Martin D-28 (1944)

As sound goes, we rate this guitar as highly as a wartime D-28 can be rated.

This herringbone-trimmed Martin D-28, serial number 87415, was stamped on March 16, 1944, and cleared final inspection on July 11th that same year. Amongst its batch siblings was 87422, the D-28 that would end up in the hands of Hank Williams, and which now resides in the Country Music Hall of Fame.

While that's little more than an interesting footnote in 87415's history, it may lend credence to its excellence as a musical instrument: we have never heard a herringbone from this period we would not classify as an incredible guitar. Built towards the end of the scalloped-brace era, and equipped with ebony neck-support rods, these D-28s are lightweight, super-responsive, and typically exhibit huge dynamic range with great fundamental "woodiness" of sound alongside lots of sparkle and complexity.

87415 is no exception to this rule; and shows grand-piano characteristics as it relates to shimmer and power across its voice. It's a hugely warm-sounding instrument, with pillowy bass, fat mids, and thick, round trebles all the way up the neck. An incredible, lifer of a flatpicking guitar, it responds immediately and pleasantly, even to a light touch, and occupies a tremendous amount of sonic space when put into alternate tunings and played fingerstyle. This guitar certainly fits our in-house "premium" descriptor, as vintage instruments go. It retains all its original components aside from the frets and the saddle.

When its original owner's family first brought it to our friends at Elderly Instruments, the bridge was reglued, and the neck was reset. Some dents in the top finish, the result of a long-ago, homestyle attempt at a bridge removal, were minimized with light sanding and buffing. TJ Thompson performed a refret and PLEK about a year ago, and rebuffed the finish in an effort to even out its overall appearance and texture.

The inside of the guitar is clean as a proverbial whistle, our techs having re-inspected the entire structure and setup. The playability simply could not be better. We think this is nothing less than a wonderful-sounding, great-looking, crack-free herringbone D-28. Price includes the original hard case, which is also in lovely condition.