Martin & Co D-28

I have been messing around on the guitar for a long time now and have a pretty solid collection of guitars both acoustic and electric. I used to be conserned with more of the guitar’s looks when I was younger but that’s not the case anymore. I am now more consirned with the guitars ability to get the proper tone. I spend hours on hours sitting in a room that has concrete flooring in my basement playing because it really lets me hear the tone of the guitar better that way. The D 28 by Martin has allowed me to get that great tone almost every single time. It really is an amazing guitar and you must try to get your hands on it. Even if you cant afford it because it isn’t cheap you can always go down to guitar center and play with it and see if its something that you would want to own and then start saving the money to get it.


UTILIZATION

Yes, it is easy to get the last frets and the design and shape are perfect for me, but it may not be perfect for you. We all like our instruments to be as custom to us as possible to you will need to go try it out first like I said. Yes it is easy to get the sound you will love, there really arent too many other guitars that I own sound as good as this does.


SOUNDS

Sounds amazing I love it and I always will. I play some blue grass and folk with it from time to time and it gets the sound perfect each time.


OVERALL OPINION

One thing that I didn’t like about this was the price tag. It really put a dent on my credit card, but it was worth it in the end. I have paid it off a long time ago and the good thing about it is it can still be sold for almost the same price I purchased it for which is always a great sign when you can resell your gear for a similar price to what you paid for it.

I am what they now call a "finger style" guitarist.

I purchase this guitar new in 1969 at Roxies in LaPorte Indiana for $325.00. I bought it because the Gibson B25 that I had was always drowned out when I jammed with others. Although the guitar always sounded great,for years I played with a capo at the second fret because it never felt as comfortable at the nut. A couple of years ago I had it professionally set up at a shop in Austin. Since then it's been like a new guitar and it's been a joy to play.

I have noticed the tone getting better and better as it gets older.

None that I can think of

The quality of the wood, workmanship and finish are excellent. I am not a professional musician but in the 39 years that I have owned this guitar it' been out and played regularly. Other than setting it up for lighter strings for finger style picking, this guitar has never needed repair.

Buying this guitar was one of the few decisions I made as a teenager that I have never regretted.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

Hobby hacker since the 70's

Bought brand new it at Caruso's music in downtown Groton, CT in 1972 for $375 with a Guild hardshell case (I thought it was tougher than the Martin case and since I was a sailor at the time I knew it was going to take a beating).


When I first bought it, I was going almost strictly on the rave reviews of all the guys I knew that actually could play guitar (I was hoping that a new Martin D-28 would magically instill a little Stephen Stills into my anemic attempts at music - not in the cards, although my mis-fingered chords did ring through with a truth and clarity that only a Martin could provide).

The beautifull tone, clarity and easy playability were an inspiration that kept me striving to learn more and more about the craft and I think that is what I appreciate the most about this fine instrument.

After 34 years, it just keeps getting better and better - the longer it lives, the more tone knowledge it acquires.

I think the only thing I have ever disliked about this instrument is the responsibility it put squarely on my shoulders to preserve, use and appreciate it to the best of my inadequate ability.

I worry about it getting stolen or being damaged, it's been around so long it's like an old friend that I would miss dearly if they were no longer around.

The construction is absolutely flawless. I picked through about 15 other D-28's to get this particular one and believe me, this is a piece of art created by a master craftsman. I have never had a single thing go wrong since I have owned it and it has moved with me all over the USA and was with me aboard the USS Enterprise until 1975 during the Vietnam war.

It plays and sounds better now than it ever has.

Not the fanciest Martin, but it's the best one I own!

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

The story of this guitar goes back to 1975 when my favorite traveling companion, a 1940's vintage,LG-2 Gibson was stolen out of my Bus on a foggy, depressing evening in San Francisco.
I was heartbroken and without much forethought I replaced it with a brand- new, shiny and very, very expensive Guild dreadnought. I was on the rebound so to speak.
Friends, that Guild spent the next ten years in its' case because It (with no fault of the folks at Guild) and I just weren't meant for each other. Kind of like a whirl-wind, Las Vegas romance. You wake up next to that Special Woman (that you met three hours previously) and, yes she's attractive and has a great body, but you've got nothing in common, and you will never under no circumstances ever mix Tequila and
an unknown frothy, green liquid together again.
The Martin came into my possession when a luthier friend in Santa Monica told me that someone had consigned an old D-28 with him and would I be interested in trading my Guild? Its' lacquer was dull, but the neck was fairly straight and I was told that this particular Martin had spent time as a studio instrument. I picked it up and strumnmed a Gmaj chord; what a voice. It rang, it was like a chance meeting of an old friend that you haven't seen in years. I guess the Guild was worth, maybe $1500.00 in 1983 and I've never regretted the trade.


What's not to like about an old guitar? Sure it's not as pretty as the newest D-45 for $15K, but then again I don't have to treat it like a museum piece.



Occasionally, the ancient Grovers slip, and she goes out of tune when I'm trying to channel some obscure Mississippi John Hurt tune, but the same thing happens to me when I forget where I put my keys.

Vintage Martin. A different feel than a contemporary guitar, even a new D-28.

The market in vintage guitars has skyrocketed to a point that their value as collectibes overshadow what they were manufactured for in the first place, to be played. Not to disappear in some climate controlled wherehouse in London or Tokyo.

I remember hearing an old 78, years ago, of Huddie Leadetter (Leadbelly) playing his version of "Midnight Special". He was playing an old Stella 12-string which had an action that could make your fingers bleed, and what we'd consider a plywood guitar. It goes to show you that in the hands of a virtuoso, it's the man not the instrument.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com