The dreadnought is a type of flat top acoustic guitar developed by American guitar manufacturer C.F. Martin & Company. The style, since copied by other guitar manufacturers, has become one of the most common for acoustic guitars. In its most frequently encountered shape it is characterized by square shoulders, a relatively flat tail end, a wide waist with a large radius curve, and a 14-fret neck (i.e., 14 frets clear of the body) although when first introduced, the body was longer, with round shoulders, and only 12 frets clear of the body. At the time of its creation in 1916 the word dreadnought referred to a large, all big-gun, modern battleship of the type pioneered by in 1906. A body much larger than most other (non archtop) guitars of the time provided the dreadnought with a bolder, perhaps richer, and often louder tone.
History
Prior to around 1900, Martin acoustic guitars were available in sizes that to today's players would seem very small, ranging from size 5, 4, 3, and 2 (all or less across the lower bout) to size 1 (). Larger sizes, introduced by 1898, were size 0 (), size 00 (), size 000 () and, subsequently, the 12-fret D plus its successor, the 14-fret D (both at the widest point). In fact, the first model to be produced in the "dreadnought" size was the largest of several models manufactured by Martin for the Oliver Ditson Company; of the nine models catalogued (1, 11, 111; 2, 22, 222; 3, 33, 333) the 111, 222 and 333 shared the large (dreadnought) dimension and differed only in the degree of ornamentation. Although catalogued, it seems that no "333" Ditson models were ever shipped, although some may have been; C.F. Martin finally produced a guitar to this specification, the Martin Ditson 333, as a limited run (22 instruments only) in 2008.
The dreadnought guitar was first announced in the Music Trades Review on August 19, 1916, with the copy reading as follows: "New Use Found for Steel Guitar..." "A new steel guitar called the "Dreadnought," and said to produce the biggest tone of any instrument of its kind, is now being used in the making of phonograph records. It is also said to be an excellent instrument for use in auditoriums and large halls. Chas H. Ditson & Co. will soon have the above instrument ready for delivery..." (The designation "steel guitar" is taken to indicate that the instrument was intended to be played with a steel bar, that is, in the Hawaiian style which was popular at the time.) The supplier of this information also states that Harry L. Hunt, the manager of the Ditson New York City Store, may have been inspired to order a guitar to be built to this design as a cross between an extra-large, but narrow waisted guitar already built by Martin for the Hawaiian guitarist Mekia Kealakai, and the smaller, but wide waisted designs already being sold by Ditson.
These guitars were produced by Martin for Ditson from 1916 to 1921; a small number (19 instruments) were subsequently made in the same style as the 111, in dreadnought size, between 1921 and 1930, including #19734 for Roy Smeck.Richard Bamman: "The Martin Dreadnought Story". Frets Magazine, May 1988. According to Mike Longworth, the design for the "111" size, later to become famous as the dreadnought, was suggested to Martin by Hunt, and "most likely" prototyped by Martin worker John Deichman. Up to 1923, the early dreadnought-size guitars constructed by Martin were fan braced, not X-braced, that innovation being first combined with the "dreadnought size" body in 1924.
In 1931 Martin began producing dreadnought guitars (sometimes also spelled "dreadnaught") under its own name, the first two models named the D-1 and D-2, with bodies made of mahogany and rosewood respectively; later that year, these two styles were renamed the D-18 and D-28 with "D" indicating body size, and the numbers the timbers used and degree of ornamentation as per other Martin models of the time. Like their Ditson-branded precursors, these two models had large bodies, with neck joining the body at the 12th fret, and slotted headstocks holding the tuning mechanisms for the strings. According to production totals given in Longworth's book, numbers of these early, 12-fret dreadnought guitars were not large, being just two D-1s, seven D-2s, 64 D-18s and 82 D-28s, the latter including 65 produced in 1934-1936. Commencing in 1934, responding to a preference from players (especially those transitioning from the banjo) for more frets clear of the body, the body shape was changed to a shorter, squarer shouldered design, which—in conjunction with a changed neck position (the neck was moved outwards a little from the body, resulting in a slightly higher bridge placement relative to the lower bout)—permitted the neck to join the body at the 14th rather than the 12th fret, resulting in improved left hand access to the highest frets (refer illustration). The "14 fret" design has become the standard for most succeeding instruments manufactured to the "D" body size, although the "12 fret" design has been retained in the Martin line for some special orders, certain 12-string models, and the "-S" designated D-18S, D-28S, D-35S and D-45S, with the "S" suffix, originally just denoting any non-standard custom feature, stabilizing as denoting the 12-fret variant from 1967 onwards.CF Martin Instruments 1833-1983: A Century and a Half of Fine Guitar Making. The CF Martin Organisation, 1981. A small run of dreadnought guitars manufactured by Martin for the E.U. Wurlitzer store in Boston designated "SW" for "Special Wurlitzer" in the early 1960s also featured the 12-fret design.
Early in their production (e.g. between 1931 and 1934), Martin seems not to have had much faith in these "extra large" guitars, making them only on special order (even the "000" size was considered large by the standards of the day) and to one interested customer writing in 1933 that the firm considered the dreadnought "a bass guitar, not suitable for solo playing". However perceptions changed when the then hugely popular Gene Autry, singing star of stage and screen, wanted a new guitar, of style 45 (Martin's most ornate) and ordered a custom instrument of that style in Martin's new, largest size. Thus, the D-45 was born, Autry's 12-fret example being the first, and soon other country singers in particular wanted the large size instruments, which proved effective in sound carrying power (particularly for vocal accompaniment) over the otherwise primitive stage amplification systems of the day.
The 1936 Martin Catalog lists only two dreadnoughts, the D-18 at $65.00 (approx. $1,445 in 2024 dollars)conversion via https://www.amortization.org/, query date 7 July 2024 and the D-28 at $100.00 (approx. $2,223 in 2024 dollars), although the D-45 was also available at that time to special order only. A later 1930s catalog does include the D45 at $225.00, by which time the prices of the D-18 and D-28 had increased to $75.00 and $115.00, respectively.
Having to compete with intrinsically loud instruments such as the 5-string banjo, often in generally "acoustic" settings, from the late 1930s onwards dreadnoughts became the standard guitar of bluegrass music, and were used by many bluegrass musicians to produce a signature sound.
The popularity of, and demand for, Martin dreadnought guitars was increased by their use by folk and popular musicians of the mid-20th century, such as Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, and Van Morrison as well as in the early rock and roll field by artists such as Elvis Presley. While most players prefer the tone of the standard, 14-fret instrument, noted for its more penetrating sound especially when played with other instruments, a few prominent players—including Peter Yarrow of the group Peter, Paul and Mary, Norman Blake, and on occasion Paul Simon (per the cover of his 1974 Live Rhymin' release)—have still favoured the slightly different sonority produced by the 12-fret, larger body shape.
The Gibson Guitar Company's response to the Martin dreadnought was the round-shouldered Jumbo, which it introduced in 1934. It introduced its first square shouldered guitar, the Hummingbird, in 1960. Guild also offered "dreadnought" size guitars from 1964 onwards, their D-40 and D-50 offerings (in mahogany and rosewood bodies, respectively) closely paralleling the Martin D-18 and D-28, and being described as "Guild's improved version of the popular dreadnaught guitar".
Since then, dreadnoughts have been made by a majority of guitar manufacturers worldwide in both standard and single-cutaway forms; among high grade "boutique" makers of dreadnought-style guitars are the Gallagher Guitar Company (whose instruments were endorsed by Doc Watson), the Santa Cruz Guitar Company (whose line includes a Tony Rice model), Mossman Guitars, and Dana Bourgeois, whose signature model for Ricky Skaggs is well regarded. Younger players such as Billy Strings and Molly Tuttle have both had their own instruments, plus limited edition signature dreadnought model runs created by the guitar manufacturer Preston Thompson.
Up to approximately the mid 1970s, dreadnought guitars from Martin, the original maker, were available in a fairly basic set of model styles, comprising the "D" designation for body size, plus the numeric designation—drawn from the range 18, 21, 28, 35, 41 and 45—indicating the degree of ornamentation, and wood used for the body construction (custom models were also sometimes available upon request); the D-45, however, was out of production between 1943 and early 1968, in which year it was re-introduced to the Martin line. The D-21 was introduced in 1955, while the D-35, a new model and style designation, was added to the line in 1966; 12-string models, a favourite of the "folk boom" of the late 1950s and 1960s, were first made in 1954 on a limited basis, and were added to the official line in 1964 with the D12-20 (a 12-fret model), followed by the D12-35 in 1965, D12-45 in 1969, and D12-41 in 1970; following user demand for 14-fret models, the D12-28 was introduced in 1970, followed by the D12-18 in 1973, both of which had 14 frets clear of the body. By contrast, in more recent decades the range has grown massively; a 2024 query to the Martin website yields 170 varieties of 14-fret dreadnoughts (including discontinued models) plus a further 6 12-fret models (and this list is not complete). Further information on these instruments is available on the website of the manufacturer and of various resellers, while other stores such as Gruhn Guitars and Carter Vintage Guitars offer a glimpse into the world of vintage and/or collectable guitars, the most valuable of which are frequently Martin dreadnoughts from the classic "pre-war" (pre 1942 in collector's terminology) manufacturing period.
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