Stretton 41 Inch Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar with Steel Strings - Complete Beginner Guitar Kit Includes Case, Strap, Picks & More - Perfect for Home Practice, Camping & Live Performances - Black

Product Description

Stretton D1 Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar The Stretton D1 Acoustic guitar package is the ideal choice for those learning to play, as a second guitar or as a junior player ready for their first step up to a full size guitar. Spruce top for great sound performance Dark tone wood bridge & neck for durability and playability Steel strings for crisp bright tone with volume and power Accessories included so you have everything you need to learn Everything you need to play – straight out of the box. The Stretton D1 starter kit has everything you need to start playing and so you don’t have to worry about separately buying all of the additional accessories you need. Included in the package is a guitar bag, strap, electronic digital tuner spare strings, plectrums and free online music lessons to kickstart learning. Quality Specifications That Make A Difference Dreadnought Body Shape The classically styled Stretton D1 Dreadnought body shape is probably the most popular style of acoustic guitar. The dreadnought body shape makes a strong and loud sound, which is why they are loved by a wide variety of players and sound great whatever genre of music you are playing. Purple Heart Bridge The bridge of any guitar is a very important component both in terms of functionality and sound. One of the bridge’s most important jobs is to transfer the sound from the strings into the soundboard of the guitar as well as playing a big part in holding the strings of the guitar in place. The construction of the D1 bridge is made from a specially sourced solid dark tone wood for maximum sound performance and durability. Purple Heart Neck The fretboard has arguably the most influence over playability than any other part of the guitar. The fretboard works hard (just think of all of those strings contantly pressing down on it). The dark tonewood fretboard on the Stretton D1 is a durable material that produces a warm, rich sound and makes playing comfortable and enjoyable. Sitka Spruce Top The D1 spruce top creates a tone that you might expect from a much more expensive model, sweet, and smooth with just enough warmth to give a depth to your sound. The spruce top also helps to give the D1 its bold projection and volume and as with everything - gets better with age! Read more This is a Dreadnought Guitar The dreadnought is a type of acoustic guitar body that has become the most common size and shape for acoustic guitars. At the time of its creation in 1916 the word dreadnought referred to a large, all big-gun, modern battleship of the type pioneered by HMS Dreadnought in 1906. With a body much larger than most other guitars at the time, it provided the dreadnought with a bolder, richer, and often louder tone. It is distinguished by its size and square shoulders and bottom. It has stood the test of time with its rich tone and versatility to become the most recognizable steel string acoustic guitar body shape in the world. Key Features The type of tonal wood used to build a guitar body is key to a great sounding instrument. The type of wood used in the neck, fretboard and bridge is also very important in producing a quality guitar that plays well. Here is a list of the carefully selected tonal woods we used to make this guitar with an explanation of the tonal properties you can expect from the guitar listed below. Top: Sitka Spruce Back and Sides: Basswood Neck: Mahogany Machine Heads: Chrome Diecast Fret Material: Nickel Fretboard Material: Purple Heart Finish: High Gloss Cutaway Body: No Pickup: None The Tonal Woods used to build this guitar. Sitka Spruce Spruce is generally regarded as the industry standard tone wood for guitar tops. It offers the widest depth of tone and character for every playing style. Spruce is a softwood and has a tight creamy white grain with good pliability that produces a broad dynamic range of sound. Sitka Spruce is slightly heavier and stiffer which produces a marginally louder tone. The reason for spruces persistent popularity is its ability to produce bright responsive balanced tone. Basswood Back and Sides The name of this type of guitar wood interchanges depending on cultural preference but they all come from the Tilia genus of about 30 species of trees native to the northern hemisphere. It’s widely used in the construction of guitars due to its abundance and affordability. It’s tonal properties are good with a light and soft nature producing balanced tone. Mahogany Neck Mahogany is a straight grained redish-brown wood that produces guitars with an impressive beauty and depth of sound. Its stunning colour produces beautiful natural finished guitars. It is widely used in quality guitar necks due to its straight grain, density and strength. When used in the guitar body it is characterised as having a warm, soft sound with pleasing resonance and balanced tone. Purple Heart Fretboard and Bridge Purple Heart is a very hard, stiff and dense wood with a straight tight grain. It has become a popular choice for quality guitar fretboards and bridges due to its similar tonal properties to Rosewood. When freshly cut the timber is a deep purple colour and becomes a dark brown when exposed to UV light. The dense hard wearing character of Purple Heart make it a great choice for fretboards and guitar bridges as it transfers sound waves efficiently to the rest of the guitar. Read more The quality components used to build this guitar. Chrome Diecast Machine Heads What is a machine head? Simply put they are the component on a guitar used to adjust the string tension whilst also preventing the string from slipping. Once tensioned it’s important that the string is held in place without slipping to maintain accurate tuning. There are a variety of machine heads to suit different budgets and they are an important component to consider when building quality guitars. They affect tuning accuracy and contribute to the stability of the guitars tuning. Why we use Sealed (diecast) on this guitar. Sealed or Diecast machine heads are used mainly on quality mid to high end guitars. The internal mechanisms are sealed inside a diecast housing meaning the components are protected from the elements and will permanently retain its lubrication. The diecast housing keeps the gear mechanisms firmly in place making a more accurate string tensioner and holding the guitars tuning more stable. Diecast machine heads are long lasting, accurate, quality guitar components. Quality Nickel Frets What is a fret? Frets are the metal strips that run at regular intervals along the fretboard (finger board). The number of frets on a guitar neck vary depending on the type of guitar, typically a steel string acoustic guitar has 20 frets. Fret wire or frets are an important component that will affect the guitars playability. The type of metal they are made from will have the biggest impact over all. The three main metals used for fret wire are brass (a gold colour), nickel and stainless steel (both a silver colour). Brass is not as hard wearing as nickel and stainless steel. This makes it a good choice for nylon string guitars but not so good for steel string acoustic guitars. Nickel is a better choice for quality steel string guitars because it is considered corrosion resistant and hard wearing. Stainless steel is a less common choice as it tends to have a more rigid structure which makes it harder to work with but is most resistant to corrosion. Dual Action Truss Rod What is a truss rod and do all guitars have them? Guitar necks are prone to bending from changes in temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure and tension from the guitar strings. Quality guitars have a truss rod inserted under the fretboard that runs the length of the guitar neck. A truss rod is a metal rod that can be tightened or loosened to control the bend in a guitar neck. Not all guitars have them but it’s an important component to consider when building quality guitars. At Stretton we use dual action truss rods which is a modern design that can be tightened in both directions, warping the neck in either direction. The truss rod is accessed on an acoustic guitar using an allen/hex key inside the sound hole. A truss rod allows small adjustments to the neck position, also known as the guitars action, making the strings either closer or further away from the fretboard. Having a quality guitar with a good dual action truss rod will help set the guitar neck perfectly. Read more About Stretton About Stretton Stretton is a proudly British producer of musical instruments for over 20 years, but we are about much more than just that! We understand the importance of our relationship with music, championing every type of player…the self-taught, the bedroom musician through to the professional player and recording artist. Stretton is about making music. We inspire our players to use our instruments as a tool for expression, unleashing untapped potential and creating a community of players with a sense of belonging. We understand the importance of producing our guitars responsibly and as part of this mission we manage a 50 acre woodland to offset the creation of our instruments.