The enclosed chip board case is not original to this guitar, but I suspect that doesn't really matter. On the whole, I’d have to say this is probably the best-looking, best-playing “Marlboro D-28” around! The additional good news is that not only is it in very good cosmetic and structural condition, it plays great, with medium action of a bit more than 3/32” at the 12th fret low E. The bridge is solid and stable, and there is only a little fret or finger board wear. The beautifully figured back and sides are also in excellent condition, still high gloss and almost no marks on them. The top is structurally in good shape, with no cracks at all, and almost no surface scratches or dings as seen in the pictures except for a patch of pick wear beside the pick guard. On the whole, it has almost every characteristic of the expensive Martin D-28 model of which it is no doubt a copy.Ī full-sized dreadnought, the dimensions are a bit larger than many of the "folk" instruments around, affording power as well as brilliance: 40 1/2" long, 4 1/2" deep, 11 3/4" at the upper bout, and 15 1/2" at the lower bout. It has full "28-style" white and black body binding, and a real “28-style” multi-striped black and white rosette. The ebonized rosewood bridge has white black-dot pegs which contrast nicely with the Martin-style black pick guard. The 14/20-fret ebonized rosewood fingerboard has pearl dots and full ivoroid binding, and ends with a rosewood veneer headstock with enclosed chrome tuners. I’m not a great wood person, but this guitar apparently has the D-28’s solid spruce X-braced top, and I believe the beautiful back and sides are also solid. There is no serial number or any other data to accurately date this Martin clone all I see is the point-by-point copying of many of the D-28’s characteristics (not including, of course, the Martin logo on top of the Martin-style squared-off headstock). However, this particular guitar looks really good, although there is no label or marking inside the sound hole or anywhere else that I can find to indicate where or by whom this one was made. I gather that these instruments were licensed by Martin (no doubt for a price) and possibly even used some Martin parts, but I doubt that they were actually made by Martin. All I can do is pass along what I was told by the previous owner, what I’ve read on EBay, and add my own impressions.Īpparently, in the 1970s the Marlboro cigarette company commissioned a number of semi-accurate copies of “America’s Guitar”-the Martin D-28-as prizes in an advertising promotion. I wish I could give you definitive specs and history for this really cool guitar, but I can’t. This is one of these "bargain" instruments, and like all my guitars is also available at a negotiable Buy It Now price in my store at any time. However, since I also accumulate a number of less expensive guitars and cases as trade-ins, I periodically offer these guitars on eBay as a less costly alternative to the vintage store instruments. TRADE-IN SALE!! INTERNATIONAL BUYERS WELCOME!!!Īs you can see by googling ALUMPSTER’S GUITARS, I generally sell only Martin, Gibson, Guild, Taylor, and Alvarez-Yairi guitars because most of these models are made so well that they tend to increase in value and improve in the complexity and resonance of their sound as they age, regardless of their appearance I can therefore sell them with confidence despite my lack of real expertise.
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