Dreadnaught fatigue: do you grow to appreciate smaller bodies?

[geetaruke]

I went the other way. Because I’m a smaller person with smaller hands, all my research led me to believe that smaller guitars would be more comfortable, and more important for me at the time when I was a beginner, more easy to handle. I didn’t even touch a dread for a good 3-4 years after starting to play. When I did happen to strum a dread for the first time, I was taken by the fullness of the sound. I sat down with it, and it felt different, but by no means uncomfortable. I didn’t buy one, but borrowed one from my brother, figuring that this fatigue or uncomfort comes after hours of continuous play. Never happened. I still have a concert size guitar, but I barely touch it. I’ve been 90% dread for quite a while now.

[Emil]

Sometimes it takes weeks before i bring out the D28 but whenever i do i realize why i love it.
For me it comes in periods. I get into a mood where i just play fingerstyle and then the small body is all i need. I love the balance, projection, string seperation etc.
Then i pick up the dread and a pick and start strumming and gets blown away by the low end, the volume and joy of strumming. And suddenly im stuck in the dread phase again.

[Deliberate1]

Thanks to the OP for raising this issue, one that I have been thinking about, though from a different perspective.
Two years ago this month I bought my first guitar and started down a new musical path. I had no idea what to buy until an acquaintance suggested that I look at Larrivee guitars. Eventually, I bought a 000 40RE custom that was originally made for a Larrivee-sponsored artist. It was a very good choice. In the past two years, a Froggy Bottom H-12 and H&D 000 came into my life. All these 12 frets feel very good in the hand, and I never felt that my progress was in any way inhibited by the size or characteristics of any of them. Then I bought a Bourgeois 12 fret Slope D. Size does matter, at least somewhat. I do find it more awkward to play, either because of the size or just the dynamics of this guitar. I am seriously considering parting with it, but cannot decide if I should try another dread, or just stick with a smaller box. I have never played another dread. No question but that the robust noise that Bourgeois makes is addictive, but the FB H12 is nearly as loud. Moreover, I took up guitar when I started writing and singing songs. I find that the Bourgeois is just overpowering for that task, as, I assume, most dreads would be. So, I may just go smaller. Been looking at some lovely 00's from Ostoff and Circa, and maybe an LG2 from Gibson. With apologies in advance for treading into hijack territory, is there as much "difference" between a 000 and 00 as there is between a 000 and dread.
David

[DWKitt]

Originally Posted by geetaruke

I went the other way. Because I’m a smaller person with smaller hands, all my research led me to believe that smaller guitars would be more comfortable, and more important for me at the time when I was a beginner, more easy to handle. I didn’t even touch a dread for a good 3-4 years after starting to play. When I did happen to strum a dread for the first time, I was taken by the fullness of the sound. I sat down with it, and it felt different, but by no means uncomfortable. I didn’t buy one, but borrowed one from my brother, figuring that this fatigue or uncomfort comes after hours of continuous play. Never happened. I still have a concert size guitar, but I barely touch it. I’ve been 90% dread for quite a while now.

+1 on this ^. I also am of a smaller stature and likewise own both a concert size and a dread. I've never had any problems with the dread despite my small hands and short fingers. Never uncomfortable or awkward. In fact I find it to be an easier fit to my body size than the concert. I completely get what you mean by the fullness of the sound. It's amazing. I do like and play my concert bodied guitar, but I would say the ratio of my playing time is about 80/20 in favor of the dread. I just love the sound of it. It 'resonates' with me.

[jaymarsch]

I have owned and played all different sizes over the years and have a deep body grand concert as one of my main guitars. But, I did want to see how close I could get to a dread-kind of sound in a smaller package. Sparky Kramer recently made me one of his Prairie Grass models which is a slightly scaled-down slope shoulder shape. It has met my need for much of what a dread brings to the table in a more comfortable shape for me and my ergonomic needs.

There are lots of good choices out there in terms of body shapes and some wonderful luthiers who are doing amazing things to dial in what a player wants and needs. And things like a Neck Up or playing with a strap or a different guitar chair have helped people adjust to continuing to play the large guitars that they love in good health.

Best,
Jayne

[Sponserv]

Count me among the ones that are small in stature and relatively new to guitar. I never thought I could play a dreadnought and have lots of smaller guitars. But lately I have had a hankering for giving a dreadnought a try. I need to borrow one from a friend and give it a few weeks to see if my shoulder barks at me.

[bufflehead]

I keep thinking that the pandemic has put a nail in the coffin of my gigging, and therefore why would I still need a dread? And then I pick up the dread, strum a chord or two and realize that the other guitars just don't match it in terms of depth and fullness. So I keep keeping it for yet another year even though I'm playing it less and less.

[The Watchman]

Like others, I got my Martin dread in the late '70s because thats what my guitar heroes played. Then bought a CEO-7 on a whim a couple of years ago, and realized that that was the right-sized guitar for me and had I got a similar sized guitar at first, I would have become a much better player. I'd get rid of the D-18, but its an old friend now.

[Rudy4]

The conversion started for me many years ago when I happened to see an almost new Larrivee L-05 with case in our local paper for $500. An hour later it was home with me.

That pretty much sealed my former love for dreads. A severe collarbone injury a few years back sewed up the loose ends after getting a smaller guitar to use temporarily until my shoulder healed.

In that year I realized that small bodies were what I truly loved. My last acquisition was a 00 all hog slot head made here in my shop. It truly excites me every time I pick it up.

Another huge plus for me is that this guitar sounds so good through the K&K Pure Mini I installed in it. The recordings sound good enough that I rarely pull out a mic for doing recordings and videos.

Here's a recent video using only the K&K.

[Vognell]

Still like dreadnaughts, but I spend most of my time on a 000 (Yamaha FSX-5, Yamaha LS-TA, or Orangewood Oliver).... but it depends on my mood.

[6L6]

I tried some smaller than dread bodies, but it was a "NO-GO" for me. Hated the "boxiness" of smaller bodies.

Only a dread makes the sound my ears demand and that's all I'll be playing from here to the finish line.

[Silurian]

I stared losing interest in dreadnoughts when I stopped playing with a pick. Fingers only, whether picking or strumming, work best for me on smaller guitars.

[RP]

I guess I'm bucking the trend, but at 70 I've come to increasingly appreciate my dread....

[rllink]

I understand people liking this or liking that and I respect it. But I don't know how the dreadnaught got to the top of the mountain. I only even think about them because a dreadnaught thread shows up every week. But people seem to have to justify playing something other than a dread and I don't get it.

[fregly]

I find them boomy, slow and inarticulate relative to smaller guitars.