A bid to keep to my 2010 new year's resolutions...

Just found out something i have always wanted to know these days... What the hell is a dreadnought?!!

So i did some research... at first i thought that 'dreadnought' is just another term for an acoustic guitar. However, upon some itsy bit of research, i discovered more. There are actually many shapes to the guitar. The naive me thought that guitars are either big or small.

But there are more sizes than i thot there is out there.. here is an example....


And each of these sizes presents different options of sound for a guitarist. It settles different needs. My blackie is a Classic N i think... Anyway, these are what i quoted from a forum discussion at www.ultimate-guitar.com...

Parlour - Parlour guitars are narrow at the shoulders, narrow at the waist, and conspicuously smaller than the other styles of acoustic guitars.. Their diminutive size means the sound is "weaker" as well. However parlour guitars are often noted for their velvety tone, and many people find the size and shape easier to handle. Parlours were popular with many early blues players, and are still the axe of choice among many fingerstyle players.

Dreadnought- Dreadnoughts are probably the most popular style of acoustic guitars because of their versatility. Their big bodies and strong sound make them popular with everyone from "Kumbaya" strummers to unplugged rockers to flat-picking country kickers. Dreadnoughts have square shoulders on the upper and lower bouts, and are fairly wide at the waist. They project a loud, full sound when strummed or picked.

Jumbo- Jumbo acoustics have gained more fans in recent years, reviving a size popular in jazz's pre-electric days. Slope-shouldered and narrow-waisted, jumbos feature a lot of body behind the bridge, which gives these guitars a nice boost on the bottom end and a big, round tone. A well-made jumbo can project almost as strongly as a dreadnought and still have the warmth and evenness of a concert acoustic.

So i feel, what i need or want actually is the concert-jumbo guitars! Hahaha...Not too big and is somewhat in the middle.

Then, there is the issue of material. I thought i wanted the carbon-fibre made one that blogged about a few months ago... but wood, upon more research appealed to me. (i still want the carbon-fibre one though!!) I always liked the darker shade wood, grainy and heavy sort that lets you have an impression that it is hardy and durable.

BRAZILIAN ROSEWOOD
A highly sought after tonewood for its beauty and sound. It is not noticably different tonally from Other Rosewoods, but is more expensive and rarer purely based on its look.

EAST INDIAN ROSEWOOD
A beautiful coffee colored tonewood, it is sought after for its color, which ranges from brown to purple to rose to black, and its tonal charactaristics include a strong bass response and long sustain. it is the most populer tonewood for acoustic guitars.

MAHOGANY
A readily available wood that is a populer wood to use to make necks. It produces a bright clear tone. It is similar to Koa in its ability to add snap and sparkle to the instrument.

HAWAIIAN KOA
A very rare amd expensive wood, it is only found between 300 and 7000 foot elevations on Hawaii's major islands. It is expensive mostly because of its scarcity (like precious metals) but it is also a very aestheticly good looking wood. The tone is a cross between maple and rosewood,

BIG LEAF MAPLE
Maple produces a clear, bright, compressed, balanced tone capable of cutting through the mix in an ensemble making it a favorite on stage and in the studio. It is one of the favored woods for jazz guitars, because of the bright, dry tone, very different from Rosewood.

CLARO WALNUT
Produces a deep, "compressed" tone and a lot of volume, similar in that respect to rosewood.

ENGELMANN SPRUCE
Because its stiffness and weight differ from that of Sitka spruce, Engelmann soundboards produce a smoother, slightly mellower tone, one that many players describe as "more mature."

SITKA SPRUCE
This dense, straight-grained wood has the highest strength and elasticity-to-weight ratio among available tonewoods, an attribute that makes it an ideal material not only for our soundboards, but for our internal bracing, as well. Sitka produces a slightly brighter tone than does Engelmann.

WESTERN RED CEDAR
Has been used for decades as a soundboard material on classical guitars, and it's becoming popular among steel-string enthusiasts, as well. Cedar is a "soft" wood known for producing a "warm," mellow tone. We use Cedar specifically for our fingerstyle instruments as it responds quickly and with good volume to a light attack. It is also very well suited to open or lowered tension tunings as they require the same qualitites for good separation and definition.

Darn...all this talk and i will not buy a new guitar when i can't yet play well (enough to busk around confidently!) and when i have no money in my pocket!! Arrrrrghhhh..... i should have read all these before i bought mine! Hahaha... however, they say

"the first investments are usually bad.."

As of now, first loves are always the most memorable... this is mine. Blackie son of Jon Bon Black. And this is my smallest cousin Alfian playing around with it on my bed (cos weirdly enough, i sleep with the Blackie like it is my bantal peluk!) cos i'd strum before i sleep and right when i wake up. It's quite therapeutic actually! Hahaha... and i am learning A LOT from it.. i give myself a target of late-2008 for my new guitar...


I love u too Bubu....Hahaha... right now ur in front of me looking at jobs. Good luck!!

May Allah guide us all..bless us with happiness and health n protect us from the dangers of this world, physically or mentally. Help us become successful people in the world and after...