C. F. Martin continues to tweak their Authentic Series, and this example has a number of the more recent upgrades. Of course it’s missing the Brazilian rosewood you would find in a 1937 D-28, but the Guatemalan Rosewood found on this example is about as close as you could hope to find both visually and tonally. And, like dialing a time machine back to the old North Street Factory in Nazareth in the months prior to all the trouble that followed the bombing of Pearl Harbor, this D-28 has the steel T-bar neck reinforcement, hot animal hide glue assembly, ‘tucked-in” bridge plate, and a new final hand-applied finishing regime Martin recently re-introduced that leaves a brand new guitar with a pleasant patina. (It’s not a distessed finish, but instead has a warm glow without that high-gloss glare.)
Last, but certainly not least, is what Martin calls the VTS (Vintage Tone System) treatment given the Adirondack spruce top, their fine-tuning of the torrefied process that’s been around for a few years. Of course all the other Authentic Series vintage reissue goodies are there as well, such as ivoroid binding and accurate early ‘40s neck inlays, a complete list of all the vintage features combined in this model is enough to make your head swim.
But a better way to make your head swim is to play the guitar. Does it sound like a genuine 1941 D-28? My answer to that would be “which one?” There’s a wide range of “tonal personalities” from those original Martins, and there’s an equally wide range in these Authentic Series reissues. This is a great sounding D-28.
