Alternatives to Martin D28?

TINMAN82 · January 2022

Mellish said:

Martin's purchased in the UK have a one year warranty. The care manual says 45-55% humidity so within that won't void the warranty

I can only quote my source. However he told me the official request to customers was often an unreasonable “45%” exactly. That’s why he mentioned it. This comes from the UK distribution centre (I forget the name).

He’s apparently been asked by a major UK retailer to be less honest with their customers when they’ve brought newly purchased Martins to him!

I love my Martin and wouldn’t change it, but having heard this stuff id certainly be quite particular if choosing another.

Mellish · January 2022

@TINMAN82 ; your source is entitled to his opinion, absolutely. But I would tell you, trust yourself when choosing a new guitar, no-one else

TINMAN82 · January 2022

Mellish said:

@TINMAN82 ; your source is entitled to his opinion, absolutely. But I would tell you, trust yourself when choosing a new guitar, no-one else

I do. I own a Martin and would own another.

It’s also a very notable opinion, as a luthier who’s previously worked on Martins under warranty.

Lewy · January 2022

TINMAN82 said:

Mellish said:

@TINMAN82 ; your source is entitled to his opinion, absolutely. But I would tell you, trust yourself when choosing a new guitar, no-one else

I do. I own a Martin and would own another.

It’s also a very notable opinion, as a luthier who’s previously worked on Martins under warranty.

I just looked and seems I inadvertently LOL'd this post.I have no idea how. Now removed!

TINMAN82 · January 2022

Lewy said:

TINMAN82 said:

Mellish said:

@TINMAN82 ; your source is entitled to his opinion, absolutely. But I would tell you, trust yourself when choosing a new guitar, no-one else

I do. I own a Martin and would own another.

It’s also a very notable opinion, as a luthier who’s previously worked on Martins under warranty.

I just looked and seems I inadvertently LOL'd this post.I have no idea how. Now removed!

Ha! Did think that was odd. I have no intention of Martin bashing. As a Gibson fan that would seem a bit rich!

I do think it’s worth having a general awareness of these issues though, otherwise the learning curve can be expensive.

Mellish · January 2022

@TINMAN82 ; I've had Gibsons as well as Martins. They're good guitars mate. My HD-28 is the best acoustic I've ever had

Mercedes300 · January 2022

Getting back to the original question, about 20 years ago, a friend asked me to find him a really good Dreadnaught acoustic. I found a dealer on the East coast of the USA, who was offering a really good deal on a Guild D66 (about half of the UK price at that time. I knew he would like the appearance of the D66, as it was the top of their range, and very blingy, almost like a D41, or D45. The guitar arrived in about a week, and even after it's 3,000 plus journey, it was spot on, in tune! My friend loved it, but only played it at home, keeping his Takamine for gigs.. He only sold it recently, when he needed some additional money to move house. He bitterly regrets selling it, and feels it was every bit as good as a Martin D28. If memory serves me correctly, it was constructed in similar woods to a D28, with Rosewood back & sides, Mahogany neck, and ebony fingerboard. As a respected USA manufacture, Guilds have a good reputation, and he had no trouble selling it on quickly. So there you are, a real alternative to a D28!

Tannin · January 2022

Lewy said:

Tannin said:

And Martin's reputation for build quality is only fair to mediocre.

This needs a big opinion warning. It's far from a commonly held perspective.

Actually @Lewy, that is the standard view, widely held. Martin have persistent, well-documented problems with their binding. In my view, they also seem to need neck resets alarmingly frequently. The second statement is opinion based on observation. The first one is not, it's just reality.

Would that stop me buying a Martin? No. They are lovely guitars, happy to take my chances, and if I have to spend extra money on repairs one day, so be it.

(But note: "fair to mediocre" does not mean "poor". Martin is not Gibson.)

Tannin · January 2022

BigPaulie said:

Great, informative, objective post, @Tannin ;

However, in the interest of the title of the thread, would you mind naming a few of those alternative builders/models?

Sure. The first couple of dozen to come to mind are, in alphabetical order, Atkin, Avalon, Bourgeois, Breedlove, Brook, BSG, Cole Clark, Collings, Furch, Gibson, Guild, K Yairi, Lakewood, Larivee, Lowden, Maton, Mule, National Resophonic, PRS, Santa Cruz, Takamine, Taylor, Waterloo, Yamaha. These are just ones on my personal radar, there are many others.

All of them have their own style and character (at least all of those I've had the pleasure of playing do, and it is reasonable to assume the same of the others). None of them make (in my experience) quite the same thing as a D-28. On the other hand, no-one except Guild makes anything quite like an F-512; no-one but Taylor makes anything quite like an 814; and so on.

@Mercedes300 suggests Guild as a suitable alternative. Absolutely! Lovely guitars and while having their own character, perhaps closer to the Martin sound than many others. Excellent build quality (at least in my fairly limited experience) but not cheap. For example, a D-55 goes for about $7000 here in Oz; for that money you could buy an D-28 and a nice made-in-Japan Takamine with the change.

Pigknows · January 2022

I'm a big fan of Guilds - and not just because they're good 'bang for the buck', but because I generally (and genuinely) prefer them to Martins, Gibsons, and Taylors (and I've previously owned a D28, M36, OO-15, Taylor 714 and K14).

I'm a little reluctant to recommend a Guild to someone as a more affordable D28 because there's a risk that they'd always be hankering after 'the real thing', but I'd be very happy to recommend a rosewood Guild as being guitar that's in a similar vein to a D28 but that they might like even better.

The Guild D50, DV52 and D55 are all USA built rosewood dreads with spruce tops. There have been other models too over the years, but these are the most common. You won't have playability issues with any of these models, assuming there's nothing wrong with the guitar, although some eras have slightly fatter necks/wider nuts than others (some of the '80s guitars off the top of my head).

Of these three, my sense is that the D50 and DV52 would be best for Bluegrass. The D50 used to be called the Bluegrass Special, whereas the mahogany backed D40 used to be called the Bluegrass Deluxe.

The D55s I've had/played have all had a lovely balanced/compressed sound that works beautifully for singers and for recording, but they weren't overly loud/boomy. In fact, I bought a '70s D55 from a Bluegrass player who was only selling it because he said that it wasn't loud enough and couldn't keep up with the banjos etc.

The D50s I've played have all been louder, more open and aggressive.

The DV52 I used to have was probably somewhere between the two.

I'm not sure what accounts for the differences in sound between the models. I've wondered whether it's a visual/psychological thing e.g. the more ornate D55 sounds more sophisticated etc, but I don't think it's just that.

If you're not fixed on rosewood and just wanted a louder guitar, I recommend the arched back Guilds like the mahogany D25 or the maple D30/G37 (which is louder still) which can be picked up for £700-800.

You may be able to get a USA D50 or DV52 for less than a grand. There's a D50 on ebay now. The non-USA made Guilds also look good too, and will cost much less but I've never owned one.

Just my two cents, at any rate!

BigPaulie · February 2022

Mellish said:

Martin's purchased in the UK have a one year warranty. The care manual says 45-55% humidity so within that won't void the warranty

I didn't know that they only carried a 1 year warranty. That is absolutely disgusting!

I can't for the life of me figure out what the incentive is to buy one new in the UK in that case.

With that knowledge, I'd be more inclined to save £500 on the new price and look for a good used one that had proven itself to be stable.

TINMAN82 · February 2022

BigPaulie said:

Mellish said:

Martin's purchased in the UK have a one year warranty. The care manual says 45-55% humidity so within that won't void the warranty

I didn't know that they only carried a 1 year warranty. That is absolutely disgusting!

I can't for the life of me figure out what the incentive is to buy one new in the UK in that case.

With that knowledge, I'd be more inclined to save £500 on the new price and look for a good used one that had proven itself to be stable.

I bought a new 000-28, online from a shop over 400 miles away, in December. The UK warranty seems pretty meaningless, mabye unless you live close to the London based Martin repair centre.

If mine develops any early issues in the next few months (or if it had turned out to need a neck reset, new nut or similar from new which thankfully it didn’t) I’d trust it to a known local luthier and swallow the cost.

No way I’d send it back to a shop by courier with my fingers crossed. Even if I’d bought locally from the likes of Guitarguitar, I’d have been twitchy letting them fix it under warranty.

Mellish · February 2022

The one-year warranty, on the face of it, might suggest it doesn't matter where you take a Martin for repair/setup but, just as with any guitar, it matters very much. Dave King is the only authorised Martin service centre in the UK, just in case you're wondering

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