Dreadnaught and Jumbo feedback

[Wayne27]

Is the feedback issue for Dreadnaughts and Jumbos really bad as people say? Is it easy to fix?

[jseth]

Feedback (on any guitar) is more a function of the pickup installed, the volume level of the performance and the PA/amplifier...

While I had severe issues with amplifying my Martin D-35 in the 70's, nowadays it's very doable to get great sound and tone from either body shape you mentioned without the attendant feedback that used to be such an issue.

No matter what sort of guitar you play, if it's amplified poorly, at a very high volume, you're going to get feedback... it's the nature of the beast!

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by Wayne27

Is the feedback issue for Dreadnaughts and Jumbos really bad as people say? Is it easy to fix?

Hi Wayne
Depends on the pickup in the guitar, the post-guitar adjustment (preamp &/or EQ), the actual frequency sensitivity of the instrument, the adjustment on the PA end because of the quality of the board & PA.

It's no worse on my Dreadnaught, my mini-jumbo, nor my OM.

I can make them all feed-back if I do nothing, and I can dial it out of any of them equally.

I agree with jseth…it was tougher in the 60s & 70s, and it's much more manageable in the 2020s.

It would probably help the discussion if you tell us if you want to play using pickups, mics only, or a combination.

Do you intend to play in a band or solo, have it reflected to you via monitors, or use a stage amp?

Is this an auditorium with a high end system (and techs to match), or a coffee house open mic, a church or a bar?

[Wayne27]

Originally Posted by ljguitar

Hi Wayne
Depends on the pickup in the guitar, the post-guitar adjustment (preamp &/or EQ), the actual frequency sensitivity of the instrument, the adjustment on the PA end because of the quality of the board & PA.

It's no worse on my Dreadnaught, my mini-jumbo, nor my OM.

I can make them all feed-back if I do nothing, and I can dial it out of any of them equally.

I agree with jseth…it was tougher in the 60s & 70s, and it's much more manageable in the 2020s.

It would probably help the discussion if you tell us if you want to play using pickups, mics only, or a combination.

Do you intend to play in a band or solo, have it reflected to you via monitors, or use a stage amp?

Is this an auditorium with a high end system (and techs to match), or a coffee house open mic, a church or a bar?

I’m not performing with equipment at the moment. I was just asking out of curiosity. Wouldn’t the volume of larger body guitar cause more feedback? I also heard that the more air there is in the chamber of an acoustic guitar, the more likely a feedback will occur because all of the particles are moving.

[Wade Hampton]

One of the reasons I switched from a dreadnought to a Triple O was the far greater feedback resistance of the Triple O. That was in 1989 and I was mainly divided between running my own sound and walking out on festival stages (mostly without sound checks) and trusting my sound to the tender mercies of whoever was running the board.

When I was running my own sound I had the dreadnought figured out, but when I walked out on festival stages the Triple O was SO much easier for those guys to get a good sound out of.

Maybe things have gotten better since then, but I like the instant ease of Triple O’s and OM’s when it comes to getting a good stage sound. They ARE more balanced, and that makes them easier to mic.

Hope that makes sense.


Wade Hampton Miller