Mighty Dreads

In today’s crowded market, we’re truly spoiled for choice when it comes to dreadnoughts. Here are six of the best

Yamaha FG830 £360

It’s 50 years since Yamaha entered the steel-string market with the FG range. The new 800 series features this all-gloss, solid spruce-topped dread with laminate rosewood back and sides, which is a good high-quality entry point to the genre. It may lack a bit of oomph, but this is a very good guitar – ideal for a start-up acoustic player or as a gigging spare. The electro cutaway version costs £536. www.uk.yamaha.com

Seagull S6 Original Q1T £519

A Canadian dread in Godin’s modern Seagull range. If you can get over its ‘Marmite’ small headstock, it is a competent guitar with solid cedar top and laminated wild cherry back and sides. Its dark ’burst finish gives it a ‘Depression era’ vibe, while the Q1T preamp gets you heard on stage nicely. There are plenty more dreads from this maker, too. www.seagullguitars.com

Takamine EF360S-TT £1,249

Forget the bonkers code, it’s the ‘TT’ bit that’s important here, as in ‘Thermal Top’. Like the Martin DR Centennial, this Japanese-made all-gloss-bodied dread has an aged spruce top paired with solid rosewood back and sides. Another example of torrefaction but more affordable, especially for an electro that features Takamine’s TLD-2 preamp. Tempted? You should be. www.takamine.com

Guild D-20E £1,599

This signals the return of USA-made Guild acoustics under new owners, Cordoba. The all mahogany build, in Sunburst, makes for a close cousin to Martin’s similarly priced 15 Series and the new spruce-topped D-15 Special, but retains enough Guild DNA and a dark, mellow voice to make it highly valid. The all-acoustic version in Natural costs £1,299 and in Sunburst is £1,389. www.guildguitars.com

Atkin Retrospective Series D 28 £2,849

We still talk in hushed tones about Alister Atkin’s ‘Retrospective’ guitars, which we looked at in Guitarist Presents Acoustic in 2015. Unlike most, these guitars are not only slightly aged in a Fender Time Machine-like fashion, they also have torrefied spruce tops, which Alister believes helps create their vintage tone and offers superior stability. www.atkinguitars.com

Gibson Hummingbird Vintage £3,099

This is Gibson’s ‘square shoulder’ (as opposed to ‘slope shoulder’) dread, with a ‘thermally cured’ spruce top, part of a Vintage range. Combine that with the old-looking VOS vintage Cherry Sunburst finish, that pickguard, reverse bridge, mahogany back and sides and its Bozeman, Montana build, and this is more than enough dread for many. www.gibson.com