Guild • Martin
• recordinG KinG •
SeaGull • BlueridGe
BY CHARLES SAUFLEY
Like so many of the delicious twists in the history of innovations, the dreadnought
acoustic is the product of fate, unexpected
convergences, and a great idea. But it’s also
true that the most popular guitar design in
the world could have just as easily faded into
obscurity—or never happened at all.
In the beginning, the notion of a dreadnought wasn’t even a dusty rattle in the
halls of Martin’s Nazareth, Pennsylvania,
headquarters. The concept—if not all the
engineering know-how—was the brainchild
of the Oliver Ditson Company, which
operated music stores in Boston and New
York. Ditson wanted to satisfy the clamor
to hear audio clips of the guitars
at premierguitar.com/jul2012
CLICKHere…
from dance-band guitarists desperate for
more volume, so the company approached
Martin about making their design idea
reality. In 1916, the first dreadnought—a
Solidsprucetop
Mother-of-pearl rosette
Solid rosewood
back and sides
