Well, I did it. New-to-me HD-28E

[b1j]

I’m going to break this up into a few separate posts in case anyone wants to comment on parts of it.

For I while I've been repeating myself here, every chance I get it seems, by saying I want a D-28. With one mahogany dread, one mahogany Martin 0 size, and one rosewood OM-sized Gurian, it seemed a rosewood dread would fill out the tone spectrum in my collection. To me that said D-28 or HD-28.

Thing is, I wasn't thrilled about spending $3,200 to $3,800 plus tax for one. So I sat by the sidelines. I did play a couple of Special 16s at Guitar Center a few weeks ago. I very likely would have bought the second one, which had newer strings, but it sold out from under me while I slept on it. After that I put the idea of a rosewood dread aside.

continued...

[b1j]

Then I came across a 2018 HD-28E for $2,500 in a local private sale. I jumped on it. This was the first year of the Reimagined Standard line (after the D-28 had a head start). It has many features you used to pay much more for in the HD-28V "Vintage" model, discontinued with the release of the HD-28 Reimagined. This one has open-back tuners, 1.75" nut, and faux tortoise pick guard. The significant changes are forward-shifted scalloped X-bracing and MLO neck with high performance taper. It also has antique white binding, blah blah blah (fill in the rest).

It's pristine, it's immaculate, and it's gorgeous. It seems to have spent a lot of time in its spotless case –– by the way, I got the older, traditional black Martin tolex-type, not the molded plastic one you get today. I prefer the black one! Plus, it has a strap button on the neck (thank goodness; everyone is so uptight about this! Looking at you, Maury.) and someone replaced the plastic bridge pins with bone. Cool.

[b1j]

I'm going to have to get used to the modified low oval neck. All my other guitars have chunky necks: Round on the J-45, tapered on the Gurian, and "gentle C" on my granddaddy 0-18 (love it!). In a long playing session today, my fretting hand need to work harder than I’m used to, but that might be because I was playing on my couch, or maybe the medium strings, or both. Just ordered a strap, so we'll see when that comes in.

[b1j]

Another likely reason the playing was hard on my hand is that the action is high for a guitar with two prior owners: 0.12" on the low E and 0.09" on the high E! tsk tsk. This might be consistent with the appearance that it has seen very little play. I'll certainly do something about it! I'm going to have Gryphon help me out tomorrow. There's a bit too much relief, and tightening the rod might help when we lower the action. There's a good 1/8" of saddle and the frets line up exactly with the top of the bridge. And it’s my only guitar with medium strings; the rest have lights (or Nashvilles). So I’m optimistic I can get the action into line.

[b1j]

I played for quite a while with the Fishman Aura VT Enhance pickup, through my Fishman Loudbox Mini. It’s too soon to tell, but I think I’m going to like the Enhance at about 75%. With quiet play the tone is warmer and more acoustic-sounding. When I lean into it with a kind of palm-pounding Neil Young Heart of Gold vibe, you can really hear the body sounds with the Enhance on (they're not there if you just play through the undersaddle piezo).

Even string zing is telling. Enhance off, not much squeak. Enhance on, you get it all.

I understand the Aura preselected emulation image is limited to just one that Martin loaded in. When you compare it to something like ToneDexter that can learn your guitar through dozens of mics, the Aura is pretty simple. Neither Fisher nor Martin discloses how they obtain or decide upon the emulation image they load. Or maybe I have it entirely wrong and the Aura technology is nothing like the IR in ToneDexter. Who knows?

Anyway, The pickup in the HD-28E is less quacky than the J-45's LR Baggs VTC, although for playing to a small room the Baggs is fine. I wouldn't record with it, though. I don't know if I'd record with the Fishman Aura yet, either.

[b1j]

Here’s a mystery: when I play an E one octave above the low E string (and the F above that, too), I hear buzzing. It happens with those two notes whether I play them on the A string fret 7/8 or the D string fret 2/3. The note goes dull and there's that buzz sound. It’s definitely coming from inside the guitar, not from a high fret or string vibration. You don't hear the buzz with the Enhance knob off. I suspect one of the wires resonates against the body at those frequencies.

[b1j]

After my first full day, I'll say this thing is magnificent. It'll do anything I am capable of doing with a guitar. A lot of what I do is 70s fingerpicking, and with that it's just different from the J-45. "Liquid" is the word that comes to mind, or maybe "fat." The treble notes are farther back than with the Gibson, so I expect I'll play it differently. I'm not saying the bass is loud, per se. (The Gibson bass is loud, but I still hear its high E and B strings ring out anyway.) I'm very pleased to report that even with all the hallmarks of bass, dread/rosewood/forward-shifted/scalloped, this HD-28 is NOT an overbearing bass instrument! But it does have plenty of bottom volume and projection.

I always think that all the hubbub about tone nuances between this and that guitar are a little overblown. I can get many shades of tonality by the way I touch off the note: fingernail (much variation), fingertip, pick (how many of those are there?), single note, 2 or three strings, upstroke, downstroke, full strum, quiet, loud, arpeggio or sharp stroke, near the bridge/near the neck joint. To be fair, many build features do affect tone on their own: Medium strings/long scale; light strings/short scale. Plus, my perspective is on the Standard-series echelon, not the esoteric high-enders.

For this guitar, I think I got both the pros and the cons of buying a 4-year-old but rarely played instrument. Mostly pros: immaculate and beautiful. Every square inch looks and feels like new, and it sounds terrific, at a steeply discounted cost to me. Nothing to complain about there. On the very tiny downside, it really does still present as a new guitar, one that needs a setup. I'm not sure why it isn't set up to Martin specs. I have yet to check the humidity, but it's from Northern California, so it's highly unlikely there's any problem there. In the end, though, it's a Reimagined Standard Martin with miles of available saddle, so I'm confident it will take a setup as well as any guitar of this stature. (I see we're calling these mid-level now, right?) So really, it's all pro and no con, and I'm delighted.

Also, what they say about rosewood is true. The harmonics from this guitar are stunning and lush. At one point when I would pluck the same note an octave apart while fingerpicking, it sounded like I had the chorus knob on. I had to stop and check. Nope, just the HD-28. And its sustain stands up to all of my other three, and that's saying something.

I'll use this in different ways from the J-45, which I dearly love. The idea wheels are turning.

[Glennwillow]

Well, Congratulations on a super great guitar! The HD-28 with forward shifted scalloped bracing is very cool! Good for you!

The folks at Gryphon will be able to help you get the action dialed in better. My typical low E string height off the 12th fret is about 0.078-0.080" and I don't get any fret buzz.

Good for you! How wonderful!

- Glenn

[b1j]

Originally Posted by Glennwillow

Well, Congratulations on a super great guitar! The HD-28 with forward shifted scalloped bracing is very cool! Good for you!

The folks at Gryphon will be able to help you get the action dialed in better. My typical low E string height off the 12th fret is about 0.078-0.080" and I don't get any fret buzz.

Good for you! How wonderful!

- Glenn

Thanks, Glenn. I appreciate the well wishes.

My J-45 low E string has about 0.09" height at the 12th fret, a shade under 6/64". I wouldn't mind a scosh lower, but with the light strings and short scale, it doesn't give me trouble. Maybe I'll ask Gryphon about that too. They're replacing the tuners on it tomorrow.

The 0-18 low E string has 0.078" and it's a dream.

[EZYPIKINS]

My HD-28e had a high action when it arrived as well. Lucky for me, I know how to remedy this.

Now it plays as good as my other guitars.

D-28.jpg

[Jim Owen]

Congrats! Sounds as if you’ve found just the right one.

[b1j]

Originally Posted by EZYPIKINS

My HD-28e had a high action when it arrived as well. Lucky for me, I know how to remedy this.

Now it plays as good as my other guitars.

Attachment 81347

EZ, I’m glad to hear you got your HD-28E set up. I’ve read up on action and truss-rod adjustments and it makes sense, but I don’t want to mess it up. Someday I might trust myself to do it, but today is not that day.

[TBman]

Congrats! Enjoy it!

[sinistral]

Congrats on the HD-28! I have a reimagined version and a pre-reimagined version, and they are both superb instruments. I think that the reimagined HD-28 is as close as you are going to get to a Golden Era/late 1930’s D-28 at a “reasonable” price (the Authentics are insanely great, but over double the price). Enjoy!

Can I ask why you are replacing the tuners?

[b1j]

Originally Posted by sinistral

Congrats on the HD-28! I have a reimagined version and a pre-reimagined version, and they are both superb instruments. I think that the reimagined HD-28 is as close as you are going to get to a Golden Era/late 1930’s D-28 at a “reasonable” price (the Authentics are insanely great, but over double the price). Enjoy!

Can I ask why you are replacing the tuners?

Not on the Martin: I’m replacing the Grover strap tuners on my J-45 with individual Waverly open 21:1. So far I’m quite happy with the Grover 18:1 open-back set on the HD-28.

By the way, the tech at Gryphon today turned the HD-28’s truss rod four quarter turns! I saw (!) and heard the neck respond. It was hardly engaged at all when I brought it in. With that change alone, the action is now at Martin specs. So already it’s twice as much fun to play.

Do you have a preference for the pre- or the Re? I won’t ask why you have two, but I do wonder how on earth you decide which to play?

And why is mine the closest to the 1930s D-28? Because of the herringbone, or something else?

Sorry to gloat, but for what I paid, I’m deep into the “reasonable” price point! Well below it, even. I can’t believe my luck.