who makes the LOUDEST but still GREAT sounding guitar?

Jeff Moore

Jazzaferri, Texas Red.
I think you've got the physics right. Longer tenser strings gotta have more wallop, but my experience is simply that the short scale will always chew on my right ear and the long won't, and the perception is that the shorter scale is spitting a wider frequency range with more untamed randomness. It's a sample size of one, so not science. Also they just seem to put our more, but again just me from 12" away. Daughter says I'm wrong too. No double blind test here.
My guess is that the 70% smaller hole on the ovals just tames a lot of frequency regardless of the longer tighter strings. The ovals sound more refined - compressed. The cheaper (all I have) D's sound more "all over the place" in frequency.
I love them both, but I've learned to physically keep my head straighter and not look left at my left (putting the right ear closer to the hole) hand so much while I play the D-500 in particular cuz I feel the wizzing in my right ear if I don't keep it away from direct sound.
I'm not getting any second on this, so that suggests its me, not everyone. The question was "what's the loudest", and I'm just adding my 2 cents. I think their all "great sounding" but quite different.
My VR seems to give a much broader frequency range than the Lebretons, but still tame compared to the D's. The lows are lower and highs higher. Overall volume of VR and Lebretons seem to close to call.
A "phone style Db app" might settle these questions better than individual perceptions! But if a particular guitar puts half its energy into a couple high frequencies (as if that could happen) the Db meter might not tell you why your ears hurt.

HCQ

The loudest guitar with great tone I've heard was a Busato owned by a forum member here. Romain Vuillemin was playing it when I heard it in 2009.

Jazzaferri

There is a difference between loud aka spl and ability to stand out in the mix or "cut".

If a sound had lots of high freq. overtones it may be able to cut up close but at a distance will not as high freq sound loses energy faster over distance.

Barkonator

At Django in June last year Craig Bumgarner brought a couple of his guitars and was passing them around at the jams. From standing outside of the circle, you could always hear Craig's guitars and they sounded great!

Al Watsky

^ True ^ Craig had a cedar top we were calling the dominator. Possibly the loudest guitar on the face of planet earth. *and* it sounded "good".

Charlie Ayers

My Bumgarner Derecho may be the loudest I've played (and it is very fine sounding). I have had a couple of very loud Shelley Parks as well.

Craig Denney

Jazzaferri wrote: »

Get a Db meter app for your phone and put on stand with mic facing guitar at exactly 3 feet. Report back

Interesting! I always knew my dB meter app would come in handy.

I just checked my Zwinakis and it hovers around 72-74dB with both rhythm and lead.

I compared it to my Martin dreadnoughts, and it was about the same.

Jazzaferri

At what distance

Craig Denney

Exactly 3 feet from the soundhole to the mic

Joli Gadjo

Craig's guitar is my loudest, and keeps a very warm / sweet tone no matter what. Louder would be Craig's old MD50 that must be somewhere around Boston isn't it?