I have not needed to contact Martin.

Seems an odd question. I buy an instrument to buy an instrument not because it may have some other appeal. This guitar's true aesthetic is its remarkable tonal quality and ease of playability. It's simple and elegant design while important only reinforce the fact that it is a joy to play and listen to.

much more than a hobby but not my profession

classical, "jazz", "swing, bluegrass, traditional tunes

songwriter piano/perc/guitar

organic acoustic

I've played mine regularly, in the home and on stage, since I got it new in 1982. Great sound to begin with, and it's mellowed a bit with age (or perhaps I have) and sounds even better now. The scalloped bracing gives this guitar much more life than a D18, D28, or D35, as it allows the top to vibrate much more freely. It's a much louder guitar than any other dreadnaught in its price rage or below. This is a great guitar for people who want a single guitar to use for both fingerpicking and flatpicking, lead and rhythm. Deep, resonant tone really holds a tune together for rhythm playing, especially helpful when there's no bass player. The best part is how lively it sounds when fingerpicked with bare fingers -- you don't need plastic fingerpicks with this baby. Yet the sound still holds together excellently for deep, hard strumming. Alternate tunings come to life. There's gold inside these guitars, all you have to do is let it out. Sounds great recorded with SM57 and mixer preamps (you can hear my recordings at learjeff.com for a clue). For recordings, a low mid EQ scoop is necessary even more than most dreadnaughts, due to the full bottom end. Best with 80/20 strings -- sounds too brassy with phosphor bronze. However, phosphor bronze strings can help on stage. It mikes easily for acoustic gigs. It's probably not the best guitar (not bright & tinny enough) for classic rock band use alongside electrics.

The quality of the guitars being made today are much better than those of the 80's like mine. Action is better (lower), the bridge saddle is thick allowing better intonation adjustment, and also higher, which brings out more sound. I've had no work done to mine in 23 years, and it still plays as well as it did when brand new -- with the exception of being due for some fret work thanks to being played.

The only guitars I like as much as mine are either priceless vintage guitars or else very expensive guitars, like Koa Taylors and custom guitars. There are excellent guitars at less than half the price, but none I like nearly as much.

If I found a better guitar I could afford, I'd buy it in a flash.

active amateur musician and recording engineer

Americana, blues, rock, jazz, pop

Beautiful balanced tone that improves with age. I have gont through a lot of guitars and primaraly used acoustics for practice this one opened my eyes it is truly a responsive guitar. I wish i would have sprung for one a long time ago. I wasted a lot of time being a dumbass. (the others are just a good syndrome in my view they arent)

i guess if you wanted a pickup there would be something to improve on.

See above.

Again a truly beautiful guitar in appreance and playability. It is a joy to have in ones hands.

I felt i got a good deal when i bought it. I would say the quality and tone is great and how do you put a price on it.

I would expect it to be good but have never needed any.

If you play it and close your eyes and listen to it and feel the resonance you will be hooked.

active musician

varies

15 years

Rock, classical, folk, classic rock

My husband Plays and has for over55 years

Pluegrass and bluegrass Gospel

Playing 30+years professionally

rock blues country and jazz

beginner guitar player/ Collector

Rock

It has a midrange that is warm and resonant. The sound quality is superb, both natural and when miced.

The manufacturing is without question of the very finest quality and standards. Simplicity and elegance reign king here.

The simplest, finest guitar standards

You can't beat this price and you can pay a lot more.

I had a hairline crack (humdity issues here in the northeast US) appear on the pin bridge that required a warranty (cosmetic) repair. The Martin authorized luthier CAME TO MY HOUSE to get the guitar and to return it. Awesome. I have never seen service this good.

This is it: THE acoustic standard.

Alternative

I made four seperate trips to the store over several months. Each time I played many high-end guitars and the HD-28 consistantly had the best sound and most even tone of anything I played. This trip I bought it.

Hobbyist

Alternative and Country

This guitar rings like heaven's bells - loud and even. Once you have played one, you will either own one, or will always want to.

they are trying 2 rip you off!! If you hit the strings you don't hear a sound!! Pouring a drink is louder.

By now all I do is take dumps in it.

the neck is at a 90 degree angle hows that quality?

it makes a good toilet for the price. but if you dont take of the strings it can pinch your ass.

The neck is at a F@#!ing 90 degree angle but the company refused to refund it and said it should play fine.

i guess it looked ok ontill i took a dump in it.

I really did not know that much about Martins except from reading stuff on their website. I had been playing a Fender DG22 for about 3 years and had gotten good enough to justify getting a finer instrument. Although I had not played much, I'm a natural musician and know tone. I started trying out Martins in some stores trying to figure out what the differences were in the models and comparing them to Taylors and Gibsons, etc. One day I was holding a D28 and the store guy was holding an HD28 and he strummed it. The D28 I was holding started to resonate. And the look on the store guy's face was astonishment at how good the HD28 sounded. I could tell he was shocked. I guess with all his experience, he had never looked closely at Martins. And here is a guy who had been working there for years. I could just feel the thing in my gut. There was definitely something visceral in the sound of the HD28. But it was marked up and had been handled alot by customers. I gave it a few days and went to other stores and tried out RainSongs and some other guitars priced around the HD28. The sound of the HD28 was haunting me, however. I found myself standing, finally, in a different store with an HD28 again in my hands, and this one had been built 2 years before but not handled much. It was perfect, even with the old strings and having set in a case or high up on a display wall for all that time. I was not imagining things. The sound was there just like in the other one days before. By then I understood the scalloped bracing and all that and had learned about the reputation of the HD28. When I realized that I was talking out loud to the guitar as if it were alive I bought it right there.

Deep and clear sound, crisp and responsive. Records well, with proper mike placement (typical for dreadnoughts -- otherwise boomy at 150 Hz). Had it since I bought it new in 1981, and the ones they're building today are improved in several ways, especially the bridge saddle. The sound is especially responsive to finger-picking, thanks to the scalloped X bracing. Yet it's solid enough to handle VERY hard plectrum picking or strumming. If you want one guitar for both purposes, this is your baby. If you can afford two premium guitars, you might want a D28 or HD28 for plectrum, and a Taylor or Bourgeoise for fingerpicking.

Not really applicable, but I love rosewood back & sides, spruce top, and ebony fingerboard (which will last longer than any other common wood). I've played the heck out of mine for two decades.

I've tried a number lately in stores, and they're all remarkably similar. This is one of the few guitars (like Taylors) that you can buy sight unseen.

Other than a couple much more expensive Taylor models, I haven't ever played a guitar I like better.

Every musician I play with covets my guitar, except for a few who like a much brighter ("tinglier") sound like the Martin O series, or people who have "super premium" guitars like top of the line Taylors.

Americana, alternative, rock, jazz