Martin D28

[DaveyO]

Ok , what makes this the standard in dreadnaughts,
I like them well enough, but they seem a little pricey to me, like most 'brand ' guitars, Taylor ect.....
dont get me wrong, I would love to have one, but I just dont get all the fuss .
dave

[Zohn]

a Lot of it is based on sentiment and tradition, but the D-28 is indeed the standard to which dreads are measured, and has always been. There might be "better" buys for the money, depending on what you want from a guitar. The standard D-28 is more "tempered" both sides of   the frequency range than the vintage- and golden-era-series Martin models, because of "moderate" non-scalloped bracing. That attribute makes it rather versatile and easier to record - I do believe however that they're over priced, but having said that, there always seems to be someone willing to buy it from you. There's no arguing that it is a true icon.

[Queequeg]

They keep selling them and they retain their resale value better than most guitars so it is hard to argue with the price point. Some people wouldn't have anything else. Good for them, I say. Something for everyone.

[teh]

The D-28 continues to appear to be the standard by which all others are judged. I was surfing on TV the other night and saw Lester Flatt playing his D-28 on a 1962 episode of The Beverly Hillbillies. Elvis upgraded from a 1942 D-18 (with stick-on letters) to a D-28 (with the tooled leather cover) among his other many guitars and Gordon Lightfoot is seen playing a D-28 on his Don Quixote Album released in 1972.

Having said that, I prefer the 35 series over the 28 so much I have two of them. Both the 28 and the 35 series still come in around $2k or less new which is within reach of most serious players who want a Standard Series Martin. Buying two Larrivees allowed me to grab an OM-35 when they stopped making them.

[DJ in FL]

Pretty consistent sound/quality over a L O N G period of time and when most folks think of bluegrass and bass sounds, this is where it came from.  You have to give it to Martin for their quality over the years and they kept this winner in their lineup.
Some Martin retailers still get down in competitive pricing and if you shop wisely, as I did when I bought mine a few years back, you can buy it, have a great time playing it and still sell it for more than you paid.  Maybe someday Larrivee will have such a staple model...what do you think it would be?  Do we already  have such a model in the Lari line?

[limnephilidae]

Pretty consistent sound/quality over a L O N G period of time and when most folks think of bluegrass and bass sounds, this is where it came from.  You have to give it to Martin for their quality over the years and they kept this winner in their lineup.
Some Martin retailers still get down in competitive pricing and if you shop wisely, as I did when I bought mine a few years back, you can buy it, have a great time playing it and still sell it for more than you paid.  Maybe someday Larrivee will have such a staple model...what do you think it would be?  Do we already  have such a model in the Lari line?

Yes, the L-03R or the L-09.

[Danny]

Pretty consistent sound/quality over a L O N G period of time and when most folks think of bluegrass and bass sounds, this is where it came from.  You have to give it to Martin for their quality over the years and they kept this winner in their lineup.
Some Martin retailers still get down in competitive pricing and if you shop wisely, as I did when I bought mine a few years back, you can buy it, have a great time playing it and still sell it for more than you paid.  Maybe someday Larrivee will have such a staple model...what do you think it would be?  Do we already  have such a model in the Lari line?

Though the L is the Larrivee signature guitar and my favorite as well, they do not hold their value as well as a D-18,28,35,42, 45 etc. Martin just has been around longer and has been making dreds for very close to 100 years now. They made the first dred and their version of x-bracing is the one every major guitar co. has followed for steel string guitars since.
          They have the history, the genuine original design and the ongoing place of prestige in the guitar business. Larrivee is still building it's reputation and will probably need another 25 years or so to close that gap. Gibson had come neck and neck with Martin in the 40's with their J-45 and other superb gits. J-200, Southerner Jumbo and some nice arch tops etc.
     But now it's Martin,Taylor and Larrivee. In that order, that's the way I see it. I prefer Larrivee, even though I have a Martin and Gibsons. No Taylors yet and probably never. But they are #2 right now in North America.
                          D-35 is the one I think is the Martin Standard since the 70's, prior to the 70's D-28.  OF course the D-45 is the "Cadillac" of all dreds.