I'm a lucky man.
I registered this website domain name in April, 2016. I knew this year was the Martin Dreadnought Centennial but I did not associate that honourable event with mine, honestly. I didn't think to launch this website and write this first article to match the anniversary and get advantage from the crowning achievement Martin & Co., Inc. fulfils. I realized it later, while I was writing it, and realized I'm a lucky man. Martin & Co. surely doesn't need my simple words to demonstrate the place in history they gained and the big cultural value contributions they gave to the guitar as the musical instrument it is.
I'm privileged enough to be a happy D-35 owner and if on one side it's true I paid my D-35 with my money on the other side I can say the reward is bigger, words can't explain. It's a daily relationship, I can't stay away for more than a day, it surely is a reason to feel healthier and humble and the same time.
"thank you Mr Martin I'm alright".
1916 the first Dreadnought is born.
Basically the reason to build the Dreadnought was the increasing demand from guitar players to have a louder, and more powerful guitar that could bring their playing and music not to be covered by other louder instruments in orchestras, bands and ensembles and to stand out when needed. Luthiery is not only craftmenship but research too, trying to give solutions to the evolving demands of the players and in between the late 1800s and the dawn of 1900s the guitar was gaining more importance to its role in music. The models up to then needed an evolution.
Oliver Ditson Company a big retailer in US, was the first asking Martin for a bigger guitar with more volume and power, and after making the Kealakai a Jumbo sized built evolving the shape of the "000" for a hawaiian music guitarist, Martin made their very first Dreadnought, at that time called even "the bass guitar". The Ditson Co. was using a different naming scheme for those instruments, the name 'Dreadnought' was later given by Martin after the HMS Dreanought British battleship world's bigger and powerful battleship of those times.
Martin put their name on two Dreadnought models: the D-1 and the D-2 both 12 frets to the body (later becoming D-18 and D-28 respectively). It was after the Ditson Co. went out of business and Martin started to sell those first two dreadnoughts. On those two models the history of acoustic guitar started to build up and in 1934/35 they decided to start building the 14 fretboard body clear to meet demand and so the modern, 'squared shoulder' Dreadnought started its path in history.
I took those info from a very instructive documentary Martin & Co. made titled "The ballad of the Dreadnought". I highly recommend watching and maybe rewatching that well made and rich documentary.
For the neck's trussrod we need to wait for the 1970s and the brazilian rosewood used for back, sides and fretboard was already impossible to harvest and became listed in the protected species, thus the productions up to that point in time are valuable and pre-war Ds are of big value and uniqueness in tone.
Wood selections
As todays a Dreadnought is usually built in two wood selections for the body: spruce sounding board with mahogany back and sides like the D-18, D-21 and spruce sounding board with rosewood back and sides, like the D-28 and up, mainly choosing between East Indian Rosewood for the standard builds and Mdagascar Rosewood for a finer better quality grade.
The sounding board, or commonly called 'top', is usually made of Sitka Spruce or Adirondack (US, finer quality).
Neck is usually mahogany, fretboard is ebony or rosewood and bridge is ebony.
Other choices can be - and not limited to - Italian, German, Swiss alpine spruce for the sounding board, Cocobolo, Koa, Paela, Walnut for back and sides, mainly for custom ordered models.
Othe parts are: pins (ivoroid/plastic/ebony/bone), saddle (bone/compensated bone), bindings(ivoroid/custom on request), nut(bone/compensated bone), pickguard(plastic/celluloid/other).
How I came to know the Martin Dreadnought.
I always say ironically that practicing music and playing guitar saved me. I started as a wide numbers of teen-agers wanting to play the music that makes them dreaming of their guitar heros and later it settled in my life, naturally. I'm not a professional musician or player, but I know there are a lot of guitar players like me.
I built my musical experience in the way I could and it was not easy gaining what needed to buy a guitar and playing it. After a long time playing electrics(mainly Les Paul, long story) I felt the interest to acoustic music and guitar naturally blossoming, but the very early meeting with a Martin guitar was in USA, New England but I can't remember what was that powerful, tone rich guitar I tried.
It happened randomly to have the chance of listening to a Michael Hedges record 'Aerial Boundaries' and started to search to learn what guitar was it and found my gateway into the acoustic guitar world. Everyday learning something more lead by the long, deep Martin culture trail and understanding how an acoustic guitar is built, why and for what genres and it can apply better. M. Hedges wasn't the first artist I listened using a Martin, the very first one was (probably) Jimmy Page and, one of my favourite, a great singer and songwriter: Joni Mitchell and her first folk albums, it was very comfortable to me even though I was more into electrics 60s and 70s back then. Joni Mitchell used different Martin models, the first I came to know of was her 1956 D-28 and its story is simply touching.
The very first searches I made lead me to a mythical guitar: Tony Rice's 1935 D-28 pre-owned by Clarence White. I saw a video of Mr Rice playing it with flatpicking technique while I was more interested in fingerstyle but that guitar left a trace in me and today I try to use both fingerstyle and flatpicking.
When I decided to buy a pre-owned Martin D* I had the choice narrowed down to: D-28, HD-28, D-35, HD-35 feeling like the HD-28 the way to go. Helped by my cousin and great guitar player Rick from US, while valuating a few deals I saw a 2004 D-35 mint condition and it was love at first sight.
By reporting this simple story, what I'm traying to say is: it was a journey reaching to the point of choosing and buying one, and it's a daily evolving journey owning a playing it. I learned a lot before buying it and more after, words aren't enough.
Another deep, great experience I made is when I've been at Sarzana for the Acoustic Guitar Meeting 18th edition, but that can be reported in another article ;-)
Some artists and players
It's impossible to list them all. The acoustic guitar is a wide and broad topic, from the woods to the luthiery to the instruments to the players and genres. It's a constant evolution like in life, there are paths found, paths choosen in a wide, deep combination of variations. Following are only some of my choices in my knowledge:
Joni Mitchell:
Michael Hedges:
Clarence White:
Tony Rice:
The history and evolution of the Dreadnought can fill up books and entire ecniclopedia. I tried to give some of the pointers I later understood to be useful to who may be interested in acoustic guitar and a tribute to Martin & Co. as being the giant which, with no doubts, founded the roots of acoustic guitar and from which everyone derived their knowledge and music.
I tried to give my humble point of view and some starter points.
Some References:
Some other information about the dreadnought history can be found on Martin & Co. website:
Martin's blog: Celebrating the 100th anniversary of the martin dreadnought