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Fender CD-60S Dreadnought
Fender PD-220E Dreadnought
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Playability
73
Sound
80
Build
65
Value
88
Score
73
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Playability
73
Sound
88
Build
80
Value
85
Score
80
FIND IT ON:
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Fender CD-60S Dreadnought vs PD-220E Dreadnought

Reasons to Get
Fender CD-60S Dreadnought over PD-220E Dreadnought

Fretboard Radius
12'' (304.8mm) vs 15.75'' (400.1mm)
More curved fretboard helpful to play chords without muting strings
Value Score
88 vs 85
Better price/quality relationship

Reasons to Get
Fender PD-220E Dreadnought over CD-60S Dreadnought

Release Year
2022 vs 2017
From a more recent year
Frets Height
Taller vs Shorter
Easier to press down strings and bend them
Pickups Brand
Fishman vs None
Pickups from a renown brand
Nut Material
Bone vs Plastic
Good quality nut with rich tone
Sides Wood
Solid vs Laminated
Helps with richer tones and louder volume
Back Wood
Solid vs Laminated
Helps with richer tones and louder volume
Fretboard Radius
15.75'' (400.1mm) vs 12'' (304.8mm)
Flatter fretboard makes it easier to play single notes and bend

Other Key Differences
Fender CD-60S Dreadnought vs PD-220E Dreadnought

Saddle Material
Plastic vs Bone
Different Saddle Material
Bridge Material
Walnut vs Ovangkol
Different Bridge Material
Fretboard Wood
Walnut vs Ovangkol
Different Fretboard Wood
Nut Material
Plastic vs Bone
Different Nut Material

Shared Features
Fender CD-60S Dreadnought vs PD-220E Dreadnought

Back Material
Mahogany
Same Back Material
Sides Material
Mahogany
Same Sides Material
Body Wood
Spruce
Same Body Wood
Neck Wood
Mahogany
Same Neck Wood
Headstock
3-3
Same Headstock
Strings
6
Same playing style
Body Type
Hollowbody
Warm tone, lighter and acoustic sound
Switch Positions
0
Same pickups versatility
Volume Knobs
0
Same volume control
Tone Knobs
0
Same tone control
Number of Frets
20
Same maximum octave
Nut Width
1.693'' (43mm)
Same string separation at the nut
Paint Finish
Poly
Resistant paint that ages well
Bridge
Fixed
Good sustain and needs no set-up
Scale Length
25.3'' (642.6mm)
Same string tension and fret separation
Neck Profile Type
C
Comfortable neck that works for most people
Type of Frets
Vintage vs Medium
You'll feel the fretboard when pressing down the strings

Common Strengths

  • Solid Top Wood
  • Expensive Wood

Common Weaknesses

  • Pickup Alter Switch/Knob
  • Locking Tuners
  • High-Quality Frets
  • Compound Radius Fretboard
  • From a High-Quality-Standards Country
  • Luminescent Sidedots
  • Strap Lock
  • 21:1 Tuner Ratio
  • Active/Passive Preamp

Table of Contents

Price History Comparison

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Which One is Better Overall?

After going through our comparison algorithm, the results show that the Fender PD-220E Dreadnought is probably the better product overall with its final score of 80 compared to the Fender CD-60S Dreadnought's 73 score, although not by a lot.

The Fender PD-220E Dreadnought wins when it comes to sound, build quality. On the other hand, the Fender CD-60S Dreadnought has the upper hand when it comes to value for the money.

If you got small hands, none of these instruments will make a big difference when it comes to comfortability.

Which One is Better for Beginners?

If you're looking for your first guitar to learn how to play, the Fender PD-220E Dreadnought is the better choice.

The Fender PD-220E Dreadnought meets 3 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness, while the Fender CD-60S Dreadnought meets only 2. This takes into account the type of frets, scale length, nut width, bridge type, fretboard radius, and neck profile to determine the easiest combination for new players.

New Player Friendliness

Fender CD-60S Dreadnought
  • Easy-to-use bridge
  • Comfortable neck
  • Comfortable shape
  • Comfortable fretboard
  • Tall frets
  • Narrow nut
  • Short scale
  • Soft Strings
  • Locking tuners

New Player Friendliness

Fender PD-220E Dreadnought
  • Easy-to-use bridge
  • Tall frets
  • Comfortable neck
  • Comfortable shape
  • Comfortable fretboard
  • Narrow nut
  • Short scale
  • Soft Strings
  • Locking tuners

Nevertheless, when it comes to choosing an instrument, you should pick the one more compatible with your personal style. Still, below we'll try you to give you our results as objectively as it's possible to help you decide.

Fender CD-60S Dreadnought Overview

  • From Fender's 2017 Classic Design series
  • Made in Indonesia
  • 6 strings
  • 25.3"'' scale
  • 12" Fretboard Radius
  • Solid Spruce top
  • Mahogany back
  • Mahogany sides
  • Mahogany neck
  • Walnut fretboard
  • Bridge pickup: (/)
  • Walnut bridge
  • Acoustic Fender 'Easy-to-Play' shape with rolled fretboard edges Set neck
  • 20 Vintage frets
  • Chrome Die-Cast tuners
  • Compare Specs >

Fender PD-220E Dreadnought Overview

  • From Fender's 2022 Classic Design series
  • Made in Indonesia
  • 6 strings
  • 25.3"'' scale
  • 15.75" Fretboard Radius
  • Solid Sitka Spruce top
  • Solid Mahogany back
  • Solid Mahogany sides
  • Mahogany neck
  • Ovangkol fretboard
  • Bridge pickup: Fender/Fishman Sonitone Plus Soundhole Pickup System (Preamp/Active)
  • Ovangkol bridge
  • Acoustic C Shape Set neck
  • 20 Medium frets
  • Nickel Open-Back tuners
  • Weight between 4.1lbs (1.9kgs) and 4.55lbs (2.1kgs)
  • Compare Specs >

Sound Quality Comparison

The most important thing that will determine the tone of an acoustic guitar is the wood. Let's take a look at the differences between both .

Woods Used in Both

Mahogany wood pattern used for guitar building
Mahogany
Spruce wood pattern used for guitar building
Spruce

Mahogany is a fairly rare wood nowadays. It's used mostly for bodies due to its relatively lightweight. Gibson popularized it with their Les Paul guitars during their golden years, so this wood has a lot of good reputation behind it. The most expensive type comes from South America and it's still used by Gibson even today. Find out more about Mahogany.

Spruce has a light color with tight grain patterns. It's very stiff but relatively light. It's known for producing a well-rounded tone with a broad dynamic range. Find out more about Spruce.

Woods Used in the Fender CD-60S Dreadnought

Walnut wood pattern used for guitar building
Walnut

It's a hard wood with a chocolate color that is often used to give an elegant finish. Since it's quite expensive and rare, it's mostly used for guitar tops. Find out more about Walnut.

Woods Used in the Fender PD-220E Dreadnought

Ovangkol wood pattern used for guitar building
Ovangkol

Ovangkol is a beautiful wood that's popular for acoustic guitars. Its tone sits somewhere between rosewood and mahogany, meaning it has a punchy low-end and nice mid-range. Find out more about Ovangkol.

Winner: Tie.

Electronics

The Fender PD-220E Dreadnought comes with a preamp that allows you to connect it to an amp, unlike its competitor. This allows it to have more versatility and sound quality if you want to record with it or play live.

Winner:Fender PD-220E Dreadnought.

Final Sound Quality Scores

Fender CD-60S Dreadnought
Sustain 75
Versatility 80
Tuning Stability 65
Sound 80
Fender PD-220E Dreadnought
Sustain 95
Versatility 85
Tuning Stability 70
Sound 88

Build Quality Comparison

When it comes to build quality, we like to take into account everything used to build the instrument. This includes materials, hardware and the quality control expected depending on the country where it was built. Let's see how the Fender CD-60S Dreadnought compares to the Fender PD-220E Dreadnought.

Country of Origin

The manufacturing country can tell a lot about the build quality of an instrument. Both in this comparison where made in Indonesia.

Indonesia is becoming the most popular country for guitar building because they can make good instruments for a low price. Some people think that they're 'the new China' when it comes to build quality. But the truth is that Indonesian guitars are more consistent, although Chinese quality has improved a lot in the last few years.

Winner: Tie

Nut Material

If you want your guitar to stay in tune and sound good, you need a well cut nut. Nut quality can be inconsistent even when comparing two copies of the same model. The best way to make sure you're nut will be well done is by getting a nut made by an expert company like TUSQ or Micarta.

The Fender CD-60S Dreadnought has a Plastic nut. This is a low-quality nut that you might want to consider upgrading soon. Bone and TUSQ nuts are the best for guitars with a fixed or simple tremolo bridge.

On the other hand, the Fender PD-220E Dreadnought comes with a Bone nut. It's a type of nut found in high-quality instruments. They sound similar to Ivory since they give a lot of sustain and a bright sound (at least when striking open strings). The only problem they can run into is that you may get a bone piece that simply doesn't sound as well as others because that's just how natural materials are.

Winner: Fender PD-220E Dreadnought.

Fret Material

Most fret wire is made of nickel silver. This material eventually wears down after a lot of use and most instruments end up needing a complete fret replacement. However, some expensive models come with stainless steel frets. This is what you should aim for if you can afford it.

Unfortunately, none of them come with stainless steel frets.

Winner: Tie.

Tuners

Both come with regular tuners. The Fender CD-60S Dreadnought's are Chrome Die-Cast while the Fender PD-220E Dreadnought's are Nickel Open-Back

Winner: Tie.

Here is the list of features that were considered when choosing the winner in the Features subcategory:

Strengths & Weaknesses
Fender CD-60S Dreadnought
  • Expensive Wood
  • Solid Top Wood
  • Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
  • No Locking Tuners
  • Made in Indonesia
  • No High-Quality Nut
  • No Top Brand Pickups
  • No Electronics
  • Low-Quality Material Saddle
  • Laminated Side Wood
  • Laminated Back Wood
  • No Compound Radius Fretboard
  • No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
  • No Strap Lock
Strengths & Weaknesses
Fender PD-220E Dreadnought
  • Expensive Wood
  • Bone Nut
  • Top Brand Pickups
  • Electronics
  • Bone Saddle
  • Solid Top Wood
  • Solid Side Wood
  • Solid Back Wood
  • Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
  • No Locking Tuners
  • Made in Indonesia
  • No Compound Radius Fretboard
  • No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
  • No Strap Lock

Final Build Quality Scores

Fender CD-60S Dreadnought
Quality of materials 66
Features 65
Quality Control 65
Build Quality 65
Fender PD-220E Dreadnought
Quality of materials 86
Features 85
Quality Control 70
Build Quality 80

Playability Comparison

Let's now compare their playability. Bear in mind that the instrument will feel different depending on your hand size and play style. That's why you should always test before buying. But if you can't or want a second opinion on it, we can still take a look at each of the important measurements of the instrument for you. This way, we can predict how easy a guitar might be to play, or how different it will feel compared to the other.

Remember that, even though the difference might seem small, every inch counts when it comes to feeling of the instrument in your hands. Any variation can completely change how comfortable a guitar feels in your hands.

Nut Width

Fender CD-60S Dreadnought Nut Width
Both Guitars Have The Same Nut Width

The nut width will affect the separation between strings at the nut. In this comparison, both have a nut width of 43mm (1.693'').

This is within the most common range of nut widths for a 6-string guitar. It offers a good balance of string separation at the nut. It's the size that most guitarists prefer as it gives them just enough space to play open chords without muting the strings, but without spreading the strings too wide and making bar chords difficult to perform.

Scale Length

Fender CD-60S Dreadnought and Fender PD-220E Dreadnought's Scale Length
Both have the same scale length

The scale length is one of the things that influences playability the most. This is the distance between the nut and the bridge and will affect everything from low action allowance, difficulty to perform bends, fret separation, and even tone.

In this case, both have a scale length of 25.3".

This is considered a long scale, but slightly shorter than what's commonly found in acoustic guitars.

Since the distance between bridge and nut is relatively long, strings will feel stiff and more difficult to bend, but the tone will feel brighter. It will also be less likely to produce fret buzzing and rattling when strumming hard.

Lastly, remember that you can also affect the tension of the strings by changing your string gauge. You can use a thicker gauge for more tension and a lighter one for less tension.

Neck Profile

Fender CD-60S Dreadnought Neck Profile
Fender CD-60S Dreadnought's neck profile
Fender PD-220E Dreadnought Neck Profile
Fender PD-220E Dreadnought's neck profile

No single neck shape is better than others. However, most people tend to prefer a thinner necks because it doesn't get in their way when playing fast and most hand sizes can adapt to it pretty well. However, some people still prefer thicker necks for a better grip, especially if they have big hands.

Both the Fender CD-60S Dreadnought and the Fender PD-220E Dreadnought have a C-shaped neck. This is what you'll find in most modern guitars. Most people feel like the thickness of a C neck is simply the less intrusive one for playing fast, while at the same time allowing you to grab the neck easily for resting if you want to.

Fretboard Radius

Fender CD-60S Dreadnought Fingerboard Radius
Fender CD-60S Dreadnought's Fingerboard radius
Fender PD-220E Dreadnought Fingerboard Radius
Fender PD-220E Dreadnought's Fingerboard radius

Most guitar fretboards are not flat; they usually have a curve or arc across their width. A curved fretboard will make it easier to perform chords without muting strings, while a flatter one will make it easier to play single notes, which is good for bending and soloing in general. The best fretboards have a compound radius that varies across the fingerboard, but they're not common since they take a lot more work to build.

In this case, the Fender CD-60S Dreadnought's fingerboard radius is smaller, which means it's more curved than the Fender PD-220E Dreadnought's. This extra arc will make playing chords easier in this model. You won't be as likely to mute the strings, especially if you have big hands. However, playing single notes and bending will be easier on the Fender PD-220E Dreadnought.

Still, both tend to favor soloing over chords, so if you're looking for a guitar for playing rhythm, you might want something else with a radius closer to a Stratocaster's 9.5''.

Hand Size Comfortability

Everyone has a different hand size, and that's why it's recommended to try a guitar before buying, even if others tell you that it's comfortable to play. However, we can know whether a guitar favors small or large hands just by knowing its exact measurements.

After taking into account the scale length, nut width, neck profile and fretboard radius, we can conclude that both in this comparison favor small hands .

Fender CD-60S Dreadnought:
Big Hands
Small Hands
Fender PD-220E Dreadnought:
Big Hands
Small Hands

Fret Size

Fender CD-60S Dreadnought Frets Size
Fender CD-60S Dreadnought's Frets Size
Fender PD-220E Dreadnought Frets Size
Fender PD-220E Dreadnought's Frets Size

The Fender PD-220E Dreadnought has Medium frets, which should be taller than the Fender CD-60S Dreadnought's Vintage frets.

Some people prefer taller frets because they result in more sustain since the strings get pressed cleanly without interference from the fretboard. However, if they're too tall—like Jumbo frets—, you might change the pitch of the strings accidentally if you press too hard because you won't be touching the fretboard with your fingers. This is also why some guitarists with a heavy grip prefer smaller frets. They like to feel the fingerboard to avoid pressing down too hard and getting out of pitch.

Final Playability Scores

Fender CD-60S Dreadnought
Bending & Vibrato Ease 75
Chord Playability 65
Solo Playability 80
Playability 73
Fender PD-220E Dreadnought
Bending & Vibrato Ease 75
Chord Playability 65
Solo Playability 80
Playability 73

Specs Side-by-Side

Fender CD-60S Dreadnought vs PD-220E Dreadnought
General Fender CD-60S Dreadnought PD-220E Dreadnought
Brand: Fender Fender
Year: 2017 2022
Strings: 6 6
Made in: Indonesia Indonesia
Series: Classic Design Classic Design
Colors: Black Sunburst
Left-Handed Version: Yes No
Body
Type: Hollowbody Hollowbody
Body Material: Solid Spruce Solid Sitka Spruce
Sides Material: Mahogany Mahogany
Back Material: Mahogany Mahogany
Bridge: Walnut Ovangkol
Neck
Neck Joint: Set Set
Tuners: Chrome Die-Cast Nickel Open-Back
Fretboard: Walnut Ovangkol
Neck Material: Mahogany Mahogany
Decoration: 3mm Pearloid Dot Snowflake
Scale Size: 25.3" 25.3"
Shape: Acoustic Fender 'Easy-to-Play' shape with rolled fretboard edges Acoustic C Shape
Frets: 20 Vintage Nickel Silver 20 Medium Nickel Silver
Fretboard Radius: 12" 15.75"
Nut: Plastic Bone
Nut Width: 43mm (1.693'') 43mm (1.693'')
Electronics
Bridge Pickup: Fender/Fishman Sonitone Plus Soundhole Pickup System (Preamp / Active)