Not impressed with the sound of Martin D-28. Am I crazy?

[martingitdave]

You’re not crazy. It’s the reason they make so many models with different kinds of tone woods, bracing and shapes. Barring that, it could just be that the examples you’re playing happen to be less than stellar. There’s a reason the D28 is the most copied guitar in history. And there’s a reason they make 30 other models.

[Tnfiddler]

YOUR tone is something that only YOU can satisfy and there’s no telling what the guitar will be that hits the mark for you. Individual tastes in tone are all over the map and an example of that is a Music Villa video I watched yesterday, where they did a demo of 3 different models from an unnamed company’s guitars. There were lots of comments about how great they sounded and I was thinking, “did we watch the same video”? I thought they were a jangly, tinny mess. I wish you 100% success on your search.

[Br1ck]

I go into a shop pretty infrequently, maybe twice a year. I love their vintage room (Sylvan in Santa Cruz), and I played Brazilian D 28s whenever they had one. Guitar after guitar, they were disappointments. Not bad, just not special. Then one day they had two, and both were jaw dropping good. So were the prices. See, I learned they tacked on three grand for being Brazilian, and four for being an outstanding Brazilian guitar. Well worth it IMHO.

I've gotten to the point where the vast majority of guitars are just that, good guitars. I have a few at home. One out of a hundred or so stick out for various reasons. So when I play a SCGC, a Collings, A Huss and Daulton, etc. I put it down thinking nice guitar. I don't lust for any of them. Once in a while I play an old Martin and do.

The fact you don't like a D 28 is not surprising. It will sell to someone that does. The fact that something is ultra popular has no bearing on your perception, and you are better off realizing it.

[Ergoetal]

Originally Posted by aeisen93

I know the D-28 is one of the most famous guitars ever... I’ve recently played some of the new reimagined D-28s and I just was not impressed with the tone. It didn’t sound like anything special, especially for $3000.

The funny thing is I have a Martin X1-DE and I love it’s tone! Are any of you not fans of the D-28 or am I the only one?

Maybe if I played a pre-1969 Brazilian rosewood D-28 my opinion would change. I have also never played a pre-2017 non-reimagined one.

I think that each guitar is different. I owned a 1967 D-28 - Braz, of course, that didn't sound great. I ended up trading it for a fiddle. But I also owned a D-35 - mostly Indian rosewood, that was outstanding. Each one is different.

[JohnW63]

I think that some guitar models can be over hyped. It's not that they aren't fine guitars, but if you believe all you read about them and see all the glowing reviews, you begin to expect a lot more than the guitar can live up to. Especially, if the sound pallet of that brand is not really the tone you want.

I visited every decent sized music store and all the GC's in a 100 mile radius, a number of years ago. In each one a played the big brands and anything that looked interesting. Each time I played any Martin D-28 or D-18, I was underwhelmed because I kept thinking " This one must sound as good as all those reviews. " and it didn't. The tone was perfect for my memories of any bluegrass tune I could recall, but it's didn't seem to fit other styles as well, for me at least. I played an all mahogany OM Martin that did catch my ear. It was more evenly balanced and I could see it working with a wide range of styles. But, it was not in the price range I was looking for. I ended up with a Guild F47R instead.

[emuhunter]

For what it’s worth I’ve never connected with a recent production D-28 standard (reimagined or pre-reimagined) either. HD-28, HD-28V, HD-28VS, D-28 Marquis, D-28 Authentic, all a different story! I’ve loved a LOT of the examples of those I’ve played.

[Pdubs76]

Originally Posted by aeisen93

I know the D-28 is one of the most famous guitars ever... I’ve recently played some of the new reimagined D-28s and I just was not impressed with the tone. It didn’t sound like anything special, especially for $3000.

The funny thing is I have a Martin X1-DE and I love it’s tone! Are any of you not fans of the D-28 or am I the only one?

Maybe if I played a pre-1969 Brazilian rosewood D-28 my opinion would change. I have also never played a pre-2017 non-reimagined one.

It’s funny you should post this a day after I received a new HD-28! So far I’m not super impressed either, but I’ve never been one to take to a guitar straight away. It needs a set up, possibly different strings, and of course I need to learn how to coax the sound I’m looking for out of it because it’s a whole different animal than my 2010 Taylor 814ce. If a few months pass and I’m still uninspired, I will find it a new home and keep searching for my forever guitar.

[EZYPIKINS]

I've always thought the HD-28's sounded much better than the D-28 myself.

That said. when it comes to Martin. I'm more a 000-28 guy.

Lately have been looking at the 000-28e.

As I'm a big fan of the Aura system.

Just not a big fan of the price.

[Tnfiddler]

Originally Posted by Pdubs76

It’s funny you should post this a day after I received a new HD-28! So far I’m not super impressed either, but I’ve never been one to take to a guitar straight away. It needs a set up, possibly different strings, and of course I need to learn how to coax the sound I’m looking for out of it because it’s a whole different animal than my 2010 Taylor 814ce. If a few months pass and I’m still uninspired, I will find it a new home and keep searching for my forever guitar.

I have to ask what sound you’re looking for that it doesn’t have? I came from an 810 to my D41 and was originally going to go with an HD28 and out of all the ones I played, only one was a bad example and they literally unboxed it and took it out of the plastic and case and handed it to me. It was very tight and closed up sounding and I think that was due to being BRAND new. The rest were night and day better than my Taylor in every way, so I’m curious as to what it’s not doing for you.

[JohnW63]

I suggest its not sounding they way many of those who posted are looking for. Just because you feel it does everything, doesn’t mean we all agree.

Thank goodness there are other brands that do “it” differently.

[Pdubs76]

Originally Posted by Tnfiddler

I have to ask what sound you’re looking for that it doesn’t have? I came from an 810 to my D41 and was originally going to go with an HD28 and out of all the ones I played, only one was a bad example and they literally unboxed it and took it out of the plastic and case and handed it to me. It was very tight and closed up sounding and I think that was due to being BRAND new. The rest were night and day better than my Taylor in every way, so I’m curious as to what it’s not doing for you.

What I meant is that it plays much differently than my Taylor, so I have to basically learn how to play the thing. I hear it’s potential in tone, but haven’t yet made the adjustments in my technique to get it sounding good. As far as being better or worse than the Taylor, no way I could make that assessment with two guitars that are worlds apart.

[Tnfiddler]

Originally Posted by Pdubs76

What I meant is that it plays much differently than my Taylor, so I have to basically learn how to play the thing. I hear it’s potential in tone, but haven’t yet made the adjustments in my technique to get it sounding good. As far as being better or worse than the Taylor, no way I could make that assessment with two guitars that are worlds apart.

I will say that Taylor guitars play so much better than Martins, IMO. The MLO/PA neck is the ONLY Martin neck I like and my 810, which was a 1995 model, had the best neck I’ve ever felt on a guitar! Taylor has it going on In the neck department!!

[Rosewood99]

It’s also possible you just got a bad one. Even Martin will sometimes have an occasional dud.

[aeisen93]

Went to my local GC today. Tried a Martin D-28 and it sounded pretty good, but not good enough where I would have wanted it...

I think some of the replies here make sense saying I built up these expectations for this guitar in my mind based on all the positive reviews and the history of the model...

[FingahPickah]

I'm curious to know what drew you to a D28 initially. What were your expectations? How were they not met? Have you played more than one?