C. F. Martin D-28 Model Flat Top Acoustic Guitar (1968), made in Nazareth, PA, serial # 239275, natural lacquer finish, Brazilian rosewood back and sides, spruce top; mahogany neck with ebony fingerboard, period black hard shell case.
This is a good player's example of a later 1960s Martin D-28 Dreadnought, one of the perennial iconic flat top guitars. It has an ancient overfinish most notably to the top, as well as long exposure to smoky clubs (or homes!) resulting in a darker-than-average patina to the spruce. It was built in 1968, a time when Martin had experienced years of tremendous growth. The company responded been ramping up production as much as possible, moving into a huge new factory in 1964. Still Martins were essentially hand-built instruments by modern standards, and at the time still indisputably the finest flat-tops available.
1968 was in the middle of a transitional period at Martin. This D-28 is still built with Brazilian rosewood for the back and sides as they had been since the early 1930s; Martin began substituting Indian rosewood in 1969. There is some fairly lively figure to the rosewood used here, which would have been from Martin's dwindling stash at the time. This is most noticeable on the center of the back sides where there is a cool almost oval pattern and around the dramatically straight grained sides. The bridgeplate is transitional design as well; a smaller rosewood piece than would be used shortly after, but heavier than the maple piece used previously. The top braces have been re-worked, with the rear legs of the main X lightly scalloped long ago.
Apart from the work done the guitar has other typical period features; the heavily ambered spruce top has 6-ply celluloid binding, a short-saddle ebony bridge, a replaced tortoise Celluloid pickguard (the original would have been black) and multi-ply soundhole rings. The mahogany neck has an ebony fretboard with mother of pearl dot markers graduating in size. The rounded-corner headstock (typical of this era, when Martin's templates were heavily worn) carries original PAT. PEND. Grover Rotomatic tuning machines.
If not the prettiest this is a still fine sounding and playing D-28 from the end of the Brazilian rosewood era, an excellent gigging example of this always sought-after guitar.
Overall length is 41 in. (104.1 cm.), 15 3/4 in. (40 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 5 in. (12.7 cm.) in depth at side, taken at the end block. Scale length is 25 1/2 in. (648 mm.). Width of nut is 1 11/16 in. (43 mm.).
This guitar has the powerful sound and feel one would expect from a 1960s Brazilian D-28, without quite the sticker price of a clean, unaltered one. It has a rather funky look, but nonetheless performs quite well. The top and part of the lower side have an ancient overspray, while the entire finish is heavily ambered and "Smoked" from exposure to the heavy smoker's clubs (or homes?) of decades ago. The finish shows some noticeable dings, scrapes and nicks most heavily on the top, with the back of the neck almost completely worn down to the bare wood from play.
There are several sealed and lightly cleated grain cracks to the lower side, and a longer repaired back crack above the center seam on bass side, where the curving grain opened up. This was sealed and cleated with no overfinish. The short-saddle ebony bridge is a slightly larger repro, with some finish disturbance along the bottom edge where the old one was removed. The tortoise pattern pickguard is also a later replacement, as are most from this period as the original black acetate 'guards tend to shrivel like a potato chip.
Internally, the rear legs of the main X brace were lightly scalloped long ago; the rest of the original braces and rosewood bridgeplate remain unaltered. The neck has been reset and the fingerboard trued and refretted with wire slightly larger than period spec. Besides the cosmetic imperfection this Martin is a fine playing and sounding D-28, a bit "ragged' but still musically "right". Overall Very Good Condition.
