

Tapes are definitely darker and i like that dark sound.