Martin D-35

[ducktrapper]

I was tooling around the internet and cruised by Folkways music and they still had this guitar in their sold archives. I had lost these photos on an old computer so I was glad to find them. 1975 Martin D-35 shade top was a present to myself on my 60th birthday. I love this guitar.

[Mikeymac]

How cool to find those old photos!

Congrats. As you may remember, my first Martin was a (2015) D-35. Very nice guitar...I've been through a few since then (because I liked the D-35 so much)...

One of my current favorites is a 3-piece backed M-36. Really does a lot of things well (bass, volume, balance). Martin is still (or is again?) making excellent guitars.

[ducktrapper]

How cool to find those old photos!

Congrats. As you may remember, my first Martin was a (2015) D-35. Very nice guitar...I've been through a few since then (because I liked the D-35 so much)...

One of my current favorites is a 3-piece backed M-36. Really does a lot of things well (bass, volume, balance). Martin is still (or is again?) making excellent guitars.

They've always made great guitars. Of course, when they decided that if they couldn't beat 'em to join 'em and started making guitars at lower and lower price points, I had some objections to calling those guitars Martins. I'm over it. 

[lkjjr]

What a beauty... nothing else is quite like a D35 is there?

[ducktrapper]

What a beauty... nothing else is quite like a D35 is there?

It's my favorite Martin. I fell in love with one a friend of mine owned way back when.

[ducktrapper]

I don't know if I've ever told this story here before but I used to play fairly regularly at an open mic in Northland Wisconsin. I brought this guitar one night and there was another player there who, when I got up on stage, thought I'd taken and used his guitar without permission. Fortunately, the guy who ran the mic knew it was mine and calmed him down. No one would think twice about seeing another D-28 or 18 but these shade tops (sunburst by any other name) are said to be fairly rare. What are the odds that two would show up on the same night at a bar on the crossroads near a little Wisconsin town? We had a good laugh over it.

[unclrob]

I have never been a fan of Martins BUT I have never played a 35 style guitar I didn't like.

[ducktrapper]

Of course, I could take my own photos but those pics from when I first saw it on line and bought it are sort of special to me. Here are two from the great pickguard replacement. I was shocked, at the time, that Martin did not finish the entire guitar.    

[Mikeymac]

I don't know if I've ever told this story here before but I used to play fairly regularly at an open mic in Northland Wisconsin. I brought this guitar one night and there was another player there who, when I got up on stage, thought I'd taken and used his guitar without permission. Fortunately, the guy who ran the mic knew it was mine and calmed him down. No one would think twice about seeing another D-28 or 18 but these shade tops (sunburst by any other name) are said to be fairly rare. What are the odds that two would show up on the same night at a bar on the crossroads near a little Wisconsin town? We had a good laugh over it.

Great story! Yeah  -  what are the odds?!

Of course, I could take my own photos but those pics from when I first saw it on line and bought it are sort of special to me. Here are two from the great pickguard replacement. I was shocked, at the time, that Martin did not finish the entire guitar.   

Yeah - which means you gotta make sure your new pickguard will cover the unfinished "shadow".

Meanwhile, here's some nice video demos of some D-35's:

Martin 1971 D-35

Modified 1974 D-35 Compared to '70's D-28 Comparison starts around 9:30 - before that he describes the work he did to the D-35

Enjoy!

[Mikeymac]

One more *short* (under 3 minutes) video of a D-35 Brazilian:

1967 Martin D-35 Brazilian

[ducktrapper]

Interesting. The first fellow plays way behind the sound hole and likes that brittle sound. I don't think he's getting the best out of those guitars. What he calls mushy, I call warm which is what you'll get if you play over the sound hole. The Brazilian sounds better but the second guy plays more over the sound hole or at least at the back of it. Stony Point is a cool little piece. I think I'll have a closer look at that video.     

[tuffythepug]

       My friend Woody with his Martin "shade top" ..  I think this one is a D-42.  But my D-03R hung in there with him.   I admit I always wanted a D-35

[ducktrapper]

       My friend Woody with his Martin "shade top" ..  I think this one is a D-42.  But my D-03R hung in there with him.   I admit I always wanted a D-35

[Mikeymac]

       My friend Woody with his Martin "shade top" ..  I think this one is a D-42.  But my D-03R hung in there with him.   I admit I always wanted a D-35

Very nice.

It's actually a D-41; the D-42 has the snowflake inlays on the fingerboard; both the D-41 and modern D-45's have the hexagon inlays; D-45 hexagons are larger than on the D-41 (original D-45's had a snowflake inlay pattern; not sure why they went away from that; I like it better than the hexagons).

[tuffythepug]

Very nice.

It's actually a D-41; the D-42 has the snowflake inlays on the fingerboard; both the D-41 and modern D-45's have the hexagon inlays; D-45 hexagons are larger than on the D-41 (original D-45's had a snowflake inlay pattern; not sure why they went away from that; I like it better than the hexagons).

Thanks for the clarification on the model.  My friend tells me that he bought it a few years ago at a guitar store in San Francisco and while he was paying for the guitar Neil Young's guitar tech came in with cash in hand to buy it for Neil.   Timing is everything

[ducktrapper]

Very nice.

It's actually a D-41; the D-42 has the snowflake inlays on the fingerboard; both the D-41 and modern D-45's have the hexagon inlays; D-45 hexagons are larger than on the D-41 (original D-45's had a snowflake inlay pattern; not sure why they went away from that; I like it better than the hexagons).

Quibbling. What woods?

[tuffythepug]

Quibbling. What woods?

  Spruce and Rosewood but I'm not sure of the particulars, i.e. specific spruce or rosewood varieties. I imagine Martin reserved some of their best stuff for the higher end models.  What I remember most is the sound...enhanced by his excellent playing

[ducktrapper]

  Spruce and Rosewood but I'm not sure of the particulars, i.e. specific spruce or rosewood varieties. I imagine Martin reserved some of their best stuff for the higher end models.  What I remember most is the sound...enhanced by his excellent playing

Funny. At the end of the proverbial day, the player always matters more than what he's playing.

[teh]

That was a cool story about the open mike night in WI. I have a 1993 Canada Dollar coin (Loonie) in my guitar case for good luck in my guitar case given to me while I was sitting on a rock playing my guitar overlooking Georgian Bay about 15 years ago.

I searched for a long time until I found my 1976 shade top Martin D35 in May 1977 @ Medley Music in Bryn Mawr, PA. Over the years, some people told me that this was an impulse buy because I was only 21 at the time but I had been looking and playing guitars at every store between Eastern Pa and Northern VA.

Looking back, my only regret was not buying the runner up too. A D35S, 12 fret, slotted head stock, that was almost as nice. 45 plus years later, I have added some other milestone guitars to rectify that problem including two more Martins and two more Larrivees with another one coming soon.

Unlike Neil Young, I had to look in the mirror to find my guitar tech but along with Neil, two of my other favorite guitar players/songwriters are Gordon Lightfoot and Bruce Cockburn. What is it about Canada, Martin and Larrivee that keeps bringing me back?

[ducktrapper]

That was a cool story about the open mike night in WI. I have a 1993 Canada Dollar coin (Loonie) in my guitar case for good luck in my guitar case given to me while I was sitting on a rock playing my guitar overlooking Georgian Bay about 15 years ago.

I searched for a long time until I found my 1976 shade top Martin D35 in May 1977 @ Medley Music in Bryn Mawr, PA. Over the years, some people told me that this was an impulse buy because I was only 21 at the time but I had been looking and playing guitars at every store between Eastern Pa and Northern VA.

Looking back, my only regret was not buying the runner up too. A D35S, 12 fret, slotted head stock, that was almost as nice. 45 plus years later, I have added some other milestone guitars to rectify that problem including two more Martins and two more Larrivees with another one coming soon.

Unlike Neil Young, I had to look in the mirror to find my guitar tech but along with Neil, two of my other favorite guitar players/songwriters are Gordon Lightfoot and Bruce Cockburn. What is it about Canada, Martin and Larrivee that keeps bringing me back?

Canadians! What can I say? Pictures?