hey,
so i know the real differences between dreads and jumbo's, seeing as i play a jumbo myself (guild). people automatically assume that given it's size the jumbo has a fuller and often warmer tone. this assumption however is wrong. the massive difference between a jumbo and the rest is the wood. typical dreads are made from sitka spruce (top) or cedar (top) and rosewood or mahogany (sapele in taylors/larrivees etc.) these woods give them different tones, the cedar top being a softer wood than the spruce so it will have a slight warmth to it. the back and sides are the huge difference maker however, mahogany, although quite heavy which is its downfall to some, has a very warm tone, for instance as far as i know jason mraz plays a guitar with mahogany sides for his recordings. rosewood is lighter and produces a sharper tone. however both of these woods increase in warmth and body with the increase of size.
Jumbo's are made of maple. this sets them completely apart from really all other acoustic guitars. and the average jumbo has much more high end than low, however i got lucky haha and found a guild that seems to have highs and a good balance of lows to go with it. maple is an extremely light hardwood, so it produces a very good picking tone and also gives good strumming tone but depending on the depth of the body it could be better for one or the other.
a dreadnought is never really a bad choice, they seem to be the standard for all guitar players as they're the most common. auditorium's are a great guitar that come with the option of either rosewood or mahogany back and sides, they're not too big, not typically too heavy, and so they work well for everyone it seems. a common example of this is a Taylor 314-ce, a very common higher end guitar (not in terms of taylors but in comparison to most guitars yes). i have loved jumbo's since i started playing guitar. i am dominantly an electric guitarist but something about a jumbo just got me, haha similar to many other people. if you know stevie ray vaughan then you may remark that my name is "theskyiscrying" making the point that i am a fan of him, and also heavily influenced by him. Stevie played a 12 string guild jumbo, if you'd like to see this in action check out mtv unplugged srv. oddly enough i didn't realize he played a guild until after i'd already gotten mine, if you want a good jumbo these days it seems that gibson is the only common option in front of you, easy to find. but do i want to drop 5 grand for a gibson sj? no sir. i thought i'd look at guild seeing as they've made quite possibly the best jumbo's of any company for more than 50 years, and found that i could get a solid AAAA grade maple jumbo for under 2 thousand. when i played it in comparison to the gibson, it BLEW IT AWAY.
if you're going to purchase another guitar or at least have it on your mind, i'd say you really need to try them out, some of everything, and check out the different woods all over the body, that'll help you find your sound. and as big as they are, i have no comfort issues playing my jumbo standing or sitting. granted i am also over 6 feet tall so if you're on the smaller side it may not do the same for you.
oh, and a last issue that you should always keep in mind, make sure the guitar you're looking at has a neck that you like. because a different body size is much easier to get used to then carpel tunnel because the neck does not cooperate with your hand. i for instance have discomfort playing taylor's and seagull's, as i find their necks very C shaped, and well, quite thick. the guild necks however actually remind me of my gibson les paul, so the transition is nice, and the neck is very comfortable for me to play.
haha when you're a 17 year-old with a part time job buying expensive guitars, you do your research. haha so i guess i've just got a bunch of this info on deck to help anyone else that may need it. let me know if you have any questions i might be able to help out with, i've got opinions on just about every steel-string acoustic and any electric, and unlike many people i'm not going to say my way's the only way. because that's just stupid haha. my preferences are gibson and guild, but i actually really do like playing a strat or a tele, and well, i played a prs custom 22 that blew my mind, but when i play my les paul or my jumbo nothing touches it. well my es-335 borders on them haha but still.
anyways, i hope you can find some help somewhere in all that, anyone who may read this.
thanks
nick
so i know the real differences between dreads and jumbo's, seeing as i play a jumbo myself (guild). people automatically assume that given it's size the jumbo has a fuller and often warmer tone. this assumption however is wrong. the massive difference between a jumbo and the rest is the wood. typical dreads are made from sitka spruce (top) or cedar (top) and rosewood or mahogany (sapele in taylors/larrivees etc.) these woods give them different tones, the cedar top being a softer wood than the spruce so it will have a slight warmth to it. the back and sides are the huge difference maker however, mahogany, although quite heavy which is its downfall to some, has a very warm tone, for instance as far as i know jason mraz plays a guitar with mahogany sides for his recordings. rosewood is lighter and produces a sharper tone. however both of these woods increase in warmth and body with the increase of size.
Jumbo's are made of maple. this sets them completely apart from really all other acoustic guitars. and the average jumbo has much more high end than low, however i got lucky haha and found a guild that seems to have highs and a good balance of lows to go with it. maple is an extremely light hardwood, so it produces a very good picking tone and also gives good strumming tone but depending on the depth of the body it could be better for one or the other.
a dreadnought is never really a bad choice, they seem to be the standard for all guitar players as they're the most common. auditorium's are a great guitar that come with the option of either rosewood or mahogany back and sides, they're not too big, not typically too heavy, and so they work well for everyone it seems. a common example of this is a Taylor 314-ce, a very common higher end guitar (not in terms of taylors but in comparison to most guitars yes). i have loved jumbo's since i started playing guitar. i am dominantly an electric guitarist but something about a jumbo just got me, haha similar to many other people. if you know stevie ray vaughan then you may remark that my name is "theskyiscrying" making the point that i am a fan of him, and also heavily influenced by him. Stevie played a 12 string guild jumbo, if you'd like to see this in action check out mtv unplugged srv. oddly enough i didn't realize he played a guild until after i'd already gotten mine, if you want a good jumbo these days it seems that gibson is the only common option in front of you, easy to find. but do i want to drop 5 grand for a gibson sj? no sir. i thought i'd look at guild seeing as they've made quite possibly the best jumbo's of any company for more than 50 years, and found that i could get a solid AAAA grade maple jumbo for under 2 thousand. when i played it in comparison to the gibson, it BLEW IT AWAY.
if you're going to purchase another guitar or at least have it on your mind, i'd say you really need to try them out, some of everything, and check out the different woods all over the body, that'll help you find your sound. and as big as they are, i have no comfort issues playing my jumbo standing or sitting. granted i am also over 6 feet tall so if you're on the smaller side it may not do the same for you.
oh, and a last issue that you should always keep in mind, make sure the guitar you're looking at has a neck that you like. because a different body size is much easier to get used to then carpel tunnel because the neck does not cooperate with your hand. i for instance have discomfort playing taylor's and seagull's, as i find their necks very C shaped, and well, quite thick. the guild necks however actually remind me of my gibson les paul, so the transition is nice, and the neck is very comfortable for me to play.
haha when you're a 17 year-old with a part time job buying expensive guitars, you do your research. haha so i guess i've just got a bunch of this info on deck to help anyone else that may need it. let me know if you have any questions i might be able to help out with, i've got opinions on just about every steel-string acoustic and any electric, and unlike many people i'm not going to say my way's the only way. because that's just stupid haha. my preferences are gibson and guild, but i actually really do like playing a strat or a tele, and well, i played a prs custom 22 that blew my mind, but when i play my les paul or my jumbo nothing touches it. well my es-335 borders on them haha but still.
anyways, i hope you can find some help somewhere in all that, anyone who may read this.
thanks
nick