Myth or Fact -- Bigger Guitar Is Louder

[GHS]

There may be some exceptions but I believe more volume equals more volume.

[HHP]

If you ad the qualifier, "all other things being equal", I would say true.

[jrs146]

All things equal - fact. But that's rarely the case.

[s2y]

Originally Posted by Bronsky

Can a bigger guitar be played louder?
Probably.

But at a given level of attack, a smaller guitar may very well be louder.
In my hands, some small guitars can be pretty loud, and dreads tend to be very quiet. Soft fingerpickers may agree, most flatpickers/strummers will probably disagree.

I'll agree with this.

[Mbroady]

Apples to apples, perhaps, but things are never apples to apples

[The Bard Rocks]

It would be true if everything else were equal, which it never is. So, let's call it a "generalization".

[rokdog49]

I think it can vary by guitar. I have played Dreads that were not loud at all, so there is no cut and dried "myth or fact" answer.
Measuring loudness in decibels is the litmus test. Projection can be an entirely different animal. Projection could certainly give the impression of "louder".
Since in most cases, smaller bodies are tighter sounding and more focused in certain frequencies, they might give the listener the impression of loudness.
This could be the case with the OP's H&D...or maybe it is just plain louder.
In my experience with two Dreads, a OO and an OM, the Dreads are louder.

[RP]

Originally Posted by GHS

There may be some exceptions but I believe more volume equals more volume.

I'll vote for that....

[Toby Walker]

If those smaller guitars were louder than there would have been no need for the dreadnaught to have been built in the first place. There was a reason that those Bluegrass players used them... they could drive the rhythm of a band along with that banjo and mandolin.

[musicman1951]

All things being equal, bigger is louder.

Do you define projection as a synonym to louder? I suspect it could be fairly easy to design a guitar that would project some frequencies to the part of the room in line with the sound hole at a higher volume than the same frequencies played on a dread.

My 000 is (seems?) louder than my dread when I finger pick as it has less resistance (slightly shorter scale, slightly thinner strings). If the contest is to fill the room with as much sound as possible I go to a fairly heavy flat pick and pound away - and the dread is considerably louder.

But they are not the same guitar in two different sizes (although they're in the ballpark).

[Jeff56]

In theory a larger body guitar should be louder and project more sound but of course there's always exceptions. I have a Kinscherff Concert model (OM size) that I would swear is louder than any larger model guitar I own. With that said how it projects 5-10 feet in front of me may be a different story altogether.

[menhir]

Given a sampling of the four guitars in my possession, yes, bigger is gernerally louder.

[pdawg]

Sound projection, and whatever effects it, plays a big part in the perception of volume. When I play my acoustic, I don't think it's very loud. But my wife will comment about how loud it is. While playing, my ears are closest to the side of the guitar, while listeners are in front of the sound hole. That makes quite a difference.

[rogthefrog]

Originally Posted by Toby Walker

If those smaller guitars were louder than there would have been no need for the dreadnaught to have been built in the first place. There was a reason that those Bluegrass players used them... they could drive the rhythm of a band along with that banjo and mandolin.

Here you go again, injecting logic into a conversation. Tsk tsk tsk.

[redir]

If you take that argument to extremes then do you thing a guitar the size of a queen bed would be louder then a Dreadnaught?

It's myth