Martin D-28 vs Martin HD-28
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 ส.ค. 2024
- Guitar Gallery compares the Martin D-28 and the Martin HD-28. Let us know which model you prefer! Click on the links below to find out more about these two tone monsters!
guitargallery....
guitargallery....
I use to love my Taylor 815ce jumbo but damn I am about to trade it in for a Martin d-28 I feel like Martin guitars just have that special sound that’s hard to explain ❤
D28 is better. Scalloping on HD28 inherently unbalances the sound to favour the bass (giving the thumping bass sound & power). This is known to scoop the mids and lose some of the brilliance in the trebles (which is the important thing - you are losing brilliance in the sound with scalloped bracing). It is also harder to record a bass heavy guitar without distortion and muffling of the treble lead (apparent at ~2:40 fingerpicking section). The lead at 3:00 on the D-28 is much clearer - the instrument is balanced across its frequency spectrum and I understand many a recording artist favours non-scalloped for acoustic recording. Scalloped guitars also have more fragile tops (more prone to bulge) and do not handle alternate tunings as well. It's not just a case of "less bass" for the D-28, there is a brilliance in the mids and trebles that is lost when the braces have been scalloped on the HD28. More bass is not equal to a better sound. If you listen to a band you want to hear the singer over the bass - not the other way round. Non-scalloped guitar mids/trebles have a shimmering brilliance that is beautiful. This is an EXCELLENT video demonstrating the differences in sound - thank you!
Man, the collectible community will be devastated to find out their prewar guitars are no longer worth more than their cars due to the suddenly inferior bracing. 😂
@@G_Demolished Not inferior, just preference. Must admit the whole "pre-war" marketing thing sounds so silly.
@@tommysixstring5094 but the original D28 was famous for the forward shifted X and scalloped bracing lol
@@armasxuregardless just not to my ears' taste
@@tommysixstring5094I think the whole point here is everything you said is pretty subjective. So much of the music we know and love was recorded on older D28s with the scalloped bracing which modern HD28s are closest too. I love my HD and it feels much more versatile than the D28/D18. But again. Subjective.
I tried both and went home with a D18.
Don’t judge your purchase over sound in a video. Go play them both in person. D-28 is a great guitar but I ended up buying the HD-28 strictly for 2 reasons. 1 the scalloped bracing has so much more low end bass. 2 The HD-28 is closer to the original 1930s D-28s which are some of the best guitars they made
Same here. Ended up leaving with the HD-28. Play them both in person.
D28 has more clarity that would otherwise be sacrificed for more bass response in the HD
@@silverbulletfury2660glad to see your response. This is the exact description I was looking for, the D28 sounds like it has more clarity perfect description
@@silverbulletfury2660doesn’t sound like that in person for me. D28 is a bit more tight to me and muddy. I found the HD was more open and you could actually pickup the whole spectrum better.
@adamricard9410 you really cannot go wrong with a martin, they all have such a uniqueness to them, as the player adapts to the guitar, the guitar adapts to the player.
A friend told me my first real guitar should be a Martin HD-28. He buys a Martin every year and is up to No. 3 on some list. He has over 80 guitars, and when I met in 91 he had 27. No kids, but he an extensive Martin Collection, for a working stiff. I love my HD-28 and nothing compares. I added a Martin Pick Up to my 2002 but I love the acoustic.
Your video and your playing really bring out the differences and beauty of these Martins'. Thanks for the exquisite play.
I ended up with the HD28 because I liked the increased bass response. However, the D28 certainly is special. I don’t think anyone could be unhappy with either of them. I am 60 years old and have owned a lot of different electrics and acoustics. After all these years I wonder why I just did not get a Martin to start with. All my other acoustics sound rather ordinary when compared to my Martin. I can honestly say that Martin’s are the benchmark that all other guitar makers aspire to copy. Unfortunately they never quite get there. I don’t know if anyone else has noticed that even accomplished guitar makers have basically reverse engineered the Martin Dreadnaught. These builders have used identical tone woods, including cloning Martin’s bracing yet they don’t have that Martin sound. I think even Martin don’t know why their guitars sound so good. Maybe C F Martin Sr lives on in spirit in every guitar that leaves Nazareth.
Yes, I preferred the HD28, but I like the 35 series even more.
Regards competition, I disagree. Unfortunately, a lot of manufacturers do indeed make "Martin" dreads sound a lot better than Martin.
Guild D-55 is on up there.
I have actually heard Guild are making some pretty good dreads these days. I purchased an all mahogany Guild over ten years ago. It was a good sounding dread. I sold it to put the money towards the HD28. The Martin has the edge according to my ears. But sound is a subjective thing. The friend I sold my Guild to preferred it over my new Martin. Maybe I should have kept it.
Just plain beautiful. My ear leans towards the HD a bit warmer, but the D28 is articulate. Both stellar guitars.
Had both, I kept the HD-28.
I had both. Kept the d-28.
Both lovely guitars and I'd be proud to own either
I second that. For someone with a heavy hand I feel you can drive the d28 more because of the straight braces without worrying about overdoing it. Of course you're a beast if you can overdrive a dreadnought 😂
D 28 is clearer and mids are more focused. D 28 is my pick.
The D 28 gets better with age then the HD 28 , thats what's its all about.
D28 is more versatile. Straight (non- scalloped) bracing is better for articulating. Also better for tuning down and alternate tunings.
If your looking for a bluegrass banger, go for d 28 if your looking for a more airy softer song writer tone. Go for the hd. Ill stick with the d 18. It smokes most of then to me personally. Never played an hd or d that made me want to buy it over my 18
I own a Martin HD28V, but now I am considering to sell it and get a D-28: yes, the HD it’s louder and has tons of overtones… but too much! I prefer the more punchy and espressive “voice” of the D-28
same situation for me , did you sold the HD and are you happy with the D 28 ?
I was stuck on specs and convinced myself that scalloped was a premium feature, and it was better. Played multiple examples back to back and my ears chose the standard. Haven't looked back in 4 years so far. Absolutely great instrument. I have a D18 too and that's just as good.
That d28 is a good one. Sounds beautiful and I'd take it over the hd
@MrLunchHour2 is totally right. Go in and play several. I played 2 D-28 & 4 HD-28’s today. The HD had so much more warmth & projection. Thought I was buying a D when I walked in the store- I walked out with a New HD-28 for the reasons mentioned. Happy Hunting!
You are a very expressive guitar player. Your playing shows undeniable songwriting skills. You are a genuine natural melody maker.
Tested both… D28 all day, such a nice balance in tone. Wonderful for every style of playing. HD28 was a little bit to boomy and undefined.
D-28 is much cleaner and infinitely more clarity.
0:00 0:39 1:15 1:52 2:30 2:57
I strum pretty hard so when I go to the HD28 the bass starts to overwhelm the rest, whereas d28 is still balanced and takes my heavy strumming better.
Generally I always prefer HD28s but that's a pretty useful D28 ,both great
I had a standard D28 for awhile. Great sounding guitar but the overall volume was a bit low for me. The scalloped bracing in the HD makes a big difference in volume. I’m a bluegrass player so I like a loud acoustic guitar
Interesting, because I play in a band (acoustic, all of us) where the other guitarist's guitar would blow my J-45 away with his volume. And he didn't even try to play loud. At some point I started to become a bit annoyed by this. I mean, it was never a problem playing live, but we rehearse in the living room of one of the guys and like I said, I just couldn't compete when it comes to volume.
One day I walked into a a guitar shop, because well..., I love guitars. I got into a conversation with one of the employees and I told him I was interested in a couple of (sometimes very different) Martins and then I told him about this little volume issue I had. And this guy said "well, if volume is what you want, just buy the D-28, you can't go wrong!"
And since the D-28 was on my wishlist anyway I decided to play it intensively, fell in love with it and brought it home with me (after a good set up).
After a few days I took my new guitar with me for the rehearsal. Proud as hell off course. We started to play and... I could hardly hear myself. Especially the solo's, they were gone. Same frequency range, but quieter. My old J-45 would at least cut through.
Aaah well. Lesson learned. Expensive lesson, but still. And don't get me wrong, I loooove my D-28. But it felt a bit disappointing at first.
A lot of things changed since then. He bought a new guitar. Different frequency range, not so loud. Everything's perfect now. 😊
Wish I could get a new HD28 with a clear finish rather than the yellow color.
I’ll echo that except the D28. I think the toner used is too yellow.
All depends on your playing style and what you want.... at least you have a Choice between 2 great instruments!!! Back in the day there wasn't much available....
Most videos I like the HD more but in this one I like the D better… maybe it has a lot to do with play style? I’ll have to test them for myself before choosing
D28!!!!!
String choice makes a massive difference. Both a great. Try them out.
I own and play a Martin HD28 with LR Baggs Anthem pickup for 2 years now. Any difference in sound is that the D28 has more treble highs. Coming from owning and playing an OM28V for 18 years I was looking for more bass response, and I got it from my HD28. Am still not sure if I have the right Martin for me yet. The 00028 would have been a better sound for me than the OM28V after listening to recent demo's.
HD!
Great video!
I think what it is, is that the HD28 top opens up more. The D28 is stiffer. Both have a certain appeal. I guess if I could only have one I’d take the D28 because as time goes by and with enough playing it will eventually open up too. Both sound just beautiful.
@@JG-qb1un hey..its more good?
@@guydadon1Depends. More scalloping isn't always better. Despite it being the hot thing. I've owned so many scalloped guitars. Authentics etc. And I'm yearning for a strait braced d28 again as my main guitar.
Both sounds amazing, D28 has a classic tone where HD has more vibs and modern sound. What strings gauge you are using on these guitars? to me does not sounds like Mediums from the factory
I think for light picking the HD28 sounds fuller, but I am a heavy -handed strummer - the D28 won't get as boomy as the HD28
The scalloped bracing makes the HD perfect for a light touch. Heavy handed should def go for the D.
Hi! I recently bought HD28e after listening to a lot of reviews. I like the tone and resonance a lot, but when I play some notes using my thumb, it just dies out very untimely, almost sounds like a thump. It is prominent on E notes and other notes closer to it on the lower strings, like 7th fret on 5th string and 2nd fret on 3rd string.l, and even the 12th fret on the 6th string. What is it? Could it be fixed any way? I also have same problem with another guitar I own called Merida SPOMCES with solid cedar top, but it is mostly lower G notes and notes around it. I spent a fortune (for me at least) on HD28, but I am a bit disheartened with it. The problem is I got it through a friend in the USA here in another side of the world, and I can't go back to the store to check if it was only my guitar's issue. A luthier here told me about Merdia that it happend because of high resonance of the note and the top just dampens it. Could be the same with the HD28 too? 😢 I would appreciate your any thoughts about it.
Hello there. Bought a HD28 today in Holland. (TFOA) -A used one from 2022. Nothing changed since 2022 on the HD28 correct? Should be same as the 2024/2025?
To me the HD sounds more silky and chiming, the D is more direct and bass heavy like he's having to drive it.
Hard choice
Ma il suono è registrato asciutto e originale come esce acusticamente ho hai messo del reverbero e l'hai trattato modificandolo per migliorarlo? (But the sound is recorded dry and original as it comes out acoustically. Have you added reverb and treated it by modifying it to improve it?)
D28 is more pleasing to my ears.
HD-28 is the best
d28 no brainer
I prefer...HD 28....is more than D28....i think....🤔
D28 has way better tone and balance for every style of playing. Its better for recording and for what the audience hears. I know, I know hd28 is louder and more resonate in person cuz of the scalloped bracing but the tone is muddy and it records terribly at the end of the day. Lots of HD fan boys in denial.
D28 is … without dimension. The HD is far over.
Hd is way too much dimension or far better?
Nur taub nicht hört das D-28 klingen besonders besser.