Tanglewood TRS5SE Rosewood Smart Slope Shoulder Dreadnought Electro-Acoustic Guitar

Big dreadnought volume with a softer cedar voice

The Tanglewood TRS5SE is a dreadnought electro acoustic guitar with a slope shoulder body. It is made for strummers and singer-songwriters who want volume and low end, with a warmer, rounder tone than a spruce top usually gives.

Slope shoulder body

The slope shoulder dreadnought is a classic shape with a deep, full sound. The body is large, so it moves air well and backs up a voice without fuss. If you are comparing a dreadnought guitar against smaller shapes, expect more bass and more push from this one.

Cedar and rosewood

The top is solid cedar, which responds quickly and gives a smooth, warm tone. The back and sides are rosewood, bringing strong lows, bright overtones and good sustain. The mix suits chord work, rhythm playing and fingerpicking, because notes stay distinct even when the body is working hard.

Ready for the stage

Enya electronics are fitted, so it plugs straight into an amp or PA. The Eboncore fingerboard is smooth and hard-wearing. The natural gloss finish lets the grain of the cedar and rosewood show through.

Cedar tops can sound a little softer at first than spruce, and that is part of the appeal. The tone has less bite and more bloom, which suits vocal accompaniment and relaxed rhythm playing. Under heavier strumming the large body keeps up and the rosewood adds a bright, shimmering edge that stops the sound getting too dark.

• Slope shoulder dreadnought body
• Solid cedar top, rosewood back and sides
• Eboncore fingerboard
• Enya onboard electronics

This model has no cutaway, so the upper frets take a little more reach. If you want one, the cutaway TRS4CE is the nearest alternative in the series, in a smaller super folk body. For a loud, warm cedar top dreadnought that also works amplified, the TRS5SE is £549.