1971 Martin D-28S 12-Fret Dreadnought Guitar

Overview: Oh, man, it's a Norman Blake machine! I mean, that's an obligatory reference, and I know he was a D-18S fella, but every time I play one of these slope-shouldered, 12-fret Martins, there's something in the DNA of that sound that pulls me right to those early Blake albums. It's a fullness and roundness to the sound that you don't get many other places outside of really fancy boutique builds. I mean, it's also just a beautiful look, too -- and this one has some fine-looking rosewood throughout.

Tone: It's big, full, lush, loud, and warm with plenty of fundamental push to each note.

Feel: The neck is pretty similar to '30s Martin specs with a medium, soft-V rear profile and wider, 1 7/8" nut width. It's quite comfortable despite itself, though, which I attribute to that cozy profile.

Interesting features: Gorgeous rosewood? Check. Plenty of usewear to make it friendly? Check. Bridge and tuner upgrades? Check.

Repairs included: Pete Langdell (of Rigel mandolins fame) gave this guitar a neck reset, repaired numerous hairline top cracks, and replaced the original bridge some time back with a through-saddle-style repro bridge. At some point the original (cruddy, narrow-housing Kluson) tuners were replaced with fancy units that work nicely. It looks like it got some fretwork done as well. The whole thing is playing spot-on and humming beautifully

• Weight: 4 lbs 11 oz
• Scale length: 25 3/8"
• Nut width: 1 7/8"
• Neck shape: medium soft V
• Board radius: 16"
• Body width: 15 5/8"
• Body depth: 4 7/8"
• 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: non-adjustable
• Neck relief: straight
• Fret style: medium

Condition notes: The frets have only the tiniest wear on them and so we haven't leveled and dressed them. There's plenty of saddle height on the new bone saddle for later action adjustments. The worst condition flaw is that the top has a number of longer, repaired, hairline cracks. There are also a lot of finish cracks that run around the actual cracks so the photos are a little misleading, but there are 4 or 5 long repaired dryness hairlines on the top. The finish has weather-check throughout and there's mild wear and tear throughout the finish as well, but at a glance the guitar looks really nice.

It comes with: It has a nice hard case with Martin branding.

Consignor tag: TMWL