1939 C. F. Martin D-28 Natural
SN 72671: Friends, I’ve turned up many great old guitars from around the Missouri/Tennessee border but probably none as exciting to me as this one. The serial number suggests it is from the very last batch of wide-neck D-28s. It has the wondrous and rare Grover G-111 closed back tuners used by Martin only in ’39. No Popsicle brace. So it’s that rare combo of rear-X, wide neck and no added upper bout brace. Best of all, it plays and sounds terrific. The guitar is crack free. There’s a sap line on the top that looks like a crack but is not. The red spruce top has light to moderate pick wear and the usual dings and doinks. Buckle scratches on the back and the a few scratches on the sides don’t detract from the gorgeous striped BRW. The herringbone trim, aged ivoroid binding, faux tortoise shell pickguard and diamond and snowflake inlays are all in nice shape and original. When the guitar came to me it had an oversized rosewood bridge plate, a slightly wrong bridge, overspray around the bridge and a couple of touchups. TJ to the rescue. TJ Thompson installed a thin maple bridge plate still somewhat oversized. The new bridge is a correct TJ Thompson replacement bridge with two small areas showing the outline of the older bridge. It’s also had a neck reset, refret and new nut and saddle. Additional setup work by Mark Tossman. It’s had a lot of work but by top luthiers -- and it's not six figures either. The geometry is straight with no weird pulling of the top. The sound has cut and growl with a long decay and strong projection. It’s set up with a strap button and ready to resume its lifelong battle with banjos. The original green plush lined case is included but two hinges gave out long ago. I can ship in a modern case. I’ve spared no expense to make this great guitar the best player it can be.
Top: Red Spruce
Band & Sides: Brazilian Rosewood
Bridge & Fretboard: Ebony
Appointments: Herringbone trim, zigzag back strip, diamonds and snowflake markers
Nut width: 1-3/4”
String spacing: 2-3/8”
Body width: 15-9/16”
Depth: 4-15/16”
Scale length: 25.4”
Case: Original Hardshell
Payment is by personal check or money order. Payment in full, including shipping and insurance, is required before shipment. Personal checks must clear your bank. Please specify preferred shipping method when you order the instrument and we will calculate the exact price for you.
We represent the instruments as accurately as we can. All instruments are shipped on 48-hour approval. If there is damage as a result of the shipping, please contact us immediately and we will deal with the insurance company. If the instrument is damaged in transit from you to me, then you are responsible for dealing with the damage and insurance. For refunds, all instruments must be returned in the same condition as we shipped them in.
All instruments are shipped on 48-hour approval. If there is damage as a result of the shipping, please contact us immediately and we will deal with the insurance company. If the instrument is damaged in transit from you to me, then you are responsible for dealing with the damage and insurance. For refunds, all instruments must be returned in the same condition as we shipped them in.