What is the attraction to small acoustic guitars?

[dneal]

I’ve always been attracted to smaller guitars. I wanted to learn stuff like Triumph’s “Petit Etude”. I loved that sound and style, so I started playing on a classical. I liked the body shape, 12 fret neck, and tonal balance. I always wondered why they didn’t make steel string versions of a guitar with these characteristics. This was the Midwest, pre-Clapton “unplugged”, and complete ignorance of any steel string shape other than a dreadnought.

OM’s started becoming popular after Clapton’s MTV performance, and I remember a custom Larrivee (these were pretty exotic in the early 90’s) that was a smaller 00-ish body. The search began.

I’ve tried and owned a bunch of small bodied guitars along the way, always searching for one that had the full, balanced tone of a classical. I discovered that most makers didn’t (or couldn’t) build one. That’s still the case in a lot of circumstances. Anemic bass and prominent mids making a “boxy” sound is still common.

In the early 2000’s, when Froggy Bottom guitars were featured in magazine articles; I was intrigued. I thought it was marketing and “bling” (with the scrimshaw heelcaps, etc...). Several years later, while stationed in Germany, I found a dealer (the only European dealer at the time). I made the 2 hr drive and played 1/2 a dozen. I was blown away at what was possible, and not just from small guitars. My “guitar education” expanded.

Smaller guitars are much more plentiful now, as are the poor examples. A few do it right, and almost 30 years later I finally have the guitar I was looking for from the start.

[roylor4]

If you were under 5'6" with 17 inch arms and a 50+ inch chest you wouldn't want to play a dread - not seated anyways. Beyond uncomfortable.

[egordon99]

They are more comfortable for smaller folks like me and there is more to guitar tone than just volume.

[rllink]

I was playing my wife's old dreadnaught that her parents bought for her in high school back in the seventies and I found it in their basement. I played it a while, but I was just fighting it all of the time. I was fighting it to play it, it wasn't comfortable, I was banging it in the doors and the furniture when I took it out on the deck or into my office, I was fighting it every time I wanted to go somewhere and take it with me. It was just a battle. So I have three long time friends who are long time guitar players and I count on them for advise and guidence. One said to stick with the dreadnought and be a man. The other two said I would be much happier all around with a GS Mini. I finally broke down and bought a Mini and I find it so less of a struggle. As far as tone, I'm not looking for a specific tone and the Mini sounds really good in its own right, it is quite versatile over a variety of genres, and really works with my singing voice. That is the attraction for me. I'm a much happier guitar player now.

By the way, I'm a big boy, six one and two hundred pounds, so it isn't just smaller players who like them.

[Bob Womack]

As Wade said, it is horses for courses. Each size has its attractions.


Bob

[Fresh1985]

+1, every point wade made here was spot on.

Dreads definately have the upper hand for aggressive styles of play like bluegrass and heavy strumming IMO, but if you have a lighter touch you can get an incredibly sweet, full and balanced tone from a good small body acoustic.

Horses for courses.

Originally Posted by Wade Hampton

There are a number of advantages to smaller guitars, both ergonomically and tonally. Because they’re smaller they’re generally more comfortable to play than dreadnoughts, and with their smaller tops they tend to be more touch-sensitive.

They tend to be more tonally balanced, as well, with a more even tone and equal amounts of bass, midrange and treble. That evenness means that the bass response doesn’t overwhelm the mids and trebles, which is helpful when you’re playing up the neck. Because they have less acreage to the top they’re generally more responsive, and that means that a lighter touch can be used when playing them.

Last but not least, they‘re generally much easier to mic and get a good stage sound from. Like a lot of players, when I first started gigging out and getting paid to perform I had a dreadnought, and it was always a bit of a challenge to get a good stage sound out of it - almost invariably some of the bass response had to be rolled off in order to avoid feedback.

But once I started using a Triple O onstage, all those problems ceased. I could tell the folks running the PA to just run it flat, without having to boost or diminish any of the frequencies.

One of the reasons why dreadnoughts are the most popular and common type of steel string acoustic guitars is that they’re very user-friendly: you don’t need ANY right hand technique to get a rich sound from them. Smaller guitars, on the other hand, require some skill and some serious practice playing them to get the optimum tone out of them.

Which is why folks who are used to dreadnoughts and never really played any other acoustic guitars will often pick up smaller guitars and get nothing but a thin, tinny tone out of them. It’s not the fault of the guitar, it’s just that they require some getting used to in a way that dreadnoughts do not.

But once you get used to them it’s quite musically rewarding. There’s all kinds of tone that can be pulled out of them once you’ve played them for a while.

Hope that makes sense.


Wade Hampton Miller

[Rudy4]

If I don't count my first guitar (a beginner Kay my mom got me for 2 books of S&H green stamps...) then my first acoustic was a garbage-picked Epiphone Triumph from the late 30's. Each acoustic I've owned since then has been generally smaller.

Why have I followed that general progression? Two reasons.

I've been playing for 55+ years and (1) my tastes have changed, and (2) my body has changed. In the past 7 years I've been "downsizing" due initially to a severe collarbone injury and from the realization that the subsequent smaller bodied guitars were not only much easier to play, but they simply sounded better to me.

My latest is an all mahogany deep bodied size 0 slot head 14 fret with arm bevel that surprised even myself with how comfortable it is and the volume and depth of tone that it produces. My Taylor 322 has languished in it's case since the new one came out of my shop.

https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...d.php?t=579732

[Pickcity]

Barring injury or aging, or both, I think a player's primary style(s) will have much to do with guitar choice. I play different things with different sized guitars. Always have. In the end, though, I can do it all (that I play) on a dread, and I will play them most of the time. For me they are the most versatile, but again, it comes down to styles. I would not expect a classical concerto player to have a need for a D-28, etc...

None of the above changes the fact that I do love some of the smaller body guitars. I played a Gibson L-130 as my primary guitar for 10 years, and an OM sized Taylor for almost 10 years. I would like to have an L-00 or a 00-28 as well. Or both!

[J Patrick]

....I have come to the point in my life where I mostly play by myself and my audience...when I have one...is usually my wife, my dog and whatever local wildlife happens to be within earshot...so I just a prefer a quieter guitar most of the time...volume is not a priority but great tone is...

....In general....you have to invest in quality to get great tone with a smaller guitar but there are terrific sounding small guitars being made by many builders...

[jpd]

Originally Posted by Kerbie

Big guitars tend to be louder, but I much prefer the focus, balance, note separation and clarity that comes from a wonderful 00 or 0. I don't need to drown out a banjo, so for me, it's a no-brainer. Nothing worse than a muddy sound where notes are indistinguishable.

This .....

[Music-N-Yarn]

What is my attraction to a small body guitar? Comfort! I am short, not as young as I once was, and smarter about what I am willing to fight for, when given a choice.

My cheap, small body guitar fits my short self nicely. It does not aggravate age related health problems. Learning how to play a new instrument is a big enough challenge, for me. Learn to play on a guitar that will always be uncomfortable to me? I have better things to do with my time and energy. What is best for me, might not be for anyone else.

[reeve21]

I have 2 dreads, 3 OM's and one 00. I was a two guitar (dreads) guy before joining AGF but that's another story

I like them all.

I definitively prefer the smaller guitars for finger style, they seem more responsive to a lighter touch.

[Blueser100]

Originally Posted by Mike McLenison

I've always been of the mind-set that biggest is harmonically-rich better. Well, at least with the legendary brands like Martin or Gibson. You can back off on volume with how hard you pick. What say hue?

Well, the attraction for me is comfort even if it means sacrificing bass/richness in tone. That is because I'm a petite lady and the 000/OM is about right for me.

[bufflehead]

The nice thing about owning an 000 is that when you switch back to your dread, the dread sounds amazing.

Wade's point about gigging an amplified guitar is well taken, however. Almost all my gigs have been outdoors the past few years, and have been amplified. In that sort of venue, a dreadnought is superfluous. So I'm wondering whether that's been behind the trend toward smaller guitars. How often, anymore, does anyone play without plugging in?

[hairpuller]

I started with dreads and slowly made my way towards 000/OM body styles. Once I found examples that tonally gave me as much, if not more pleasure, I never even looked at dreads again.

scott