Difference between a Dreadnaught and a Jumbo

[Ridgemont]

I am bored so I thought I would ask. This is a question that I have never really gotten a straight answer to.

What's the difference between a Dread and a Jumbo?

Besides the shape of course. I played a Westerly F50M and it sounded great. It had a loud bass response while retaining the brightness from the maple. I sure do like the shape too.

-Ridgemont

 

[chazmo]

I am bored so I thought I would ask. This is a question that I have never really gotten a straight answer to.

What's the difference between a Dread and a Jumbo?

Besides the shape of course. I played a Westerly F50M and it sounded great. It had a loud bass response while retaining the brightness from the maple. I sure do like the shape too.

-Ridgemont

Well, Guild's concept of a jumbo, like Taylor, is a 17" lower bout, ridgy. That's a big guitar. Over the years, the "pinch" in between the upper and lower bout has varied somewhat in its extent, but the dimensions are significantly different than a dread. For that matter, most dreads are not that wide at the lower bout; most are 16" or less. There was only one Guild dread that was that big which I remember (F-47, maybe??), but I"m not sure of the model name.

I've become a big convert to the jumbo sound. I particularly love my jumbo 12s as I think the shape somehow enhances the sound across the spectrum. That's a very un-technical explanation for something that's really clear when you hear it. Guild's jumbos are just magnificent.

Now, don't get confused. Martin jumbos are a horse of a different color. Only recently they introduced their "grand J" style, which is in fact a clone of the Guild definition of jumbo, but other Martin jumbos are a different shape. Gibby's "advanced jumbo" is also just a big slope-shouldered dread.

Hope that helps.

 

[dreadnut]

ya just gotta have one of each

Then, Maple is another whole kettle of fish. Played a jumbo Maple F-412 once that was to die for, shoulda bought it, but I already had an F-512.

 

[evenkeel]

I am bored so I thought I would ask. This is a question that I have never really gotten a straight answer to.
What's the difference between a Dread and a Jumbo?
Besides the shape of course. -Ridgemont

Assuming the same tone woods a dread should have lots of volume, a brash tone with a strong low end rumble. Think Harvest era Neil Young. A jumbo will also have lots of volume but typically more balanced. Still lots of low end, but the mids and highs seem more balanced in the mix. Slightly more mellow than a dread. Very subjective obviously.

I've not played a lot of Jumbos as they are a wrestling match for me. I need another 5-6 inches of height maybe. But the ones that always impress me are the ones with maple back and sides. Often rosewood just does not seem to cut it for me. Again, very subjective

 

[southernGuild]

Once again, you guys are a font of accumulated wisdom....always educating and entertaining. :lol: LEARNINg is sure FUN around here! Thanks Southern :wink:

 

[taabru45]

Seems like we are always willing to share and teach....hearts in the right place all right, but we aren't too slow to admit that we don't always know what we are talking about. :lol: :lol: You pays your money, and you takes your chances.... :wink: Steffan
'cept for Hans of course. He helps keep us on track, and sometimes posts a joke too, what a guy.

 

[fungusyoung]

There's nothing quite like the sound of a jumbo Guild, especially a 12 string. They can be like a grand piano. But, at the end of the day that body style was just too big for me to be comfortable. I knew I'd never play mine out because of that so it ended the love affair.

Dreads are, if I had to generalize, more direct and focused in their projection. Some dreads can be just as loud as a jumbo, but assuming top and the back/side woods are the same, you'll generally get for lower end boom from a jumbo. This is why I think maple (being a bright wood) is such an awesome choice for a jumbo sized guitar.

Over time I've gravitated to dreads, mini jumbos & 000's size/shaped guitars, but jumbos are well worth pursuing for anyone that doesn't view their size as a negative.

 

[Taylor Martin Guild]

I have a different take on a jumbo.
I agree that they seam to have a more balanced sound but dreds can put out more volume and a deeper bass.
I just sold a JF55 and bought a D55 because of this and the fact that the jumbo size is no longer comfortable for me.

I have a friend that had the same take on 2 Taylors.
Both were spruce top with rosewood s&b.
The dred had more volume and a deeper bass than the jumbo.

 

[Ridgemont]

Thanks for the input everybody. I did notice that the dreads I have played are very bass heavy. In terms of projection, I haven't noticed. I need to do a better comparison. The maple jumbos sure are great sounding (tried both Guild and Gibson), and the rosewood ones really weren't that impressive. They sounded very muted, like they had dull rusty strings. I sure am taken by the shape though. I got a thing for tight waisted guitars. I could see how size may be an issue. I find the dread to be a little on the big size. I always thought I was more of a small body guy (OOO/OM/mini jumbo). A F40 would be a good addition.

 

[pickoid]

It's a bit counterintuitive that a jumbo would not be as loud as a dread, but it seems to be the norm. I'm wondering if maybe 6 strings just don't impart enough energy to drive that (relatively) huge top of a jumbo hard enough to match the volume of a dreadnought. However, in my opinion, jumbos just look cooler than dreadnoughts. Guild jumbos with bling are both elegant and imposing. Why not scare your listeners if you can?

 

[Paddlefoot]

The jumbo and drednaught come from different places. The drednaught was a Martin guitar built for the Ditson company that distributed them. That guitar became so popular that Martin decided to build it and distribute it themselves. The squareish shoulders of the dred were the result of redesigning the OM model so the neck joined at the 14th fret instead of the 12th. This was done for a vaudeville jazz musician who's name escapes me at the moment. You will see Martins with the slotted peghead and 12 fret neck join with an S tacked to the end of the model (D-28s). The S means "standard" referring to the 12 fret body shape not "slotted" for the peghead. The drednaught is a good bit deeper than the OMs and other smaller models. The shallower body is what makes the OM my favorite body size. Gibson is the Jumbo originator. They were trying to break in to the flattop acoustic market in the early 30s and brought out the J-200 (200 referring to the price $200.00) to compete with the Martin drednaught. The first of the J-200s were built of rosewood and are highly collectable today. Gibson then used the term jumbo on a pumped up version of one of their smaller guitars and changed the J-200 to the SJ(super jumbo)-200 with standard maple back and sides. I'm working on a design for a ukulele using the sj profile...gonna call it the jumbo shrimp. :lol:

 

[kostask]

The first Gibson Jumbo was released in 1931. It is was what would be referred to as a slope shouldered Dread, by the width and shape of the waist and the shape of the upper bout as is meets the neck. It was in production for two years, and was replaced by the fancier Advanced Jumbo, and the lower cost Jumbo 35 (J-35). Please note that despite the name, these are all slope shouldered dreads by the standard definition. Note that Gibson's slope shouldered Dreads still carry the J (as in the famous J-45, J-55, SJ, SJN) in the model name, implying Jumbo, even though they are not Jumbos by the current definition.

The Gibson guitar with the "true" jumbo shape first went into production in 1937, for a Hollywood signing cowby/actor Ray Whitley, who wanted a guitar to compete with Gene Autry's D-45. The guitar was released as the Super Jumbo 200 (SJ-200), which followed some of the naming of the other Gibson guitars of the day. The Super part is from the Super 400 archtop of 1934 and shared the 17" lower bout. The 200 was from the list price for the standard model ($200), but a lot of the singing cowboys had custom ordered instruments.

This is all from the book "Gibson Guitars 100 Years Of An American Icon" by Walter Carter. The relevant pages are 150-155.

Kostas

 

[Treem]

That 80G37 theere was my upgrade maple dreadnought from my first Guild, a 95 D30E. It has a very nice sound for a maple dred. Maybe because the G37 was the older brother to my was D30E

Then came along that there GF30 next to it, and it opened my ears to a different maple tone! So I had to let the G37 go and by choice. But as you could see on my signature, I have mostly jumbos!!

Enjoy! G37 then the GF30, then trade the GF30 for a JV52! And the 79 F50B!! And of course the newly added GF40!!!
8) :lol: 8) 8) :lol: 8) 8) :lol:
JV52 Rosewood

GF40 Mahogany

F50B Maple

G'YA!
8) 8) :lol: 8)

 

[neilyoungfan]

Those are some absolutely beautiful guitars. Love that sunburst.

 

[Treem]

Those are some absolutely beautiful guitars. Love that sunburst.

oh yeah! :lol: 8)

 

[Paddlefoot]

Thanks Kostas. Sorry about the misinfo but the bottom line is they are two different beasts.

 

[adorshki]

Kostas your history input is greatly appreciated.

 

[jcwu]

It's a bit counterintuitive that a jumbo would not be as loud as a dread

That was exactly what my thoughts were. You'd think, bigger guitar, bigger sound, right? Nope!

I've recently come into possession of a fine Guild jumbo to go along with my fine Guild dread, and I had looked at this thread while doing my research into whether I wanted a jumbo. I guess I had so much jumbo on my mind that I chose to believe that the jumbo would be louder, despite what I'd read here. Now that I've had some time to play the two together (not side by side, but one after another, because I only have so many arms and so much lap space), I have to agree 100% with everything listed so far.

Assuming the same tone woods a dread should have lots of volume, a brash tone with a strong low end rumble. A jumbo will also have lots of volume but typically more balanced. Still lots of low end, but the mids and highs seem more balanced in the mix. Slightly more mellow than a dread.

Dreads are, if I had to generalize, more direct and focused in their projection.

I agree that they seam to have a more balanced sound but dreds can put out more volume and a deeper bass.

The dred had more volume and a deeper bass than the jumbo.

These three observations pretty much sum up my own findings:

Compared to my DV52, the JV52 almost sounds shimmery, like I've got a built-in chorus pedal or something. It almost feels like I may have two high E and B strings - there's some kind of beautiful chime coming out when I play her. On the other hand, the JV52 has less bass and less punch. The way I would describe it, the DV52 is a good percussive rhythm machine with a in-your-face punch when you hit it hard enough, whereas the JV52 has a full lush sound that just surrounds you.

As for size:

but jumbos are well worth pursuing for anyone that doesn't view their size as a negative.

I'm a big guy, so the size was actually a plus!


At the end of the day, though, this was pretty much the determining factor for me getting a Guild jumbo:

ya just gotta have one of each

Amen to that! :lol: