Martin D-28 1963, Natural

This vintage Brazilian Rosewood Martin D-28 very well might be your lifer guitar. Made in the "old factory" in 1963 with hot hide glue construction, this D-28 has lived its life in Nashville and was recently restored to the best version of itself. The neck that original came on this body suffered a headstock crack and was subsequently poorly repaired to the point it couldn't be saved, but thankfully a '37 conversion process on a 1961 D-28 provided an excellent donor neck. To pair these two together, a mahogany shim was added to put the neck at the correct scale length for perfect intonation and this was given a color and grain drawing cover-up to disguise it. A previous thick overspray to the top was wet sanded off down to the original ambered coat and a nitro lacquer was shot on it that has beautifully checked. The headstock veneer was refinished and new decal added. The bridge plate is original. As the late 50s and early 60s were known for heavy bracing, the straight braces were expertly lightly scalloped to remove weight and tune them similar to a late 1940s tapered braced Martin. The replacement ebony bridge is factory spec height and the neck angle is pitched to give an ideal height saddle for an ideal action. This guitar was a labor of love that few luthiers would have the time to take on, but with how it sounds and plays, it was definitely worth the extra attention.