| The very first Dreadnought guitars (named for a class
of World War I era British battleships, "Dreadnought") were manufactured
by Martin for the Oliver Ditson Company, a publishing firm based in Boston.
Curiously enough, the guitars weren't sold with the Martin name on them,
but rather were marketed in Boston and New York under the Oliver Ditson
brand name, beginning in 1916. These Dreadnoughts did not even include
a Martin serial number, but instead used Ditson’s own serial numbering
system. They continued to appear in the Ditson catalog until the company's
demise in the late 1920s.
The Ditson Dreadnoughts were quite different in appearance
from their modern offspring: The bodies were elongated to accommodate a
wide, 12–fret neck (12 frets clear of the body) with a slotted peghead.
The early Ditsons also had a different soundhole rosette and inlay pattern,
and had no pickguard. All of the Ditsons had mahogany backs and sides and
spruce tops, like a modern D–18.
In 1931 the Martin Company began producing Dreadnought
guitars that carried the Martin name. Two models designated D–1 and D–2
made their debut. The D–1, like the earlier Ditsons, was a mahogany body
instrument, destined to become the D–18. With the D–2 (four were made in
1931) Martin introduced what may still be the most popular style of steel–string
guitar, the rosewood body Dreadnought. All of Martin’s early Dreadnoughts
had the 12–fret neck of the Ditson design. It wasn’t until 1934 that D–28s
and D–18s officially were offered with the 14–fret neck most consider standard
today.
How else did Martin’s early Dreadnoughts differ from
today’s version? The early D–18 was similar in appearance to its modern
counterpart, with one exception: Ebony was the standard material for bridges
and fretboards, rather than the rosewood used now.
C.F. Martin & Co. have introduced a Special
Edition Ditson replication of this original dreadnought complete with slotted
peghead, 12-frets-to-the-body neck, "Oliver Ditson Co. Boston
New York" neck stamp ... and that powerful tone that has become the point
of reference for all dreadnoughts to this day! |
