Official Luthiers Forum!

What letters are *'d out? Is that supposed to stand for Dull aNd flaT? Ohhh...,
you probably meant dreadnaught. Either way, I suppose those words are
interchangable.   

_________________
Eschew obfuscation, espouse elucidation.

Hesh, I did a bit of digging and here's what I found:

You can read the whole article here

Here is the most pertinent part.

'The very first dreadnought guitars (named for a class of World War I-era British battleships, "Dreadnought") were manufactured by Martin for The Oliver Distribution Company, a publishing firm based in Boston. Curiously enough, the guitars weren't sold with the Martin name on them, but rather were marketed in Boston and New York under the Oliver Ditson brand name, beginning in 1916. These dreadnoughts did not even include a Martin serial number, but instead used Ditson's own serial numbering system. They continued to appear in the Ditson catalog until the company's demise in the late 1920's.

   The Ditson dreadnoughts were quite different in appearance from their modern offspring: The bodies were elongated to accommodate a wide, 12-fret neck (12 frets clear of the body) with a slotted peghead. The early Ditsons also had a different soundhole rosette and inlay pattern, and had no pickguard. All of the Ditsons had mahogany backs and sides and spruce tops, like a modern D-18.

   In 1931 the Martin Company began producing dreadnought guitars that carried the Martin name. Two models designated D-1 and D-2 made their debut. The D-1, like the earlier Ditsons, was a mahogany-body instrument, destined to become the D-18. With the D-2 (four were made in 1931) Martin introduced what may still be the most popular style of steel-string guitar, the rosewood-body dreadnought. All of Martin's early dreadnoughts had the 12-fret neck of the Ditson design. It wasn't until 1934 that D-28s and D-18s officially were offered with the 14-fret neck most consider standard today.'

Hope this helps, my friend.

Al

_________________
I'd like to be able to prove, just for once, that money wouldn't make me happy...

I love DREADS but since i joined the OLF, i must admit that DREADNAUGHTS was all i knew and learned a lot about the other models, didn't know there were people who hated them loud boxes that much though!

It's dreadnought, but I'll forgive myself for the misspelling above because it's
late and I'm sick.

_________________
Eschew obfuscation, espouse elucidation.

I'm not sure why dreds have such a bad name. They sure sound good in the hands of a master bluegrass picker. Even though I prefer the 000-12 fret, I see absolutely nothing wrong with dreds.

Some of my best friends build and play those larger cousins...Mario, Serge, Bruce and Lance immediately come to mind. I have a 35 year old D-35 that sounds as loud as a Howitzer with a voice as sweet as a Nightingale. Just a different tool for a different sound.

Hesh, my advice...flush the asterisks

_________________
JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

I love dreadnoughts. Always have, always will.

It's not a swear word to me.

_________________
"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

Thanks JJ for adding me to a list of great builders! I'll be giving you folks some appreciation on the sound of that awesome DREADNOUGHT my bud Alain is finishing, i should be able to try a description of the sound sometime next week and i can already predict a very fine instrument!

Dreadnoughts - not just for bluegrass any more!

I love 'em. And when I finally figure out how to make 'em sound the way I want, I'll build a different model...

-Mark

_________________
Pullman, WA

The more I know, the more I know I don't know.

trippguitars.com
OR
Find me on Facebook

I have been playing guitar for 18 years...and I have three dreadnoughts.

Pretty versatile instruments...I play rythym, solos and fingerpicking.Sam Price38947.3417361111

Mark, i'm lookin' forward to see the new model that you have in mind.

Heheheh Serge!

Don't hold your breath for that bud! We want you around for a long time!

Pretty sure it'll be an OM, or 000.

-Mark

_________________
Pullman, WA

The more I know, the more I know I don't know.

trippguitars.com
OR
Find me on Facebook

Mark, i can assure you that an OM is definitely on my list of future builds and i'm sure you know why!

I own two dreds and love to play them both. I am however going to build an OM next for variety. When I play at church, I need the volume of the dred to lead the singing. I think it is the perfect instrument for accompanyment.

_________________
Joe Breault
Merrimack, NH
Perpetual novice

Anyone here build J****s?

I'm not following Art. What's a J****?

_________________
Joe Breault
Merrimack, NH
Perpetual novice

Hesh, I think Colin started it.

_________________
Joe Breault
Merrimack, NH
Perpetual novice

Not sure how it started, but when I first started posting, I had noticed a certain aversion/disdain for this particular model. So of course, being the problem child my parents claimed, I started capitalizing DREAD...

I know, I know, but I just can't resist... It's like a wall socket and a screwdriver for me...

-Mark

_________________
Pullman, WA

The more I know, the more I know I don't know.

trippguitars.com
OR
Find me on Facebook

I was trying to be funny, but seriously, does anyone have any experience building Jumbos?vpelleri38947.4192939815

[QUOTE=Hesh1956] Thanks guys.

What I am really asking though is how the convention of not spelling out the word/name d****n****t started? Is it an OLF thing?

Thanks[/QUOTE]

I think it is suppossed to be a "dirty word" filter joke... I am not sure...

_________________
Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

It must be Friday morning because whenever I see d****n***t I think "donut!"

_________________
"Building guitars looks hard, but it's actually much harder than it looks." Tom Buck

I see... Sorry Hesh, I haven't been around the forum that long...

_________________
I'd like to be able to prove, just for once, that money wouldn't make me happy...

Of course it's an OLF thing. You probably started it Hesh, along with b**j*.

Ron

_________________
OLD MAN formerly (and formally) known as:

Ron Wisdom

Somewhere in the middle of Arkansas......

[QUOTE=Hesh1956] What I am really asking though is how the convention of not spelling out the word/name d****n****t started? Is it an OLF thing?

Thanks[/QUOTE]
I THINK it started with me. There had been a thread about not using bad language on the Forum, followed closely by a question on building a dreadnought, complete with good-natured razzing about doing such a thing. I then posted, saying the proper OLF spelling is d***dn****t. This is all IIRC.