❌SOLD❌ Martin D 28 Dreadnought Steel String Guitar, 2012

The Martin D 28 Dreadnought appeared in 1931 along with the D 18, partly driven by the needs of banjo players shifting to guitar – more volume was needed, and soon so was the 14 fret neck.

While Martin D 28 Dreadnought and the D 18 – and the later D models, including the D-45 and D-35 – share a basic design, wood selections and appointment levels make the most apparent differences. The D 28 pairs a Spruce top with Rosewood back and sides and Ebony for the fingerboard and bridge, while the D 18 pairs the Spruce with Mahogany for the back and sides and Rosewood for the fingerboard and bridge.   Here, the Rosewood used is Indian Rosewood. 

The Martin D-28 quickly became a standard workhorse guitar, and has been in continual production since 1931. It can be seen and heard on countless performances, recordings and stages, in any genre that calls for a steel string guitar.

This particular Martin D 28 was built during 2012 as part of the Standard Series at the Martin plant in Nazareth, Pennsylvania. It is in overall good condition. It has been well cared for but has been used as intended, so there is honest play wear in the usual locations. In particular, there is some pick wear to the top finish on the treble side of the fingerboard tag.   There is also light to moderate fret wear in the lower positions.   

This example was built during period where Martin had made a couple of subtle but significant changes to these models. First, it has an adjustable truss rod, always helpful for getting the optimal setup in changing environments. As well, the pick guard is affixed to the top layer of the finish, rather than to the top itself. This is important because Martin’s original practice of gluing the pickguard to the top led to many top cracks as the top and pick guard contracted at different rates.   

Because this guitar has been played, its tone has opened up and it is coming into its own as a full, rich sounding guitar with a well developed voice.   I’m having a hard time putting it down!

The original Martin hard shell case is included.