New Marklund D-28 12 fret

[rustystill]

One of my dream guitars has always been the 1933 D-28 shadetop formerly owned by Norman Blake. When Martin announced the authentic series would include a model based on a 1931 D-28 12 fret I thought, fantastic, I'll order a shade top version when it comes out. Much to my dismay, even though a shaded top option was available in '31, Martin would not shade top an authentic. I asked if I could order a custom with those specs and a shade top, and was told period bracing was reserved for the authentic series. Must've been fate but somehow I wound up discovering Swedish luthier Per Marklund in a thread over on the UMGF. Relatively young and with only just over a handful of builds under his belt, the aura about Per and his guitars lured me onto his path. Per had already been sent the specs for the '33 D-28 shade top acquired from by U.S luthier John Arnold by the commissioner of build #7, so I made the plunge and commissioned the guitar that Martin wouldn't build.

This D-28 12 fret slot head has Madagasgar RW b&s, high altitude Austrian spruce top, Oregon ash binding I sent to Per from a 4' 1"x4" board given to me by Patrick Huff (Doc's Banjos), 100 yr old Swedish spruce binding cut and tucked to period specs, top and back radiused, and a French polish shellac finish with the shading somewhat modeled after the Martin 1933 ambertone hue and shading level. The neck will be 1 7/8" at the nut with ebony reinforcement as per the original, bar frets from wire supposedly close to the alloy Martin used in the 30s which I acquired from TJ Thompson and also sent to Per along with a template for the neck made my my spouse from a great feeling neck we have on a guitar here. Long story short, 3 years later the guitar is done and last week I received the following video from Per's shop of it being played by one of his friends, Jonas Mattebo. The guitar has to make it safely across the Atlantic so I'm still crossing my fingers but this video at least removed any doubt that it was worth the wait. I'm excited! Edit: Pick guard to be added after I choose one from some guards and material we have here. -Jim

[otavio]

Lovely
In person, this should be a huge sound.

[quentinjazz]

Amazing sound! Kudos!

[CoolerKing]

Congrats Jim! So happy for you. I hope it's all you dreamed it would be.

[GWF]

Congratulations!! I tried to order a d-45 authentic with snowflakes instead of hex inlays. They wouldn't make the switch, so, I ordered a Blazer and Henkes.

[antsdmb]

Been following it on the UMGF, Jim and I couldn't be any happier for you. While Per is in his infancy as a builder I feel strongly the writing is on the wall that he will be a special one. His quality of woods and attention to detail really seems on par with some of the best out there. I think you and I both will be smitten with our builds although my wait is in the early stages! You've certainly earned yours.


Gwf...good call! Nothing beats a blazer and henkes. NOTHING. I have a 12 fret d-18 on order from them and know it'll be my Everest. Can't wait to see yours!

Congrats to all!

Mark

[MD1983]

Wow, congrats! That thing sounds way better to my ears than the two Martin 31 D-28 Authentics I've played. You made the smart choice.

[Diamondave]

Exploding Mojo....!

[rustystill]

Thanks for the comments. Over the past 5-6 years I've become a huge fan of 12 fret guitars. This will be the first dread I've owned with the bar frets, shellac finish and no metal reinforcement in the neck so I'm extremely anxious to hear the subtle (or perhaps not so subtle differences) of timbre in this one.

GWF, I just can't understand Martin's policy. What's funny, Martin's custom shop web page states in big bold letters "Dream it, We'll Build It!"
It should read "Dream it, If We Won't Build it Someone Else Will!"

Of all the shops building guitars with the spirit and sound of the golden age years of Martin and Gibson, I see B&H mastering that and going beyond.
I suspect Per has gleaned a few ideas from Willi Henkes. There certainly are some similarities in style and the level of craftsmanship of Per's work. Bottom line, we both have Martin to thank for our choices for not building the guitar we dreamed of

-Jim

[rustystill]

Christmas came early last weekend. Opening the case the first thing I saw was EXACTLY the shading I had been wanting. It was the fact that Martin would not shade a 1931 D-28A that led me to Per, and there lying in the case was as close to the color I originally wanted as I could ask for. Pretty amazing. The shellac finish made the trip fine and looks great and the wood looks absolutely fantastic. I then noticed the Oregon white ash we sent that Per used for the binding, heel cap and the end pin strip. I love it...woody and organic.......and having a piece of Oregon tied in with this build adds something special to the spirit of this guitar.

Then the playing and evaluation began. The neck fees great. I picked spouse's ‘73 D-28S from which she made the template for my D-28s neck and it's is very close, perhaps just a teeny bit chunkier, but not much, and like Loki, Gwen’s Marklund 0-21, the edge of the neck and fretboard is just a tad sharper or squarer feeling than the Martins we are used to. But it felt very nice and I immediately noticed my small hands could pretty easily thumb wrap and hit the 6th string cleanly, not easy on a 1 7/8 nut width. Good job Per! The bar frets had the same slight edge to them that Loki has, not bad but they do tend to stick on fingers a bit more than the bar frets on the older vintages we have. Perhaps that’s something to work on but the guitars play so well and sound so well I’d hate to change them. My playing can adjust and frets wear The setup is good, the action is easy to play with no buzzing anywhere. The non compensated saddle makes intonation a little challenging but that’s part of the beauty of a non compensated saddle.

It took about 10 minutes of adjusting the strings to pitch and settling in before the guitar started showing it’s stuff and coming alive. First thing that became apparent is the balance, VERY smooth and clean and balanced with absolutely no harsh or new guitar sounding overtones. Some might want to attribute a “vintage” quality to the tone but a better word is smooooth. At first the treble sounded a little weak but as I played began to fatten up and became much more rounded and shaped and blossoming. The midrange like Loki, is outstanding. The bass is strong but not overwhelming yet has that magical thump I notice in guitars with ebony or no reinforcement in the neck. The sustain and resonance on this guitar is incredible, a lot like the older wonderfully responsive Martins. It’s got that concert hall in a box sound to it. I suspect the combination of the bracing and Per’s arching of the top and back and the shellac finish to be all partially responsible for this. The overall flavor of this guitar is on the warmer sweeter side, not sharp, cutting, or metallic. Much more woody flavored but the sustain and resonance make it not a dry type of woody but more lush. Another first impression during this evaluation period is that nothing in particular stood out, but instead all features were equally pronounced with tons of presence, and to me that is the mark of a truly superior instrument (it allows the player rather than the instrument to decide which to bring out and which to lay back on.) The more I played, the more pleased I became. The guitar has volume to spare, can produce sweet beautiful tone played softly and I couldn’t overdrive it when played aggressively (I held back a little I played a variety of styles and it really sounded great on all, including some jazz styles which 12 fret dreads are not usually the best choice for but it’s sweetness and rounded tone fit just perfectly. The sustain and resonance are awesome (did I already say that My one concern because of it’s response and sustain and presence is that I’ll likely have to spend some time tweaking the EQ when playing through mics into a PA or amp to avoid muddiness and/or feedback, and overdriving mics. Acoustically, though, he is awesome. The tone.....I love it!!!!

Over the past week this guitar seems to get better each time I pick him up and as I adjust to what he can do find some very cool realms of sound to explore. This guitar is already starting to compose new tunes.
To sum up, yes it was worth the wait. I have no doubt I got a much better guitar in many respects from Per than I would have had Martin shaded a D-28A for me. Thank you Mr. Martin Most of all thanks to Per for his efforts and skill, his patience and willingness to work with people. This is the guitar I wanted Would I commission another guitar from Per? In a heartbeat. Of course with this guitar in hand and a few others on stand I can’t think what else I could possibly want. I know that I’ll probably come to my senses soon enough (actually I did casually mention that I wondered if Per could make a good mahogany f hole archtop to which Gwen responded....NO MORE ARCHTOPS....putting a quick end to any rising GAS

He still needs a name and a pick guard (which has been selected).

As they say, it didn’t happen if there’s no pictures so here’s #10 next to Loki who he’s used to “hanging” with

-Jim

[IMG][/IMG]

[CoolerKing]

WOW! Looks awesome, burst came out exactly as I hoped it would. Congrats, Jim.

[HHP]

The builder did a great job on that burst. Has the "faded" appearance of Norman's but is lighter. I do see Martin's point in rejecting Bursts on Authentics as they could not replicate the "faded" effect an old burst would have and a new '33 or '35 pattern just wouldn't look right.

Oddly, when they did a run of what was essentially an OM-18 Authentic for Elderly a few years back, they did apply the '33 burst pattern.

[ukejon]

Monster tone and huge volume! Gotta love those 12 fret dreads and this one sounds absolutely exceptional.

[louis lasky]

Norman's is easily my favorite guitar ever in terms of look, vibe and obviously all the gorgeous notes he pulls from it. This Marklund is pretty durn close! Congrats. Looks amazing.

[oliverkollar]

Killer guitar! Congrats!
I'm a big fan of 12 fret dreads myself, and would love to give it a spin.

I've followed a few of Per's builds and he continues to impress me.

Bar frets are tough, but as the years pass and they polish off, they only get easier to play. I've never been a huge fan of them, but I love that you kept this instrument as close to Norman's as possible, in a modern instrument.

If you're ever in the neighborhood of Sacramento, look me up. You can give my 1931 D28A a spin, and I would LOVE to pick on this beauty!