1976 Martin D-35 Dreadnought Guitar

This old '70s bruiser is big, warm, and full-sounding. It's like what you actually want from a D-28 but what so many D-28s don't provide -- especially '70s ones. The build in the top feels lighter than normal and it's got gorgeous rosewood across the back and sides and headstock veneer -- all of which has UV-lightened over time.

It came into the shop a bit beat-up but turned-out great after repairs. It plays fast and easy, looks excellent, and is ready to go for many years to come with extra saddle height and a good, straight neck.

Repairs included: a neck reset, fret level/dress, saddle slot relocation and new bone saddle, bridge pin holes filled and moved slightly aft, cleats for tight hairline cracks on the lower bout top, cleaning, and setup work.

Top wood: solid spruce

Back & sides wood: solid Indian rosewood

Bracing type: x

Bridge: ebony

Fretboard: ebony

Neck wood: mahogany

Action height at 12th fret: 3/32” bass 1/16” treble (fast, spot-on)
String gauges: 54w-12 lights

Neck shape: medium very soft V

Board radius: 14"

Truss rod: non-adjustable

Neck relief: straight

Fret style: medium

Scale length: 25 3/8"

Nut width: 1 11/16"

Body width: 15 5/8"

Body depth: 4 7/8"

Weight: 4 lbs 15 oz

Condition notes: post-repairs it's in good shape. It looks nice at a glance but when you examine it closely you find the flaws. There are three tight, sealed, hairline cracks on the lower-bout-top (pictured). There's a small hairline crack at the soundhole edge on the bass side of the fretboard extension which is stabilized. There's also the usual "pickguard shrinkage crack" to the string-side of the pickguard and that's been stabilized as well. I'm pretty sure the pickguard is a replacement from a while ago as most of the originals have shrunken and curled at this point. The nut is also not original (it's Corian or similar) but works fine. There's a hole for a strap button on the back of the heel cap -- I'm happy to fill that or just leave it as-is or put a strap button in there as desired. There's minor weather-check throughout the top finish and light scratching here and there through the body but overall the finish looks really nice. The factory misplaced the saddle and bridge by about 1/16" or so (really common for period Martins) and so I had to do a bunch of small bridge tasks to make it work. These included filling the pinholes and redrilling them slightly to the rear (and, in a nod to modern Martins, in line with the saddle), filling a couple of small surface hairline cracks (one in the bass side of the wing, one in the treble), and expanding the saddle slot to the rear a bit and fitting a wider, properly-compensated bone saddle.

It comes with: a newer hard case.