Dreadnought Guitars

The dreadnought is what you think of when you think of acoustic guitars. Designed by Martin & Co in 1917, it hasn’t really changed since then.

Dreadnought guitars sound like a canon: they are powerful, commanding guitars. They can be made with any wood, but the key ingredients are the shape, the deep body and the long 25.5” scale length. The most famous dreadnought models are the D-28 from Martin and the Hummingbird from Gibson. There is also a variant size called the slope-shoulder dreadnought which has a curvier shape, short scale length, and a slightly softer sound. The most famous slope-shoulder dreadnought is the Gibson J-45.

While you can fingerpick happily on a dreadnought guitar, they come alive when strumming with a pick. Because of this, they have become the archetypical songwriters guitar.

Why should I choose a dreadnought guitar?