Any Martin D28 owners around?

RandallFlagg · June 2016

Any D28 owners out there? I have a 2015 D28 and when I bought it I was lucky to be able to try it alongside a new HD28 at the same time for a few days. At first I was taken by the HD28, it had more bass and was louder, but, after a few days switching between them both I decided on the D28. The HD28 was just too overpowering and that excess low end was just too much and would be problematic when recording. You would never be able to sing over it. I read that many people prefer the HD28 with the forward shifted bracing but a standard braced D28 was good enough for Jimmy Page and Paul McCartney so it's more than good enough me me.

The D28 is a joy to play and very rewarding. It's all the acoustic I need.

richardhomer · June 2016

I've owned a standard D28 for 25 years. To me they sit tonally between the HD28 and a 00028 - the power of a Dreadnought with the balance of a 000.

One was also good enough for the late John Martyn, who was no slouch as an acoustic player.

BigLicks67 · June 2016

I've got a D28, I played a few HD28s back to back with D28s and decided I preferred the standard bracing.

I have an OM with forward shifted scalloped bracing and that sounds good too, so at the end of the day I conclude that Martin make good guitars : >

Misty · June 2016

I have an '03 D28 which I've owned virtually from new. I wanted a good acoustic, and asked around what people thought was the equivalent of the Fender Stratocaster in the acoustic world. Generally the answer was the Martin D28. I tried a good number before I found mine, including D35's and D18's, old and new, but unfortunately I don't ever remember trying an HD28. However I have no regrets at all buying my D28. I also have a Martin OM28V, which is a fabulous guitar in it's own right, and complements the D28 nicely. The D28 is a timeless classic.

earwighoney · June 2016

RandallFlagg said:

Any D28 owners out there? I have a 2015 D28 and when I bought it I was lucky to be able to try it alongside a new HD28 at the same time for a few days. At first I was taken by the HD28, it had more bass and was louder, but, after a few days switching between them both I decided on the D28. The HD28 was just too overpowering and that excess low end was just too much and would be problematic when recording. You would never be able to sing over it. I read that many people prefer the HD28 with the forward shifted bracing but a standard braced D28 was good enough for Jimmy Page and Paul McCartney so it's more than good enough me me.

The D28 is a joy to play and very rewarding. It's all the acoustic I need.

Differences in bracing patterns create different sounds which suit certain applications more so than others. The forward braced D-28 style dread, is a very popular in bluegrass circles and the increased bass, volume is desirable in the context of that music for rhythm for mandolins, banjos and violins.

I myself always prefer straight braced dreads. The D28 is largely unchanged after 1945, there's no need to change it.

crunchman · June 2016

I've got an HD28V. It's a very different animal than the HD28. The forward shifting seems to make a huge difference. It's far more responsive and dynamic. Yes it will do loud but it's much sweeter when you play quietly. I's also a lot better balanced sound than the HD28 or D28.

The other thing to note is what string gauge you use. Martin changed the bracing from the pre-war recipe because people were putting thick strings on to try to get acoustic volume and they were causing the tops to belly up. It fixed that problem but they aren't as responsive or balanced - especially if you want to use a sensible gauge of strings. I think the the post war design sounds best with thicker strings.

Personally I don't like the D28 or HD28. I'd rather get the 16 series dreadnought, or better still a Furch. The new D18 with the forward shifted bracing is superb though. They need to bring out a D28 version of that. I'm not sure that they will though as sales of the more expensive Martins would plummet.

Jalapeno · June 2016

@Lewy described the HD28 sound as a "woomph" - sadly I agree 100%

Traded mine for an OM28 - a much more refined sound,

Lewy · June 2016

Jalapeno;1120549" said:
@Lewy described the HD28 sound as a "woomph" - sadly I agree 100%

Traded mine for an OM28 - a much more refined sound,

HD35, Shirley?

But woomph is about right.

I see people playing HD28s in bluegrass bands all the time and they cut through fine...a lot of it is as much about string and pick choice - and technique obviously - as it is bracing patterns. My HD35 developed an overly bassy voice over time but after some experimentation I found that Elixir PB Mediums and a 2mm Dunlop Ultex solved the problem. I would never have naturally gravitated to that combination of string and pick but they worked with that guitar.

Having really got into flatpicking and dreadnoughts in a big way and playing around with a lot of different ones, my preference is for the classic D-18 pattern with Adirondack top and mahogany back and side, with scalloped but non-shifted bracing. I think for a sitka-topped guitar I'd go non-scalloped to retain some stiffness and bark in response to a heavy pick.

They all have their charm though.

koneguitarist · June 2016

My singer uses a D28 for all our gigs, sounds great. Acoustically it's not best Martin I have heard, but as a tool it's spot on. Never too bass heavy.

RandallFlagg · June 2016

koneguitarist said:

My singer uses a D28 for all our gigs, sounds great. Acoustically it's not best Martin I have heard, but as a tool it's spot on. Never too bass heavy.

I agree, as a solo instrument it's not the best solo sounding acoustic but in a band mix can sound great

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Any Martin D28 owners around?

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