Posted by Ken
on 6/23/2009, 8:06 pm, in reply to "Martin questions"
Message modified by board administrator 6/23/2009, 8:35 pm
Hi Norm,
First of all, all three guitars sound good! I've owned all three models and played them out professionally with and without pickups. Now to break it down:
D-28: good deep tone with a fair amount of clarity from its Standard X-position 5/16" bracing. White plastic body binding. Diamond Volute at back of neck/headstock interface--Coooool!
HD-28: Take the D-28's 5/16" Standard X bracing and scallop it and add Heringbone purfling to its top as opposed to the D-28's multiple black-white boltaron (plastic) purfling. The HD-28's tone is not unlike a D-28's but tends to be looser or more dymnamic with an increase in overall volume and bass response. I'd say it's worth the $300 to $400 price difference over the D-28. Diamond Volute at back of neck/headstock interface--Coooooool Again!
D-35: This guitar is priced about $100 more than a D-28 and has a three-piece back but the feature that gives it a different tone than the D-28/HD-28 guitars is its Standard X 1/4" bracing pattern. The lighter bracing gives a D-35 a more responsive tone in which the notes almost seem to explode from the sound board. The tone, to me, is a more balanced but darker tone than the D-28/HD-28. I also feel that although the tone is rather explosive and great for finger-picking and moderate strumming, my experience is that it won't get as loud as the D-28/HD-28 when driven hard with a flatpick without becoming muddier in clarity. No Diamond Volute at back of neck/headstock interface--I like Diamond Volutes but D-18s don't have it either so that's okay too! It should be noted that there is an HD-35 that has Standard X Scalloped 1/4" bracing and Herringbone top purfling a la the HD-28. I've never played this model but with its scalloped 1/4" bracing it no doubt is a very touch-sensitive/responsive guitar that will probably shatter our glasses but may break-up sooner than a regular D-35 when driven hard--don't know for sure but just speculating.
There are a few other particulars such as back purfling between the pieces of the back that vary model-to-model with the HD-28 having the most unique with its Zig-Zag strip but the HD-35 has this too.
For me, given my 'druthers, I'd buy a Martin D-28 or HD-28, and I'd favor the HD-28 for a few hundred bucks more. The tone of these guitars along with the Martin D-18 model are the tone of folk, traditional and bluegrass music. I'd tend to relegate a D-35 to singer-songwriter, navel-gazing music although it can kick some butt for bluegrass but not as hard as the Martin 28 and Martin 18 Series axes.
Norm, feel free to ask me anything about Martins. It's a pleasure to serve you!
Folk On!
Ken
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