Comfortable dreadnoughts?

[tubetone74]

I know the bigger guitars are often not as comfortable as the 00, 00, Parlors, etc. but of all the bigger guitars which do you find more comfortable?

[thegazza]

It's a semi-jokey reply but also highlights a great guitar shape. Martin Dread Jr. Hugely impressed with mine.

Gazza

[Gutch]

I tried to get comfortable on standard dreads several times but never could. I found a Taylor GS to be a great compromise for me, until I finally came around to a J45 slope shoulder dread earlier this year. That guitar feels like home in my hands.

[Bax Burgess]

7/8 sized dreads (Martin offers one). For full-sized ones, avoid deep bodies, thinner makes a guitar feel a size smaller - try a 16" archtop to experience what that means.

[ilikeguitar90]

If Gibson sloped shoulders count then that one. I find the Gibson jumbos like the J-200 and even Martin dreadnoughts to be a little too big for my tastes. I also really like the Martin Dreadnought Jr.

[Tone Gopher]

Look for a shallow-body jumbo, such as the Franklin Jumbo, or Bourgeois JOM.

I don’t know of any shallow-bodied dreads.

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by tubetone74

I know the bigger guitars are often not as comfortable as the 00, 00, Parlors, etc. but of all the bigger guitars which do you find more comfortable?

Hi tt

I play both a Dreadnought and mini-jumbo (even wider lower bout). I use a lift (NeckUP) so neither is an issue, and both are comfortable (as is the OM).

I pick guitars by tone, not by how well they fit me. I can adjust how they are held, but the responsiveness, tone, balance, resonance and sustain are what important, not the size of the body.

[tubetone74]

Originally Posted by Gutch

I tried to get comfortable on standard dreads several times but never could. I found a Taylor GS to be a great compromise for me, until I finally came around to a J45 slope shoulder dread earlier this year. That guitar feels like home in my hands.

Thanks Gutch and other comments; I have actually been thinking of the J45 as I have never owned one. I am concerned of the reported inconsistency of this model and many Gibsons. Not much to choose from locally. I'm guessing a dealer that has a lot of them and I could trust to hand pick me a gud un!

[tubetone74]

Originally Posted by ljguitar

Hi tt

I play both a Dreadnought and mini-jumbo (even wider lower bout). I use a lift (NeckUP) so neither is an issue, and both are comfortable (as is the OM).

I pick guitars by tone, not by how well they fit me. I can adjust how they are held, but the responsiveness, tone, balance, resonance and sustain are what important, not the size of the body.

But I'm an old dude w/ physical issues. Comfort is an issue now. I have a few of the other smaller ones I mentioned. Just want that big sound now and as comfortable as I can get it. Maybe I'm asking too much????

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by tubetone74

But I'm an old dude w/ physical issues. Comfort is an issue now. I have a few of the other smaller ones I mentioned. Just want that big sound now and as comfortable as I can get it. Maybe I'm asking too much????

Hi tt

I'm an old dude (69 yrs old) and if your physical issues cannot be rectified after the fact, then you probably will have to compromise on the tone of the guitar in favor of comfort.

The NeckUP lift for me WAS the adjustment I made as I got older so all my guitars continue to be comfortable to play.

[Brucebubs]

Martin 0000/M has 4 1/8" body depth

Martin J-14 fret is the exact same size as the 0000/M but with 4 7/8" body depth (like a dreadnought)

'The panache of an OM
The balance of a 000
The engine of a dreadnought'

[scriv58]

size and depth are not so much of an issue if the guitar is not perched on the right side leg (or left leg for left handers)

[JakeStone]

Originally Posted by tubetone74

I know the bigger guitars are often not as comfortable as the 00, 00, Parlors, etc. but of all the bigger guitars which do you find more comfortable?

Gibson J-45 body shape...It has rounded shoulders on the upper bout and has a slightly narrower waist than a traditional Dread.
TO me it's Very comfortable! (Sounds fantastic too!)

[vindibona1]

My opinion...

Exempting those with real physical issues... IMO POSITION IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN SIZE. Granted, there are some of us fossils who have torn rotator cuffs and other maladies from decades of abuse, but adjusting the position of the guitar often if not usually creates are more comfortable experience.

In my case I have torn rotators in both shoulders and arthritis in both hands, yet I have no issues playing super jumbos or any dreads quite comfortably. What I don't do is plop my guitar on my right knee, articulating my elbow and shoulder into uncomfortable angles, but have the guitar centered on my body, almost as if I had a classical guitart foot rest with the curve of the bout resting on my LEFT knee. Sitting, I'll be forward in the chair with an erect spine and the guitar will be in the same position if I were to stand.

I know that if my guitar is hung too low, particularly standing I can feel it in my back, so I make sure that the strap is adjusted properly. Maybe one day I'll own an OM or a 000, but I doubt that it's because my dreads will be too big for me.

JMO

[rogthefrog]

Originally Posted by tubetone74

I know the bigger guitars are often not as comfortable as the 00, 00, Parlors, etc. but of all the bigger guitars which do you find more comfortable?