Used Vintage Limited 1987 Martin HD-28BSE – Run of 88, Brazilian Rosewood

Sonic Evaluation

When I strummed my first chord on this gorgeous '87 Martin HD-28BSE, my coworkers head immediately snapped up from his computer screen as he said "Oooooh...that's good!" That, dear reader, sums it up pretty nicely. This guitar is distractingly amazing! Brazilian rosewood has a reputation for making musical magic, and this guitar is covered in fairy dust. It sounds so unbelievably rich that playing it makes you feel like you have an entire orchestra in your lap. Even cooler, it nails the sound of the Brazilian-bodied beauties of yesteryear, which makes you feel like you're living in a classic record as you play. Overall, it has a bold tone that fills the room with natural reverberance and lush overtones. The lows are positively elephantine, the mids are surprisingly punchy, and the highs are glassy and sparkly.

It has the kind of tone that imbues even simple musical ideas with serious mojo--I had lots of "Whoah, that's not your average D chord" moments while playing it. Though it's a world-beating strummer, it's also touch-sensitive enough to be a marvelous fingerstyle guitar. If you've ever wanted to experience the magic of a Brazilian rosewood Martin, this HD-28BSE will distract and entrance you just like it did me and my coworkers at the shop!

A Dynamite Dreadnought

Wildwoodians, this Martin HD-28BSE is an absolute sonic titan, and it's quite a rare bird to boot! Produced as a part of a limited run of 88 for the Martin "Guitar of the Month" program, it puts the full visual and sonic beauty of Brazilian rosewood on stunning display. It sounds like a dream, with big piano-like lows, gorgeous overtone presence, and wonderful sparkle. It's an iconic-sounding instrument, and it will no doubt inspire you to embark on all kinds of acoustic adventures.

Condition Report

This highly-limited Martin is in amazing shape, but it has undergone a few repairs at the hands of the skilled artisans at Martin. It suffered a broken neck at some point, and a previous owner sent it to Martin, where they hard polished the body and made a brand-new neck. The new neck is rock-solid and is a delight to play. Martin also re-glued the bridge and did some touch-up work around it. The only other cosmetic imperfections to note are some very light marks on the top and some fainter ones on the back and sides. It comes with its original hardshell case, all its original paperwork, hangtags, paperwork from Martin regarding the repairs, and the even the original broken neck (if you want it). This guitar impressed the heck out of us, and we have no doubt it will steal your heart, too!