The History
The Martin D-28 is a dreadnought-style acoustic guitar made by C. F. Martin & Company of Nazareth, Pennsylvania. It is widely regarded amongst luthiers and guitarists alike as being the classic and even iconic American made acoustic guitar.
Introduced by Martin in 1931, the D-28 is prized for its booming projection and high quality tone. The first batch went wholly 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 subsequent treaty controls.
Original D28 guitars also used standard materials no longer found in current production models. For example, they had a distinct "herringbone" pattern that lined the top of the guitar. However, this touch was discontinued in 1946, as the German-made materials were no longer available post-World War II. Also the "diamonds and squares" fretboard inlays were reduced to plain dot styling around this time.
D28s were so popular at one point during the 1950s, that customers were waiting two years or more for one.
The Modern D28
The modern D-28 is made of several high quality tone woods, including a solid Sitka spruce or Adirondack red 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 computer controlled CNC machines to fashion the guitar's neck, and employs automated buffing and polishing machines, while maintaining the overall quality of the finished product.
Players are used to a certain guitar when purchasing a Martin, this makes these guitars extremely difficult to change, as they are near perfect already!
The visible changes are low-key and elements like the tortoiseshell colored pickguard, aging top toner, open-back gears and slightly darker binding give the guitar a more vintage look. The nut has also been slightly widened to 1 ¾”, which gives the player’s fretting hand a little more room to maneuver.
The biggest change, however, is under the hood. Martin is now making the D-28 with forward shifted, non-scalloped bracing. This configuration moves the stiffest part of the top closer to the soundhole and away from the bridge, which allows the strings to activate the top a little more efficiently. This change give a boost to the bass while still retaining a strong treble and midrange response. Fun fact; This is the first time Martin has ever used this type of bracing!
The new re-imagined D-28 has enough punch and power to drive a bluegrass band, but its balanced tone sounds great backing up a singer or playing Beatles style acoustic rhythm, as well. The top also responds well to a light touch and it sounds great when fingerpicked, a rare thing with a dreadnought. With the reimagined D-28, Martin has taken a great guitar and made it even better.
