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#1
10-15-2013, 09:56 AM
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Has anyone played a small Ditson style guitar?
I don't find much discussion about the smaller Ditson models that later became the dreadnought. I have read that only 4 originals exist, but I have seen replicas like this - http://om28.com/ProductDetail?product=P120324019 - and the first and seventh guitars here - http://www.cumpiano.com/Home/Guitars...he_whites2.htm.
I would be interested in tone reports from anyone who has played one. Is it essentially the same as any other parlor guitar or is there something that sets it apart? 
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#2
10-15-2013, 09:59 AM
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Quote:
Hope that helps.
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An old Gibson and a couple of old Martins; a couple of homebrew Tele's
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#3
10-15-2013, 12:59 PM
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I had an old Ditson, I think it was a Size 1, the smallest size. It was in pieces when I got it and I had a luthier put it back together. My first comment when I played it was "It sounds like a cigar box guitar". Actually, it sounded better than that, but it definitely had that boxy parlor sound.
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From behind the bar, the Dear Leader produced an American musical instrument. "What is it?" she asked. "It's called a gui-tar. It's used to perform American rural music....It's also the instrument of choice for playing "the blues", which is a form of American music that chronicles the pain caused by poor decision making." From "The Orphan Master's Son" by Adam Johnson
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#4
04-14-2018, 11:30 AM
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I played an all original, good condition, Style 1 Ditson yesterday. I get the cigar box comment but I was blown away by the tone. Very rich mids (hence the boxy sound) but warm. The guitar had lite, steel strings on it, the highs had a smooth presence with no metallic edge and the lows were deep and tight, although a little masked by the mids. The guitar played very easy and sounded like you would expect a good 100 year old guitar to sound. It reminded me of the sound of a guitar in and old black and white movie, when everything was recorded with vacuum tube equipment and had a warm and clear tone with less extended lows and ultra-highs than you get in modern recordings. I'm trying to decide on what to offer for the guitar. There's very little info out there so any input on its value would be appreciated. Thanks.
Also, Sting has been known to play an old Style 1 Ditson, here's a link to him playing it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvvrAWK7yQU and this post discusses it: http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/f...ghlight=ditson Last edited by EPiC Audio; 04-20-2018 at 10:19 AM.
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