1987 Martin HD-28 Dreadnought Guitar

This lovely old HD-28 has got just the right look to its finish to feel "truly vintage." I just gave it a fresh neck reset (made slightly challenging by how Martin had fit the truss rod on this particular one) and it's once again a slick player and it has a fast, modern-feeling neck that reminds me of the '90s Martins I played in guitar stores when I was learning to play. It's not the current-style "retro" flavor of neck with the bigger, soft-V shape and 1 3/4" nut width you might expect from vintage-styled models.

So -- for folks who are looking for a big, warm, full-on, bass-heavy, prototypical, D-28 sound but want a modern feel -- this is it.

Repairs included: a neck reset, fret level/dress, new bone saddle, lots of binding regluing (much of it was completely loose and a little shrunken), cleaning, and setup.

Weight: 4 lbs 12 oz

Scale length: 25 3/8"

Nut width: 1 11/16"

Neck shape: slim-oval C

Board radius: 16"

Body width: 15 1/2"

Body depth: 4 7/8"

Bridge string spacing: 2 1/8"

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

Truss rod: adjustable

Neck relief: straight

Fret style: medium

Condition notes: it's actually in pretty decent shape, though the finish has aged to a nice yellowy-amber on the top. I had to reglue much of the binding and so at the back of the guitar where it meets the heel cap, there's a little extra space (as the binding had shrunken a little). There's a little finish disturbance both at the end of the fretboard on the top and around the heel but it's not obvious. I haven't found any cracks in the guitar but the finish is lightly weather-checked here and there throughout.

The heel cap is a replacement and so is the saddle. Otherwise it appears original throughout. There is a small chipout in the fretboard at the edge of the 4th fret in the photos but I've since patched that. There are a couple of dings on the front of the guitar (pictured) near the bass bridge wing/bass side of the soundhole. 

The neck, also, has a little backbow at rest even with the truss rod completely loose. With strings at pitch it straightens-out but this might be an issue if you plan to play sets lighter than 11s. For those who rock heavier strings, this is a benefit! We did the level/dress job under tension so they're done correctly for the neck when it's straight.

There's also a little chip-out in the fretboard near the fretboard extension (not from me, but from a previous guy trying to work on it). The fretboard extension dips a little down compared to the rest of the fretboard over the body, too.

The endpin area's "endstrip" is also slightly raised at the edges from celluloid contraction but it's held firm, anyhow.

It comes with: an old hard case.

Consignor tag: A26