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The Martin D-28 Natural dreadnought acoustic guitar has an impressively rich sound and an extensive history. It is a guitar that offers the level of projection and quality that makes it suitable for the stage as well as recording sessions.
It's a classically designed guitar with innovations, making it one of the favorite guitars for Martin fanatics. This large and commanding six-string acoustic guitar delivers in sound quality, stability, response, and playability.
Martin D 28
Summary
The Martin D-28 is a tremendously impressive guitar. You get the type of sound you'd want if you were playing in front of thousands in an auditorium. It has a classic look to it, so it's not super flashy but satisfies the eardrums when you coax the chords out of the Sitka spruce body.
The D-28, along with many noteworthy acoustic guitars, employ the classic dreadnought shape. Dreadnought guitars offer an ideal design for loud projection. These guitar designs are named after the famous Dreadnought Warship constructed in 1906 for the British Navy. It was the fastest, largest, and quietest warship put together to date.
Even though Martin had been handcrafting acoustic guitars since 1833, they decided to name their new design of 1916 after this famous deadly warship.
What makes dreadnought shaped guitars so coveted is their ability to produce deep bass sounds acoustically. They offer guitar players a level of versatility in usage. It would not be uncommon to see a guitar like the D-28 on a large stage or in a studio, recording the next hit record. It's incredibly easy to play and offers a response that is both soothing and exciting.
The top of the body is made from Sitka Spruce wood, which is bright and sturdy. The sides and the back are constructed using East Indian Rosewood. This offers a well-balanced tonal range and stability within the sound. The frequency response focus is on the low-end for this guitar. That means you get a lot of bass frequency, which is excellent for loud projection. Also, the mid and high frequencies come through with utter clarity and give you those shimmering highs you want.
With vintage style thrown into the mix, you get a classically cool looking guitar with new age levels of quality in sound. It has a forward shifted bracing pattern that gives optimized soundboard vibration. Open gear tuners on the Rosewood headstock give the guitar a touch of a mechanical feel. The faux-tortoise pickguard is light and smooth and keeps the spruce protected and in good shape.
You can find these guitars in every genre of music. They were prominent in the 20s and 30s during the spawn of the blues. Not only that, but they were the weapon of choice for folk-rockers in the 50s and 60s. Still today, Dreadnought acoustic guitars grace stages and studios all around the world in a variety of genres.
Martin uses this design on the D-28 to perfection. It's a well rounded, loud guitar that is tough and sturdy. The level of range you get with the D-28 is what you want in an acoustic guitar exactly. It's highly responsive and pleasing to play while giving you the lows, along with the highs that make acoustic guitar players swoon.
Pros
+ Dreadnought design
+ Sitka Spruce top
+ Open gear tuners
+ Loud and rich sound
+ Sturdy and responsive
Cons
- No cutaway
- Not super portable
Why We Like It
This guitar is impressive and fun to play. The sound you get out of it is pleasing and rich. You never want to put it down. It's an excellent accompaniment for vocals. Whether you're performing or recording, the Martin D-28 is an excellent choice.
The response you get is immediate, and there's no guessing what's happening with the tone. The neck makes this guitar extremely fun to play, and it's smooth and steady.
It has an absolute sturdiness to it that lets you hammer away on the strings without losing any of that precious tone. The open-gear tuners offer a pretty cool vintage look to the guitar, as well. While most of the guitar has a classic and non-standout look to it, features, such as the open-gear tuners and the famous white inlays, bring the look back to the early days.
Without the cutaway design, you get a more resonant sound, but you don't get the range of fretboard that some guitar players need for soloing. However, if you're a strummer and want to have some of the best tones you've ever played with, then the cutaway isn't much of a big deal.
The Martin D-28 is not a beginner acoustic guitar by any means. The level of quality and craftsmanship that went into this design is impeccable. The Martin D-28 is a guitar to be savored and loved for generations.
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