Dreadnought Guitars

A dreadnought guitar is the most popular acoustic guitar shapes. It’s recognizable for its larger body, less rounded contours, and its bold, rich, and loud sound. The name “dreadnought” is a reference to its larger size; it was named after a WWI-era battleship called the HMS Dreadnought. It’s popular in many genres of music, from folk and country to alternative and rock.

A dreadnought guitar is a strong guitar for beginners. Because it’s such a popular shape, there are plenty of high-quality and affordable options from builders to choose from. However, it does have a larger body, which might not be suitable for beginners if they’re young or have smaller bodies themselves.

While the exact dreadnought guitar dimensions vary, they’re often about 20 inches long, are just under five inches deep, have an upper bout of 11-12 inches, a waist that’s about 11 inches, and a lower bout that’s just under 16 inches.

A dreadnought guitar cutaway is a dreadnought acoustic guitar that has part of the lower bout near the front carved away in a roughly 90 degree, crescent shape. Some guitarists prefer a cutaway guitar because it allows easier access to higher frets on the guitar. While having a cutaway does change the shape of the guitar and might impact the fullness of the sound in the lower register, guitars with and without cutaways sound the same in quality.

To exclusively browse dreadnought guitars near you, reference the list of top cities and countries available on Reverb to search within a desired location. You also can review shipping details within an item’s “Shop Policies” section.