MORE DREADNOUGHTS
FOR UNDER A GRAND
properties with mahogany) may limit the
headroom on the D-1GT, and really heavy
strumming will yield a hint of harmonic
blur on top of essentially strong and clear
fundamental tones—a quality that’s not
uncommon among sapele- and mahogany-backed instruments. The guitar also tends
toward a strong, airy midrange that’s absolutely beautiful in open tunings and capoed
voicings that generate droning mid and
high-mid content. Bluegrass players and
more aggressive fingerstylists that like to
generate a little more bottom-end thump,
may end up longing for the greater definition you can get from rosewood back and
sides. But, that trade-off aside, the D-1GT
is superbly balanced and an ideal partner
for roots rock, nimble fingerstyle in open
tunings, and country blues that benefits
from a warm, husky tone.
Washburn D64SW
The vintage-styled D64SW ($799
street) has a solid spruce top, solid
rosewood back and sides, and the
Buzz Feiten tuning system.
washburn.com
Yamaha A3M
Another option for the gigging player
looking for built-in electronics and
a cutaway, the A3M ($799 street)
has a solid mahogany back and
sides and a solid spruce top.
yamaha.com
Taylor 110ce
Equipped with Taylor’s Expression
System electronics and a cutaway,
the 11Oce ($799 street) features
laminate sapele back and sides and
a solid spruce top, and is geared for
contemporary gigging guitarists.
taylorguitars.com
Breedlove Atlas Series
Studio D25/SM
Breedlove’s contemporarily styled
Atlas-series dread ($899 street) has
electronics, a cutaway, a solid Sitka
spruce top, a solid mahogany back,
and laminated mahogany sides.
breedlovemusic.com
