It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Subscribe to our Patreon, and get image uploads with no ads on the site!
I'm looking at Martin Dreadnoughts... maybe a D41 or D42... from anytime in the past 20 years. Are there any good periods or bad periods? Have the specs changed at any specific points? How do current production models measure up?
Thanks for your help.
Base theme by DesignModo & ported to Powered by Vanilla by Chris Ireland, modified by the "theFB" team.
Comments
@Lewy Thanks for the info.
@BigLicks67 Thanks. What factors would make you choose a D18V or HD28V over a D41?
I've not played loads of Martin Ds... so I'm keen to find out more. Over the years, I've tried a few D18s, D28s, HD28s, D35s in various shops and I helped a friend choose a HD28V. However, I recently played a new D41 that seemed to have something extra (I know if doesn't have the forward shifted bracing of a HD28V or a D42... but, for some reason, it just worked for me). That said, I've not played many D41 - 45 high end thingys... so I didn't want to just leap at the first one I've played recently. I'm not really a fan of the abalone bling... but I can overlook that - for the 'right' guitar.
Probably the best sounding Dreadnought I've ever played was a '73 D35 - not considered a 'great' period - but it was a stunner. And at £1300, much cheaper than a new one....
Aside from a S/H on ebay I can't really seem to find many sold listing prices for D41's aside from a mid 70's one. 70's - 80's Martins aren't really held with a huge amount of affection by the die hard Martin fans, it's kind of the company Norlin era when they used huge bridge plates for bracing and popular mods are replacing the bridge plate with something smaller which isn't to say all Martins in the era are bad guitars, some are supposed to be excellent.
Buying a S/H acoustic guitar can be a bit more tricky than buying a S/H guitar. Pre '85 Martins do not have an adjustable truss rod, so that maybe an issue. Other issues which can be very tricky/expensive to address are humidity damage or the guitar requiring a neck reset.
If you like the standard but scalloped x bracing then a standard HD28 would do the job in theory. I'd go for a D18V or a HD28V, for 2 reasons one I played a D18V recently and it was one the best acoustics I've played with tremendous resonance and 2 pound for pound it would be much better choice for your wallet. I also don't like the bling of 40 series guitars.
So... I'm hearing a lot of love here for HD28Vs. I'm just not sure about the tone of the forward shifted bracing. I guess I need to get out and try a few more of the various models.
Bearing in mind that I liked the sound of the D41 that I tried... would a HD28 sound a bit closer to a D41... and a HD28V sound less like a D41? I'm assuming that a D41 and HD28 have similar bracing (scalloped 5/16 Sitka... and not forward shifted???).
In fairness, a guitar show can be a difficult environment when you're trying to decide on the purchase of an acoustic. Noise, buzz, pressure... doesn't help.
It may be only one poor example, but I'm not at all impressed and I certainly wouldn't buy one based on that experience.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein