What is next after Dreadnaught

Tannin

If you can comfortably play a dread, why go smaller?

Because smaller guitars tend to have better, more balanced voicing. The dreadnought was introduced in the first place not for any tone quality reason but simply to be louder. (Back in the days before amplification, if you played in a band with trumpets and banjos you needed all the volume you could get!) Dreadnoughts, especially rosewood dreadnoughts, tend to be boomy. The traditional rounded guitar shape (as exemplified by classical guitars and reproduced in sizes large and small by everything from a parlour to a 000 to a jumbo) was made that way for a reason. So we are looking at the wrong question.

The right question is "If you don't need the volume of a dreadnought, why buy one at all?"

(Disclaimer: 2 of my 7 main guitars are in fact dreadnoughts. I bought them of my own free will because I liked them, and still do. One of my four best, most all-round playable guitars is a dreadnought - admittedly with a cedar top which makes it more balanced and less shouty than the average dred.)

Tannin

Having said all that, you need to get out and play lots of guitars, @Haugu ;  Don't bother playing spruce and rosewood dreadnoughts, you've already got one of them. You are probably not going to get anything hugely different in a spruce and rosewood dred, and a smaller spruce and rosewood guitar (a grand auditorium, say, or a 000) isn't going to be massively different. Here are some things you could explore:

* A parlour. I don't get the appeal myself, but there are plenty here who will be only to happy to tell why parlours are great.

* What's more dreadnought than a dreadnought? No, it isn't a battlecruiser - they were a hopelessly flawed idea from the very start - it's a jumbo. Jumbos are cool! Big and bold and sonically better balanced than a dreadnought. Not as boomy in the bass as a dreadnought and by golly gosh jeepers they can hammer out a tune and no mistake. And did I say big?

* Do you play fingerstyle at all? Or ever yearn for something a little more rounded and forgiving than a shouty spruce top? Something warmer and a little more compressed to give you a smoother, slightly darker sound? A guitar to caress rather than one to thrash? If you say "yes" then I see a cedar top in your future. Or redwood: any of the softer top woods will give you a richer, more mellow tone. Cedar is the most common of them and quite possibly the best.

* Or if you are happy with spruce, let's look at the back and sides timber. Rosewood is great but you don't need more than one rosewood guitar. You can go for something lighter and more percussive (mahogany, Sapele), or turbocharge that with a more piano-like sound (maple) or go full-on piano-tone goodness (Blackwood, Koa). Or maybe you are looking for a less coloured sound than any of those mentioned, a timber that simply does what you want to do and is a real all-rounder (walnut, Queensland Maple).

* Hardwood tops are another different world. In this context, "hardwood" can be taken to mean anything heavier and harder than spruce, most commonly mahogany, Blackwood, or Koa. Perhaps a Fretboarder who owns one will comment on their virtues. (You could stretch a point and consider my Huon Pine Angel a "hardwood top" but that's going a bit far in my view.)

* If you like blues, are you into slide? Resonators are really different. (And good for more than just slide.)

DavidR

Yes parlour size for the sweeter tones. Worth exploring. Mainly saying that because I want one!

If you get a resonator, get a light one.

ToneControl

as Tannin says, why go smaller?
I find it very rare that I find a small guitar that sounds as good as a jumbo. Many small guitars sound horribly boxy to me

I also agree on the woods: Cedar and redwood with rosewood or similar are the best combinations for me
I have an all-Koa jumbo too, that is a real contrast to other woods

Tannin

^ Not me Your Worship! Must 'a been some other bloke wot done it. 

GoFish

As you seem open to varied ideas, I'd say a roadtrip is a sensible plan. By yourself or take a friend. Try everything! My instinct is to recommend something as far from a dread as possible. That means parlours, resonators, Jumbos, nylon(?), or a cheapo and a slide rather than something only subtly different. Don't discount crossover instruments like a guitar-lele or banjo git. You never know what will take your fancy.

bertie

GoFish said:

As you seem open to varied ideas, I'd say a roadtrip is a sensible plan. By yourself or take a friend. Try everything! My instinct is to recommend something as far from a dread as possible. That means parlours, resonators, Jumbos, nylon(?), or a cheapo and a slide rather than something only subtly different. Don't discount crossover instruments like a guitar-lele or banjo git. You never know what will take your fancy.

I think the OP might be in Singapore  - so that's one hell of a road trip    (tho TBH Im not sure what availability is like there)

Mellish

If the OP is based in Singapore, he can pop along to City Music. They're a Martin dealer but no doubt have Gibson, Taylor and other big name brands to try   

Tannin

Singapore? Oh that's different. Singapore is the home of Maestro Guitars. Maestro are well-known internationally as a maker of quality, and I always reckon it's best to start with the home-grown product. https://www.maestroguitars.com/

(Disclaimer: I've never played one, but people I respect have said nice things about them.)

bertie

Tannin said:

Singapore? Oh that's different. Singapore is the home of Maestro Guitars. Maestro are well-known internationally as a maker of quality, and I always reckon it's best to start with the home-grown product. https://www.maestroguitars.com/

(Disclaimer: I've never played one, but people I respect have said nice things about them.)

I see they offer "Brazilian Rosewood"  isnt that now banned ? 

Tannin

@bertie ;Brazilian Rosewood cannot be harvested (except for limited exceptions for stump wood and similar) and cannot be exported without a certificate showing that it was (a) harvested pre 1992, or (b) otherwise exempt. But if you have a bit, you can still sell it. 

In reality, I suspect that it is massively over-rated as a tonewood, particularly as most surviving pieces will be leftovers, rejects, or knotty stump wood. But I've never played a BR guitar so what would I know? 

And if you do buy one, you will have all sorts of trouble travelling with it as any CITES signatory country is going to want every I dotted and every T crossed on your paperwork, and an over-zealous customs official might just confiscate the guitar or destroy it as contraband. More trouble that it's worth, IMO.

Just the same, you can still buy Brazilian Rosewood guitars from (among others) Martin, Breedlove, and Taylor - so long as you are willing to pay the asking price (think half the kingdom and your daughter's hand in marriage). 

Schnozz

You can't beat a dread so as mentioned, if you have rosewood then I'd go mahogany (or vice versa).

...Or you could go nylon/classical.

bertie

Schnozz said:

You can't beat a dread

oh you can,  if you find a nice big stick

Haugu

Thanks for all the valuable advices.  Yes, I am based in Singapore.  I will camp in city music and perhaps Swee Lee for few days and crack my head which is the best for my next guitar.

Interesting comments from you all.   This forum is very helpful.    

bertie

Haugu said:

  I will camp in city music and perhaps Swee Lee for few days and crack my head which is the best for my next guitar.

totally THE right move