Martin Guitars Custom Shop Slope-Shouldered HD-28

Sonic Evaluation

Look up "strummer" in the dictionary and you'll see this glorious Slope-Shouldered HD-28 from the Martin Custom Shop! It's such a wooden cannon that I was genuinely a little startled when I dug into a big D chord for the first time. It has jaw-dropping volume, incredible power, and a piano-like attack that responds to your input immediately. The bass response will rattle your ribs, and you can feel the low E in your bones. It also has a surprisingly strong midrange punch--something you don't see on every rosewood-bodied acoustic. The trebles have a delightful sparkle, and single notes have plenty of weight even up near the fourteenth fret. Overall, it has a ton of headroom, so you can absolutely flog this serial and it will still sound nice and open.

In a weird way playing this guitar is the acoustic equivalent of plugging an electric guitar into a cranked Marshall and rocking out on some AC/DC. It brings forth that same sort of childlike joy in loud, powerful musical things. It's also highly inspiring musically because it makes whatever you're play feel good, even if it's just some open chords.

Though I've played up its world-beating flatpicking capabilities, this serial's responsiveness and fullness make playing fingerstyle on it a lot of fun, too. However, if you're seeking a strummer, this serial will astound and delight you and bring you all sorts of musical inspiration and joy!