The Martin D-28 has been the 'Standard' for the dreadnought line of guitars since its inception in the early 1930's. With a back and sides constructed of Indian Rosewood and a top of fine Sitka Spruce, this classic giant has been a favorite guitar for nearly every flatpick and fingerstyle guitarist since the introduction in the 1930's. The Martin D-28 is also known as the 'D-28 bone', after the classic herringbone purfling that graces the guitar back, top, and center detail of the back.

Guitar Features: 9.0 Stars

This is a very nice, simply appointed acoustic guitar, with very nice detailing. "Less is More' without doubt does apply to the D-28. Blending with the simplicity of this guitar are the understated fretboard position markers. The fingerboard is ebony and is trimmed with Boltaron purfling. The Martin D-28 is known for its' herringbone trim around the top and back edges, which is trimmed with white Boltaron binding as well.

The East Indian Rosewood back and sides and select Sitka Spruce top are attributable to the recognized well-balanced tone and volume that the guitar is know to possess. Because of the very close, straight-grained wood of the Sitka Spruce top, this aids in the tone and volume production of this fine steel string guitar as well. There should be at least 16 grain lines/inch and most of the D-28's I've seen meet this criteria.

The Gotoh Chrome tuners that the guitar comes equipped with, give very silky smooth tuning for this guitar. The combination of the black pick guard, rich black ebony fretboard and herringbone trim make for an awesome looking guitar.

Guitar Sound Production: 8.0 Stars

As compared to the Mahogany guitars, the D-28 has brighter highs and louder lows and in general has a very well-balanced tone. Unfortunately they do not compare the old pre-war herringbones, but that is difficult for any guitar to match. This is a outstanding flatpicking guitar, reaching back deep in its history, but you will find that it holds its own as a fantastic fingerstyle guitar as well.

As far as flatpicking... The D-28's are still used as the standard from which all other guitars are measured.

Action: 8.0 Stars

The experts at Martin really know their stuff and the guitar plays outstanding as delivered. It is my personal preference to put light gauge strings on this guitar. Also, because I like the action as low as I can, I could lower the strings a bit at the nut and saddle.

The workmanship detail really shows on how this guitar is setup. This aspect is repeatedly overlooked by a number of guitar manufacturers, but Martin understands the needs of the guitar player.

Guitar Durability: 9.0 Stars

Since this is a new guitar, it is difficult to rate the absolute durability of it, but judging from past experience with other Martin guitars, it is expected that this guitar will be similar in durability. To keep this guitar looking its best, keep it clean, and wipe it down with a clean cotton or micro-fiber cloth, and keep a good coat of polish on it with Martin Guitar Polish, or any quality guitar polish that does not contain lemon oil.

When you purchase a quality, solid wood instrument, even with the best of care and environmental controls, you may still need to eventually deal with some repair issues. With a neck that has fixed reinforcement, the neck may need a reset, and the bridge may also require a reset as well, but this issues are usually way down the road. Being a solid wood instrument, this guitar ought to be kept in carefully controlled environmental conditions whenever possible. You should never permit anyone to play your guitar without careful supervision, and always locate it in a sturdy guitar stand.

If this will be your first solid wood guitar, be sure you keep it in a carefully monitored and controlled atmosphere. In other words, a very low humidity level for extended periods of time can play havoc on a solid wood guitar. Solve the low humidity problem by investing in a good in-case humidifier, and supplement that with either a good in-room, or whole house humidifier.

Overall Score: 8.8 Stars

The C.F. Martin D-28 is known as a notable bluegrass flatpick guitar. But in reality it has a much wider audience than that, being used extensively by folk, country, and soft rock musicians. Because of the stunning herringbone purfling that has always been utilized on top and back of the D-28, it has been nick-named as a 'bone', and rightly so.

Realize though that there are some significant variations from today's D-28's as compared to the guitars first introduced by Martin. One of the major departures is the original 28's used scalloped bracing for the top bracing and the new models do not. Another significant change Martin made from the pre-war models is a shift in tonewood. The vintage models were constructed with Brazilian Rosewood backs and sides and Adirondack Red Spruce tops, while the current models utilize Sitka Spruce tops and East Indian Rosewood backs and sides.

One of the most significant artists that popularized the guitar as an unbelievable bluegrass guitar was Clarence White. His D-28 was modified by enlarging the soundhole, and installation of a Gretsch Electric Guitar fretboard that overshot the soundhole by one fret. This guitar is now owned by famed bluegrass guitarist Tony Rice. Due to the wild popularity that both Tony and Clarence brought to this herringbone, Martin decided to produce a guitar that was built to the specs of the model that Clarence modified. It is now available as the Martin D-28 Clarence White model.

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