Official Luthiers Forum!

I am curious why the D28 affictionados don't prefer the D18 12 or 14 fret?
For the flat-pickers, wouldn't the increased volume of body and increased surface area of top make an incredible cannon?
Thanks,

Bob, you're talking Granny Smith's vs Red Delicious. Both are apples, but have a different flavor and are usd for different purposes. The D-18 is a Sitka/Mahogany dread, the D-28 is Indian Rosewood and Sitka. They have a different kind of sound. The D28 and D18 are otherwise the same. No difference is size.

_________________
"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."

From the bluegrass perspective, a D28 is more a rhythm machine (more bass, and a darker sound) and a D18 is more of a lead instrument (brighter, with a bit more bite). There are tons of crossover though, and in the hands of the right musician either guitar can deliver in spades. For example, Tony Rice plays a D28/herringbone, and he gets along ok.

These days though, the mahog. dreads are, generally, favored by the big time flatpickers. Anything that has that big time "KA-CHANG" G-chord will work.

_________________
Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.

Hey, guys, are you forgetting that there are indeed 12 fret dreadnoughts? Slot head, gigantic, and they can be wonderful, indeed.

As for what gets played for what...

D-28s, especially Brazilian/Adirondack ones are the holy grail for Bluegrassers. The classic D-28 came out in 1934, and it is the standard by which all others are judged.   

D-18s are also liked by many, and some prefer to do fast fiddle tune type leads on them because of the faster attack and lesser sustain.   Check out one of the new Martin D-18A models made to original specs and glued together with hot hide glue.   

The long bodied 12 fret dreads are liked by some for fingerstyle, and by some flatpickers like Norman Blake for a bit of an old timey flavor. They can be a bear to get around on as they are big...   They were also the original dreads made by Martin for the Oliver Ditson company.   They even made some ukes in that shape but miniaturized.

Also Tony Rice plays an SCGC "Tony Rice Model" that is close to a prewar style D-28, but has the enlarged soundhole as per the Clarence White D-28 that Tony owns.

Yes, tis' true that the old 12-fret version of the dread (slope shoulders) is a different beast than the 14 fret version.

_________________
"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."

I'm asking about the old 12 fret dread, not the 14 fret with the truncated body. What top do you use for finger-pick?