I don't get it. why would anyone want a small body acoustic?

[brianmay]

Okay. Thanks for that.

[dadio917]

Having given my dreadnaught to my son in favor of my "small body" stable I agree with all the other reasons stated, but I'll give another:

Acquired my Rainsong parlor as a boat guitar, coastal and blue water sailing. Easy to hold propped in a bouncy cockpit and sounds wonderful on those stunning moonlit nights while on watch, and small and light in a gig bag for a dinghy trip from our anchored vessel to a beutiful secluded beach.

What I didn't figure was how great it sounds and feels back on land.

[stephenT]

Yes, my reply was just as silly as the original post. That's allowed here, right?

Originally Posted by mcduffnw

OK, I'll bite back.

Michael Hedges...Martin D-28

Pierre Bensusan...Lowden Jumbo..."The Old Lady"

Ed Gerhard...Ervin Somogyi "Non" Modified Dreadnaught, Breedlove Ed Gerhard Signature Jumbo and Dreadnaughts, Breedlove J-25 12 string Jumbo

Leo Kottke...Taylor LKSM 6 and 12 string Jumbo

Andy McKee...Greenfield G4 jumbo.

Are those guys refined enough for ya...{;-)


duff
Be A Player...Not A Polisher

[pieterh]

Originally Posted by Mike McLenison

Ok, I love the big sound, the dreadnought Martin growl. But a smaller acoustic for a smaller sound? Why spend thousands on a smaller sounding guitar?

A smaller acoustic doesn’t always equate with a smaller sound. Since discovering the joys of OM guitars I would say they hold their own against my larger acoustics.

Larger guitars are often harder to mic up both live and in the studio. Any guitar needs to sit in the right place sonically, for me my OMs do it without any effort.

[Mrbirdog]

Originally Posted by J-Doug

Don't post while drunk, dude...

Trudat !!

its ok to think about it ....but just don't do it.......

[Mr Picky]

Originally Posted by Mike McLenison

Ok, I love the big sound, the dreadnought Martin growl. But a smaller acoustic for a smaller sound? Why spend thousands on a smaller sounding guitar?

Couldn't agree more, some people even play a small guitar with a capo and no pick! What are they thinking??

Much better to get the loudest Martin dread you can, stick 13's on it, tune it down to D and play it as hard as you can with a really thick pick. Works for every style I would imagine....

[hushnel]

Sorry I haven’t been around for quite a while, distracted life and all that. I live in Dreadnought country now. I’ve been a bass player since 1963. My first acoustic guitar was a Yamaha with the dread body style. I just needed an acoustic guitar and really had no clue back in the early 70s when I purchased it.

One of my pet peeves is the amount of bass in a mix. In general I think it’s over bearing in most cases, pushed to the point were it’s just too far forward. This is what I hear when a Dread is played. In my case it’s almost distracting. Some time in the early 80s I picked up a Yamaha Classical guitar, thinking about an acoustic for the sail boat. The balance of the tone, the correctness of the strings voicing was inspirational. This was not a top end instrument, still perfect for my purpose. Since then I’ve acquired a couple acoustics guitars including 00-15, 000-15S both made before Martin started using the Sapele, I certainly enjoy the fine balance of tone these instruments have. Do to partial paralysis of my right arm strumming is not possible and have been finger picking only since the late 70s.

My most recent 6 string is the Yamaha CSF1M Compact Folk, I wasn’t looking to buy a new guitar but this one was so balanced to my senses that I couldn’t pass it up, they took my Little LXK2 as a trade in. I never bonded with the HPL Martin. I’m usually ambushed by guitars never actively searching for them.

I’d like to try one of the Cordoba C10 Parlor guitars to see how they sound. I do like the wider nut spacing of classical style guitars but it’s never been a deal breaker for me..

[otis66]

1)Like everthing else you get tired of playing the same type of guitar over and over
2)not everyone likes a Drednaught or Jumbo guitar
3) with all of the new pickups and sound systems a large guitar is not necessary
4) some folks just like small body guitars
5) it takes less wood to make a smaller guitar and guitar resources are getting scarce.

[TomB'sox]

Originally Posted by mcduffnw

I guarantee you that even as truly great sounding as your OO's and OM's may be...I take you at your word on that {;-)...they will NOT blow my Jumbo's and OOOO out of the water in any respect tonally, and you will never get the bass response out of your OO's and OM's that I can get from my J's and OOOO.

Also...if a person has any decent technique/control/sensitivity with their picking hand, they can easily control the bass response/output on a dread, OOOO, or Jumbo, and keep it in balance to the rest of the strings...or not...as needed.

We rarely see threads out here asking "how do I get less bass and more mid's and trebles out of my dread, OOOO, or jumbo", compared to how many, and how often, we see threads asking "how can I get more bass out of my OO, OOO, OM"

I agree with you that large body guitars are not inherently superior to small body guitars...other than absolute bass output/response...but neither are they inferior in any other respect either.


duff
Be A Player...Not A Polisher

Sorry for not being clear, by blow you out of the water, I meant in the sound, not small at all, not a direct competition of an OO or OM against someone's Jumbo. I meant if the OP thinks an OM has a small sound, he would be amazed at mine or many others I am sure.

[jeanray1113]

Isn’t this kind of like saying why would anyone eat vanilla ice cream when they could eat chocolate? We all have different tastes in what we like. Guitars, like ice cream, come in many “flavors,” if you will. Size, shape, tone wood, bracing, neck width, etc all make for nuances in tone and comfort. And comfort is not to be underrated. Some of us just aren’t physically comfortable with big guitars, and no matter how good it sounds, how much is an uncomfortable guitar going to get played? Just take a look at the classified section and see how many guitars are up for sale because the owner can’t comfortably play them. I’m not sure why someone asks a question like this. They’re basically saying that just because they like something best, in this case, dreadnaught guitars, that said object IS best. There are no best guitars, just like there is no best ice cream flavor.

[leehop71]

For me, it’s age and health reasons, but this beast below does not give up any sound quality and volume because of its size:


https://www.martinguitar.com/guitars...s-black-smoke/

[bufflehead]

For bluegrass, I wouldn't think of showing up with anything other than a dread. However, I sometimes sit in with an old-time band, and they'd prefer me to bring the 000. It's all about the blend at that point, and the guitar is seen more as a rhythm instrument in the background, not to compete with mandos or violins playing leads.

I mostly play folk, and with multiple guitars the voices can be drowned out if they're all dreads. For a lot of people the solution here is to mike the voices, but I like singing in situations where even the voices are not amplified. This is easier to do with a trio of 00 or 000 guitars.

[RussL30]

Watching things like this showed me that small bodies can be great strummers and full of tone.

[seannx]

Have you played any? That may help you understand.
I'm used to 00 and OM sized guitars now, they fit my body better, and now my VAD-2 dread just feels way too big.

[Brucebubs]

I have jumbo ears.