Martin Love

I bought my Martin D-28 in 1972. I have a Guild 12 and a Stetson 1928 Parlor. I played my Martin D-28 semi-professionally from 1976-1991.



Being of the age that my Martin D-28 is it does not have a truss rod. Never-the-less it rings like Christmas bells in the philharmonic. I do feel the need to have the neck reset. The newer ones I believe have the rod so my problem will not be yours. (The action on mine is a little more difficult after all this time and travel)



The D-28 is a wonder. It is so very true to all types of music. BlueGrass rock jazz. CF Martin had his stuff together on this one as it has lasted for decades + and been lauded by all the stars of the aforementioned types of various groups that have needed and used an acoustic guitar.



Construction is superb. Woods are superb. Mine is Brazilian Rosewood and German spruce top. Ebony finger board and saddle. I will have it buried with me to keep it close.



If you are looking for a sweet and life long friend this is it as to instruments. Not as fancy as some Martins but the sound more than makes up for its basic look. Strum an E or A chord on this or finger pick or knock yourself out and watch your audience perk up. The sound of the Martin D-28 is individual to other guitars. I can pick a D-28 out of a sound track most every time.



Just a sweet and dependable friend. Buy a really good case to protect it.

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A beautiful guitar worthy of a great player! Handcrafted with a premium East Indian rosewood back and sides and a bookmatched top of select quartersawn Sitka spruce. Its smaller 000 body size and short 24.9 scale help produce delicate balanced tones. The rosette and soundboard are inlaid with herringbone wood marquetry and the body is bound with grained ivoroid. An ebony fingerboard features a snowflake pattern in abalone pearl. Erics signature is inlaid in mother-of-pearl between the 19th and 20th frets. Tastefully appointed with hand-beveled tortoise pickguard nickel-plated open-geared machines equipped with unique butterbean knobs. Each guitar bears an interior label individually numbered in sequence.

• CONSTRUCTION: Mahogany Blocks/Dovetail Neck Joint


• NECK MATERIAL: Select Hardwood


• HEADSTOCK: Solid/Diamond/SquareTaper


• # OF FRETS TOTAL: 20


• CASE: 533E Geib style

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The 00-15 offers CF Martin quality and workmanship at an affordable price. This grand concert guitar is made from genuine mahogany along with a hardwood neck for long-lasting tone. The solid East Indian rosewood fingerboard looks and plays great. Ad...[]More detail ...

Like its predecessors this latest addition to the Martin line is built with the same Martin quality craftsmanship with an emphasis on producing great sound in a smaller guitar. The Little Martin is durable and easy to play. It is the perfect 'pick up and play' guitar that lets you jam at home or on the road and is the perfect choice for students. In a nutshell the Little Martin is comfortable to play (despite it's slightly smaller size) tonally viable affordably priced environmentally responsible and compact - making it THE perfect choice for travel practice or students! The Little Martin combines a modified 0-14 fret tenor Martin shape with a 23 inch scale length. The one panel back and sides are crafted from Mahogany Pattern HPL and the top is cut from Spruce Pattern HPL making the Little Martin amazingly friendly in just about any climate. In fact the Little Martin has been atop the summit of Denali and several additional challenging environments and all reports are that it performed amazingly well! Your Little Martin comes with a padded gig bag made of a tough ballistic cloth exterior plush interior backpack straps and a front zipper compartment.

• CONSTRUCTION: Mortise/Tenon Neck Joint


• BODY SIZE: Modified O - 14 Fret


• FINGERBOARD MATERIAL: Morado


• SADDLE: Compensated White Tusq


• RECOMMENDED STRINGS: Martin M550 Phosphor Bronze

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I am still amazed...

I proudly own this guitar and without a doubt in my mind it is near-perfect. I got mine for $950 with a Martin case. Every time that I open the case I feel like a child.



The D15 has many pros and few cons. Subjectively the action is a little high but it is easily and affordably adjusted by a skilled luthier. Also some musicians may consider a satin mahogany finish to be unappealing to the eye. The D15 is shamelessly bare-bones. However I feel that a satin mahogany finish stands out from all the other guitars. It's quite the conversation piece when other guitarists see it. And the smell! Wow... It's like "chocolate wood." I spent a great deal of hands-on time deciding where to put my hard-earned money. If you desire a guitar with the (waaaay too common) spruce top or cosmetic "bling" then the D15 isn't your guitar. Go spend $1000-$3000 more for that guitar.



But appearance is a moot point right? This is a guitar after all... So as far as the D15's sound goes its top-end/highs are diminished but the mids and lows are very well pronounced. The result is a guitar that is calming gentle and it even has a voice that "tells a story" when played well. This guitar excells with fingerpicking playing classical and even sounds great when strummed. Martin managed to produce a bling-free amazing sounding guitar at a price that is so far below the competition it's almost ridiculous. If you like the brighter more pronounced jingly-jangly highs then a Taylor is likely more suited for you (and again at a much higher price).



I compare with other guitars beyond the D15's price range when I say that you won't find a solid-wood (i.e. non-laminated) guitar in this price range. If you don't believe me then get out there and try. AND it's made in the USA!!! The competition is able to make great-sounding guitars for this price but they don't have an heirloom like this one in their arsenal... Yep heirloom. This guitar will be well taken care of with a hope that someday a great-grandchild of mine will appreciate it as much as I do.



The only question now is what will you name yours? :)More detail ...

Wonderful guitar.

I have bought a lot of guitars the last few years looking for the right one. The right fit and sound and feel. Well my search is over this is a world class guitar in every respect.Very light weight but well made plays easily a fingerpickers dream. A deep rich sound yet with crisp trebles. Very very pleased.More detail ...

Whether you're a traveling troubadour a beginning guitar student the "Little Martin" LXM is a perfect fit. The LXM features a Spruce Pattern HPL (High Pressure Laminate) textured finish top along with Mahogany Pattern HPL textured finish back and s...[]More detail ...

Great Sound - Fantastic Value

The Martin DX1 and its variants (DX1K and DX1M) have High-Pressure Laminate (HPL) sides and back but the top soundboard is solid spruce. This contributes to the big deep sound that comes from this guitar a sound that usually costs a lot more particularly in the Martin line. The HPL construction and 'Stratabond' laminate neck make this guitar not as attractive as solid wood instruments but the sound and playability are what you are getting. I love the sound and I love the fact that I don't have to baby this guitar like I would if it was all solid wood. This has to be about the plainest guitar I've ever seen with nary a single bit of trim or binding anywhere. The top is just beveled around the edge and that's it. I kind of like the clean plain look of this guitar but others have told me it looks cheap to them. It probably does but that's because all the money went into the sound! More detail ...

The Perfect Size!

This guitar is a bad little puppy and I know anyone who picks will have a lot of fun with it! I bought it for my locker so I could practice at work... regular sized locker. Compared to other similar travel size guitars the Johnson was in my price-range and just the size I needed. I tuned it once and played the heck out of it. I checked the tuning several times while I was playing (the smaller and cheaper guitars are usually harder to keep in tune)and barely any adjustments were needed. I couldn't believe it stayed in tune!! For some people it may be hard to get used to the small body but I adjusted just fine. The neck of it is just a tad bit smaller than a full-sized acoustic so I had to adjust my fingers closer together.



Mine came with a nice little gig bag and a strap. The strings seem to be okay but for more advanced players I'd recommend replacing them right away. Also you will want to spray or lube the strings asap as they are pretty sharp. This doesn't sound exactly like your full-sized acoustic of course but it does sound really good for practice or any off-stage activity. This guitar would be great for over-head storage on a plane locker storage under the seat in a vehicle or even under your desk at work. It's extremely light too! I'm very happy with mine!More detail ...

false listing

This is a sham. They dont even have them available. They need to correct their postings.

So don't bother order one because in bout a day you will get an email saying sorry but we dont have it.

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Plays rights - sounds weak

The Martin Backpacker instruments are very useful for the person who:

1. Wants an instrument that "feels right" - meaning the frets are in the right place the intonation is accurate the scale is correct etc.

2. Wants an instrument that you can literally throw into a duffel back or backpack and carry into remote places. (Many American Servicemen I know took them on deployments.)



The tradeoff is that the teeny-tiny sound-box produces a small tinny noise that is weak in volume and almost metallic in tone - the closest thing I can think of to describe what it SOUNDS like is one of those old hand-cranked jack-in-the-boxes.



It DOES play right though and if you want an instrument that will keep your fingers in shape is decent to practice on and you CAN take it anywhere you can sling it over your shoulder - then the Martin Backpacker is right up your alley.

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