Martin 1937 Authentic D28 vs. other boutique brands

[guitarman68]

I owned a D28 Authentic 1937 for four years and tried really hard to like the neck shape. I really wanted to get used to it but I failed. I loved the sound and it was among the best sounding Martin guitars I ever owned. I owned 35 Martins during the past 30 years, DM, Custom Shop, Authentics, Golden Eras, V series, 42 style, vintage 20s, 30s 40s, 50s, .... I had to sell it because of that odd shaped neck. A Martin D18 Authentic 1937 has the perfect neck for me, and I wonder why Martin did what they did with the D28 1937 neck shape. Been a Collings player for 15 years, had the chance to try a Collings D2HA T, tried H&D, Santa Cruz and Bourgeois. Maybe they offer models I had not the chance to audition which will get you in the sonic ballpark of a D28 1937 Authentic. A Pre War D28 I checked out was pretty close. Finally I found me a Merrill C28 that sounds as good as the Martin D28 1937, happy ever since.
I thought I never was too picky about neck shapes before but this particular D28 1937 Authentic taught me I am.

[Tempotantrum]

I found a used D28AA recently for a good price. It is simply the sound in my head that I was looking for. Fortunately - the neck does not bother me at all - in fact I am kind of surprised others have so much problem with it. Maybe I just got a more reasonable taper. I also have a 39" D18AA and they are very different - the rosewood is "deep & wide" and the mahogany is "fast and punchy". There is a significant difference in weight. I have never heard a better new rosewood guitar.

[Zissou Intern]

Originally Posted by vaibhav.mittal

AGF Good folks,

Is there anyone from the boutique brands - Huss & Dalton, Collings, Bourgeois, Santa Cruz etc. - that may be a better or a strong candidate to compare against these authentic series (preferably with Madagascar Rosewood)?...

Over the years, I have owned Collings, Huss & Dalton, Bourgeois, Walker, Santa Cruz, Guild, Gibson, and Martin (but not an Authentic). Two years ago, I had three Collings and a Martin. Now I find myself with a Martin and a Guild. I'd put these two up against anything I have owned in the past, including the much more expensive boutique guitars.

Originally Posted by hubcapsc

I had a Madagasgar Rosewood 1931 Authentic d-28 and I still have
a Kopp Madagasgar Rosewood AJ... both amount to the highest-end
most detailed guitars I've ever had.

Here's my J-35 ...



A few months ago there was a lady on Reverb selling her
Granddaddy's pristine J-35. I'm pretty sure it was a great
J-35, but it was real boring looking...

-Mike

Gadzooks, Mike! That J35 is gorgeous! I was lusting after your equally beautiful Kopp AJ as well. Does anyone do a better 'burst than Kevin?

[bluesman1148]

I own a D28 1937 Authentic Aged and it was made in 2021 so it has not yet opened up. I look forward to hearing the sound of it as it ages.

Even so, it’s the best sounding guitar I’ve played (to my subjective ears). I may be a different animal but I like the neck. I also own a Collings OM2HT Adirondack that I bought in 2017 and it’s my probably my number 2 guitar at this point (and Collings is probably my favorite small shop). All of the luthiers noted make lifetime keepers of guitars but if you want a true vintage Martin sound without the 5 figure price, then the Authentic series are on point and where I’d look.

[wisedennis]

It really depends on that particular guitar.

I played many high end guitar ($5000-$20000)at Rudy Soho NYC,

Many are good.. few are excellent, some are meh, and a few are disappointing…

Not gonna name the brand or models, in my humble opinion, $$$ value / brand name doesn’t translate to good tone …

Originally Posted by vaibhav.mittal

AGF Good folks,

Looks like the Martin Authentic series are in strong demand and liked by players a lot

Is there anyone from the boutique brands - Huss & Dalton, Collings, Bourgeois, Santa Cruz etc. - that may be a better or a strong candidate to compare against these authentic series (preferably with Madagascar Rosewood)?

Would love to hear your thoughts/ feedback or anecdotes, if any !!

Cheers,
V

[hubcapsc]

Originally Posted by Zissou Intern

Over the years, I have owned Collings, Huss & Dalton,
Gadzooks, Mike! That J35 is gorgeous!

Thanks ... I made a long post about it when I got it.
A bunch of people on here thought it was pretty cool.
My local contacts who are in the business of selling
vintage guitars were kind of shocked that I'd even
consider such a patched up guitar.

It is down at the too-busy luthiers now, one day I'll
make another post about the... adjustments... he's
made to it ...

-Mike

[SpruceTop]

My Huss & Dalton TD-R can rock the bluegrass.

[vaibhav.mittal]

Love to read about your experiences and feedback,
Thanks for sharing

Originally Posted by Zissou Intern

Over the years, I have owned Collings, Huss & Dalton, Bourgeois, Walker, Santa Cruz, Guild, Gibson, and Martin (but not an Authentic). Two years ago, I had three Collings and a Martin. Now I find myself with a Martin and a Guild. I'd put these two up against anything I have owned in the past, including the much more expensive boutique guitars.





Gadzooks, Mike! That J35 is gorgeous! I was lusting after your equally beautiful Kopp AJ as well. Does anyone do a better 'burst than Kevin?

[usb_chord]

I don't recall playing a single D-28 style instrument by any of the brands you mentioned that impressed me more than the '37 D-28 Aged Authentic. The neck is a bit weird, though.

[vaibhav.mittal]

To keep the discussion moving ahead in particular with Martins,

Anyone tried both the versions of 1937 - aged and non aged,
Which one did you pick or find better over other and why so?

Also how does T bar influence the sound and overall setup compared to the newer ones from Custom Shop with authentic 1937 features??

[zoopeda]

Originally Posted by wisedennis

It really depends on that particular guitar.

I played many high end guitar ($5000-$20000)at Rudy Soho NYC,

Many are good.. few are excellent, some are meh, and a few are disappointing…

Not gonna name the brand or models, in my humble opinion, $$$ value / brand name doesn’t translate to good tone …

I agree. The more examples of these guitars I play, the more I appreciate the qualities of the individual guitar. Some of it could be the humidity and exact strings and my attitude at the moment I try them, but there's definitely detectable variation even among examples within the same model. I've played both mediocre and tremendous examples of the D-18AA and D-28AA and notice variation even among builders like Collings with a reputation for consistency. Such is the nature of wood.

[bluesman1148]

Originally Posted by vaibhav.mittal

To keep the discussion moving ahead in particular with Martins,

Anyone tried both the versions of 1937 - aged and non aged,
Which one did you pick or find better over other and why so?

Also how does T bar influence the sound and overall setup compared to the newer ones from Custom Shop with authentic 1937 features??

There is no TBar in the Authentic series. The custom shop versions add a truss rod and use East Indian Rosewood rather than Madagascar.

I have played both and prefer the Aged, which is what I ended up buying.

[vaibhav.mittal]

Wow I’m new to Merrill brand
What makes them so special?

Originally Posted by guitarman68

I owned a D28 Authentic 1937 for four years and tried really hard to like the neck shape. I really wanted to get used to it but I failed. I loved the sound and it was among the best sounding Martin guitars I ever owned. I owned 35 Martins during the past 30 years, DM, Custom Shop, Authentics, Golden Eras, V series, 42 style, vintage 20s, 30s 40s, 50s, .... I had to sell it because of that odd shaped neck. A Martin D18 Authentic 1937 has the perfect neck for me, and I wonder why Martin did what they did with the D28 1937 neck shape. Been a Collings player for 15 years, had the chance to try a Collings D2HA T, tried H&D, Santa Cruz and Bourgeois. Maybe they offer models I had not the chance to audition which will get you in the sonic ballpark of a D28 1937 Authentic. A Pre War D28 I checked out was pretty close. Finally I found me a Merrill C28 that sounds as good as the Martin D28 1937, happy ever since.
I thought I never was too picky about neck shapes before but this particular D28 1937 Authentic taught me I am.

[vaibhav.mittal]

Great store!
I remember playing Froggy Bottoms at Rudy’s and that experience left me spell bounded forever …

I think that playing experience is so much dependent on the condition of the guitar with regards to strings, action and overall setup.

Originally Posted by wisedennis

It really depends on that particular guitar.

I played many high end guitar ($5000-$20000)at Rudy Soho NYC,

Many are good.. few are excellent, some are meh, and a few are disappointing…

Not gonna name the brand or models, in my humble opinion, $$$ value / brand name doesn’t translate to good tone …

[brencat]

Originally Posted by vaibhav.mittal

To keep the discussion moving ahead in particular with Martins,

Anyone tried both the versions of 1937 - aged and non aged,
Which one did you pick or find better over other and why so?

Also how does T bar influence the sound and overall setup compared to the newer ones from Custom Shop with authentic 1937 features??

Never played a Madi Authentic Aged, but have played the non-aged Madi versions and a few of the new EIR Custom shop versions. Also used to own an OM-28 Authentic years ago.

Personally, I don't like Madi. It's too dry sounding to my ears. I much prefer EIR which is a lot more reverby, sustainy, and vibrant. During a visit to TME back in November, I got to play a bunch of the new EIR Custom D-28As -- they had Aged and non-Aged, along with a real non-aged Madi D-28A. My favorites were the new EIR D-28A Aged ones which were wonderful! The non-aged Madi D-28A was kind of "meh" sounding, and the non-aged EIR D-28A custom was sonically dead. All 4 guitars also had very different neck profiles, suggesting there is a lot of individual hand finishing that goes into each neck.

Originally Posted by bluesman1148

There is no TBar in the Authentic series. The custom shop versions add a truss rod and use East Indian Rosewood rather than Madagascar.

Incorrect. There absolutely is a non-adjustable T-Bar neck reinforcement in the Madagascar D-28A and D-28A Aged. Personally I prefer having an adjustable truss rod, and I think Martin was wise to include this feature on their new EIR Custom D-28As. I've owned guitars with and without, and frankly not having the ability to make micro-adjustments here and there is all downside and no upside -- particularly if you want to use lighter gauge strings on your dreads like I do and need to add relief. You can't do that on the Madi ones.

Originally Posted by vaibhav.mittal

Wow IÂ’m new to Merrill brand
What makes them so special?

I own 3 Merrills (soon to be only 2). They combine the tonal features of the very best vintage Martin guitars with the ease of playability of your typical Santa Cruz. Their necks are medium-thick sized soft-v profiles with rolled fingerboard edges, and have adjustable truss rods. Unfortunately, there are less than 750 Merrills in the wild and they are expensive to commission (starting price mid to high 7k). But if you can find one used, in good condition and without a lot of issues, they can be among the very best guitars available that are built in the Martin tradition. The 2 I'm keeping will never be for sale.