Dreadnought (guitar type)

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Dreadnought" guitar type – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (February 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

The dreadnought is a type of acoustic guitar body developed by American guitar manufacturer C.F. Martin & Company.^[1] The style, since copied by other guitar manufacturers, has become the most common for acoustic guitars.

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 HMS Dreadnought in 1906. A body much larger than most other guitars provided the dreadnought with a bolder, perhaps richer, and often louder tone. It is distinguished by its size and square shoulders and bottom. The neck is usually attached to the body at the 14th fret.^[1][2]

Martin dreadnought guitars are also known as "D-size" guitars. Their model numbers consist of "D-" followed by a number, such as "D-18" and "D-45". The higher the numerical designation, the more decorative ornamentation on the instrument.