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By Michael John Simmons
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What body size and shape of steel-string acoustic guitar is right for you?
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| | Photo Credit: Ray Larsen
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Deciding to play acoustic guitar is easy, but choosing among the different body sizes and shapes can be hard. Happily, as with most things in life, learning a little about your options makes it much easier to make the right choice—and since you’re going to play that guitar for however many years, you want to be happy with the one you get. To make things simpler, this primer will cover full-size acoustic steel-string guitars and leave nylon-string guitars, travel guitars, and acoustic-electrics for another time.
DREADNOUGHTS: Big, Loud, and Powerful
Far and away the most popular body size for steel-string acoustics, the dreadnought shape was invented by the Martin Guitar Co. in the early 1930s. Within a few years, it had become the default size for just about every guitar maker. Dreadnoughts are loud, with a pronounced bass response (which means they sound like you’ve turned up the bass control on your stereo), making them ideal rhythm guitars. They are particularly popular with bluegrass flatpickers, but you can hear dreadnoughts in nearly every style of popular music including the rootsy rock of Neil Young and the intricate jazz-inflected playing of Joni Mitchell. The dreadnought’s major drawback is its large size. Smaller players may find it uncomfortable and will probably want to investigate smaller body sizes.
SMALL BODIES: Crisp-Sounding and Comfortable
Pretty much anything smaller than a dreadnought or jumbo is considered small-bodied. The concert and the grand concert are two of the smallest steel-string guitar sizes, and are also referred to by the designations Martin Guitars uses for them: 0 (“oh”) and 00 (“double oh”). Concerts and grand concerts have an excellent tone when fingerpicked. They sound great backing a singer and really shine when playing blues or other styles that require crisp, clean single notes but often don’t have enough volume and oomph to carry the rhythm in a band. Because of this, you don’t see many concerts or grand concerts on-stage, but their balanced tone makes them popular for recording (Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl often uses a grand concert).
Invented by Martin in 1929, the OM (orchestra model) became the prototype for the modern steel-string guitar. Many players find it the ultimate guitar for fingerpicking, but its balanced tone and loud voice allow the OM to hold its own in just about any musical setting. John Mayer and Paul Simon both play Oms.
The auditorium (or 000) is similar in size to the OM but comes in two varieties: 12-fret and 14-fret. Out of favor for a time, in the last few years the 12-fret 000 has seduced many players with its unique, full-bodied tone, which is well-suited to fingerpicking. The 14-fret auditorium has the same body shape as the OM but a slightly shorter scale length (24.9 inches from the bridge to the nut, as opposed to 25.4 inches for the OM and most larger guitars). The shorter scale length means that the strings are less taut and consequently not as loud and bright, but 14-fret 000s have an appealing mellowness. Eric Clapton played a vintage Martin 000-42 on MTV Unplugged, and the style has been popular ever since.
JUMBO and SMALL JUMBOS: Mellow Rhythm Machines
Gibson Guitar Co. created the jumbo in the 1930s with the SJ-200, a flashy guitar designed to complement the highly decorated stage wear of singing cowboys. Jumbos have a large lower bout, but their pinched waist makes them surprisingly comfortable to play when sitting. Though jumbos are big, they aren’t especially loud. Their pleasing, mellow tone makes them great rhythm guitars, as Emmylou Harris has often shown, and while they can be played hard with a flatpick, they can also sound very nice when fingerpicked, particularly in the hands of a powerful player like bluesman Rev. Gary Davis. Country crooner Gene Autry and Elvis Presley both loved the J-200’s flashy looks and great sound. Small jumbos have the same rounded, but smaller, silhouette (hence the somewhat contradictory name) and have a balanced treble-to-bass response.
Which Size Is Right for You?
In general, flatpickers prefer larger guitars for their punch and volume, and fingerpickers go for smaller instruments (better balance of bass to treble). If you know what style of music you want to play, check out photos of your favorite players to see what size guitar they use.
Your body should be at ease when you hold the guitar. Bring a friend with you to the store to make sure you aren’t contorting your body when you play. Play a variety of sizes, both sitting and standing with a strap. When you sit, make sure that your shoulders are even and your arms aren’t extended too far (or not far enough). The thinner bodies of OMs and concerts make them easier to hold, but it also means that your fretting arm will be a little lower, which can be uncomfortable for people with longer arms. Try several until you find the size that brings you the sound you want with a comfortable fit.
Your dream guitar is out there. Have fun on your search!
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