Fender CD-60SCE Dreadnought Review & Prices

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Fender CD-60SCE Dreadnought Review
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  • From Fender's 2018 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: Fishman CD-1 Preamp (Preamp/Passive)
  • Walnut bridge
  • Acoustic Fender 'Easy-to-Play' shape with rolled fretboard edges Set neck
  • 20 Vintage frets
  • Chrome Die-Cast tuners
  • Compare Specs >

Our Scores and Tone Evaluation

Playability 73
Sound 80
Build quality 72
Value for money 85
Overall Score 75
Tone Evaluation
  • Heavy Metal
  • Hard Rock
  • Jazz
  • Blues
  • Funk
  • Country
Strengths & Weaknesses
Fender CD-60SCE Dreadnought
  • Expensive Wood
  • Top Brand Pickups
  • Electronics
  • Solid Top Wood
  • Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
  • No Locking Tuners
  • Made in Indonesia
  • No High-Quality Nut
  • Low-Quality Material Saddle
  • Laminated Side Wood
  • Laminated Back Wood
  • No Compound Radius Fretboard
  • No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
  • No Strap Lock

Price Overview

Its average competitor's price is $330, which means that the Fender CD-60SCE Dreadnought is within the average price asked for this kind of guitar. This takes into account all instruments of the same category in our database with 6 strings and Fixed bridge that are made in Indonesia.

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Not all instruments are created equally. That's why it's important to have different opinions. Here's what our users who have played this instrument say. If you've played it before, help others by voting below!

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Is it Easy to Play?

The Fender CD-60SCE Dreadnought meets 2 out of our 8 criteria items for beginner friendliness, which means that it's not recommended for complete beginners. 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 to get used to.

New Player Friendliness

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

Hand Size Comfortability

After taking into account the neck profile, scale size, fretboard radius, and nut width, we can conclude that the Fender CD-60SCE Dreadnought's construction favors people with relatively small hands.

Nevertheless, this comes down in the end to personal preference. Make sure you test this guitar—or another one with similar characteristics—before buying.

Big Hands
Small Hands

Scale Length

Scale length is the distance the strings will span between the bridge and the nut. It can tell you a lot about the overall playability and tone of the instrument. A longer scale length means longer distance between frets, brighter tone and more string tension—which means lower action, but more difficult bending of the strings.

Here's the Fender CD-60SCE Dreadnought's 25.3" scale length compared to other common sizes:

Fender CD-60SCE Dreadnought Scale Length Comparison
Fender CD-60SCE Dreadnought's scale length (at the top) compared to other popular sizes

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.

More with the same scale length:

Neck Profile

Fender CD-60SCE Dreadnought Neck Profile
Fender CD-60SCE Dreadnought's neck profile

The neck profile tells you the thickness (neck depth) and shape in cross section. Every difference will completely change the feeling and comfortability of the neck. This is a highly subjective thing, but most players indeed prefer certain types of necks (like Cs and Ds) because they feel nice in most hands.

It has a C type neck. C-shaped necks like this have been the most popular for the last years. The reason is that they feel good in most hands. It's generally a thin neck that doesn't get in your way when playing fast, but that also has enough mass to give your hands a comfortable grip for chords if they aren't too big.

Thin necks like this make it easier to move your hand across the neck and it helps when playing fast solos, especially if you like to leave your thumb free while playing high on the fretboard. However, thinner necks are also weaker and will need adjustment more often than a thicker neck.

More for different hand sizes

Fretboard Radius

When it comes to fingerboard radius, personal preference will dictate which one is better for you. However, most people seem to agree that a more curved (lower) radius will make it easier to play chords while a less curved (higher) radius is better for soloing and bending.

The Fender CD-60SCE Dreadnought has a 12" fingerboard radius.

Here's an image comparing this fretboard radius to other popular choices:

Fender CD-60SCE Dreadnought Fretboard Radius Comparison with Fender Stratocaster and Gibson Les Paul
Fender CD-60SCE Dreadnought's fretboard radius compared to others

This is the same radius that Gibson uses in most of their guitars. When compare to the other popular radius of Fender Stratocasters, you can see that it's a lot flatter. Guitars with this radius are usually made to bring a good balance between single-note and chord playing.

Compound radius fingerboards give the best of both worlds. Unfortunately, the Fender CD-60SCE Dreadnought has the same radius across the board.

More with the same fretboard radius:

Playability compared to main competitors

25.3'' Scale Length
C Neck Profile
1.693'' Nut Width
12'' Fretboard Radius
25.3'' Scale Length
C Neck Profile
1.693'' Nut Width
15.748'' Fretboard Radius
25.3'' Scale Length
C Neck Profile
1.693'' Nut Width
15.75'' Fretboard Radius
25.3'' Scale Length
C Neck Profile
1.693'' Nut Width
15.748'' Fretboard Radius
25.5'' Scale Length
C Neck Profile
1.693'' Nut Width
15.75'' Fretboard Radius

Nut Width

Fender CD-60SCE Dreadnought Nut Width
Fender CD-60SCE Dreadnought Nut Width

The Fender CD-60SCE Dreadnought has 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.

Frets

It comes with nickel silver frets, so they won't last as long as stainless steel frets. If you use your instrument a lot, you might need to replace the frets after a few years. But this is unlikely as most people change instruments before this happens.

More with the same amount of frets:

Fret Size

Fender CD-60SCE Dreadnought Fret Size Comparison
Fender CD-60SCE Dreadnought's fret size (in orange) compared to other popular sizes

Finally, let's talk about fret size. Some people prefer tall frets because it's easier to press the strings and perform bends since there's less friction against the fretboard. On the other hand, some people like shorter frets because they like to touch the fretboard when playing, or because they got heavy hands and tend to press too much on the string and alter the of the note pitch accidently.

The Fender CD-60SCE Dreadnought's frets are Vintage size. This is one of the shortest fret sizes you can find. Most modern guitar players prefer taller frets because it's easier to bend and press down the strings. However, some people love the feeling of a small fret that lets them feel the fretboard while playing. We recommend newbies choose a taller size for an easier experience.

More with the same type of frets:

Playability Score

Bending & Vibrato Ease 75
Chord Playability 65
Solo Playability 80
Playability 73

Tone Analysis

The type of wood and even the shape of the body will have a lot of influence in the final tone of an acoustic guitar. Here's we'll talk about what kind of tone you can expect from its specs.

Wood

Spruce wood pattern used for guitar building
Spruce Top
Mahogany wood pattern used for guitar building
Mahogany Back, Sides, Neck
Walnut wood pattern used for guitar building
Walnut Fretboard

Spruce Top: This wood 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.

Mahogany Back, Sides and Neck: This is the type of wood found in many top-of-the-line guitars, so that's a positive point for the build quality. This red-looking wood Mahogany is found in Africa and Central America and has great sustain and a warm tone due to its high density. The downside about this type of wood is that it's relatively heavy.

Walnut Fretboard: 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.

Pickups

This guitar comes with pickups from one of the top brands: Fishman. So you can expect well built pickups with great sound that shouldn't need an upgrade anytime soon.

Sound Score

Sustain 75
Versatility 80
Tuning Stability 65
Sound 80

Build Quality Analysis

Country of Origin

Knowing where the instrument is produced is a good way to know how well it's built. Some manufacturing countries are known for having higher quality standards. For example, most expensive instruments are made in the US or Japan, but there are some exceptionally great countries—like South Korea—that are building a good reputation.

The Fender CD-60SCE Dreadnought is made in Indonesia. Many people prefer the quality of an Indonesian guitar over a Chinese. Respectable brands like Epiphone, Ibanez and Schecter are building in this country because of the great quality and lower price. Some people like to compare them to the ones built in Japan during the 80s, when Japanese guitar makers made a name for themselves.

Bridge

Walnut: The advantage of fixed bridges is that they don't require any kind of set-up. This makes it extremely easy when changing strings because you don't need to adjust anything besides tuning the guitar. Also, the fact that the bridge is directly attached to the body will help to increase sustain. The disadvantage is the lack of versatility since you can't create the same vibrato effects as with tremolo bridges.

Nut Material

Another important thing to analyze is the nut material, as it's one of the most important aspects that can affect the sound and playability of your guitar. A well-cut nut will make sure it stays in tune and will make it more comfortable to play.

In this case, the Fender CD-60SCE 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.

Build Quality Score

Quality of materials 66
Features 85
Quality Control 65
Build Quality 72

All Specs

Fender CD-60SCE Dreadnought
General
Brand: Fender
Year: 2018
Configuration:
Strings: 6
Made in: Indonesia
Series: Classic Design
Colors: Black
Left-Handed Version: No
Body
Type: Hollowbody
Body Material: Solid Spruce
Bridge: Walnut
Neck
Neck Joint: Set
Tuners: Chrome Die-Cast
Fretboard: Walnut
Neck Material: Mahogany
Decoration: 3mm Pearloid Dot
Scale Size: 25.3"
Shape: Acoustic Fender 'Easy-to-Play' shape with rolled fretboard edges
Frets: 20 Vintage
Fretboard Radius: 12"
Nut: Plastic
Nut Width: 43mm (1.693'')
Electronics
Switch: 0 Way
Knobs:
Volume Controls: 0
Tone Controls: 0
Bridge Pickup: Fishman CD-1 Preamp (Preamp / Passive)

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