I went and played some D28s

TimmyO · June 2019

actually D28s and HD28s (with a few random HD35, 00028 etc thrown in)

Unfortunately I made that awful mistake of also trying the versions I really cannot afford. and am left (spoiler alert) trying to move money around and justify something I can't/shouldn't be affording!

They were:

D28 Reimagined : really good, I could/should have just gone "yep that's ace" and been done with it!

HD28 Reimagined : really gooderer (I think I just prefer HD over the D in any like for otherwise like comparison)

HD35 Reimagined : wasn't really feeling it in comparison to the above. Wasn't nearly as overpoweringly boomy as I've heard folk say they can be, but then it was shop new so..

D28 Modern Deluxe : wow! Maybe it's the terrified ('VTS') top but it's just a whole lot more of everything. Feels brilliant too and the neck is different to the Reimagined but not night and day different and both were really comfortable. Truth be told I prefer the look of the slight tint to the Reimagined but the D28 Modern Deluxe sounds simply like a "better" guitar even than the brilliant Reimagined, imho.

D28 1941 Authentic (new) the best one :

Utterly ridiculous. Just blew me away. Played effortlessly, all the parts of the sound just joined together, impossible to make it run out of steam however hard you hit it with a plectrum, and still gives up its sound whether ticked or hit. Just, sex. Apparently this one didn't even have the VTS that the current production year ones do (I think) - shop new but not the current spec iirc.

D28 1941 Authentic (used, 2007) Stunning stunning sound. these 2 Authentics are both head and shoulders above the rest - they each had a slightly different sound and oddly I kept preferring the new one (I expected that the older one would sound "better" having been played more, but maybe it's just the difference between 2 guitars)

I was in there for about 3 hours. The last hour was just me being very happy playing simple chords that sounded AMAZING.

stickyfiddle · June 2019

Sounds like a fun afternoon out

I don't dare play an Authentic model for exactly this reason...!

earwighoney · June 2019

Sounds like a lot of fun.

FWIW, it seems most incarnations of the D28 seem to be the scalloped forward shifted braced variant. My ears really like the sound of the non forward shifted (ie central) non scalloped D28.

Nonetheless the D28 for my money is the first true iconic guitar, love them massively but I'm way too small to play one!

Anyway rambling over, and here's a video of John Fahey. It's not a D28, but D35

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReW9uUYm-DA

Chris_J · June 2019

I love my D18, but, I still wonder whether I'd like a D28 more. I'm not in a position to scratch that itch though...

stickyfiddle · June 2019

Chris_J said:

I love my D18, but, I still wonder whether I'd like a D28 more. I'm not in a position to scratch that itch though...

Best not to overthink it - I often wonder the same thing in the other direction.

jellyroll · June 2019

I had an HD-28 for 6 months. Liked it, didn’t love it. Swapped it for a Sinker Mahogany OM - which is ace.

richardhomer · June 2019

My ‘91 D28 (bought new in 1993) is the only acoustic guitar I’ll ever need. Possibly the only non-living thing I love....

brooom · June 2019

How about trying a custom shop Martin Dreadnought with Adirondack top? Some dealers like myfavoriteguitars have them at a discount and even with the shipping and customs it's way cheaper then an Authentic and they're great guitars.

crunchman · June 2019

Martins do vary. You don't tend to find bad ones, unless you go for the ones without the forward shifted scalloped bracing.

However, some are great while some are merely good. It's not always dependent on price either.

I had an OOO28EC for a few years. When I bought that, I tried 3 of them, and one of them wasn't as good as the other two. Later on, there was a limited edition one with Brazilian rosewood back and sides that was retailing for about 3 times the price of the normal version. I tried one, and it didn't sound as good to my ears as my one.

Whatever you do, don't put a Fishman sound hole pickup in it. It's a great big heavy thing and it affects the way the top vibrates and kills the tone. I learned this the hard way. It severely messed up the tone of that Martin.

TimmyO · June 2019

brooom said:

How about trying a custom shop Martin Dreadnought with Adirondack top? Some dealers like myfavoriteguitars have them at a discount and even with the shipping and customs it's way cheaper then an Authentic and they're great guitars.

I'm pretty sure the Authentics are every bit as good as, if not better than, the customs. And there's no way I'd import something of that value without playing it

TimmyO · June 2019

crunchman said:

Martins do vary. You don't tend to find bad ones, unless you go for the ones without the forward shifted scalloped bracing.
However, some are great while some are merely good. It's not always dependent on price either.

I had an OOO28EC for a few years. When I bought that, I tried 3 of them, and one of them wasn't as good as the other two. Later on, there was a limited edition one with Brazilian rosewood back and sides that was retailing for about 3 times the price of the normal version. I tried one, and it didn't sound as good to my ears as my one.

Whatever you do, don't put a Fishman sound hole pickup in it. It's a great big heavy thing and it affects the way the top vibrates and kills the tone. I learned this the hard way. It severely messed up the tone of that Martin.

And yet the 41 is rear shifted and blew the others away

BigLicks67 · June 2019

@TimmyO - What was the neck profile like on the "authentic"?

TimmyO · June 2019

That reminds me - I did also try a 00028EC while I was there and it sounded like a soggy cardboard box

TimmyO · June 2019

BigLicks67 said:

@TimmyO - What was the neck profile like on the "authentic"?

It was fuller than the current production stuff, and has the faintest whiff of V (more like 'less rounded') as you go up but didn't feel massive or anything - and didn't feel particularly wider at the nut or anything.

"Fuller but not huge"

I hear that the 30s version (these were the 40s one) is much bigger

BigLicks67 · June 2019

TimmyO said:

BigLicks67 said:

@TimmyO - What was the neck profile like on the "authentic"?

It was fuller than the current production stuff, and has the faintest whiff of V (more like 'less rounded') as you go up but didn't feel massive or anything - and didn't feel particularly wider at the nut or anything.

"Fuller but not huge"

I hear that the 30s version (these were the 40s one) is much bigger

Sounds good, I'll make a note never to touch one if I ever see one in a shop and avoid any potential financial devastation.

Seriously though, I don't think people give the standard D28 enough time, like @earwighoney I like the non scalloped version. I think it is more balanced sounding than the HD28. It just needs to be played a lot and and harder to work the top.

brooom · June 2019

TimmyO said:

brooom said:

How about trying a custom shop Martin Dreadnought with Adirondack top? Some dealers like myfavoriteguitars have them at a discount and even with the shipping and customs it's way cheaper then an Authentic and they're great guitars.

I'm pretty sure the Authentics are every bit as good as, if not better than, the customs. And there's no way I'd import something of that value without playing it

The authentics are definitely better, of course, but they are also a completely different type of build (no metal adjustable trussrod for example). But the customs with Adi top get very close in my opinion. At 1/3 of the price or less.

jellyroll · June 2019

When trying to decide between increasingly expensive options, I ask myself if, on buying the most expensive it turns out not to be “the one” will I view the loss on sale as money reasonably spent in the course of experimentation or will I feel sick and gutted?

crunchman · June 2019

BigLicks67 said:

TimmyO said:

BigLicks67 said:

@TimmyO - What was the neck profile like on the "authentic"?

It was fuller than the current production stuff, and has the faintest whiff of V (more like 'less rounded') as you go up but didn't feel massive or anything - and didn't feel particularly wider at the nut or anything.

"Fuller but not huge"

I hear that the 30s version (these were the 40s one) is much bigger

Sounds good, I'll make a note never to touch one if I ever see one in a shop and avoid any potential financial devastation.

Seriously though, I don't think people give the standard D28 enough time, like @earwighoney I like the non scalloped version. I think it is more balanced sounding than the HD28. It just needs to be played a lot and and harder to work the top.

It also needs big strings. The forwards shifted ones sound great with 11s. Those overbraced D28s won't get the top moving with 11s.

TimmyO · June 2019

Based on internet wisdom I’d never have thought to try a REAR-shifted guitar but those 41s were outstanding

earwighoney · June 2019

TimmyO said:

Based on internet wisdom I’d never have thought to try a REAR-shifted guitar but those 41s were outstanding

The Dan Tyminiski D28 is rear shifted and according the Martin Forum it was supposed to be one of the best modern Martins. Really thin on the ground though!

TimmyO · June 2019

Yeah I’ve done some reading since (and almost wish I hadn’t!) - it’s meant to be for absolute volume and projection, but that’s not what I heard. It WAS impossible to make them run out of steam though, but they certainly didn’t feel stiff or anything less than sweet at lower volume.

Perhaps simply because they are just bloody well made

pmg · June 2019

Slightly off topic but did you try any sinker models on your travels?

TimmyO · June 2019

pmg said:

Slightly off topic but did you try any sinker models on your travels?

Weren’t on my radar - not sure if they had any of those in Guitar Village but I pretty much stayed in the D28 corner

Kittyfrisk · June 2019

Reimagined; Modern Deluxe: Authentic: ?

Please preserve us all from such marketing bollocks

Lewy · June 2019

Kittyfrisk said:

Reimagined; Modern Deluxe: Authentic: ?
Please preserve us all from such marketing bollocks

They're fantastically easy not to buy, or in fact read about, or comment on.

How would you rather a maker differentiates between lines with different features...colour coding?

TimmyO · June 2019

Kittyfrisk said:

Reimagined; Modern Deluxe: Authentic: ?
Please preserve us all from such marketing bollocks

How's the "Vox Phantom" ? ;-)

fretmeister · June 2019

You've changed man.

I remember when you were all about your Les Paul and your JCM800.

Aging gracefully is a terrible waste!

TimmyO · June 2019

fretmeister said:

You've changed man.

I remember when you were all about your Les Paul and your JCM800.

Aging gracefully is a terrible waste!

That Les Paul is going nowhere.

newi123 · June 2019

I just googled how much they are............ crikey!!!!!!!

TimmyO · June 2019

Right, negotiations were had, guitars were put on hold while I pondered, and today I called up and did the deal.

Expect a NGD thread on Wednesday.

earwighoney · June 2019

TimmyO said:

Right, negotiations were had, guitars were put on hold while I pondered, and today I called up and did the deal.

Expect a NGD thread on Wednesday.

D41?

There's one out of stock in GV.

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I went and played some D28s

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