duhvoodooman
January 5th, 2017, 08:40 PM
...and finally bit the bullet when a dead mint example was posted on my local CL by a small music store in downtown Schenectady. So I'm now the proud owner of a gorgeous 2004 Martin HD-28. See pics below.
I've got a number of very nice electric guitars, but I'd never owned a high-end acoustic. I've had a '71 Yamaha FG-300 (http://duhvoodooman.com/miscimages/musical/FG-300.jpg) for ~40 years that's a nice sounding and playing guitar, and a very serviceable Epiphone Masterbilt acoustic-electric (http://duhvoodooman.com/miscimages/musical/DR500MCE/DR-500MCE_full_front.jpg) I picked up a couple of years ago, but neither are in the class of this beauty. So now I finally have my first (and very probably last!) Martin.
Here's the back story on the instrument: Apparently, the guitar was purchased about a decade ago by a well-known local mandolin player who decided he wanted to learn to play guitar, as well. He had a couple of very expensive mandolins, so was used to high quality instruments and insisted on a top quality guitar. But he never got around to learning to play it and recently decided to trade it in on something else. It's a true "case queen" and had obviously been played very little if at all. Not a mark on it, not even pickguard scratches, and no visible fret wear whatsoever. And to sweeten the pot further, this store had it priced about $400 - $600 below what used HD-28's of comparable vintage and condition typically sell for. The store recently moved from a nearby location into an empty spot in the arcade of Proctor's Theatre right on the main drag in downtown Schenectady. It's a nicely refurbished old vaudeville theater that is a very popular local venue for touring Broadway shows, so the arcade gets quite a bit of traffic. Their main gig for years has been selling, renting and repairing band and orchestra instruments, but they're trying to build up the guitar, keyboard and percussion side of the business in this new location. The store manager, a very straight-up guy, told me that they priced the guitar so aggressively and then advertised it on CL in the hope of getting more guitar player traffic through the store. Well, it sure worked on me.
The guitar plays like butter and sounds, well, exactly like a Martin dreadnought is supposed to sound--rich tone, great projection, and a beautiful low end. We're just getting to know one another, but I think this is going to be a beautiful friendship....
P.S. Keep an eye on the For Sale forum here--I'm gonna have to move a couple of things to pay for this puppy!
http://duhvoodooman.com/miscimages/musical/HD-28/HD-28_full.jpg http://duhvoodooman.com/miscimages/musical/HD-28/HD-28_body.jpg
http://duhvoodooman.com/miscimages/musical/HD-28/HD-28_body_back.jpg http://duhvoodooman.com/miscimages/musical/HD-28/HD-28_headstock.jpg
http://duhvoodooman.com/miscimages/musical/HD-28/HD-28_in_case.jpg
http://duhvoodooman.com/miscimages/musical/HD-28/HD-28_case_768W.jpg
I've got a number of very nice electric guitars, but I'd never owned a high-end acoustic. I've had a '71 Yamaha FG-300 (http://duhvoodooman.com/miscimages/musical/FG-300.jpg) for ~40 years that's a nice sounding and playing guitar, and a very serviceable Epiphone Masterbilt acoustic-electric (http://duhvoodooman.com/miscimages/musical/DR500MCE/DR-500MCE_full_front.jpg) I picked up a couple of years ago, but neither are in the class of this beauty. So now I finally have my first (and very probably last!) Martin.
Here's the back story on the instrument: Apparently, the guitar was purchased about a decade ago by a well-known local mandolin player who decided he wanted to learn to play guitar, as well. He had a couple of very expensive mandolins, so was used to high quality instruments and insisted on a top quality guitar. But he never got around to learning to play it and recently decided to trade it in on something else. It's a true "case queen" and had obviously been played very little if at all. Not a mark on it, not even pickguard scratches, and no visible fret wear whatsoever. And to sweeten the pot further, this store had it priced about $400 - $600 below what used HD-28's of comparable vintage and condition typically sell for. The store recently moved from a nearby location into an empty spot in the arcade of Proctor's Theatre right on the main drag in downtown Schenectady. It's a nicely refurbished old vaudeville theater that is a very popular local venue for touring Broadway shows, so the arcade gets quite a bit of traffic. Their main gig for years has been selling, renting and repairing band and orchestra instruments, but they're trying to build up the guitar, keyboard and percussion side of the business in this new location. The store manager, a very straight-up guy, told me that they priced the guitar so aggressively and then advertised it on CL in the hope of getting more guitar player traffic through the store. Well, it sure worked on me.
The guitar plays like butter and sounds, well, exactly like a Martin dreadnought is supposed to sound--rich tone, great projection, and a beautiful low end. We're just getting to know one another, but I think this is going to be a beautiful friendship....
P.S. Keep an eye on the For Sale forum here--I'm gonna have to move a couple of things to pay for this puppy!
http://duhvoodooman.com/miscimages/musical/HD-28/HD-28_full.jpg http://duhvoodooman.com/miscimages/musical/HD-28/HD-28_body.jpg
http://duhvoodooman.com/miscimages/musical/HD-28/HD-28_body_back.jpg http://duhvoodooman.com/miscimages/musical/HD-28/HD-28_headstock.jpg
http://duhvoodooman.com/miscimages/musical/HD-28/HD-28_in_case.jpg
http://duhvoodooman.com/miscimages/musical/HD-28/HD-28_case_768W.jpg