C. F. Martin D-28 Flat Top Acoustic Guitar (1942)
C. F. Martin D-28 Model Flat Top Acoustic Guitar (1942), made in Nazareth, PA, serial # 80975, natural lacquer finish, Brazilian rosewood back and sides, spruce top; mahogany neck with ebony fingerboard, original black hard shell case.
This is a very well preserved example of a guitar that is a standard by which others are judged: an original Martin D-28 "herringbone". This one shows typical maintenance repairs but far less wear than most, a fantastic survivor well over 80 years along. Although not technically "pre-War" this early 1940s instrument still shows the original classic features of the model which have been widely imitated ever since.
This D-28 is from one of the first batches built in Nazareth during early 1942, just a couple of months after the US entered WWII. Serial number 80013 was the last one logged for 1941; this D-28 carries 80975. Style 28's from this period are often referred to as a "bone", after the namesake "herringbone" wood marquetry trim around the top. Whether this cosmetic feature has any affect on the sound is a hotly debated question; Martin stopped using it on their instruments by mid-1947. By then the D-28 had seen a number of other changes, most importantly the discontinuation of the scalloped top braces. The instruments of the later 1940's and '50's evolved to have a different sonic character, but some players even at the time found they preferred older ones.
The features of this guitar are classic prewar D-28 appointments. This "wartime" guitar (by a few months) shows one notable change due to WWII restrictions, the replacement of the metal neck reinforcement with an ebony bar. The top bracing is the rearward shifted pattern adopted in 1939, still delicately scalloped with top construction noticeably lighter than the typical 1950's style. The back and sides are beautifully straight grained Brazilian rosewood, with a bit of "striping" down the center of the back. The top is lovely tight grained Appalachian spruce, the small "teardrop" shape pickguard just below the sound hole is made of tortoise celluloid. The ebony bridge is the typical Martin "belly" shape with a canted bone saddle.
The neck is mahogany with an unbound ebony fingerboard decorated with discreet slotted diamond pearl inlay. The peghead is faced in straight grained Brazilian rosewood with the "C.F. Martin & C." decal at the top. The neck profile is round backed but with a subtle "V" profile in the way the sides bear away from the center. As noted the neck no longer has the standard metal reinforcement; wartime restrictions on steel caused this to be deleted. This must be one of the first guitars showing this change, which makes for a featherweight Dreadnought! The tuners are still the openback Waverly style typical of the late pre-war period with round metal buttons.
Cosmetically this guitar shows only fairly light signs of play, at least compared to many other Martins of this period. Playing into the open mikes of radio studios and barn dance stages a guitar had to have the maximum of both depth and projection, and many Country and Western performers of the period (accent on "Western") found the Martin D-28 the best instrument available for this highly competitive musical environment. Costing an even $125 in 1941-2 (without case!) the D-28 represented a sizable investment for a working performer, and once obtained was often played constantly to literally put food on the table.
This example is one of only 183 D-28s shipped in 1942. Compared to modern production this is a very paltry number, by the 1970s many thousands of Dreadnoughts were built every year. The mahogany-bodied D-18 cost somewhat less at $83 and so was sold in much larger numbers (575 shipped in 1942) but the D-28 represented the preferred stage or recording guitar for many performers.
In the minds of most acoustic guitar players, collectors and historians very few instruments even approach the pantheon of the early rosewood Martin Dreadnought in terms of both sound and historical importance. The scallop-braced D-28 is, to many, as close to a perfect flat top guitar as has ever been made. In the period when they were built these instruments were judged by the rhythm they produced to power the whole group; the kind of solo hot picking' that characterizes the modern audience for these guitars was generations away.
Although the D-28 has long been considered the definitive Bluegrass guitar, when this one was made "Bluegrass" as a defined musical style did not exist. In 1942 Bill Monroe's first so-named band was actively performing, but it was not until later in the 1940's that the "classic" Monroe band with Lester Flatt on a D-28 established that paradigm. If you want that sound, this guitar has it in spades; the power and depth of a Dreadnought with the sweetness, sparkle and singing character of the best pre-WWII Martins, a superlative instrument for just about any style of play. This 1942 model is a beautiful guitar to behold, a true joy to play and a significant piece of fretted history.
Overall length is 41 in. (104.1 cm.), 15 3/4 in. (40 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 4 15/16 in. (12.5 cm.) in depth at side, taken at the end block. Scale length is 25 1/4 in. (641 mm.). Width of nut is 1 11/16 in. (43 mm.).
The beautiful D-28 is now 83 years old and shows some light wear and discreet repair. The work done is pretty standard: a neck reset, refret with slightly larger wire than 1942 spec and a correct style ebony reproduction bridge. The one notable repair beyond this is a very tightly sealed crack to the tip of the heel about 3/4" up from the heelcap. This likely happened the first time the neck was reset; it has been very well closed, does not present any structural issue and is only really noticeable on close inspection. Internally just at the upper edge of the heelblock a small spruce inset patch can be seen to the top under the fingerboard, another souvenir of the neck reset.
This venerable Martin is otherwise entirely crack-free, which is delightful and kind of amazing well into the 21st century. The top survives in excellent condition with minimal bellying and all of the original bracing untouched, the small maple bridgeplate intact with some light pin wear. The thin lacquer finish remains all original. The top is cleaner than most showing only very small dings and scratches. The only notable wear to the wood is on the lower edge of the soundhole rim, and a couple of deeper dinks in front of the bridge.
There is an area of finish disturbance on the lower side, just below the heel possibly from exposure to moisture, or maybe a player's pinky ring! Other than these the original lacquer finish on the body only shows minor checking and small dings and dents. The back of the neck has some very minor feelable dinks along its length, with one very small touch-up behind the second fret on the treble side.
This guitar remains simply a spectacular musical instrument, well worthy of its esteemed reputation. When played hard it sings with the authoritative and powerful tone these are renowned for, yet even when played softly it is a responsive and lovely sounding instrument with a wide range of tones depending on the players touch. While showing some signs of use this D-28 survives in far cleaner shape than many, a great piece of history and just as good an ol'guitar as anyone is likely to find, now or then. It includes the very rare original HSC, which has usually been lost by now on Martin dreadnoughts this old. In the picket are the old frets and two previously installed bridges. Overall Excellent - Condition.
This is a very well preserved example of a guitar that is a standard by which others are judged: an original Martin D-28 "herringbone". This one shows typical maintenance repairs but far less wear than most, a fantastic survivor well over 80 years along. Although not technically "pre-War" this early 1940s instrument still shows the original classic features of the model which have been widely imitated ever since.
This D-28 is from one of the first batches built in Nazareth during early 1942, just a couple of months after the US entered WWII. Serial number 80013 was the last one logged for 1941; this D-28 carries 80975. Style 28's from this period are often referred to as a "bone", after the namesake "herringbone" wood marquetry trim around the top. Whether this cosmetic feature has any affect on the sound is a hotly debated question; Martin stopped using it on their instruments by mid-1947. By then the D-28 had seen a number of other changes, most importantly the discontinuation of the scalloped top braces. The instruments of the later 1940's and '50's evolved to have a different sonic character, but some players even at the time found they preferred older ones.
The features of this guitar are classic prewar D-28 appointments. This "wartime" guitar (by a few months) shows one notable change due to WWII restrictions, the replacement of the metal neck reinforcement with an ebony bar. The top bracing is the rearward shifted pattern adopted in 1939, still delicately scalloped with top construction noticeably lighter than the typical 1950's style. The back and sides are beautifully straight grained Brazilian rosewood, with a bit of "striping" down the center of the back. The top is lovely tight grained Appalachian spruce, the small "teardrop" shape pickguard just below the sound hole is made of tortoise celluloid. The ebony bridge is the typical Martin "belly" shape with a canted bone saddle.
The neck is mahogany with an unbound ebony fingerboard decorated with discreet slotted diamond pearl inlay. The peghead is faced in straight grained Brazilian rosewood with the "C.F. Martin & C." decal at the top. The neck profile is round backed but with a subtle "V" profile in the way the sides bear away from the center. As noted the neck no longer has the standard metal reinforcement; wartime restrictions on steel caused this to be deleted. This must be one of the first guitars showing this change, which makes for a featherweight Dreadnought! The tuners are still the openback Waverly style typical of the late pre-war period with round metal buttons.
Cosmetically this guitar shows only fairly light signs of play, at least compared to many other Martins of this period. Playing into the open mikes of radio studios and barn dance stages a guitar had to have the maximum of both depth and projection, and many Country and Western performers of the period (accent on "Western") found the Martin D-28 the best instrument available for this highly competitive musical environment. Costing an even $125 in 1941-2 (without case!) the D-28 represented a sizable investment for a working performer, and once obtained was often played constantly to literally put food on the table.
This example is one of only 183 D-28s shipped in 1942. Compared to modern production this is a very paltry number, by the 1970s many thousands of Dreadnoughts were built every year. The mahogany-bodied D-18 cost somewhat less at $83 and so was sold in much larger numbers (575 shipped in 1942) but the D-28 represented the preferred stage or recording guitar for many performers.
In the minds of most acoustic guitar players, collectors and historians very few instruments even approach the pantheon of the early rosewood Martin Dreadnought in terms of both sound and historical importance. The scallop-braced D-28 is, to many, as close to a perfect flat top guitar as has ever been made. In the period when they were built these instruments were judged by the rhythm they produced to power the whole group; the kind of solo hot picking' that characterizes the modern audience for these guitars was generations away.
Although the D-28 has long been considered the definitive Bluegrass guitar, when this one was made "Bluegrass" as a defined musical style did not exist. In 1942 Bill Monroe's first so-named band was actively performing, but it was not until later in the 1940's that the "classic" Monroe band with Lester Flatt on a D-28 established that paradigm. If you want that sound, this guitar has it in spades; the power and depth of a Dreadnought with the sweetness, sparkle and singing character of the best pre-WWII Martins, a superlative instrument for just about any style of play. This 1942 model is a beautiful guitar to behold, a true joy to play and a significant piece of fretted history.
Overall length is 41 in. (104.1 cm.), 15 3/4 in. (40 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 4 15/16 in. (12.5 cm.) in depth at side, taken at the end block. Scale length is 25 1/4 in. (641 mm.). Width of nut is 1 11/16 in. (43 mm.).
The beautiful D-28 is now 83 years old and shows some light wear and discreet repair. The work done is pretty standard: a neck reset, refret with slightly larger wire than 1942 spec and a correct style ebony reproduction bridge. The one notable repair beyond this is a very tightly sealed crack to the tip of the heel about 3/4" up from the heelcap. This likely happened the first time the neck was reset; it has been very well closed, does not present any structural issue and is only really noticeable on close inspection. Internally just at the upper edge of the heelblock a small spruce inset patch can be seen to the top under the fingerboard, another souvenir of the neck reset.
This venerable Martin is otherwise entirely crack-free, which is delightful and kind of amazing well into the 21st century. The top survives in excellent condition with minimal bellying and all of the original bracing untouched, the small maple bridgeplate intact with some light pin wear. The thin lacquer finish remains all original. The top is cleaner than most showing only very small dings and scratches. The only notable wear to the wood is on the lower edge of the soundhole rim, and a couple of deeper dinks in front of the bridge.
There is an area of finish disturbance on the lower side, just below the heel possibly from exposure to moisture, or maybe a player's pinky ring! Other than these the original lacquer finish on the body only shows minor checking and small dings and dents. The back of the neck has some very minor feelable dinks along its length, with one very small touch-up behind the second fret on the treble side.
This guitar remains simply a spectacular musical instrument, well worthy of its esteemed reputation. When played hard it sings with the authoritative and powerful tone these are renowned for, yet even when played softly it is a responsive and lovely sounding instrument with a wide range of tones depending on the players touch. While showing some signs of use this D-28 survives in far cleaner shape than many, a great piece of history and just as good an ol'guitar as anyone is likely to find, now or then. It includes the very rare original HSC, which has usually been lost by now on Martin dreadnoughts this old. In the picket are the old frets and two previously installed bridges. Overall Excellent - Condition.