d-28 vs. d-35

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Alan Land on April 28, 2011 at 5:49pm

Typically NONE, in my experience. The only external difference is the three piece back. There may be some support differences inside, but I doubt if they are major tone affecters. I own one of each model and cannot tell much difference in sound. What difference there is, I attribute to age, uniqueness of the individual guitars, etc.

It was my understanding that the D-35 evolved as a way to incorporate back pieces from D-28s that did not pass the fit test. The D-35 shape gives them a chance to cut the piece again. That may be "rumor," as I am not an insider at Martin.

Permalink Reply by Debora Robinson on April 28, 2011 at 6:40pm

When I compared the two side-by-side, same model years(2007), the D28 had a more even tonal range; nothing stood out at either end of the spectrum, which is good. However, the D35 seemed to have more tonal voice in the low and high range and dropped out a bit mid range. There was just something about the overall tone of the D35 that I liked better, so I bought it.

Permalink Reply by Alan Land on April 28, 2011 at 6:44pm

Deborah, Did you play more than one example of each in your comparison? I'm curious as the sample size in order to evaluate whether those are across-the-board differences or just differences between two individual guitars.

Permalink Reply by Debora Robinson on April 28, 2011 at 7:05pm

Alan, thanks for the question; I played one of each at that time but I played a D35 about 20 years ago and I don't know how old it was then, but it was in perfect condition and not only did I like the sound but I loved the ease-of-playing. I guess my decision to purchase the 2007 D35 was a bit jaded. Sometimes it's like comparing apples and bananas.

Permalink Reply by Alan Land on April 28, 2011 at 7:23pm

Or in this case, comparing one apple to one banana, LOL.

Most of us are in that position. How many guitars are available for us to "test?"

Permalink Reply by Ed Rhoades on April 28, 2011 at 8:15pm

I thought Martin's marketing strategy was brilliant. When faced with dwindling rosewood supply, they came up with an idea to use pieces that were too small for a D28 or a D21...use a three piece back. Realizing people would feel it was inferior to the two piece back, they put extra binding up the neck and used lighter bracing and charged more for the 35 series.

 

The lighter bracing was intended to give more bass and treble response. With a scooped sound, the guitar could have less volumes in the frequencies that would compete with the vocals, making it a favored choice for solo performers. 

 

Ensemble players...especially those in bluegrass groups, still tended to favor D28 and D18 models which needed a full range of volume to compete with banjos and fiddles. Then, to give a wider range of responsiveness, Martin reintroduced HD28 models featuring scalloped braces like vintage models. 

 

Although every piece of wood has its own personality, there are usually common characteristics to the designs of straight bracing, lighter bracing and scalloped bracing. 

Permalink Reply by Debora Robinson on April 28, 2011 at 10:20pm

Hey Ed, thanks for the info. It makes perfect sense. I've often noticed the HD28 is the standard for ensemble, especially bluegrass, or when one needs more volume with good overall tone.

Permalink Reply by Alan Land on April 28, 2011 at 10:48pm

I own an even different D-35, made especially for finger-picking singers, I think. It's labeled D-35S (for Slot-head), has only 12 frets to the body, and is 1 7/8" at the nut. I owned a D-28S for about 15 years after High School, but it was stolen in about 1985 or '86. I missed it so much (even with 12 other guitars) that I found and purchased a 1970 D-35S this past December. Besides the wider neck, it's brighter than the standard dreadnought, but it's still a veritable CANNON. That works well for me, because I sing everything from folk to Broadway, and almost never use any picks. Once and a while I play a minstrel gig in a nice restaurant, and this allows me to play "unplugged" and still project a reasonable distance.

Permalink Reply by gregory l ault on April 29, 2011 at 3:36am

thank you all so much for your input. its a tough decision to make but to me if there is no tonal difference the 35 is more ascetically pleasing

Permalink Reply by Alan Land on April 29, 2011 at 8:09am

If you are buying new, play about a half-dozen of each (across three or four stores) and buy the one that "fits your hand and ear." Don't worry about which model it is. If it's the right guitar for you, it will remind you of that for MANY years. Remember also, that most new guitars require a "setup" to be just right for your playing style. That costs about $75 and is worth every penny. Small adjustments can work wonders with playability.

P.S. If you can possibly afford about $500 more, look into a D-41. They are much richer sounding, and the prices are quite depressed right now. Remember to dicker on price. It's like buying a car. The dealer starts about 20% too high most of the time.

Permalink Reply by Lou on April 29, 2011 at 8:47am

For what it's worth folks, last year I visited the Martin factory, took the guided tour and asked a similar question.  Our guide advised the group that weather the guitar was a, "Dred", OM, OOO, what ever, the higher the number indicated the fancier guitar (more appointments).  Thus a D16 would have the same internal structure as say, a D35 and play the same.  Being humans though, with various sizes of egos, there are "experts" out there that will swear an OM21 Special, way out performs a mere OM21.  I am far from being an expert but have always felt it's the brain behind the instrument that makes the critical difference.  Face it, it's a questioning of marketing to the consumer's ego/pocketbook and the guys who do market whatever the product, know their business, or they aren't employed long.

Permalink Reply by Ken Bellingham on April 29, 2011 at 11:43am

   Gregory, it might not be correct to conclude that there is no tonal difference, but it may take some time and critical listening to hear the differences.  It is also important to consider the other variables folks have mentioned here, such as your preferred style of play, fingerpicking vs flatpicking, rhythm accompaniment vs lead, solo performance vs small group vs larger ensemble and other instruments in the mix, etc.  I'm an old dude, and the ideal sound of a guitar I carry in my head has changed or become refined over the years.  I have enjoyed spending time in many music stores trying to develop my ear to hear the differences in the voices of various guitar models and then attempting to memorize the sounds for later comparison with other models. 

   I would strongly second Alan's recommendation even within a single model that you check out a number of examples.  Guitars are organic entities, not cookie-cutter identical replicas.  A friend of mine, knowing he was in the market for a D-28, went to nine different music stores around the San Francisco Bay region before he found the one that felt and sounded the best to him.  He remains totally satisfied with his selection.  However, when he heard my D-35, he was quite taken with it and began checking out D-35s at a local store.  He came back disappointed, because he said none of them sounded like mine.  My D-35 is over 35 years old, so that might suggest to you how age of the instrument is another variable.  Plus, it has been optimized by John Mello, who is featured in the most recent issue of Acoustic Guitar.  He is a luthier who really knows his craft.  That speaks to another recommendation that Alan makes out getting a proper set-up.

   Ed Rhoades' comment about the scooped out sound of the D-35 reminded me of an interview I read wherein Tony Rice said he evaluated guitars by the tonality of the interior two strings, the third and fourth string.

   I think all of us in this group love Martin guitars for the rich warmth of their bass.  I enjoy bluegrass music, and I get a thrill out of hearing a ringing treble, as well.  That prompted me to recently acquire another Martin dreadnought which Martin calls their America's Guitar.  That name doesn't tell you much, but it is essentially an HD-28V with a Madagascar rosewood body, adirondack top, with forward-shifted scalloped bracing.  Now I finally have a guitar that delivers the sound of a sledgehammer striking a steel spike when I hit that bluegrass G chord, but that is not a quality that would be important to folks playing other kinds of music.

   The search is part of the fun.  Enjoy yourself.

  

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• Next ›
• Page