Members joey1234 Posted December 4, 2008 Members Share Posted December 4, 2008 just boght a hd-28- when i first opened the guitar up it sounded VERY bright- i was actually very angry at the way it sounded- it actualy sounded like my friends d-16- after a few days of playing it the brightness went away- it literally has been changing while i play it- At one point yesterday as was like WOW this thing is a amazing- them today i picked it up and it sounded muddy, not terible, but the balance sounds bvery off. the treble strings sound sperated from the rest of the guitar.. Ive read about the hd being a littl emuddy- Maybe i should return it and get a standard d-28... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MattSkibaIsGOD Posted December 4, 2008 Members Share Posted December 4, 2008 new strings? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members joey1234 Posted December 4, 2008 Author Members Share Posted December 4, 2008 yeash new strings- its seems to get muddy when i strum hard, it also almost makes a distorted sound... playing simple chord progressions sound like A$$- IT sound very muddy and maybe too much bass,, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Belva Posted December 4, 2008 Members Share Posted December 4, 2008 By all means, new strings! My Washburn (had it 31 yrs. now) was never REALLY happy until Elixirs came out. And it hates Dean Markleys. Might have to experiment a bunch till you find something you & the guitar can agree on stringwise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kwakatak Posted December 4, 2008 Members Share Posted December 4, 2008 What kind of strings are you using? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pinchegordo Posted December 4, 2008 Members Share Posted December 4, 2008 New strings for sure!Igot an Alvarez and complained about how it was a turd,put some new strings on it and *viola* new guitar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Melodeous Posted December 4, 2008 Members Share Posted December 4, 2008 How's the RH? I find slight changes, especially on a lightly built instrument, can lock up a guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Abando Posted December 4, 2008 Members Share Posted December 4, 2008 Joey, give it a couple more days to get accustomed to its new environment.The HD-28 is a great guitar. Abando Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members moctzal Posted December 4, 2008 Members Share Posted December 4, 2008 How's the RH? I find slight changes, especially on a lightly built instrument, can lock up a guitar. +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members panhandler Posted December 4, 2008 Members Share Posted December 4, 2008 How's the RH? I find slight changes, especially on a lightly built instrument, can lock up a guitar. +2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members joey1234 Posted December 4, 2008 Author Members Share Posted December 4, 2008 humidity looks around 45%- im using marin SP strings- i have 2 other strings to try here as well- ernie ball 80/20 earthwood and dadarrio ej17- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Florida_Gator Posted December 4, 2008 Members Share Posted December 4, 2008 I put Martin SP lights on my Yamaha LS6 a couple weeks ago. Initially, I didn't like the sound much at all. Thumpy, muted lows, and slightly twangy, tinny highs. They've gotten better since then, but I don't think they're the "best" strings for this guitar (even though I've liked them on others). Point is, 1) give the new strings a few days, and 2) try different strings, before giving up on the guitar itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members LaurentB Posted December 4, 2008 Members Share Posted December 4, 2008 humidity looks around 45%- im using marin SP strings- i have 2 other strings to try here as well- ernie ball 80/20 earthwood and dadarrio ej17- Martin SP strings are not the brightest sounding ones. They are very good for guitars that tend to sound too bright (my Crafter for example), but I can imagine them sounding to muddy for a guitar with an already warm sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AndrewGG Posted December 4, 2008 Members Share Posted December 4, 2008 The scalloped braces of the HD tend to over-empasize the bottom end in my experience and, having owned both that and the straight braced D, my preference is for the better overall balance of the D.Having said that I agree that you should give the guitar a chance to acclimatise and the strings to settle down a little before returning it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Clif Schlicher Posted December 4, 2008 Members Share Posted December 4, 2008 Seems I read a post here or elsewhere in the past week that the Martin HD dreads, with the scalloped bracing, do get muddy when strummed hard, but respond well to a lighter touch. I did a search but came up with nothing on HD-28 or HD-35, so the search engine may be malfunctioning. Has anyone else experienced this with Martin HDs? Clif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Clif Schlicher Posted December 4, 2008 Members Share Posted December 4, 2008 Ah! Here it is: Neil, I have no idea how I found this, but here it is. Can't guarantee the accuracy of it. Direct from Martin forum:"The 1/4" scalloped bracing on the HD-35 makes it Martin's lightest braced dread. This is not a bad thing, but its single most impactful spec. The choice should come down to your playing style.From time to time we see threads about washing out. Under a heavier attack or strum, the lightly braced top of the HD-35 is likely to be the most vulnerable. On the other hand, it may be perfect for a lighter touch.My own search quickly ruled out the HD-35. (A beautiful guitar, by the way!) This is the result of my percussive approach to rhythm. For me, the HD-28 fell perfectly into the slot between the D-28 and the D-35. Since then, I've added a D-18, but that's another happy story.Play them. Really play them. Play as many of them as possible. Don't be shop shy. Play as you would at a jam, on stage, or in your own living room. If it speaks to you, buy it, and don't look back. Good luck, and enjoy the search." Thread "A question for you Martin gurus" Possibly a straight "D" series would be a better all around guitar for you. Yeah, the search is not working this morning. Clif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members joey1234 Posted December 4, 2008 Author Members Share Posted December 4, 2008 Maybe the 28 is the way to go- not sure- im going to Play i oput this weekend and see how I feel after that- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarcapo Posted December 4, 2008 Members Share Posted December 4, 2008 It might be an underbraced top. They get kind of mushy sounding with all of those prewar features thrown together in one mix. Move the X brace forward! Use thinner braces. Scallop them! Smaller bridge plate!...Martin never made that many pre-war dreds ....and few of them had ALL of those features done to them simultaneously...and even THEN Martin started to shy away from all of that. I had a Brazilian Martin HD 28 with "prewar specs" with all of those features and it had great bass.... but floppy, rubber-band-sounding trebles, and a strange lack of cutting power/projection. It sounded a little better with extra light strings but I eventually sold it. Hard for me to describe but it was almost like the soundboard was fighting with itself whenever you played two strings at the same time. Like they were interfering with each other with some sort of out-of-phase cancelation resulting in a weak sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rjoxyz Posted December 4, 2008 Members Share Posted December 4, 2008 I own an HD-28. I chose it over the HD-35 as I felt it handled hard strumming better, without getting all "flabby" sounding. I found the light AND scalloped bracing of the 35 to be a little too "loose" in tone. I did not find the HD-28 to be mudddy, in comparison. After a couple years, it seemed my HD-28 opened up a bit and did lose some of its focus and perhaps could be described as a bit muddy. I ordered an African Elephant Ivory saddle from Bob Colosi (the hardest of the 2 elephant ivory saddles he offers). This seemed to bring out the trebles a little and tightened up the sound. Could definitely hear a difference compared to the stock bone. Strings make a big difference. I currently have a set of Curt Magnan strings on it and they are good. I usually use Martin SP Bluegrass (PB) strings on it and they actually seem best for tone, having experimented with several sets over the years. They are a little hard to find and are not the Martin 80/20 Bluegrass which seem more common. In any event, make sure the HD-28 is not for you before proceeding. You are in a price range where long-term satisfaction is a huge factor. As others have mentioned, give it time to acclimate and try different strings. A good HD-28 is hard to beat when it comes to the iconic Martin dread tone (I was fortunate to be able to choose from 4 examples, and they all sounded a little different). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members OldGuitarPlayer Posted December 4, 2008 Members Share Posted December 4, 2008 Martin SP strings are not the brightest sounding ones. They are very good for guitars that tend to sound too bright (my Crafter for example), but I can imagine them sounding to muddy for a guitar with an already warm sound. True...I used them on my Taylor 114 and they warmed up the tone nicely.I dunno if I'd use them on my Martin DM...it is very bassy and seems to favour the cheap D'Addario 80/20 bronze strings. I use a heavy pick and a lighter attack instead of strumming really hard. Everyone plays differently though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members totamus Posted December 4, 2008 Members Share Posted December 4, 2008 strings are my best guess as well. Try Cleartones, I've been very impressed, and the longevity is very good (expensive though, around $16/set as I recall). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Belva Posted December 4, 2008 Members Share Posted December 4, 2008 The "muddy" sound seems to go against what others have experienced with HD28's. I assume you bought the guitar new. While it's true that no 2 guitars are the same, this one might have a structural issue. Might not hurt to remove the strings & get an inspection mirror, flashlight & maybe even a magnifying glass to look inside. See something funky, like a loose brace, it's warrantee time. At least you can rule this out as a cause. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JasmineTea Posted December 4, 2008 Members Share Posted December 4, 2008 I'd suggest washing your hands between cheeseburgers and guitar playing. Keeps the strings sounding cleaner longer. RH can make a guitar sound good today, not so good tomarrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Belva Posted December 4, 2008 Members Share Posted December 4, 2008 Did you buy the '28 new? The responses to this thread seem to go against what is happening with yours. Maybe it's time to get an inspection mirror, a flashlight & a magnifying glass & look for loose bracing of other concerns next time the strings are off. At least you'll know if everything is ok. I do this to George (my Washburn) just because he's 31 years old. Are guitar years like dog years or people years? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guildfire Posted December 5, 2008 Members Share Posted December 5, 2008 Can you trade in back in for a D35? I played a bunch of Martins and the D35 sounded the best of all to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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