These days, dreadnought are commonplace in virtually every style of music you can name. Here’s how they rose to powerHistory reveals that it was the CF Martin Company that first coined the name ‘Dreadnought’ for an acoustic body size.The dreadnought was born, its powerful voice and lower-mid-rich tones finding favour with country artistsNamed after a British battleship launched in 1906, the original craft was a turning point in naval history, bettering its rivals in terms of armament, speed, size and firepower. A few of those attributes could apply to the big-bodied beast of the unplugged world, too.Strangely, the first dreadnought acoustics didn’t bear the Martin logo, but were made for the Oliver Ditson Company with production beginning in 1916, marketing being centred upon New York and Boston.These models had 12-fret-to-the-body necks, slotted pegheads, no pickguards and with unique inlays and soundhole rosettes.

However, in terms of construction, they featured mahogany backs and sides and spruce tops; since becoming pretty much standard with makers of dreadnought-style guitars worldwide.Alas, the Martin-made Ditsons only lasted four years, as the Ditson company stopped trading in 1920. But in 1931 CF Martin added the D-1 and D-2 models to the range, the D-1 featuring mahogany backs and sides, the D-2, rosewood. Thus the dreadnought was born, its powerful voice and lower-mid-rich tones finding favour with country artists who at last had an instrument that would sit well with fiddles and banjos as an accompaniment to vocals. Prev Page 1 of 3 Next Prev Page 1 of 3 Next. Around 1934, Gibson began making its own larger-body acoustics with the Jumbo flat tops including the J-35, so-called because of its $35 asking price.

But it would be another 11 years before they brought out the model that would seriously challenge the might of Martin - the Gibson J-45.Gibson’s J-45 first saw the light of day in 1942, right at the beginning of the USA’s involvement in World War II. You might think that this would have been a difficult time to launch a new model to the range, what with restrictions put in place on the use of resources like timber, metal and, more importantly, manpower.It wasn’t long before Gibson’s ‘no frills’ dreadnought found its way into players’ hearts and it soon became known as ‘The Workhorse’In fact, much of the company’s staff was involved in war-related projects and reserving spruce for guitar tops was considered secondary to its use in aircraft manufacture. This resulted in the first J-45s having multi-piece tops, with Sunburst the only finish initially available - a great way of disguising the joins in the timber.Another effect that the war had upon manufacture resulted in a few models in 1943 having maple necks, as opposed to mahogany, and no truss rod, as metal was a precious commodity, most of it being diverted away from domestic use and into the war effort. Wartime J-45s have become sought-after among the collectorati mainly for the variations in build.It wasn’t long before Gibson’s ‘no frills’ dreadnought found its way into players’ hearts and it soon became known as ‘The Workhorse’ because of its ability to suit virtually any style of music. It found particular favour with the blues players of the 40s and 50s, including Gary Davis, Skip James and Mississippi John Hurt.Coming more up to date, players who have been seen with a J-45 in their hands include John Lennon, who reputedly learned his singular fingerpicking style from Donovan on one while attending The Beatles’ famous Indian retreat in Rishikesh in 1968.Before then, both Buddy Holly and Bob Dylan made good use of the J-45, its distinctive tone in evidence on much of Dylan’s early work.

Even today’s players are not immune to the J-45’s charms, as songsmith James Blunt is often seen wielding his treasured 1966 model. Prev Page 2 of 3 Next Prev Page 2 of 3 Next. Suburban animals.

By now, dreadnought guitars are considered as the standard guitar for bluegrass music wherein most of the bluegrass musicians use dreadnought guitars to produce a signature sound in that certain genre. Dreadnought guitar is also one of the most typical shapes of a body in acoustic guitars. Fender literally wrote the book on electric basses, laying the foundation for musical innovation and evolution. Learn more about Fender electric basses.