Curious about Martin D-35's

[Vatican]

What is the feeling here about them? I've read that Martin started making the three piece backs in the 1960s to compensate for a shortage of Brazilian rosewood.

 

When looking for guitars, I generally try to get them with as few seams as possible. Why is the D-35 still so popular, with the availablity of EIR?

[Northern Rocker]

apart from having a 3 piece back which some people actually find attractive, it's got slightly narrower braces to a D-28 (or in the case of HD-35, HD-28), 35 = 1/4", 28 = 5/16", scalloped in the case of the H's.

It will have duly slightly more bass resonse than the D-28(HD-28), but I dont believe this has so much to do with the 3 piece back as due to the bracing.

I am not overly fond of HD-35's, they sound very muddy to me, but I have played a couple of D-35's which sounded superb. I still prefer a good D-28 though.

 

And yes, they were originally introduced to use up smaller pieces of leftover rosewood.

[GretschGuy]

As a general rule - the average D-35 will not sound as good or fetch as much on the resale market as a D-28 of the same year.

 

That being said, some are really nice guitars. BTW- a new D-35 is EIR

[Vatican]

 

Originally posted by GretschGuy BTW- a new D-35 is EIR

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I wasn't clear. What I meant to ask was - since 3 piece backs are no longer necessary due to the good supply of EIR, why are they still in production. I guess people grew accustomed to them.

[Northern Rocker]

as I was trying to explain in my previous post, it fills a tonal niche mostly due to the narrower braces.

 

and

 

some people find a 3 piece back attractive.

 

They are priced about the same as 28's so it certainly shouldnt be due to using up scrap wood.

[54merk]

Yes. the 3 piece back was introduced so thinner pieces of wood could be used for the backs, but some people liked the look, so the model was kept in production.

 

I own a '75 D-35 which I purchased new. When I was shopping for this guitar I was also considering a D-28. At that time I really did not know beans about acoustic guitar construction, so even if I had been told that the D-35 had scalloped bracing it would've gone right over my head. I really did not hear all that much difference between the two models, but chose the 35 because it was a little fancier with the 3 piece back and the white fretboard binding and only cost $35 more. Now, of course, I know that it has lighter scalloped bracing, which is supposed to make it more responsive, but being that the 70's Martins were overbuilt compared to the boutique brands which are available these days, I'm not so sure that it really matters all that much. Don't get me wrong, I've had this instrument a long time and really do love it. It has the typically big, full Martin room-filling sound, and it can be quite loud when strummed hard without breaking up. It really did take years to "open up" and reach it's full sound potential. I also don't know if there is all that much difference in the resale value between 28's and 35's, but I cannot say for sure. You can check prices on ebay and gbase to find out for real what used ones are fetching these. I've played new ones as well and don't hear all that much difference between these two models.

 

BTW, I have nothing but good things to say about Martin's customer service as they recently bent over backwards to repair warranty and non-warranty items.

[Northern Rocker]

just to make things clear about the bracing.

 

D-28 5/16" standard bracing

HD-28 5/16" scalloped bracing

 

D-35 1/4" standard bracing

HD-35 1/4" scalloped bracing

[54merk]

 

Originally posted by Northern Rocker just to make things clear about the bracing. D-28 5/16" standard bracing HD-28 5/16" scalloped bracing D-35 1/4" standard bracing HD-35 1/4" scalloped bracing

 

 

 

You are entirely correct, Northern Rocker. Thanks for corrrecting me. In the HD series Martin returned to the pre-war scallopped bracing which I mixed up with the standard 5/16" and 1/4" in the D28 and D35. If I may also add that the HD's also have "forward shifted" bracing which is probably most responsible for the increased the bass response. THe HD's and D's really do sound different as a result.

[ToxicTwin#3]

Is it just me, or do all the new Martin D28's sound rather lame. I know they take a few years to open up, but every new one I've picked up sounded dull. Some of these guitars I don't think I can blame on dead strings...

 

I've played the older models that go for a nice chunk of change, and the sound is like night and day.

 

As far as the resale value goes, the D28's have a higher resale the the D35's. I actually like the sound and look of a D35 better...

[Northern Rocker]

 

Originally posted by 54merk You are entirely correct, Northern Rocker. Thanks for corrrecting me. In the HD series Martin returned to the pre-war scallopped bracing which I mixed up with the standard 5/16" and 1/4" in the D28 and D35. If I may also add that the HD's also have "forward shifted" bracing which is probably most responsible for the increased the bass response. THe HD's and D's really do sound different as a result.

 

 

actually only HD-35V and LSV models have forward shifted bracing, of course other models also.

HD-35 and D-35 share standard D bracing, scalloped and non-scalloped

[digitalsnipe]

I can only say here that I have had many Martins but only one that I actually went out to buy. In 1973 I bought a new D-35. It was pretty - 3-piece back and all that. But, it didn't have any warpage control rod in the neck. That was in the days when Martin used to boast about their quality saying that if a guitar had a warpage control rod it wasn't a quality guitar and "one" shouldn't buy such a guitar. So, the neck on my D-35 promptly warped - more than once - and I unloaded it after the third trip back from the factory for warranty repair. Since that first bit of luck I have acquired Martins occasionally and used them for trades on guitars that I really wanted. First impressions are lasting impressions and I just can't get past the first act.