Members kcinator Posted June 24, 2009 Author Members Share Posted June 24, 2009 most people will agree with you that the hd-28 does indeed sound better new than a d-28. I'm under the belief that the d-28 will last longer and will sound better over time than an hd-28. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SoTotally Posted June 24, 2009 Members Share Posted June 24, 2009 If I was getting up in that range, I'd make sure I had enough for the HD-28 and then try them both out. Preferably a pair of each model. I played a D-28 once the day I fell in love with the D-16GT, and didn't like it very much. Or maybe it was the D-16GT was exactly the sound I was looking for at the time, so the D-28 didn't appeal to me. If I had to order one without hearing it, I'd just jump to the HD-28. they look much nicer. Love that herringbone around the body. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sangemon Posted June 24, 2009 Members Share Posted June 24, 2009 Sangemon, guitarcapo is certainly not the only one to express that "theory". Maybe not, but he's the one who has touted it in this thread. But that misses the point. If that theory were correct, that guitar should have gone to mush years ago. Besides, even if that theory were true, wouldn't Martin then be under obligation to correct the problem under warranty? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members green2 Posted June 24, 2009 Members Share Posted June 24, 2009 i bought a hd35 a decade ago b/c i liked its projection and rich sound. it sounds even better today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Davo17 Posted June 24, 2009 Members Share Posted June 24, 2009 The HD's sound better, especially solo I think. I dont buy that they will fail later. Try em both though, see what you like Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guildfire Posted June 24, 2009 Members Share Posted June 24, 2009 most people will agree with you that the hd-28 does indeed sound better new than a d-28. I'm under the belief that the d-28 will last longer and will sound better over time than an hd-28. On what basis do you believe that the d28 will "last longer" and "sound better over time" than an hd28? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gthom Posted June 24, 2009 Members Share Posted June 24, 2009 It's amazing how similar wine and guitar snobbery are. Almost this exact same argument happens with wines - that wines which are made for instant gratification, that taste great right out of the barrel, will not age gracefully and fall apart after 5-10 years; whereas those which are made for laying down are less accessible (especially when tasted next to the fruit bombs) but will reward their owners far more in 10-20+ years as they open up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kcinator Posted June 24, 2009 Author Members Share Posted June 24, 2009 Maybe not, but he's the one who has touted it in this thread. But that misses the point. If that theory were correct, that guitar should have gone to mush years ago.Besides, even if that theory were true, wouldn't Martin then be under obligation to correct the problem under warranty? I'm curious, if you blindly played a d-28 of the same year against your hd-28would you still pick the hd-28? I'd rather have a guitar that won't need work down the line, regardless of the price of said work. To guildfire, I have this belief mostly because my teacher has expressed it to me, but there are other sources where I have heard the same belief including, but certainly not limited to, guitarcapo. I have no hands-on experience with guitars turning to mush overtime and will not claim that I do. Here's a couple links about this subjecthttp://www.om28.com/notes6.htmlhttp://www.acousticguitarforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=85800&page=4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sangemon Posted June 24, 2009 Members Share Posted June 24, 2009 I'd rather have a guitar that won't need work down the line, regardless of the price of said work. All guitars will need work down the line, if you keep them long enough. Hey man, it sounds to me like you want to buy a D-28. They're fantastic guitars. I think you should get one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sangemon Posted June 24, 2009 Members Share Posted June 24, 2009 I'm curious, if you blindly played a d-28 of the same year against your hd-28would you still pick the hd-28? OK, I was able to decipher what you were asking me here, and the answer is yes. I like herringbone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AndrewGG Posted June 24, 2009 Members Share Posted June 24, 2009 I have owned both; the D-28 is more focused and punchy in the mids than the HD which can also have a loose, flabby and boomy bass. I guess that's desirable for some but the regular 28, for my taste, is the choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AndrewGG Posted June 24, 2009 Members Share Posted June 24, 2009 It wasn't so bad. I paid $3600 at Mandolin Bros./NYC for it... and ended up trading it in 5 years later for a nice Gibson J200 and a Martin 12 string at The Guitar Emporium in Louisville, Kentucky. Of course, most guitar stores didn't want to give me cash for it as much as I paid (Gruhn's were particularly cheap and snooty...saying something about how no one wants drednaught guitars anymore since Eric Clapton did his "Unplugged") This was around 1993 before Ebay was an option so I figured my best bet would be to try and get a store credit at some high end guitar shop.I don't know if you ever played a guitar with an underbuilt top but the sound usually is very boomy without projection and the high strings don't ring but sound floppy and muddy. It also has the weird characteristic of sounding BETTER with extra light strings. It tames the bass overpowering everything but the volume is weak. When you strum chords it's almost like the notes are fighting each other and they clash in a way that's not very harmonious but sort of "clanks"Guitar manufacturers these days seem to underbuild their tops more because they sound great in the store on day one when they are competing with other new guitars for your $$$. Taylor and those Epiphone Masterbuilts are a couple I've noticed like that. I had a Taylor 710CE that had it happen to also. Sounded great new but slowly over the years would only sound good with light gauge strings that were brand new. Another weird characteristic I found with these underbuilt guitars is they sound better capoed up on the neck, probably because the higher strings balance out the boomy sound and the shorter scale tightens up the floppy response in the soundboard. I sort of used the Taylor more that way before eventually selling it on Ebay.Martin knows about the problem but the public keeps asking for scallop bracing because of the mythology surrounding it. Every bracing feature that Martin used to weaken the top over their entire history combined into one guitar(smaller bridge plate, move the X brace toward the sound hole, thinner width braces, scallop everything) should make the ultimate guitar, right? Don't count on it. I've even heard that on some of Martin's recent limited special edition guitars that they included the estimated cost of future warranty work into the sale price.Scallop bracing was a feature that worked well for Martin with their smaller guitars, but as their guitars got bigger it started giving them problems and they tried to get away from it. Now when a guitar gets old it will sound better, and it was easy for the public to look to these build features as the reason why the old guitars sounded better... when it might have been other things like the fact that the wood was older, the vintage guitars had been worked on by master luthiers more etc.Bottom line is that you can underbuild a top...and it will start to sound bad before it fails structurally. You nailed the cost/warranty thing. When the D-18 Authentic was released it was so lightly braced that C F Martin, the boss, is on record as saying that future warranty claims were factored into the cost of the thing. Doesn't inspire much confidence, does it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kcinator Posted June 24, 2009 Author Members Share Posted June 24, 2009 OK, I was able to decipher what you were asking me here, and the answer is yes. I like herringbone. I'm saying that if you were blindfolded and asked to play your hd-28 and a d-28 of the same year, would you still pick yours as sounding better. Mentally I'm thinking I will go with the d-28, but I'm going to be going to a few big shops soon and that's when I'll make my final decision. Thanks to all for your advice and opinions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AndrewGG Posted June 24, 2009 Members Share Posted June 24, 2009 I'm saying that if you were blindfolded and asked to play your hd-28 and a d-28 of the same year, would you still pick yours as sounding better. Mentally I'm thinking I will go with the d-28, but I'm going to be going to a few big shops soon and that's when I'll make my final decision. Thanks to all for your advice and opinions. Sorry to butt-in but IMO 'better' is so subjective an assessment as to be meaningless to anyone but the person who said it. Try 'different, and in what way?'. The two guitars are so fundamentally different in their bracing that each have their signature tone with slight variations thereon. You can't really compare the two as equals-you can only judge by personal preference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sangemon Posted June 25, 2009 Members Share Posted June 25, 2009 I'm saying that if you were blindfolded and asked to play your hd-28 and a d-28 of the same year, would you still pick yours as sounding better.I have no idea. I've never done it and probably never will. What I do know is that I love the sound of my HD-28 and I'm going to keep it.Thanks to all for your advice and opinions. You're welcome. Now you know why I wanted to stay out of this thread in the first place. It's been said a dozen times here. Go play the guitars. Pick the one that you like best. And then enjoy the thing. Either way you're going to have a beautiful instrument. And you never know. You may just stumble upon a Taylor that like better than either of them. Keep an open mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guildfire Posted June 25, 2009 Members Share Posted June 25, 2009 I'm saying that if you were blindfolded and asked to play your hd-28 and a d-28 of the same year, would you still pick yours as sounding better. Mentally I'm thinking I will go with the d-28, but I'm going to be going to a few big shops soon and that's when I'll make my final decision. Thanks to all for your advice and opinions. Now you are asking about tone preference. Why is that important if you are so concerned about longevity based on what your teacher has told you? Which is it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.