Martin D-28
| Manufacturer | C. F. Martin & Company |
|---|---|
| Period | 1930–present |
| Body type | Square-shoulder dreadnought |
| Neck joint | Dovetail |
| Body |
Sitka Spruce or Adirondack top Rosewood back and sides |
| Neck | Mahogany |
| Fretboard | Ebony |
| Bridge | Ebony |
| Natural, Sunburst, Amber | |
The Martin D-28 is a six-string acoustic guitar made by C. F. Martin & Company of Nazareth, Pennsylvania, which was established in 1833. It is widely regarded amongst luthiers and guitarists alike as being the classic and even iconic American made acoustic guitar.
This guitar is a Dreadnought design, a naval term adopted and used by many to describe its larger body dimensions, hence the "D" designation. When first created, the dreadnought guitar was seen as less favorable to the standard, smaller-sized guitars of its time. Sales finally started to take off in 1935, "when they were given a single illustration on page 12 in the company's catalog, opposite a Hawaiian model." The ad read:
First pioneered by Martin in 1931, the D-28 is prized for its booming projection and high quality tone. The first batch of this guitar went exclusively to the Chicago Musical Instrument Company, although this "exclusive" deal didn't last for long. Originally built around the Martin D-14 Fret platform, early examples included exotic tone woods, such as Brazilian Rosewood, which is no longer available in large quantities due to deforestation and later treaty controls. Original D28 guitars also used standard materials no longer found in current production models. For example, these guitars included a distinct "herringbone" pattern that lined the top of the guitar. However, this styling of the guitar was only made during 1946 as the materials were made in pre-WWII Germany and couldn't be reproduced elsewhere during and post-war. For various reasons, this "herringbone" version of the guitar (while incredibly similar to the non-herringbone version produced later) will typically be worth more than its non-herringbone variant. Another example of the small differences in the guitar over the years is the replacement from the "diamonds and squares" fretboard inlays to plain dot styling also around this time.
D28s were so popular at one point during the 1950s, that "customers were waiting two years or more for a D-28."
The modern D-28 is made of several high quality tone woods, featuring a solid Sitka spruce top, Indian Rosewood back and sides and mahogany neck. It uses the classic non scalloped X bracing pattern pioneered by Martin along with an ebony bridge and fret board. Much of the construction is still done by hand although in recent years Martin has adopted modern computer controlled CNC machines to fashion the guitar's neck as well as automated buffing and polishing machines that maintain the overall quality of the finished product. As of 2013, a base model sells for around $2,400 U.S., however many of the older models that were made in the 1940s, 1950s and early 1960s command far greater prices.
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