aja wrote
I would like to see what you think of my acoustic next time then. In any case I have always found the Jumbo sizes to be a little loose on the bass if you know what I mean. I prefer a tight sound.
Well I think there's something to that. Lowden's original shape (their "O" series) is on the big side, though smaller than, say, a Gibson jumbo, and they produced a smaller "F" series aimed at finger pickers. They describe the sound as more "focused". In the Martin range the guitars aimed at finger pickers are the 000s, the 00s and especially the OM (same body as the 000, but a slightly longer, slightly wider neck) - all actually far smaller than a jumbo (I don't think Martin make such a beast) and, I would think, than a dreadnought.
The dreadnought was designed (by Martin) to offer more volume and projection, but the side effect of that is an increase in the mid range. I don't know enough about guitar design to be emphatic about this, but I suspect that this comes about because the "waist" of the body is reduced in emphasis.
It is a horse for courses issue though, and I hope I put enough qualifiers along the lines of "for me" and "to my ear".
However, I agree that nothing compares to the beautiful resonant type sounds the big bodied guitars can produce. The only problem is that there seems to be that issue of finding that guitar with the tone you want to get, where the dreadnoughts seem to be a little more neutral.
But there are options other than a dreadnought and a jumbo. Look at the Larrivee range with dreadnoughts, orchestra models and a sort of inbetween shape that I think originated with Larrivee and which they sale as the "L" style. Nothing bigger than a dreadnought, but still there's some sonic interest there. With,
for me the dreadnought being the least interesting of the lot (but also the loudest. On the shopping exhibition that ended with me buying the Morgan I got my mitts on a Larrivee dreadnought and just about jumped when I played that and heard the volume).
IIRC Jumbos also came about (pioneered by Gibson) in an attempt to find more volume for guitarists. They also present a large canvas for bling for those who like that kind of thing - engraved pickguards and so on. So that may be part of the appeal (that and the Everley Brothers and Elvis).
I'd agree that they can be boomy.
Good dreadnoughts from good manufacturers can be fine guitars, but I always find the alternate body styles on offer to be more interesting. See my comments about the Larrivee range. For Takamine and Taylor it's the more curvaceous body styles that I find more interesting - more character and interest in the overtones. I might like a Martin D28, but I'll like an OM a bit more. Generally if I'm sitting at Andy's Acoustic Forum or at TJs listening to a range of acoustic guitars for an evening I usually find the Dreadnoughts to sound the least interesting (but if the toss up is between an interesting player with a dreadnought and a very average player with a beautiful sounding OM then the former will win out).
Bluegrass flat pickers nearly always go for dreadnoughts. So it may be that they work well for specific styles and in certain circumstances, and that may be the case for other designs as well. That said I think my Morgan OM is a very, very good all round guitar, excellent for finger style (and maybe optimised for such playing) but also works well for flat picking and strumming. Big M (as he's known on this forum) has a limited edition Larrivee with an "L" body and that is just a marvellous instrument with a rich sound, well balanced and focussed and very versatile.
Music stores tend to have lots of dreadnoughts, so other body styles may get overlooked.
But don't let me put anybody off. Including me! Some of my favourite players used a dreadnought some or most of the time - Stephen Stills, Nick Drake, John Martyn.
