Live cab good when recording!

I know some of us have talked about how you really can't tell the difference between a semi hollow body (335) and a solid body (LesPaul) when plugged in direct, so what is the purpose of a 335 besides looks? I have found at least one instance. Lately I record with studio monitors at a pretty low volume. Last night I went back to my "old way" and used a live cab for monitoring and recorded main outs using my killer 335. (sings beautiful feedback notes easily) The sustain and overall sound recorded was greatly improved, as the loud cab was offering up controlled feedback and overtones that were a boon, really reacting more like amp in the room/mic setups I've been used to for years. Not sure that turning up the studio monitors would have the same effect as guitar cabs are rolled off and react differently as well as much more durable, My monitors for sure would go up in smoke with the big low feedback notes I was able to get that way. Does anybody else do this? If not I recommend trying it.

Quote from Crispy Panther

Quote: “what is the purpose of a 335 besides looks?”

It is an instrument that signals and facilitates a point of transition.

Most players of that era used large, hollow bodied, cello guitars, and solid body guitars were the new kid on the block.

After a short while Gibson stopped making Les Pauls completely, because no one wanted them and very few of any musical significance, were playing them.

The thinline 335 was more sculpted to fit the human body than a traditional cello guitar and more comfortable to hold. Its neck set angle superior, whereas early Les Pauls had their neck set completely incorrectly and it took a while to sort that out. With its interior solid block, the 335 eliminated typical feed-back problems associated with earlier cello designs.

People tend to buy the type of guitar played by the artists they most admire, (which is quite the wrong way to chose a guitar), but that’s what they do and probably everybody here is guilty of that phenomenon. So at a time when large and deep bodied cellos were the main electric instrument performed with, the 335 combines the luthier skills required of a hollow body, retaining skilled workers, and had all the advantages of a solid body instrument, but that was easier and more comfortable to hold. It was a better evolved but traditional design, and one of the few very best ever conceived.

If you will forgive some history, a good way to think about this is to reflect on big bands and popular orchestras during the first half of the last century.

Guitars were not used at all. They couldn’t compete acoustically. Banjos were the rhythms instrument of choice because their sharp tone was able to cut through the orchestra.

Certain instruments have tonal characteristics that belie their size and are able to cut through a full orchestra playing “Tutti”. A tambourine is one, a triangle another, and the banjo has a little of that edge.

When larger bodied cello guitars with improved acoustics were finally introduced into big bands and popular orchestras, the two bottom strings were omitted, because those pitches still couldn’t cut through and be heard.

This made them easy to play for banjo players used to only four strings, and the necks on guitars were set into the instruments body was moved, usually to the 14^th fret from the traditional 12^th fret, as banjo players were used to a longer neck with easier facility higher up the scale.

So, the cello guitars of that period were four stringed instruments, and Gibson a leading maker of them. Later, exceptionally large cello guitars with superior acoustic projection were developed and six stringed instruments were used in small bands and orchestras just as P.A. systems developed used mainly for singers.

Eventually, the electric guitar pickup was developed, which when coupled with an amplifier was capable of boosting the instruments tonal projection, enabling it to compete with trumpets etc.

So above is described an era of musical transition for banjo-guitar like instruments.

But the 335 sits as a perfect example of the culmination and combination of instrument building skills and a pinnacle of evolutionary design in a later era of transition beyond the world of banjos, four stringed cello guitars and immensely large bodied instruments made for additional acoustic projection.

Lots more could be written about this, but I have a busy day today.

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I'll agree many players wanted to emulate their heroes with a guitar type for sure. Ted Nugent for one. Even Alex Lifeson's 335 & later 355 were bought because of who he'd admired. But to the question:"what is the purpose of a 335 besides looks". My point is, with direct recording, and not using a speaker/volume in the room physically affecting the guitar, There really isn't a outstanding thing that makes you say that it is a "hollowbody" sound. I could play you my LP custom or my 335 in a blind test and you can't hear any "hollowness" in either. See, I used to think the sounds on Kansas Masque and Leftoverture were great mostly because Kelly played a 335 and Rush, Ted Nugent made me decide I needed a hollowbody. Now I realize I can get similar sounds from any guitar using doubling delays and notch EQ to get those personally sought after "hollow" sounds.

My first post was me going back and finding when using a 335 in a "live" loud room, the guitar type makes a much bigger influence on the feel/tone than it does sitting in front of a computer and studio monitors. So in that case a 335 DOES matter!

Quote from Finally

I usually record lead parts with the Kab pointed right at the front of the guitar for just this reason. Everything feels fatter and more alive due to that interplay.

Exactly. You just have to get used to what goes on "tape" being a little different but it's no different than when I was in studios with headphones in a live room and the playback would always be a bit different. I agree that may not be the best situation, and ideally you'd like to have the monitor sound match the recording, IMO it's more important to create that feel to get inspiration to do your best and any little difference in EQ you might have missed because of the live cab in the room bleeding can be made up later.