Martin D-28 1957 - Natural

This 1957 Martin D-28 lived a rough and tumble life and was sent back to the Martin factory some time in the 1980s or early 1990s to give us the instrument we have today.

The mahogany neck was replaced by Martin and has a larger C profile neck which measures 0.888" thick at the 1st fret, 1" thick at the 9th, and with a nut width of 1.7". The neck still retains the original Kluson 'waffle back' sealed tuning machines and the slot head screws to mount them. The low E tuner bushing is different from the rest of the set but has identical patina so it has been on the guitar a relatively long time. The fingerboard is ebony with 20 nickel frets that all sit about 0.116" tall and 0.080" wide. The neck has 0.013" of forward relief when strung up with 12s. There are some light divots in the cowboy chords extending on the higher strings up to the 7th fret where they are so faint it would be hard to say they are there. There is some flaking of the finish near the fret ends and around the bass side neck of the 5th fret but it appears to be stable

The top is a fantastic piece of spruce and was also replaced when the guitar went back to the Martin factory. It has unscalloped braces with the larger bridge plate made of maple. It has a gorgeous tortoise pick guard which contrasts the black and white binding perfectly. The ebony bridge was also replaced but the bridge pins appear to be older as they are slightly torn up from being taken out during string changes. The back and sides are really where the wonder is in this instrument as they are beautifully quarter sawn Brazilian Rosewood. The sides have dark cloth reinforcement strips and appear to have avoided being cracked however there is a rosewood side strip reinforcement on the bass side just below the waist. The sides were refinished by Martin. The back retains original lacquer underneath a coat of overspray likely to keep what was left in place. It also has the original wood marquetry backstrip.

Please feel free to reach out to us with any questions you may have on this magnificent guitar. Comes shipped in hardshell case.