Review: Martin D-28 Modern Deluxe

[zoopeda]

Originally Posted by Shades of Blue

Congrats! Lovely guitar, and I was happy to read your take on V and X bracing.

I think Martin did some great things to help capture the modern crowd, except for one thing.....price. Taylor was able to offer similar price points for their V Bracing, and even the Builder's Edition 517 and 717s come in well under the price of the Modern Series. Whatever Martin is smoking must be good for them to think they could charge $1K more per model.

I doubt I will ever play a Modern Deluxe Martin simply because of the price of admission.

$1000 is list, not street (which will be less). What you get over the standards for that is: VTS top, 1 piece mahogany neck (vs 2-3 piece), Waverly tuners, longer lasting EVO fret wire, titanium truss rod, wood bindings, GE scalloped bracing (i.e. Marquis series), full gloss headstock and neck, some abalone inlay. Plus they don't put that ridiculous yellow top toner on these and they get protein glue (debatable efficacy but some appreciate). All these changes are easily worth 6 or 7 hundred dollars upgrade to some players (the GE bracing and VTS top alone are worth that to some players). To others, not so much. I think you could argue, though, that although the MD is more expensive than the standard, the MD may actually be the greater VALUE given the sum of the specific upgrades.

[martingitdave]

Originally Posted by Jack Orion

Here's a review of a D18MD I did for a UK site - I liked this guitar a lot!

Very cool! Thanks for sharing that!

[martingitdave]

Originally Posted by zoopeda

$1000 is list, not street (which will be less). What you get over the standards for that is: VTS top, 1 piece mahogany neck (vs 2-3 piece), Waverly tuners, longer lasting EVO fret wire, titanium truss rod, wood bindings, GE scalloped bracing (i.e. Marquis series), full gloss headstock and neck, some abalone inlay. Plus they don't put that ridiculous yellow top toner on these and they get protein glue (debatable efficacy but some appreciate). All these changes are easily worth 6 or 7 hundred dollars upgrade to some players (the GE bracing and VTS top alone are worth that to some players). To others, not so much. I think you could argue, though, that although the MD is more expensive than the standard, the MD may actually be the greater VALUE given the sum of the specific upgrades.

The GE bracing and VTS top were worth the up charge to me. The other features are very nice, but those are the most contributory to good sound in my opinion. To my ears they make a big difference.

[Tnfiddler]

I played the D-28, D-18 and OM-28 Modern Deluxe models and NAMM today and thought they looked, felt, played and sounded amazing! The D-28 was definitely my favorite of the three and one I'd gladly own!!

[martingitdave]

Originally Posted by Tnfiddler

I played the D-28, D-18 and OM-28 Modern Deluxe models and NAMM today and thought they looked, felt, played and sounded amazing! The D-28 was definitely my favorite of the three and one I'd gladly own!!

Well that’s very encouraging to read!

[martingitdave]

I gave some more thought to the criticism of the pricing of the new Modern Deluxe. It occurred to me that this new model is the replacement for the HD-28V. If I recall, it was one of their most popular models. And, the HD-28V listed for $3700. The new model lists for $300 more. And, the new model has more svelte bracing, VTS and a neck that is more comfortable than the previous model. The additional benefits of the CF bridge plate and the pins are debatable for many. But, getting an HD-28V with VTS top and GE bracing is worth the additional upgrade in my opinion.

[IndyHD28]

Originally Posted by martingitdave

I gave some more thought to the criticism of the pricing of the new Modern Deluxe.

It’s like a factory option package on a car—no way you can replicate it ala carte for twice the money. And this is definitely one hotrodded D-28.

[vintageom]

Originally Posted by martingitdave

I gave some more thought to the criticism of the pricing of the new Modern Deluxe. It occurred to me that this new model is the replacement for the HD-28V. If I recall, it was one of their most popular models. And, the HD-28V listed for $3700. The new model lists for $300 more. And, the new model has more svelte bracing, VTS and a neck that is more comfortable than the previous model. The additional benefits of the CF bridge plate and the pins are debatable for many. But, getting an HD-28V with VTS top and GE bracing is worth the additional upgrade in my opinion.

I thought the reimagined HD-28 was the replacement of the HD-28V? The new HD-28 is priced well below the old HD-28V. The differences are:

HD-28V had Grained Ivoroid binding, no aging toner on the top, different, cheaper tuners and 1 11/16" nut width with perhaps different string spacing up the neck.

The NOS HD-28Vs are discontinued and are sitting unsold at various dealers around the country right now. The new reimagined version HD-28 does a good job replacing the HD-28V at a much lower price.

When you compare the old HD-28 pricing to the Modern Deluxe pricing, it makes the price gap narrower. Compare the reimagined HD-28 to the Modern Deluxe, then decide if the upgrades of the Modern Deluxe bridge the price/value gap for you.

[brencat]

Originally Posted by martingitdave

I gave some more thought to the criticism of the pricing of the new Modern Deluxe. It occurred to me that this new model is the replacement for the HD-28V. If I recall, it was one of their most popular models. And, the HD-28V listed for $3700. The new model lists for $300 more. And, the new model has more svelte bracing, VTS and a neck that is more comfortable than the previous model. The additional benefits of the CF bridge plate and the pins are debatable for many. But, getting an HD-28V with VTS top and GE bracing is worth the additional upgrade in my opinion.

Dave, you may be confusing MAP with MSRP. MSRP on the new D-28MD is $5200 vs $4700 for the HD-28v. At 40-off, out the door prices are $3120 and $2820, respectively. You are correct about the $300 difference, but don’t discount the psychological boundary of $3k+. Not to mention not everyone likes the VTS tone. I’m a bit on the fence about it. VTS introduces a bit more snap while taking away a bit of the bell-like ring through the mids that a well played standard top would have. I noticed this very thing on the D-18 VTS Music Villa Custom and the OM-28 Authentic I once owned.

By the way, I picked up a killer 2005 D-28 Marquis at the Philly Expo show a couple weeks back. Big neck, huge sound, plenty of bell-like chime. Paired with my 000-18 Authentic, it’s getting incredibly difficult to justify owning much else (except my SCGC D/PW, of course).

[martingitdave]

Originally Posted by brencat

Dave, you may be confusing MAP with MSRP. MSRP on the new D-28MD is $5200 vs $4700 for the HD-28v. At 40-off, out the door prices are $3120 and $2820, respectively. You are correct about the $300 difference, but don’t discount the psychological boundary of $3k+. Not to mention not everyone likes the VTS tone. I’m a bit on the fence about it. VTS introduces a bit more snap while taking away a bit of the bell-like ring through the mids that a well played standard top would have. I noticed this very thing on the D-18 VTS Music Villa Custom and the OM-28 Authentic I once owned.

By the way, I picked up a killer 2005 D-28 Marquis at the Philly Expo show a couple weeks back. Big neck, huge sound, plenty of bell-like chime. Paired with my 000-18 Authentic, it’s getting incredibly difficult to justify owning much else (except my SCGC D/PW, of course).

The Marquis remains among my favorite D-28 variants. “List” price was meant to be synonymous with MAP. Thanks!

[martingitdave]

Originally Posted by vintageom

I thought the reimagined HD-28 was the replacement of the HD-28V? The new HD-28 is priced well below the old HD-28V. The differences are:



HD-28V had Grained Ivoroid binding, no aging toner on the top, different, cheaper tuners and 1 11/16" nut width with perhaps different string spacing up the neck.



The NOS HD-28Vs are discontinued and are sitting unsold at various dealers around the country right now. The new reimagined version HD-28 does a good job replacing the HD-28V at a much lower price.



When you compare the old HD-28 pricing to the Modern Deluxe pricing, it makes the price gap narrower. Compare the reimagined HD-28 to the Modern Deluxe, then decide if the upgrades of the Modern Deluxe bridge the price/value gap for you.

I think the new HD-28 is the replacement for the old HD-28 and the price was about the same. The new MD were the replacements for the next rung(s) up the ladder, the vintage series or Marquis, both of which are discontinued and we’re close to the same price as the vintage models.

[Trent in WA]

The MDs I’ve tried have been, I thought, pretty uniformly great sound-wise, so much so that if I were in the market for a D-18 or 28 or an OM, I’d get one and would even order one online confident that I’d be getting a keeper. They sound like really good, well-played-in examples of the standard versions of the model. And even though I’m not in general crazy about Martin’s spec’ing the guitars with scrawny chicken necks, I find the MD’s necks to be more comfortable than the standard-issue scrawny chicken neck. (My preferred neck profile is a 1 7/8” mod-V, so I recognize I’m an outlier in that regard.) They really sing. Well worth the upcharge, IMHO.

[IndyHD28]

Originally Posted by Trent in WA

The MDs I’ve tried have been, I thought, pretty uniformly great sound-wise, so much so that if I were in the market for a D-18 or 28 or an OM, I’d get one and would even order one online confident that I’d be getting a keeper. They sound like really good, well-played-in examples of the standard versions of the model. And even though I’m not in general crazy about Martin’s spec’ing the guitars with scrawny chicken necks, I find the MD’s necks to be more comfortable than the standard-issue scrawny chicken neck. (My preferred neck profile is a 1 7/8” mod-V, so I recognize I’m an outlier in that regard.) They really sing. Well worth the upcharge, IMHO.

Good comments. Funny how the neck thing works. I wasn’t wild about the “Vintage Deluxe” at first but after playing a 000-28MD everyday for a couple of months, I now prefer it to the MLO. I wear an XL golf glove so my hands are not small.

[Jaden]

Originally Posted by Digelectric

I think this is why there are so many variants of a fundamental design, right? We all have our personal preferences.

I played a Taylor for years and when I got into bluegrass jamming (briefly) decided to get a D-28. I bought it on Reverb which, when it arrived, felt like a huge mistake. It sounded dull and boring, no harmonic overtones like my Taylor (which I had to sell to get the Martin) and I was really heartbroken. After I had the guitar for about 6 months the tone really changed for the better. I don’t know if the humidity where I live was more ideal and took a while to impact the wood, but it’s now really the nicest sounding guitar I have ever played. I get lots of comments on how much depth and volume it has. I’m generally reluctant to judge them harshly right away anymore for this reason. They really can open up and improve over time, sometimes dramatically.

I’ve appreciated reading the comments re the MD sounding already ‘opened up’ over the regular Standards, and I think it’s worth repeating for those wanting to acquire their first Std that there’s a wide consensus about them improving with performance time.

On the other hand, in my coastal climate it’s especially common for spruce rosewood Martins to fall asleep in the case from disuse, and emerge with muffled, ‘sound hole stuffed with socks’ syndrome; I believe a slight degradation to sound performance can occur with disuse due to consistently more damp local climate conditions. These guitars were made to be played.

[IndyHD28]

Originally Posted by Jaden

On the other hand, in my coastal climate it’s especially common for spruce rosewood Martins to fall asleep in the case from disuse, and emerge with muffled, ‘sound hole stuffed with socks’ syndrome; I believe a slight degradation to sound performance can occur with disuse due to consistently more damp local climate conditions. These guitars were made to be played.

One point made by OneManz in his written review of the MDs is that with the VTS top, carbon fiber bridgeplate, and LM pins, the Modern Deluxe guitars are more resistant to humidity than plain wood guitars. I’ve noticed this at my home where it is a constant 60%+ even with the A/C running full blast.