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Old 02-22-2009, 01:17 PM
SpruceTop SpruceTop is offline
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Location: Rochester, New York
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Quote:
Originally Posted by yammieplaya View Post
Guys - I'm just idly curious.
Are there substantial differences
in tone or playability between these two models?
Leaving aside variance from individual guitar to guitar.
Hi yammieplaya,

Being primarily a flatpicker, playing bluegrass, folk and country, and having owned both a Martin D-35 and many Martin D-28 and Martin HD-28s, I'd summarize the differences as being:

a Martin D-35 is a balanced but dark-sounding guitar and would lend itself to singer-songwriter applications but it can still be a decent flatpicking guitar;

a Martin D-28 is a clearer-sounding guitar with a well-pronounced bass tonality that when played hard will yield a clearer tone and better melody note-within-chords articulation than will a Martin D-35. For this reason a Martin D-28 is favored by bluegrass guitarists because of its ablilty to deliver loud, pronounced alternating bass notes and clear melody single notes and runs.

For my music, if I had to choose between a Martin D-35 and a Martin D-28 as an only guitar, without hesitation, it would be a Martin D-28!

Regards,

SpruceTop
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